The Way We Live . . . books present environments and styles of living from around the world, with numerous unpublished examples from interiors in Europe, Asia, and North America. From lavish Manhattan penthouses to sleek West Coast beach houses, every type of residential urban architecture is included with an emphasis on the efficient use of limited space. The book also examines the use of colors, materials and textures such as metallic surfaces, industrial glass, and stone or brick-all of which evoke urban sophistication and cool. The concluding section of the book is a rich sequence of inspirational ideas show the best that life in the city has to offer, from rooftop gardens to life aboard houseboats. This book is sure to be a source of inspiration for home owners as well as interior designers....

The Way We Live… series of books celebrates environments and styles of living that are parallel around the world yet somehow stylistically distinct from place to place. Proceeding from the general to the specific, the book begins with different styles and forms of housing and how these are affected and influenced by color. For example, the simplicity of white clapboard New England colonials lend themselves to formal approaches to layout and landscaping, while the lighthearted pastels of the Caribbean invite informal juxtapositions of style. The meat of the book focuses on how color influences the way we live room by room and how color is greater than just paint on the wall. Bright and unusual accents on floors, furniture, ceilings, and windows add to the total effect. The book then explores how varying materials and textures—metallic surfaces, colored glass, stone, brick, or wooden ceilings—open up new areas for exploring color and mood. The concluding section of the book is a rich sequence of images depicting how color is used differently around the world. Taken together, this book is sure to be a source of inspiration for anyone interested in interiors or decorating....

The Way We Live... series of books focuses on the best forms of living and style in various parts of the world. The Way We Live... By the Sea presents wonderfully detailed examples of new and traditional designing and living by the sea. From holiday villas in France and sturdy stone fishing cottages on the Scottish islands to sleek modern beach houses in California and Caribbean cabanas, the book is a comprehensive compendium of every type of residential structure found by the ocean. To complete the picture, the book showcases how seaside dwellers link their homes to the sea via terraces, decks, jetties, platforms and private beaches and then examines the use of colors, materials and textures that bring the seaside theme into interior design. The book offers the best that life near the sea, from houses built over the water to life aboard private boats. The Way We Live... By the Sea is sure to be a source of inspiration for anyone fortunate enough to have a seaside dwelling or for anyone who aspires to incorporate seaside grace and beauty....

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING A GARDENER COULD WISH FOR

In more than forty years of travel, Stafford Cliff—designer and gardener—has gathered a planet’s worth of inspiration on elements to enhance a garden. The result is 1000 Garden Ideas, a visual encyclopedia bursting with just about every garden idea ever invented by man or inspired by nature, artfully presented in more than 1000 photographs.

Plantings may be the essence of the garden, whether it’s a tiny patch in the backyard or acres of land extending for as far as the eye can see. But elements worthy of the planting can take a garden to unique and exciting new heights.

With a designer’s eye and a gardener’s heart, Cliff has assembled an endless array of ideas, from all over the world, to make a garden more personal: fences and pools, paths and benches, statues and waterfalls, borders and bridges— even birdhouses and follies. Within each category are hundreds of illustrated examples, ranging from traditional to contemporary; from simple to complex; from homey and rustic to downright Byzantine. It’s all here, whatever your taste, your need, or your fantasy.

And if you’re breathless with so many choices, Stafford Cliff is there to help you arrive at the best decisions for your own particular space, through a series of questions:

•Do you want privacy or maximum light?
•Do you envision a contrast to the style of your home or neighborhood, or complete harmony?
•Do you prefer peace and quiet, or the soothing sounds of rustling leaves, bubbling water, and bird song? There’s glorious visual advice on plants and plantings: what kinds of containers to put them in; how to use them in your space; what to surround them with; and much more. In addition, an extensive list of suppliers makes it possible for you to turn inspiration into reality. If you’re a seasoned gardener, or even if you’re an aspiring one, this is a book for you, lush with ideas for the garden of your dreams....

This latest addition to the The Way We Live… series, The Way We Live with the Things We Love, looks at hundreds of creative and stylish interiors decorated with personalized objects and artifacts. Divided into eight sections, the book showcases Gilles de Chabaneix’s incredible eye for detail and knack for photographing telling personal objects displayed in a multitude of places and cultures—from the display of expensive and cherished antiques to the imaginative use of found objects. Chapters include flea-market finds and objects found by serendipitous accident, tribal decorative elements of ethnic art from around the globe, art (prints, sketches, watercolors, and paintings), antiques, religious objects, rustic objects in wood and stone evoking a sense of the countryside, and "kitchenalia" or pre-plastic culinary paraphernalia. Within each section are highly detailed photographs of inspiring interiors that make the book a truly evocative encyclopedia of the art of making the most of what we treasure the most....

Innovative design ideas that will inspire and delight.

The home decorator, whether amateur or professional, must first resolve several challenges before beginning any project:

How can original features be saved or enhanced?

How can individuality be added?

Should the design be simple or ornate? Classic or modern?

How can colors be coordinated?

This unique sourcebook provides answers to these questions and countless others. Lavishly illustrated with more than 800 stunning color photographs, 1000 Home Ideas features innovative design solutions for:

Walls

Flooring

Steps and banisters

Doors and windows

Cupboards and shelving

With beautiful photos and engaging text, 1000 Home Ideas will appeal to the designer/interior decorator inside every home owner's heart. It also offers better value than an armful of magazines.

(20090722)...

An invaluable resource on French furniture, interiors, and household objects, drawn from antique pattern books, swatch books, and manufacturers' and retailers' catalogues.

For centuries, French furniture, textiles, ceramics, and glassware set the highest standards of fine design in the decorative arts. Sèvres porcelain, Gobelins tapestries, and Baccarat crystal are synonymous with a taste for the good things in life, as are traditional printed cottons from Provence, silks from Lyons, glass by Gallé and Daum, and furniture and interiors by Guimard and Ruhlmann.

This profusely illustrated reference offers a panoply of original sketches, engravings, and printed patterns, representing French interior design and decoration from the Baroque, Rococo, Louis XVI, and Empire periods through the nineteenth century to Art Deco and Modernism in the twentieth century. The wealth of artistry and technical ingenuity illustrated here dates back to 1685, when André-Charles Boulle's furniture designs for the palace of Versailles were published as engravings. Later, the great international exhibitions held in Paris not only defined the styles of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and International Modernism but also showcased the work of such giants of the decorative arts as Ruhlmann, Majorelle, and Lalique.

This unrivaled resource, now republished in a compact format, will provide a wealth of ideas and inspiration for designers, restorers, and interior decorators. 600+ designs and patterns in color and black-and-white. Originally published as The French Archive of Design and Decoration in hardcover....