In the fourth edition of World’s Best – Interiors From Around the Globe series the journey continues through some of the most remarkable residential projects created by leading architects and interior designers across the world.

This new addition to the series brings together around 80 carefully selected features, each offering a unique perspective on contemporary living. From serene urban apartments to expansive countryside homes, the projects presented here reflect a rich diversity of styles, cultures, and design philosophies. A range of inspiring interiors is explored: a refined residence in São Paulo shaped by natural materials and quiet restraint, a sculptural villa in Amman where art and architecture intertwine, a light-filled San Francisco Pied-à-terre blending heritage and modernity, a relaxed Californian home in Los Angeles, a carefully restored Edwardian town home, and many more distinctive spaces across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and beyond. 

Photographs taken during Grierson’s wanderings in Mexico and Guatemala in the late Eighties, and Nineties. While continuing his preoccupations, from where he’d left off several years earlier (his RCA work), Grierson was now met with a different reality, and a fresh challenge. Would the post modernist, formalist playfulness, in his earlier work, continue within this new third world environment? We are always ultimately shaped by our environment, but within the work, the environment is also shaped by both the photographer’s own subjectivity and the medium itself. ‘Grierson indeed is a particular kind of witness and his work is as much about the medium as the world’, (Gerry Badger).
Putting away his flash gun (which had characterized much of his earlier work), in respect for the indigenous people, he wanders through Central America, recording his interactions on b/w film. The resulting emotive images, have a strong sence of humanity, but they are never sentimental, and their power still owes much to Grierson’s formalist eye, and the subtle, yet visceral connections between the objects and people, within each frame. 

The World’s Best Ski & Design Hotels is the third volume in a series of travel books that highlight design-forward destinations offering distinct experiences for their guests. The World’s Best Ski & Design Hotels features around 30 retreats for ski-enthusiasts who appreciate great architecture, intimate interiors and unforgettable adventures among the world’s greatest mountain ranges. This collection of hotels provides the perfect escape for design devotees looking for a relaxing winter retreat, showcasing hotels that blend luxury with the pristine beauty of the snow-covered landscapes. Dream away with this book full of fantastic photos that will take you to places you didn’t even know existed.

Long considered anonymous, a striking portrait of an old man in the Kunsthistorisches Museum is now attributed to the Baroque genius Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a rare and remarkable discovery. Almost life-size, the bust grips viewers with its piercing gaze and palpable presence. Bernini, famed creator of Apollo and Daphne and architect of St. Peter’s Square, is known to have painted only for his own pleasure, and fewer than twenty works survive as autograph paintings. This book traces the thrilling investigation behind the attribution and reveals how Bernini infused paint with sculptural force, redefining the boundaries between painting and sculpture.

Stax Records: Making Soul Music and Breaking Boundaries tells the story of the origins and early years of Stax Records through the archive of photographer Bill Carrier Jr., featuring over 30 Stax superstars and the moments that made the label famous.

Founded by visionary Jim Stewart as a country music label in a Black neighborhood in segregated Memphis, and co-owned with his sister, Estelle Axton, Stax would become a beacon for the unifying force of music, transcending racial divides. The label’s legendary in-house bands, with their basslines, organs and horn sections, backed up a roster of headliners that included Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & The M.G.’s, producing a string of anthems that changed American music and soundtracked an era of civil rights and social revolution.

From the ground-breaking Stax/Volt Revue European Tour to the tragic deaths of Otis Redding and members of the Bar-Kays in 1967, this volume covers the highs and lows of the label’s historic rise and heyday, showcasing the people behind one of the most important eras in popular music and American cultural history.

Written by Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop editor-at-large, Gail Mitchell, with a foreword by award-winning songwriter and former Stax publicity director Deanie Parker.

In Curandera Hera with Zuess and a PBJ, as with much of Larissa Bates’s work, the artist conjures a mythic familial past in which fantasy and lived experience coalesce. Drawing on influences as varied as Leonora Carrington, Persian miniature painting, and Mexican biombo screens, Bates mines her bicultural upbringing, bridging the cloud forests of Costa Rica with rural Vermont to create richly patterned, dreamlike paintings that defy categorization.

Larissa Bates was born in Burlington in 1981, and grew up between Vermont and San Rafael de Vara Blanca, Costa Rica. She has had solo exhibitions nationally and internationally, including Monya Rowe Gallery (New York), GNYP Gallery (Berlin), Richard Heller Gallery (Los Angeles). In 2026 she had her first museum solo exhibition at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

This visually rich monograph explores the ceramic practice of Jane Yang D’Haene, whose work bridges memory, material, and identity through clay. Accompanied by immersive photography throughout, the book traces Yang D’Haene’s journey from architecture and interior design to ceramics, revealing an artistic language shaped by Korean heritage, diasporic experience, and deeply personal transformation.

Structured through a series of poetic and critical chapters—including reflections on moon jars, glaze, painting, transition, and studio practice—the book moves between intimate autobiography and broader cultural inquiry. Yang D’Haene writes with lyrical sensitivity about loss, displacement, ritual, and the search for balance between past and present. Her vessels emerge not simply as objects, but as emotional and psychological landscapes that hold both remembrance and reinvention.

