Lance Avery Morgan
From Fashion And Fabulous Interiors To Art, Architecture, Travel, And A Little Bit Of The Unexpected, These Are The Beautifully Bound Books Most Poised To Grace The Season’s Most Stylish Coffee Tables
There are books you read. There are books you collect. And then there are the books that arrive with such gorgeous covers and such irresistible subjects that you immediately begin rearranging the coffee table to make room, according to our avid bibliophiles Linley Norris and Lance Avery Morgan, as they choose their favorite new tomes from Rizzoli USA, Thames & Hudson USA, and Phaidon Monacelli.
Now, Fall 2026 brings an especially covetable crop of gorgeous new titles from Rizzoli USA, Thames & Hudson, and Phaidon Monocelli, spanning the worlds of fashion, interiors, photography, art, architecture, design, travel and culture. Some chronicle legendary names. Others open doors into extraordinary homes. A few transport us to another time…or another country. And one or two take us somewhere considerably more mysterious,
For the bibliophile, design devotee, and unapologetic lover of beautiful things, consider this your ultimate seasonal reading-and-gifting coffee table book list.
1. MONICA BY DOLCE&GABBANA
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Price: $250
Monica Bellucci and Dolce&Gabbana are practically synonymous with Italian glamour, making this lavish volume a natural celebration of one of fashion and cinema’s most enduring muses. Large, luxurious and destined for display, Monica is less a book to hide on a shelf than one to proudly leave in plain sight.
Why we love it: Old-school Italian glamour meets modern fashion mythology.
2. SIMON UPTON: A TO Z INTERIORS
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Publication: September 2026
Price: $100
Photographer Simon Upton has enjoyed extraordinary access to some of the most celebrated interiors in the design world, and this oversized volume gathers them into an A-to-Z visual journey. With interiors associated with Giorgio Armani, Elsa Peretti, Anderson Cooper, Bella Freud, Kim Jones and the Duchess of Devonshire among its highlights, this is a serious collector’s piece for anyone fascinated by how remarkable people live.
Why we love it: A passport into interiors we rarely get to see.
3. CHANEL: THE ALLURE OF MAKEUP
Publisher: Thames & Hudson USA
Price: $175
Few beauty stories have the cultural staying power of Chanel. Beginning with the House’s first makeup products in 1924, this beautifully produced history explores Chanel beauty through seven signature colors: Black, White, Beige, Red, Pink, Gold and Blue. Drawing on the Chanel archives, it offers a fascinating look at the intersection of fashion, beauty and branding.
Why we love it: Because lipstick has never looked so historically important.
4. DIOR BY MATS GUSTAFSON, VOLUME 2
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Price: $115
Illustrator Mats Gustafson brings an artist’s eye to Dior, capturing haute couture and ready-to-wear through elegant drawings, portraits and intimate details. The result is a sophisticated tribute to fashion that feels every bit as much at home in an art collection as it does in a fashion library.
Why we love it: Dior, interpreted through the graceful hand of an artist.
5. URBAN ELEGANCE: CLASSIC CONTEMPORARY LIVING
Publisher: Phaidon Monacelli
Publication: October 28, 2026
Firm: Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA)
Price: $79.95
What happens when classical architecture meets the modern luxury residential tower? Urban Elegance: Classic Contemporary Living explores RAMSA’s residential towers around the world, revealing how traditional architectural principles—including proportion, detail, and craftsmanship—can be reinterpreted for contemporary urban life.
The book also examines how these ideas adapt to their surroundings, giving each project a sense of connection to its particular city and cultural context.
Why we love it: Because classic architecture doesn’t have to look backward. Here, tradition gets a thoroughly contemporary address.
