Product Description

Axel Vervoordt began purchasing antiques in his teens and has steadily built a vast collection of exquisite objects from around the world. He is renowned for his prestigious exhibitions at major world antique fairs, including the New York Design Fair and TEFAF Maastricht. His interior designs, in both traditional and modern settings around the world, combine antiques from all continents with a Zen sensuality, and they blend the old with the new to create harmonious interiors. His unusual pairings may include Chinese porcelain with English furniture or a Roman relic alongside a 1930s Flemish painting.
The extent of Vervoordt’s talent is revealed in the twenty-three homes in Europe and the United States presented here through Christian Sarramon’s photographs. The variety of styles reflects Vervoordt’s eclecticism, and his authentic and welcoming interiors are inspirational treasure troves. From the rustic charm of a Swiss chalet to the classic finesse of a Bordeaux château to the modern allure of a Miami mansion, Vervoordt’s creations are perfectly in tune with the character and history of each space.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4515 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-18
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
MULTIFACETED AXEL

Belgian antiquaire extraordinaire AXEL VERVOORDT is not only a charismatic dealer; he is also a master of the mise-en-scene. A new book by Armelle Baron and Christian Sarramon, Axel Vervoordt : Timeless Interiors (Flammarion; $75), reveals him to be a virtuoso of light and an alchemist with color - and a very good decorator, to boot. In an Antwerp house (above), Vervoordt contrasts a Ming dynasty chair with a 1955 Le Corbusier stool and a modern slate table, never failing to enchant the eye. Tycoons, rock stars and quite a few renowned decorators have visited his castle and his complex of warehouses, both outside Antwerp, to ogle objects spanning th ecenturies, not to mention the simple pieces Vervoordt designs. Yes, he makes furniture too. -- Town & Country 2007

"A new book by Armelle Baron and Christian Sarramon, Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors (Flammarion; $75), reveals him to be a virtuoso of light and an alchemist with color--and a very good decorator, to boot." -- September 07 Town & Country

Today, in addition to dealing in art and antiques, he and May, with sons Boris and Dick, operate an eighty-five-person design practice, a multidisciplinary center of decorative arts and crafts in the Kanaal, a complex of restored nineteenth-century warehouses and silos near the castle keep, all of which the writer Armelle Baron and lensman Christian Sarramon celebrate in their new book Axel Vervoordt: Timeless Interiors.

Baron, a journalist who has had unprecedented access to Vervoordt, and Sarramon, whose camera was welcomed around the world for this book, have assembled an elegant, quite dreamy volume that includes twenty-plus projects by Vervoordt and his talented team. These are places to fantasize about, to learn about, to cultivate in memory - exceedingly fine, powerfully beautiful and well loved without being overstuffed. -- Veranda

examines the Belgian dealer-decorator's influential patrician rooms, everywhere from a medieval chateau to a Tuscan farmhouse." -- ELLE DÉCOR October 2007

About the Author
Armelle Baron, president of the European Confederation of Art Experts (CEDEA), is an expert on antique paintings. A journalist, she has contributed to numerous art-exhibition catalogs.Christian Sarramon has published his photographs in many Flammarion books, including Living in Provence (2003), Gourmet Shops of Paris (2005), Gourmet Bistros and Restaurants of Paris (2006), Provence Style (2002) and Living in Normandy (2005).

Customer Reviews

AWESOME!
This is a book to enjoy its photos, to enjoy what it says about the photos, about the houses, and to enjoy it all over and over again. The simplicity, the raw, the antiques, the contemporary, all find amazing fit! It shows Mr. Vervoordt as a genius in his expertise. Armelle Baron descriptions and Christian Sarramon's photos make a perfect match. The title "Timeless Interiors" says it all.

Interior Integrity & Grandeur Lives...
Vervoordt's peaceful environments invade space with mood. The resulting grandeur of such tranquil beauty and gentle sophistication is most admirable and thoroughly revealed in this beautifully accessorized volume. Leafing through this book will calm your design sensitivities, as period inpressions drift from page to page. The dramatic and dimly lit photos featured here capture the essence of time. The historical significance of such a talented artist can not be denied, as Vervoordt's careful selection and discerning eye for arranging will be learned from for years to come. There is an art to assemblage, and this designer definitely defines it!

As a professional in the interior decorating field, I chose this book along with another,Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint, by Curtis Heuser, and was pleasantly surprised by each. As I work mainly with customers who wish to develop time worn feeling and comfortable living spaces, both of these books proved wonderful additions for helping with that thought process. "YOUR HOME..." follows the creative rebirth of the author's/decorative artist's historic 1890's home, with hundreds of beautiful full color before/after and during renovation illustrations, accompanied with full spread finished room concepts. I would love to see the two of these talents in collaboration - as both artist have a keen sense of using color, texture and light to bring a space to life. Though these books are so different in energy level (Heuser uses dramatic color and unique murals and specialty paint finishes to stage the scene), both offer immense inspiration for helping one to envision and recreate "timeless interiors"!

Muted colors and glorious antiques
This is classic beauty. Quiet, vast interiors filled, not with too much gilt and chintz, but a few pieces of wonderful antiques. The best thing about this book is that the rooms never looked decorated. Everything looks as though it grew in place.

Personally, I fell in love with the ocean view and eternity pool on page 79. Amazingly, even the eternity pool doesn't seem too brash and new.

Wonderful designs.