The Decoration of Houses


Book Description




Classical Principles for Modern Design


Book Description

Interior designer and decorative arts historian Thomas Jayne takes on the redoubtable Edith Wharton and her co-author Ogden Codman, whose 1897 book The Decoration of Houses is acknowledged as the Bible of American interior design. Wharton and Codman advocated for classical simplicity and balance, replacing the excesses of the Gilded Age. In Jayne’s view, “The Decoration of Houses is the level-headed, indispensable book on the subject. It is not an overstatement to say that it is the most important decorating book ever written.” How much of Wharton and Codman’s advice and how many of their principles are still applicable today? In Classical Principles for Modern Design, Jayne argues that Wharton and Codman’s fundamental ideas about the proportion and planning of space create the most harmonious and livable interiors, whether traditional or contemporary. His authoritative and engaging text traces contemporary ideas about design elements and furnishing rooms back to Wharton and Codman and shows where his design approach coincides and where it diverges from their views. The book follows the chapter organization of The Decoration of Houses—chapters on walls, doors, windows and curtains, ceilings and floors, etc.—and adds important new perspectives on the design of kitchens and the use of color, both major subjects that Wharton and Codman did not address. Drawing on his own work at Jayne Design Studio, Jayne has selected elegant, traditional interiors that demonstrate these principles. Projects range from a restoration of historic eighteenth-century public rooms in Crichel House in Dorset, England, to a mountain retreat in the wilds of Montana to an array of luxurious New York City apartments and country houses in the Hudson Valley. Captured in lush photographs by Don Freeman and others, all speak to Thomas Jayne’s commitment to the primacy of function, quality, and simplicity, derived from the ancient tradition of classical design. As he says, “Tradition is not about what was. Tradition is now.”




Ogden Codman and the Decoration of Houses


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An appreciation of the renowned decorator.




The Houses of Roman Italy, 100 B.C.–A.D. 250


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"Extensively documented with well-chosen, good quality photographs, Clarke's book effectively surveys these representative examples from the Late Republic to the Late Empire, illustrating the shift in the agendas of decoration as well as in the patterns of the lives played out behind closed doors within these highly charged domestic interiors."—Richard Brilliant, author of Visual Narratives: Storytelling in Etruscan & Roman Art "An enlightening and engaging walk through Roman cultural history. . . .This book will be essential to anyone interested in the classical past, in artistic ensembles, or in the experience of architecture."—Diane Favro, University of California, Los Angeles "Real experts in Roman painting are few. This book should be very welcome to Roman art historians and social historians wanting to present this material to their students."—Eleanor Winsor Leach, author of The Rhetoric of Space




Creating a New Old House


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Through hundreds of inspiring photos and engaging text, the author describes what gives traditional homes their enduring appeal, and illustrates the creative work of builders who are forging the movement toward building new homes that capture old-home sensibility.




The House in Good Taste


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Exterior Decoration


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The popular language of status-conscious architecture is explored in this account of the notorious do-it-yourself remodels clustered on the fringe of Beverly Hills in West Hollywood. These former stucco bungalows have been transformed by their owners into distinctive visual statements. As if they were stage sets, the exteriors of these houses have been treated as interiors, with urns and finials placed on rooftops like bibelots on a mantel, and windows and panels of trellis arranged as though they were pictures on a wall. The result is a lively architectural vernacular, well documented with before and after photos, interviews, and construction details.




The Decoration of Houses


Book Description

The Decoration of Houses isa significant bookof interior design written by Edith Wharton with architect Ogden Codman and was first published in 1897. Both authors were members of the upper crust of society in New York.




