Monica Khemsurov - How to Live with Objects : A Guide to More Meaningful Interiors

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we must thank our agent, the indefatigable Kitty Cowles, who was the first person to help us understandnay, demand!that we had a book in us that needed to come out. As two people who never had a business plan for Sight Unseen, this was an unexpected but welcome detour. Thank you, Kitty, for cheerleading us, for being an incredibly wise sounding board, and for making this unfamiliar process as painless as possible. Never in a million years did we think wed be spending that first pandemic summer writing a book proposal, but you made it happen.

To our editor, Angelin Borsics: Thank you for believing in this book from the beginning. From the very first call we had with you, it was clear that youmore than anyone else we spoke withtruly understood our vision, which was the motivation we needed to stay true to it from start to finish. You trusted us every step of the way, and youve been the best collaborator we could have dreamed of having the pleasure to work with on this project.

To our photographer, Charlie Schuck: This book would not be what it is without your unerring eyeand your framing of shots on an iPhone, our favorite new trick! Thank you for your creativity, your hard work, your flexibility, and your easy photographer banter, which helped our subjects feel more involved in the process. (Also thank you for your harebrained business schemes; we have so many ideas now for new Sight Unseen verticals.) Most of all, thank you for your ability to get the perfect shot, 100 percent of the time.

To our designer, Clmentine Berry of Twice Studio: Thank you for bringing such sophistication and taste to our beautiful design. You understood the aesthetic and overall vibe we were going for instantly. We love the details that make this book feel so very Sight Unseen.

To our art director, Mia Johnson: Thank you for your infinite patiencesorting through literally thousands of images with us, not raising an eyebrow when we wanted to change the color scheme for the tenth time, and letting us truly be involved in the process from start to finish. Your deft eye, your systemic thinking, your generosity, and your commitment made our vision for this book come alive.

To the rest of the team at Clarkson Potter, especially the crack marketing and publicity duo of Allison Renzulli and Jana Branson: Thank you so much for all your help bringing this book from a mere Google Doc to an actual thing out in the world! Were so excited to be part of the family.

To our impeccable stylists: Tessa Watson, we learned so much from traveling all over New York and Los Angeles with youincluding that you can simply go out onto a Brooklyn street and snip a flowering branch to style a vase with?! Also, thanks to you, we will never again arrive at a photoshoot without a microfiber cloth in hand. It was so fun seeing these homes through your eyes. Thank you as well to Katie Phillips for having the foresight and professionalism to show up to all of our shoots in London with 50 pounds of art books and houseplantsand carry them up several flights of stairsjust to make absolutely sure you brought the magic (which you did).

Thank you to eBay, which not only helped make this book possible but also is probably the reason we know so much about vintage furniture and objects in the first place. The original inspo site.

Thank you to Mortlach Scotch Whisky for your tireless patronage of the design world and for making it possible for us to celebrate this book in style.

Thank you to Crculo Mexicano, whose Shaker-inspired rooms created a sense of calm during four hectic days in Mexico City. Thank you to Silverlake Pool & Inn and Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles for their hospitalityand their swimming pools.

Thank you to Rago/Wright in Chicago and to 1stDibs, which graciously allowed us to use so many photos from their incredible vintage catalogs.

Thank you so much to the subjects featured in this book, who allowed us to invade their homes, ransack their bookshelves, move their furniture around, and photograph the beautiful ways theyve chosen to live.

Thank you to the many people who helped Sight Unseen become what it is todaywithout the support of our colleagues in the design world, and the inspiration of the many designers weve had the pleasure of featuring and collaborating with over the years, we would have never stuck with it long enough to grow this little hobby of ours into a global authority on great objects. Championing the work of young designers is something of our lives mission, and you make it possible. And a special thank-you to Julie Lasky, who hired us both at I.D. magazine nearly twenty years ago, for being our first editor and championyou are the reason we met, escaped the misogyny of corporate publishing, and created Sight Unseen in the first place.

Jill would like to thank her family and friends: Brad, who gave me, and always gives me, the time and space and support I needed to work on this project; Mom, Dad, and Emily for listening and being Sight Unseens biggest fans; and Jonah and Isabel for their patience, good humor, and giggles. Thanks to my beloved Core 4, who provided me with music and friendship for, at minimum, two to four hours a day during the first year of putting together this book. Thanks to our Fanellis chat, which provided a steady stream of memes, gossip, and other distractions, plus what feels like an eternity of encouragement. Thanks to Kelsey for always being a perfect authority on fonts (and everything else). And thanks to SP, who definitely always believed I was an authority on taste, ever since the days of the blue fleece.

Monica would like to thank: My family for being an unfailing support system and always answering my phone calls, and my friends for cheerleading and helping me stay excited about this book, even when I was so wrapped up in it I couldnt see beyond the edge of my laptop. Special thanks go to Nancy Einhart for the guestroom where I holed up for four days and wrote a large chunk of this book.

Lastly, we would like to thank the many readers and fans of Sight Unseen. Weve been doing this for a long time, and there would be no point or value to what we do if not for those of you who have ever read a story, come to an exhibition, liked an Instagram post, bought an SU Friends membership, worn an Offsite tote, sent us a submission, linked to us on your blog (lets get old-school here), or simply told a friend how much you enjoy what we do. This book is for you.

Spiral Floor Lamp by Rooms Studio, 2017

A bathroom lined in Marmoreal by Max Lamb for Dzek in the Los Angeles home of Yoram Heller and Eleanor Wells

About the Authors

Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer are cofounders of the online magazine Sight Unseen , one of the most influential design publications in the United States. Former editors of I.D. magazine, they also work as freelance writers, curators, and consultants. Khemsurov is a contributing editor for T: The New York Times Style Magazine and a contributor to Bon Apptit , Bloomberg Businessweek , and W , while Singers writing has appeared in PIN-UP , Elle Dcor , T: The New York Times Style Magazine , W , and more. Both live and work in New York City.