Book Review: Jan Showers' Glamorous Rooms

Jan Showers' stunning new book, Glamorous Rooms is a showcase of the designer's exquisite taste and attention to detail. Showers may venture from style to style, blending French with modern or Hollywood Regency with elegant minimalism, but there is an ever-present factor: glamour. Showers' aesthetic and the rooms she designs are all quite glamorous. They feel decadent and opulent with their mixtures of rich textures and fabrics, gilded finishes, and mirrored surfaces. They are fit for Hollywood royalty, whether of this generation or generations past.

Glamorous Rooms serves as a showcase of the beautiful rooms Showers has designed. The book begins with a foreword by fashion designer, Michael Kors, which I find incredibly appropriate. Ms. Showers designs glamorous rooms and Michael Kors celebrates American glamour through his designs. Kors says of getting to know Showers in the 1980s: "I loved Jan's style, which was particularly American: restrained, smart, and always glamorous."

The foreword is actually quite touching and chronicles the parallels and similarities of the two designers' careers. Later, Kors goes on to say "I make real clothes. Jan creates real environments. We're interested in what people really do, and how they live their lives. Design like Jan's fuses great taste and an expert eye with the reality of life as it is actually lived. That's why people are always so astonished at her glamorous touch- because it's built into designs that are functional and comfortable and fun." I think that best summarizes Showers' work. Despite the level of polish and glamour, the rooms she designs never feel off-putting or off-limits. They are welcoming, gracious spaces that are truly lived in. And what's life without a touch of glamour?

A Glamorous Foyer

This casual living room features more relaxed fabrics, but details, like the venetian mirror add a hint of glamour.

I love the symmetry in this room. It feels so polished and modern. The lamps are just fabulous!

This is my favorite of all the rooms in the new book. I love the deep blue of the walls and the high gloss finish, along with the variety of colors and textures in the room.