ART, DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, FASHION
Scouting bookshops is one of my favorite things to do, especially shops that specialize in art, design, photography and travel. Each shop has a distinct personality and I love to see how the owners’ choices (in books and décor) express that identity. Here are the Best Design Bookstores Around the World… Luckily, the list keeps getting longer..
BEST DESIGN BOOKSTORES AROUND THE WORLD
For those who love design and architecture books, here is a list of the Best Design Bookstores Around the World.
COPYRIGHT BOOKSHOP
Designed by one of the great Belgian designers, Vincent Van Duysen, full from floor to ceiling of gorgeous design books and connected to a museum— Copyright Bookshop in Antwerp, Belgium is perfect. The collection of books is astounding, but not overwhelming. Design, art, architecture, graphic design, photography books— the usuals, plus more obscure titles.
MENDO
This Amsterdam bookstore is in the fashionable Nine Streets area. The shop is just as chic as you would expect. It has dark walls that showcase the vibrant coffee table books beautifully. Titles on fashion, travel, photography, graphic design & architecture.
DAUNT
Initially started as a shop for travel books, this London chain has expanded into other genres, but still retains its travel focus. It has guides, phrasebooks, history and fiction grouped by country. They often host talks by authors. Daunt has branches in Marylebone, Chelsea, Holland Park, Cheapside, Hampstead and Belsize Park. The Marylebone High Street branch was built in 1912 and is famous for its long oak shelves, skylights and Edwardian architecture.
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This Notting Hill, London spot is more of a café/concept shop than a bookstore, but it has a nice collection of design books. Eat, drink & shop here.
BJORK
Cool, minimal concept shop in Florence, Italy with clothing and accessories downstairs and a nice book and magazine collection in the loft. Fashion, design, art, architecture and photography tomes.
YSL MUSEUM SHOP
As the name implies, this store is an ode to Yves St. Laurent. For his fans, this small shop next to the YSL Museum in Marrakech, Morocco has copies of his sketchbooks, biographies, and coffee table books of his designs.
STOUT ARCHITECTURAL BOOKS
For architecture buffs, this San Francisco store is everything. It is filled from floor to ceiling with 70,000 titles in the fields of architecture, urban planning, furniture and interior design, landscape design and art. It has a clean, beautiful layout which is organized in an easy to navigate way. This shop also carries rare, out-of-print books.
ARCANA
This Los Angeles shop is a wonderland for those who love art, design, architecture and photography. Simple, clean and beautiful inside– I could spend hours here wandering from shelf to shelf.
MAST
An East Village, New York shop that is spare, curated and just plain cool. They have a nice selection of poetry, art, design, architecture, feminist & photography books, plus interesting vintage magazines (like Interview magazines from the 80’s).
ALABASTER BOOKSHOP
A tiny bookshop packed from floor to ceiling with used art, design, poetry, classics and more. If you are looking for a rare book, you just might find it here. In New York City.
DASHWOOD BOOKS
Tucked under a sidewalk on very fashionable Bond Street, this small New York bookshop is where those in the know look for hard-to-come-by titles. Collectors, art directors and artists come here for limited edition books on design, fashion, photography, graphic design, youth culture and art.
ROMAN WILLIAMS GUILD
This is technically a design shop attached to a beautiful French restaurant and flower shop, but it is so much more. Everything in this downtown New York shop is stunning. And I mean STUNNING. Downstairs is a small, but beautiful library with gorgeous books. It’s worth a look- for some design inspiration.
MCNALLY JACKSON
My idea of the perfect bookstore- large enough to have what you are looking for, but small enough to feel personal and cozy, AND a cute cafe. A bonus- an exhaustive selection of journals, sketchbooks and planners. New York.
THE END
Do you have any other favorite bookshops we should add to the list of Best Design Bookstores Around the World? Let us know! For a list of the most Beautiful Design Shops in New York, click here.