Essays by Glenn Adamson and Hyeyoung Cho situate her work within contemporary ceramic discourse, abstraction, and the evolving condition of diasporic identity. Together, the texts illuminate a practice rooted equally in disciplined craftsmanship and conceptual openness.

More than a survey of ceramic works, this book is a meditation on endurance, material memory, and the quiet possibilities of making. Through clay, Yang D’Haene creates a space where Korea and America, grief and beauty, silence and expression coexist in delicate equilibrium.

Tales in Ink by Rob Walbers and Bart Luijten is a visually and conceptually rich exploration of identity, creativity, and self-expression through the art of tattooing. This loose-leaf publication brings together a series of intimate portraits and conversations with renowned figures from the creative world from Tokyo to Los Angeles, who share personal stories about how their tattoos have become integral to whom they are. Each interview delves into the symbolic meaning behind their ink, revealing how body art can reflect transformation, personality, memory, or artistic philosophy. Beyond documentation, the book’s graphic design introduces a new visual dialogue, merging photography, typography, and illustration into a layered aesthetic that treats each page as a living canvas — a “new tattoo” in itself. By intertwining word, image, and design, Tales in Ink transcends the boundaries of traditional portraiture and celebrates tattoo culture as a profound expression of creative identity and individuality.

Text in English and Japanese.

Cécile Plaisance is a French contemporary artist renowned for her pop, glamorous, and provocative visual universe. Her monumental lenticular works play with movement, revelation, and transformation depending on the viewing angle. She explores themes of femininity, desire, and women’s freedom. Her creations combine humor, sensuality, and social critique while maintaining a strong aesthetic dimension. In particular, she questions the hyper-sexualisation of the female body and the contradictions of contemporary society. Cécile Plaisance exhibits internationally, from Paris to Miami, London to Las Vegas, Venice to Los Angeles.

Text in English and French.

Nicola Samorì (Forlì, 1977) is one of the most innovative contemporary artists, known for his profound dialog with Western visual tradition. Through a process of excavation and rewriting, Samorì transforms the classical into a field of tension, challenging the apparent immutability of art. Classical Collapse is a unique exhibition project connecting Milan and Naples, bringing together the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in a journey through more than fifty works by the artist, displayed alongside masterpieces from the permanent collections. The exhibition explores themes such as matter and illusion, creation and ruin, body and spirit, investigating the continuous metamorphosis of classical art and the vitality of cultural heritage. The accompanying volume includes essays by Demetrio Paparoni, Alberto Rocca and Eike Schmidt, directors of the hosting institutions, as well as contributions by writer Antonio Moresco and theologian and art critic Friedhelm Mennekes, offering an in-depth reflection on Samorì’s practice and his ability to inspire a renewed vision of art.

Tomokazu Matsuyama (b. 1976, Gifu, Japan) is a Brooklyn-based artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, and installation, blending and reimagining visual languages across eras and cultures—ancient and contemporary, figurative and abstract, Eastern and Western—to examine identity within today’s information-driven world. 

Recent solo exhibitions include Morning Sun at the Edward Hopper House Museum, Liberation Back Home at the SCAD Museum of Art, and FIRST LAST at Azabudai Hills Gallery in Tokyo. His works are held in prominent private and institutional collections globally, including the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, ICA Miami, and many more.

Barry McGee, born in San Francisco in 1966, began his art practice tagging subway cars and alley walls under the name “Twist” before receiving a BFA in painting and printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute. He became a founding figure of the Mission School, a loose circle of artists who brought the visual language of the street, the sign shop, and the skate deck into serious painting. 

He participated in the Venice Biennale in 2001 and received a major retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum in 2012 that traveled throughout the United States. His work now sits in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; the Fondazione Prada, Venice; and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, among others.

Micronesia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Bora Bora, Seychelles, Maldives, Australia – where does the mind go when imagining such places. Drawn from the best travel blogs and Instagram images, this book brings together the most beautiful locations near, on, or under water. From eco resorts to remote, pristine islands; from sailing on ultra-blue oceans to diving in translucent waters; in aerial and underwater photography, the focus is on finding paradise. Whether thinking about a trip or longing for sun and sand, this book is where those daydreams begin.

Looking for 5 classic places to eat a Francesinha?

What are the 5 coolest spots to grab a coffee? 

Where in Porto can you find 5 projects by Eduardo Souto de Moura?

What are the 5 quirkiest sights in the city?

Which are the 5 best museums for curious visitors?

Visit Portugal’s second city in the footsteps of the sisters Joana and Sofia de Lacerda. They were born and raised in Porto. Through their website they share their pick of places to stay, and places to visit in their hometown, and the rest of Portugal.

In this guide, they have compiled their local expertise for visitors who want to discover the lesser-known spots of Porto, and for locals who want to get to know their city even better. 500 addresses and facts in total, presented in original lists of 5.

