The best coffee table books strike a balance between form and function, offering something to return to while elevating the spaces they inhabit. Equal parts inspiration and everyday indulgence, these beautifully made volumes are designed to be lived with, picked up, shared and returned to over time. From sun-soaked escapes and iconic fashion imagery to horology, photography and the art of cooking over fire, this selection spans subjects that feel both aspirational and deeply personal.
Travel
Maçakizi: Everlasting Summer
by Assouline
Few hotels capture the spirit of a place quite like Maçakizi, the fabled hideaway on Bodrum’s turquoise coast that has quietly become a pilgrimage for the global gypset. In Maçakizi: Everlasting Summer, Assouline chronicles the world of founder Sahir Erozan and his singular vision of Mediterranean hospitality. Through evocative photography and intimate storytelling, the book reveals a hotel shaped by sun, sea, music, art and exceptional food. This is an enduring portrait of a destination where effortless glamour meets soulful simplicity.
Fashion & Jewellery
Linda Evangelista
Photographed by Steven Meisel
by Phaidon
Few photographer-muse pairings have shaped fashion imagery as profoundly as Steven Meisel and Linda Evangelista. This sumptuous monograph features more than 180 images shot over the course of their twenty-five years of collaborating. From high drama to quiet elegance, Meisel’s endlessly inventive lens captures Evangelista in a kaleidoscope of characters, each image reinforcing their rare creative alchemy and the enduring influence they still have on the fashion industry today.
Ultimate Collector Watches
by Taschen
A love letter to haute horlogerie, Ultimate Collector Watches surveys a century of the world’s most extraordinary timepieces with the eye of a true connoisseur. Across two lavish volumes, one hundred grail watches are examined in exquisite detail, from rare early minute repeaters to legendary vintage chronographs by Patek Philippe, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin, alongside masterpieces by independent greats such as Philippe Dufour and F.P. Journe. Rich photography, archival material and expert commentary reveal the artistry, precision and obsession that define the highest echelon
of watchmaking.
Gastronomy
Barbecue: Smoked & Grilled Recipes From Across the Globe
by Phaidon
Fire, smoke and a world of flavour converge in this globe-spanning ode to barbecue. Pitmaster Hugh Mangum gathers 280 recipes from more than 80 countries, charting the rich traditions of live-fire cooking from American brisket to Mexican barbacoa and Indonesian satay. With vivid photography and clear guidance, it is both a travelogue of taste and a masterclass in cooking over flame.
Interiors & Architecture
Tadao Ando: Sketches, Drawings,
and Architecture
by Taschen
Few architects have pursued the poetry of space with the discipline of Tadao Ando. This extraordinary volume gathers more than 750 sketches, models and technical drawings, offering a rare glimpse into the quiet process behind his most celebrated works. From early pencil studies to fully realised architectural plans, the book traces five decades of creativity, revealing how memory, travel, light and landscape shaped the concrete-and-glass masterpieces that define Ando’s enduring architectural language.
Pop Culture
Disney Comics Library: Carl Barks’s Donald Duck Vol. 1 (1942–1950)
by Tashen
When Carl Barks took Donald Duck from the screen to the comic page in 1942, he quietly reshaped popular culture. This meticulously restored first volume gathers the duck’s globe-trotting adventures, where humour, mischief and remarkable craftsmanship transformed the famously hot-headed duck into a literary icon. Limited to 1,000 numbered collector’s editions, the book is handsomely produced with an aluminium print cover, leatherette spine, foil embossing and slipcase — a serious object for serious Disney devotees.
Art & Design
Moments in Time: Limited Edition
by Studio South
Marking two decades of design excellence, Moments in Time: Limited Edition, charts the creative evolution of Auckland studio Studio South, tracing twenty years of work produced for some of New Zealand’s most recognisable brands. Structured across twenty chapters, one for each year, the book reflects not only the studio’s output but the culture, collaboration and curiosity that have shaped its practice.
The limited edition is lavishly presented in fluoro-orange cloth with de-bossed detailing, chrome and black foiling, Swiss-bound
exposed binding and a striking chrome die-cut dust jacket. A collector’s piece for design obsessives everywhere.
Ferrari
by Taschen
Few marques command the same reverence as Ferrari. Produced with rare access to the Ferrari Archives and private collections, this monumental volume chronicles the marque’s extraordinary story from Enzo Ferrari’s founding vision in 1947 to its modern-day dominance. Edited by renowned motorsport journalist Pino Allievi, it brings together unseen photographs, sketches and archival documents alongside a complete record of every Ferrari victory. A fitting tribute to the Cavallino Rampante’s enduring myth and mechanical brilliance.
American Art Book
by Phaidon
Ambitious in scope and beautifully democratic in spirit, The American Art Book surveys more than three centuries of artistic expression through the work of 500 influential artists. Fully revised and updated, this landmark volume moves fluidly from early colonial portraiture to the seismic shifts of Modernism and the provocations of contemporary art. Each artist is represented by a defining work and expert commentary, creating a vivid, cross-referenced portrait of America’s restless and ever-evolving creative imagination.
