The moment you step foot in my home you are greeted with a teensy glimpse of my book collection. I love books. The bigger and thicker, the better. But what does it take to make it to my entrance console? Great photography and incredible content. Large scale never hurt either. 

Today's tabletop mix offers a few favorites... Parisian Interiors (a must-have design book if there ever was one), Classical Chinese Furniture (a beautiful reference book that will give you a much better appreciation for the origin of Eastern influences on furniture) and a massive tome on one of my idols, Leonardo da Vinci. 

The key to hoarding, I mean owning, books? Surround yourself with books you love. Don't invest in them solely for their popularity (Tom Ford book, anyone?) or good looks. Books should inspire and inform. Yes, they make fantastic looking accessories, no one can argue that. Yet there's an authenticity that comes through when you have read them or at least gazed longingly at their beautiful photography. Fortunately, most design books practically beg to be flipped through and admired before placing them carefully on the shelf or tabletop. 

In the case of Parisian Interiors, you'll want to keep it at the top of your stack. I assure you, anyone with an interest in architecture or design will pull it our repeatedly just to search for inspiration. This book is loaded with fantastic photography of no less than twenty private Paris residences. It's a keeper!