Exotic Taste: Orientalist Interiors

Debuting this fall, along with a score of other delightful books, is "Exotic Taste: Orientalist Interiors" by Emmanuelle Gaillard from The Vendome Press.

Filled with incredible photography primarily by Marc Walters, the book showcases the love of exotic Eastern influences which began to inspire the Western world nearly 400 years ago.Orientalism came into fashion primarily in the 18th and 19th centuries when Western architects tired of the dominance of classicism and people longed for an escape from the everyday. Often times only a room was decorated in an exotic style to showcase a collection of porcelains or lacquerware, but occasionally you would see the emergence of a complete project, such as the Prince Regent's Chinese Inspired Royal Pavilion, seen below.

The book covers these and more, including art, fashion and the people it mesmerized such as Mark Twain, Russian Empress Catherine and Marie Antoinette's mother, Empress Maria Theresa (her own study seen in the top image).

Be sure to add this book to your Christmas wish list!