PAD: THE GUIDE TO ULTRA-LIVING (2008)

Maranian's design sentiment is clearly influenced by his performance-artist and drag-queen friends, whose glittery, leopard-spotted digs are proudly showcased here. His garish book includes how-tos on creating an opium-den flame pit, a Barbarella-inspired bedroom (''wall-to-wall, super-shaggy girl-pad spaceship''), even a marabou-trimmed toilet-paper cozy. And who would have thought hubcaps could be used to brighten up a space? If nothing else, this vamp approach to decorating might be a good nudging for those friends who still have plastic-framed Monet posters hanging dejectedly on their walls. B