Kabinett hKammer is equally a celebration and a practical guide to both collecting and showing how lively design can integrate disparate objects from the past into beautifully layered ensembles. Sean Scherer's interiors feature vintage display cabinets housing discarded collections of whittled songbirds, a plethora of stunning 19th-century maps and school teaching aids, semi-tropical ferns in cast-iron planters, mysterious industrial apparatuses displayed against eye-catching colours, and photomurals. The effect is a supercharged nod to American Gothic heightened by Scherer's sophisticated palette and sense of proportion. His interior language speaks with a calm authority coupled with a zest for life. Each photograph by master photographer William Abranowicz is a lesson on such topics as colour and texture, focal points and room size. The book has universal appeal because, though styles fluctuate and tastes are unique, the principles of design are immutable and good design is good design - invaluable lessons for composing a signature, comfortable interior.