6. THE BEVERLY HILLS HOUSEWIFE: HOCKNEY’S CALIFORNIAN MUSE AND THE WORLD BEYOND THE POOL
Publisher: Thames & Hudson USA
Author: James Cahill
Publication: November 3, 2026
The woman in the pink dress. The Hollywood Hills. A swimming pool. David Hockney. The ingredients sound like the beginning of a particularly glamorous screenplay. James Cahill explores the artist’s relationship with Betty Freeman and the cultural landscape of 1960s Los Angeles through art, biography and anecdote.
Why we love it: A real-life California story with an art-world plot twist.
7. TIME & PLACE: THE HOMES OF RICHARD BEARD ARCHITECTS
Publisher: Phaidon Monacelli
Publication: September 30, 2026
Firm: Richard Beard Architects
Price: $64.95
For lovers of California architecture, Time & Place offers an intimate introduction to Richard Beard Architects through eleven elegant, site-specific homes. The firm’s work brings together regional modernism, craftsmanship, landscape and carefully considered interiors, creating residences that feel deeply connected to their surroundings.
Rather than imposing a single aesthetic, these homes demonstrate how architecture can respond to its setting; allowing materials, light, landscape and local character to become part of the design story.
Why we love it: California modernism at its most thoughtful: sophisticated, relaxed, and beautifully rooted in place.
8. CATHY KINCAID: MEMORABLE ROOMS
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Publication: September 2026
Price: $55
Texas design devotees will want this one front and center. Cathy Kincaid takes readers inside a collection of remarkable residences, exploring everything from color and textiles to materials, accessories and architectural details. Among the destinations are a Sun Valley ski retreat, Manhattan penthouse, East Hampton escape, Charlotte home and Boston townhouse.
Why we love it: Beautiful rooms—and plenty of ideas to steal.
9. THE LIBERTY SCARF
Publisher: Thames & Hudson USA
Publication: November 10, 2026
Price: $75
Few names evoke British pattern and textile tradition quite like Liberty. This beautifully illustrated volume celebrates the evolution of the Liberty scarf and the extraordinary archive of prints behind it, offering a colorful journey through more than a century of design.
Why we love it: A little bit of London style you can keep on the coffee table.
10. STUDIO VALLE DE VALLE: INTERIORS
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Publication: September 2026
Price: $75
Giancarlo Valle and Jane Keltner de Valle make their debut with ten residential projects that balance whimsy and sophistication. Richly textured surfaces, sculptural furniture, collected objects and custom pieces give the spaces a distinctly layered personality.
Why we love it: Proof that refined interiors can still have a sense of humor.
11. MAN RAY: LIBERATING PHOTOGRAPHY
Publisher: Thames & Hudson USA
Author: Timothy P. McCready
Price: $50
More than 150 photographs illuminate Man Ray’s revolutionary work in portraiture, fashion and experimental photography. With a cast of cultural legends including Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, Virginia Woolf and Lee Miller, the book transports readers into the dazzling creative world of the 1920s and ’30s.
Why we love it: Avant-garde Paris, legendary personalities and photography that still feels startlingly modern.
12. JEAN LOUIS: HOLLYWOOD’S BOMBSHELL DESIGNER
Publisher: Rizzoli USA
Author: Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha Price: $75
Jean Louis’s creations appeared in more than 180 films over three decades and produced some of the most remembered garments of Hollywood’s Golden Age. A tribute to craftsmanship, beauty, and style, the book stands as a glamorous testament to the enduring brilliance of Jean Louis and the timeless spell of Hollywood’s most radiant era.
Why we love it: The ever-present influence of Jean Louis on the modern red carpet has channeled his bombshell styles
THE CURATED TEXAN TAKE:
The great thing about a beautiful book is that it never really goes out of style.
It can transport you to Paris without a plane ticket, introduce you to a designer whose work you suddenly need to know more about, reveal the private rooms of cultural icons—or simply give your living room a little more personality.
And this fall, there is no shortage of possibilities.
Our advice? Buy the ones you think you want to give away. Then order second copies for yourself. Book karma? Absolutely.