Includes maps and an index.

Hidden Malta gives visitors an opportunity to explore the hidden gems of the Maltese archipelago. Beyond the thriving main streets that attract the tourist crowds, there are so many other places waiting to be discovered, including churches, small museums, and places to eat, where you can meet and connect with locals. The guide also covers Malta’s many annual festivals and traditions, with historical re-enactments, wine, beer and music festivals, as well as food fairs held in various parts of the islands throughout the year.
In this alternative guide to Malta, licensed tourist guide Vincent Zammit pays tribute to the islands that he knows intimately, choosing to highlight places that are not well-known or frequented by visitors to Malta, giving them the opportunity to discover these well-kept secrets and the Malta that he loves.
Also available: Hidden Belgium, Hidden Scotland, Hidden Holland, Hidden Brooklyn, Hidden Tenerife. Discover the series: the500hiddensecrets.com

“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.” – The Independent

Where are the 5 best places to eat like a Portuguese? Which are the 5 best restaurants for Petiscos? Where can you find the nicest salons and barber shops? Which are the 5 best places to see Azulejos? Where will you find the most unique lifts and elevators? The best Lisbon area beaches? The 500 Hidden Secrets of Lisbon reveals these good-to-know places and many more. An affectionate and informed guide to Lisbon, written by a true local.

This is a book for visitors who want to avoid the usual tourist spots and for residents who are keen to track down the city’s best-kept secrets.

This revised and updated guide is journalist Derek Blyth’s personal ode to the most beautiful and intriguing spots in what he calls “the world’s strangest country”. He shares hundreds of places to go, things to do and interesting facts, presented in original lists such as: art in unexpected places, haunting war cemeteries, roadside fries stands, unique shop interiors, and lovely secret gardens. You’ll discover bizarre but fascinating places like an abandoned car factory and a dreamy castle full of hidden messages, as well as amazing contemporary architecture and the most authentic cafes to drink a Belgian beer. Hidden Belgium is the perfect companion for those who wish to explore Belgium off the beaten track, in all its splendor and quirkiness. Even long-time residents are bound to discover many hidden gems thanks to this one-of-a-kind guide. 

Also available: Hidden Holland, Hidden Scotland, Hidden Brooklyn, Hidden Tenerife, Hidden Malta. Discover the series: the500hiddensecrets.com

What are the best burger joints in San Francisco? Which local craft breweries are worth visiting? Where should you go to find the coolest surf gear? The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco is the perfect guide for anyone who’s keen to explore the city’s best-kept secrets. It guides the reader to the places not typically included in tourist guides. Like a secret fairy door in Golden Gate Park or the truly steepest hills in the city. At the same time, it also lists fantastic places frequented by San Francisco residents, like where to shop for local goods and antiques, or where to go for a fabulous brunch and the best craft cocktails in the city. Packed with hundreds of places to go, things to do, and good-to-know facts about the city, The 500 Hidden Secrets of San Francisco will help you make the most of your visit to one of the United States’ coolest towns.

Discover the series at the500hiddensecrets.com

Hidden Holland is an alternative travel guide with inspiring stories about approximately 380 different and unexpected places all around the country. This guide entreats you to leave the beaten path, pointing you to locations that many people didn’t even know existed. Such as a forest full of miniature waterworks, a cellar with a mummy in a small Frisian church and secret NATO headquarters.

This guide introduces you to the lesser-known charms of the Netherlands through surprising places presented in original lists, such as: 5 artworks in unexpected locations, the 7 most authentic pubs, 5 cool repurposed industrial heritage sites, 6 local specialities you should try, and much more.

“A collection of glamorous lodgings offering what Scarabeo Camp in Morocco calls “dusty luxury.” — Remodelista

“Celebrates the solitude of the desert and extraordinary places to stay.” — Wallpaper
The desert offers the great benefits of silence, slowness and space. These startling landscapes and awe-inspiring vistas can only be found in a few places in the world. Accompanied by stunning photography, this book bundles together 40 dreamy locations in one volume and shows the most luxurious and special overnight stays the desert has to offer. Get insider tips on travel to the Sahara in Morocco, the salt flats (Salar de Uyuni) in Bolivia or the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, among others.

This alternative guidebook is travel writer Ellie Walker-Arnott’s personal ode to her stunning and always intriguing home country. She takes you off the beaten track to hundreds of curious and unexpected places and reveals hidden places that tell an interesting story and will make you marvel. The book covers an eclectic range of alluring themes such as seaside secrets, historic spas, modernist architecture, adrenaline adventures, chocolate-box villages, sleepovers in incredible buildings and many more.

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Seattle reveals 500 off-the-beaten-track places and interesting details for anyone who’s keen to explore Seattle’s best-kept secrets, e.g. 5 great places for seafood, 5 places to satisfy your sweet tooth, 5 great LGBTQ+ bars, the 5 best views in the city, 5 quirky buildings and structures, 5 swimming spots for hot days, 5 great birding spots… and much more.