Many living interior designers can say that they have a coffee table book. But perhaps only one can say they have a trilogy: Mark D. Sikes.
Today, Sikes’s third book, Forever Beautiful, is published by Rizzoli. On the surface, it’s a chronicle of his own—and best—work. Sikes, whose clients include Nancy Meyer and First Lady Jill Biden, is a modern-day “star-corator” whose polished hallmarks include blue-and-white color palettes, nature-inspired interiors, wicker furniture, and natural fibers.
Yet it’s also a testament to the strength of contemporary American design more broadly—a term that Sikes is constantly associated with. “Starchy gingham-covered rooms; chunky spongeware; a crisp, striped cushion on a wicker chair: With his just-so brand of preppy casual, Mark D. Sikes has become a standard-bearer for great American design,” reads his AD100 profile. While European interiors have been perfected—and studied—for centuries, America’s own aesthetic is still evolving. “We just don’t have a long history ourselves,” says Sikes.
Within the pages of Forever Beautiful, however, a case study in American style soon emerges. Whereas British interiors are known for their eclecticism, and French interiors are known for their elegance, Sikes makes an argument that American interiors are known for their livability. “Good American interiors—I think of people like Mark Hampton and Billy Baldwin that really created these American interiors that were not only inspiring and elegant, but they felt comfortable,” he says. “I think that’s what we try to do with our homes and hopefully with our body of work.”
Forever Beautiful has 12 chapters, all organized by month: January begins with a home in Coral Gables, whereas by June, we’ve moved on to the Hamptons. There are several homes in California—where Sikes lives—yet also ones in Georgia’s Lowcountry, Chicago’s suburbs, and Idaho’s Sun Valley. Most importantly, there are those beyond our country’s border: August includes a house in Bermuda, showing that Sikes’s style isn’t just about what happens stateside.
Below, step into that very Caribbean home, created in the designer’s distinctive aesthetic.
