Sean Scherer’s Kabinett & Kammer
“In this book, Sean Scherer shows us all how to create unique sanctuaries for ourselves…. Imaginative spaces that are authentic and honest, designed to be lived in and loved.”
— Anderson Cooper (from his foreword)
Kabinett & Kammer is equally a celebration and a practical guide to both collecting and showing how lively design can integrate disparate objects from the past into beautifully layered ensembles. Sean Scherer’s interiors feature vintage display cabinets housing discarded collections of whittled songbirds, a plethora of stunning 19th-century maps and school teaching aids, semi-tropical ferns in cast-iron planters, mysterious industrial apparatuses displayed against eye-catching colors, and photomurals. The effect is a supercharged nod to American Gothic heightened by Scherer’s sophisticated palette and sense of proportion. His interior language speaks with a calm authority coupled with a zest for life, offering invaluable lessons for composing signature, comfortable interiors.
Each photograph by leading photographer William Abranowicz is a masterclass on such topics as color and texture, focal points, and room size. Though styles fluctuate and tastes are unique, the principles of design are immutable, and good design is good design.
Sean Scherer studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art, exhibiting his work extensively throughout North America and Europe. He moved from New York to the Catskills in 2002, opening Kabinett & Kammer shortly after, and is Professor of Art at SUNY Oneonta.
William Abranowicz has been a photographer for more than 40 years. His work is in collections throughout the world and has appeared in nearly every major publication in the United States, Europe and Asia. His recent books include American Originals: Creative Interiors (Vendome) and Natural Elegance: Luxurious Mountain Living (Vendome).
Anderson Cooper is the anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360° and a correspondent for the CBS news show 60 Minutes. He is the author of Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival and The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss.
The book is a keeper. A must have on my list.
Robert Rufino, Style Director, House Beautiful
Sean Scherer curates a beguiling assemblage. . . . Expect anything from visual teaching aids to scientific ephemera.
Veranda
If you love vintage, Kabinett & Kammer offers inspiration (and looks good on the coffee table to boot).
Country Living
The Kabinett & Kammer store is a lesson in rarities. Think vintage taxidermy, old school botanical prints, 19th century furniture, specimen shells and science class models. Expect to find just as many objets d’art scattered across the pages of Scherer’s book, as well as a newfound desire to go antiquing.
How do you make the musty old world of antiques seem modern and cool? How do you stay ahead of the curve when this particular curve never really goes forward? The key is not to focus on the curve in the first place, says the cult American artist turned antiques dealer Sean Scherer, whose upstate New York antiques emporium, Kabinett & Kammer, has sold to the fashion designer Jonathan Simkhai, as well as the musician Beck.
Sean Scherer’s Kabinett & Kammer: Creating Authentic Interiors offers a refreshingly vintage-inspired, unfussy and masculine take on interior design. . . . You’ll want to add this to your library immediately.
“Anyone who has ever fallen in love with an old object will be able to relate to the book, which is filled with examples from Scherer’s beloved Catskills shop, his own home and that of famous and everyday clients. . . . Along with fascinating photos, Scherer includes advice about living with color, how to use ordinary objects in unexpected ways, how to rein in collections and hoot make the most of texture.”
Detroit News
Kabinett & Kammer, a wonderful antiques shop in upstate New York, has garnered a following around the world for owner Sean Scherer’s expertly curated cabinets of curiosities. In his book, named after the store, Sean celebrates all that is marvelous about maximalism, the art of collecting, and placing old objects together with great thought and care to make incredible displays and rooms that sing.
Homes & Antiques
“From whittled songbirds to industrial apparatus, artist Sean Scherer uses disparate historical objects and layers them into beautiful ensembles to create his interiors. This book is both a celebration of his work and a practical guide to collecting.”
The Observer Magazine