A Life Well Lived

In his deeply personal new tome, American design icon Ralph Lauren reflects on the meaning of home

- By Sam Cochran

When it comes to interior design, Ralph Lauren would be hard-pressed to pinpoint any one passion. "I have never followed architectural rules or chosen one decorative theme," he admits. "I love contemporary. I love American Country, the Southwest, Bauhaus." Over the course of his legendary career, that polyglot sensibility has informed every aspect of his work and life, from his runway shows to his own residences and collections. "I don't care if a thing is English, French, antique, or modern. It's whatever appeals to my eye." Put simply, he adds, "I'm a romantic."

Those words, among many other intimate musings, resonate powerfully in the style icon's new book, Ralph Lauren: A Way of Living (Rizzoli). Published on the 40th anniversary of Ralph Lauren Home, the volume both surveys the designer's own abodes and chronicles the evolution of his trailblazing lifestyle brand launched in 1983 as a furnishings extension to his fashion empire. "Our homes are a canvas for living," he writes. "Whether we live in the city, the country, on a farm, at the beach, in a penthouse or cabin, each is home and tells our story."