Book ‘Em: Bucking the Trend with Deborah Buck

Second in a series.

We like books. We like designers and antiques, vintage and decorative arts dealers. We like designers, antiques, vintage and decorative arts dealers who like books. So let’s benefit from not simply picking these professionals’ brains, but by picking their books as well. And while we’re at it, why not ask for their own snaps of their own bookshelves, too?

This fall designer Deborah Buck demonstrated that a creative buck stops at her door—her new door. After eight years at 1264 Madison Avenue, she relocated her shop, Buck House, to bigger digs—1,800 square feet plus a charming garden—at 1318 Madison Avenue (between 93rd and 94 Streets), consolidating her antique and vintage shop with her appointment-only Gallery at Buck House.

“I’m thrilled to combine the cozy, jewel-box quality of my original shop with the minimalist salon aspect of The Gallery,” says Buck, who recently published a coffee-table book, Tableau, and who does not shy away from bold stripes, her signature being a burgundy and deep turquoise (“Buck House blue!”) combo. “Buck House has become a destination because clients know they can take a chance and have fun with their interiors without losing their children’s tuition. There’s highbrow and lowbrow, but my requisite is that the object must appeal to me, be well made and have design integrity.”

An artist in her own right, Buck sees herself as both an art dealer and educator as well. “The Gallery at Buck House opened up a world of exhibitions, seminars and book signings,” she says.

“I realized that the part of the business that excited me the most was when I was able to collaborate with other dealers, other arts professionals, artists and artisans.” Her next scheduled event is designer Juan Montoya’s book signing on Thursday, December 3rd

Chez Buck House, prices run the gamut, from as little as $225 for a collection of West German ceramics from the 1960s to a pair of custom Le Corbusier LC3 love seat sofas for $8,5000. But Deborah Buck’s book picks are priceless.

All photos are taken by Buck of her bookcases.

Inspiration:
1. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
2. The Family of Man by Edward Steichen.
3. The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman.
4. The Red Couch by Kevin Clarke and Horst Wackerbarth, text by William Least Heat Moon.
5. Eva Hesse Sculpture by Elisabeth Sussman and Fred Wasserman.

Reference:
1. The Grammar of Ornament: All 100 Color Plates from the Folio Edition of the Great Victorian Sourcebook of Historic Design by Owen Jones.
2. Anxious Visions: Surrealist Art by Sidra Stich.
3. American Folk Painters of Three Centuries by Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong.
4. Mythology by Edith Hamilton.
5. Five Hundred Years of Art and Illustration by Howard Simon.