Interiors tips from Mr Ward Bennett.

Rich minimalism may sound like a little oxymoronic, but that’s the aesthetic that the interior and furniture designer Mr Ward Bennett was known for. Mr Bennett passed away in 2003, and despite his impressively large body of work, his obituaries noted that there had never been a monograph of his work. But thanks to Mr Bennett’s enduring legacy, a few dedicated admirers compiled his design achievements and created something to chart his legacy.

A self-taught polymath of design, Mr Bennett’s work is known for its unique quality of pairing austere industrialism with rococo flourishes. “He exemplified the ways in which the roles of architect and designer overlap with those of editor and curator, meticulously assembling the elements of a physical environment with combinations of his own designs and carefully chosen furniture and art, in the process showing how a range of references, drawn through the same lens, can create a seamless, timeless whole,” writes the British architect Mr John Pawson in the book’s foreword. “But always, in the end, it was the space itself that was the thing.”

Finally, as of this month, Mr Bennett will get his book. His work, known for its modernism and measured aesthetic, is celebrated in a 280-page tome edited by Ms Elizabeth Beer and Mr Brian Janusiak. Featuring photographs of apartments, penthouses and retreats in the Hamptons that Mr Bennett created for his clients, the book, simply titled Ward Bennett is a focus on the man whose work, according to The New York Times, “defined an era”.

Mr Bennett was, by turns, an architect, interior designer, craftsman, and artist. When asked what he would define his profession as, Mr Bennett had no one answer: “There are no names,” he said. “I have done architecture. I have no title. I mean, I’m a designer. So I’m an interior decorator, interior designer… I’m just a designer, and in a Renaissance sense of the word. If you’re a designer, you should be able to design everything, and I don’t know why it should stop at knives and forks or clothes or stage sets.” As such, he created work for a score of clients throughout his career, including Mr David Rockefeller and his Chase Manhattan Bank, Tiffany & Co, and the famous industrialist (and one of MR PORTER’s favourite Italian style icons) Mr Gianni Agnelli.

To capture all of Mr Bennett’s design talents, the book is divided threefold into the following sections: architecture and interiors; furniture and textiles; and objects. Because Mr Bennett was so prolific in his work and applied his flair to multiple disciplines, there’s a fair amount we can learn from him. Scroll down for three tips we’ve gleaned from the book.

The topical decluttering consultant Ms Marie Kondo might have found a likeminded friend in Mr Bennett: “His possessions were pared back to things that were both necessary and personally meaningful, on the basis that anything else is ‘just trash’,” writes Mr Pawson. As such, he is often known for his minimalism, but his aesthetic is a little more nuanced than that. “Simply to label Bennett a minimalist would be selling him short,” writes Ms Pilar Viladas in an essay included in the book. “He could find beauty in mundane industrial forms and materials, but also in gilded antique candlesticks and Ellsworth Kelly drawings… Bennett preferred less furniture rather than more, designing banquettes, seating platforms, and conversation pits to emphasise the architecture of the space rather than just its contents.” Simple, but with soul.

“A chair is made to support the adult frame as a seashell supports a snail or a pea pod supports a pea,” said Mr Bennett. “The shape of a chair should be determined by the mass it is intended to support.” So whether you’re entertaining gastropods, spherical green vegetables, or just people with rather large backsides, make sure your chairs can actually seat those who will be using them. And not just that, but treat them as artwork: “Whether making sculpture, designing space, or designing a chair, it is my desire to make the form as poetic as possible. Chairs are especially important to me. Chairs are sculpture.”

Mr Bennett could never be accused of designing with style over substance, and stressed the importance of utilitarianism as well as aesthetic. “Having worked in stone, metal, glass, leather, and wood, my goal is to understand the essence of each material: to comprehend its inner strength; to respect its organic integrity,” said Mr Bennett. “And, it is to understand well a utilitarian object’s intended purpose. For it will be truly beautiful only as it is truly useful.”

Ward Bennett (Phaidon) by Ms Elizabeth Beer and Mr Brian Janusiak, with an essay by Ms Pilar Viladas is published 6 November