The Buccaneers


Book Description

Edith Wharton's spellbinding final novel tells a story of love in the gilded age that crosses the boundaries of society—soon to be an original series on AppleTV+! “Brave, lively, engaging...a fairy-tale novel, miraculouly returned to life.”—The New York Times Book Review Set in the 1870s, the same period as Wharton's The Age of Innocence, The Buccaneers is about five wealthy American girls denied entry into New York Society because their parents' money is too new. At the suggestion of their clever governess, the girls sail to London, where they marry lords, earls, and dukes who find their beauty charming—and their wealth extremely useful. After Wharton's death in 1937, The Christian Science Monitor said, "If it could have been completed, The Buccaneers would doubtless stand among the richest and most sophisticated of Wharton's novels." Now, with wit and imagination, Marion Mainwaring has finished the story, taking her cue from Wharton's own synopsis. It is a novel any Wharton fan will celebrate and any romantic reader will love. This is the richly engaging story of Nan St. George and Guy Thwarte, an American heiress and an English aristocrat, whose love breaks the rules of both their societies.




Interior Design Master Class


Book Description

With one hundred essays from one hundred interior designers, spanning stylistic genres from classic to modern, on subjects as varied as "Collecting," "White," "Portals," and "Layering", this book highlights the knowledge, experience, expertise, insight, and work of established design legends, as well as members of the new guard, spanning over four decades of work. Unique in the quality of its contributors, this book will be a landmark publication in the field, helpful and inspirational for the home decorator, as well as students of design and design professionals. Poised to become the essential book on design, Interior Design Master Class collects the expertise and knowledge of the best interior designers working today. Opening Interior Design Master Class is like sitting down to the best dinner party you’ve ever attended. A classic in the making, the book features one hundred essays by America’s top designers—from established design legends to members of the new guard—that explore in detail the process of designing a home, from the fundamentals to the finishing touches. Grouped by theme, the subjects range from practical considerations (Bunny Williams on "Comfort," Etienne Coffinier and Ed Ku on "Floor Plans") and details (Victoria Hagan on "Light," Rose Tarlow on "Books") to inspiration (Jeffrey Bilhuber on "America" and Charlotte Moss on "Couture") and style (Kelly Wearstler on "Glamour," Thomas O’Brien on "Vintage Modern"). Each piece is paired with images of the designer’s work to illustrate the principles being discussed, annotated with informative captions.Unique in the quality of its contributors, this is a book that readers will refer to again and again for advice and inspiration, an invaluable resource for practical tips and thought-provoking design. Select Contributors and their Topics: Vicente Wolf on Teachers; Barry Dixon on Relationships; Barbara Barry on Awareness; Amanda Nisbet on Intuition; Madeline Stuart on Trends; Suzanne Tucker on Archaeology; Bobby McAlpine on Intimacy; Stephen Sills on Aspirations; Mark Cunningham on Symmetry; Richard Mishaan on Portals; Campion Platt on Proportion; Cindy Smith and Jane Schwab on Editing; Juan Montoya on Scale; Amy Lau on Commissions; Suzanne Kasler on Style; Thomas O’Brien on Vintage Modern; Alan Wanzenberg on Modernity; Alexa Hampton on Tradition; Kelly Wearstler on Glamour; Anthony Baratta on Exuberance; Tom Scheerer on Luxury; Suzanne Rheinstein on Nuance; Timothy Corrigan on Welcoming Spaces; Bunny Williams on Comfort; Miles Redd on Reinvention; Martyn Lawrence Bullard on Sex; Mario Buatta on Color; Darryl Carter on White; Alessandra Branca on Red; Alex Papachristidis on Layering; Victoria Hagan on Light; Thad Hayes on Quality; Kathryn Ireland on Textiles; Windsor Smith on Communication; Nancy Braithwaite on Collecting; Kathryn Scott on Patina; Timothy Whealon on Antiques; Rose Tarlow on Books; Thomas Jayne on Provenance; Emily Summers on Sourcing Furniture; Thomas Pheasant on Inspiration; Sandra Nunnerley on Jazz; Penny Drue Baird on Paris; Jeffrey Bilhuber on America; Robert Couturier on Fashion; Ann Pyne on Poetry; Alan Tanksley on Destinations; Charlotte Moss on Couture