Shax Riegler

What better way to spend the dog days of summer than with a stack of transportive, impeccably photographed design books? From Colin King’s gorgeously styled Arranging Things to Jacques Garcia’s expansive portrait of Villa Elena to DLN executive director Michael Diaz-Griffith’s tribute to a new generation of antique lovers, here are the best of the best decor and design books that have crossed the desks of AD editors lately.

From a survey of interiors by Billy Cotton to the design lexicon of YSL, these volumes make the case for clearing extra space on your bookshelf If interiors are meant to have a dialogue, as designers often claim, then Billy Cotton's spaces have never encountered a lull.

You’ve painted the walls, hung the curtains, and strung up the chandelier—your latest project is a wrap. Now you’re ready to document all that hard work for your portfolio and even some potential press. But interior photography can be a tricky business: Capture the lighting or composition poorly, and those details you worked so hard to achieve will be lost to time (or just the few who experience your space in person).