TXDW Houston — William Norwich Presents The Greatest Rooms of the 20th Century at Christopher Martin Gallery

The pouring rain outside Christopher Martin Gallery couldn’t stop Texas Design Week-goers from pouring in to see William Norwich present an illustrated talk and signing of his book Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century (Phaidon). In fact, the stormy sky and sound of thunder outside made the 2,000-square-foot gallery along Upper Kirby District’s Gallery Row feel like a cozy safe haven — the perfect venue in which to hear Norwich discuss the legendary rooms. (I could listen to his soothingly captivating voice read a phonebook.)

Packing the 400 most impactful rooms from the past 100 years into a single book was a challenge in itself. Norwich, a former interior design editor for Vogue and The New York Times, described the process of distilling every interior on record from the last century to find the 400 most impactful, which he accomplished along with the help of a panel of judges comprised of about 20 interior designers and journalists. The question: “If a Martian landed in the world, what rooms would they need to know?”

Included in the tome are iconic interiors by Billy Baldwin (“the first room everybody said you have to have is Billy Baldwin’s room,” Norwich noted), Colefax & Fowler, Elsie de Wolfe, Anouska Hempel, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Donald Judd, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cy Twombly, Peggy Guggenheim, Gloria Vanderbilt, and many more.

His personal favorites? At first it seemed impossible for him to choose, but Tony Baratta’s pink home in New York City and Joe Minton’s work for Betty Blake in Dallas quickly came to mind.

Since its original publication in 2019, Phaidon has released a new version of Interiors: The Greatest Rooms of the Century with a different color cover each year. “When we hit 10 years, we’ll update it,” Norwich said. “We’ll start working on it in two years, and it will come out in three years. So, if it’s you, send me your résumé.”

PC Seen: Greeting guests were Antonio Cortz and Ally Ondarza; Bryan Huffman, Julie Koch, Janet and Tom Martin, Marc Anderson, Payne Winter, Maddy Lassetter, Martha Oti, Stephen Farish, Fay Kirby, Abigail Henningsen, Mia Bonner, Maria and George Tracy, Abier Alkhouri, Camille Scott, Helene Dameris, Carla Muñoz, Sarah Eilers, Vanessa Iturbe, John Bebout, Kimela Tipton, Mark Curtis, Melanie Turner, Janne Williams, Ruth and Neill Davis, and Scott Douglass.

Texas Design Week Houston sponsors: New Orleans Auction Galleries, Monogram Luxury Appliances, Decorative Center Houston.