Inspiring design
6 new books tell of style and place, from cabin comfy to French luxury
If cooling temperatures aren’t reason enough to love fall, look at the great new coffee table books coming out. Ronda Carman’s “Entertaining at Home” will make you want to plan a brunch or dinner party — or at least mix a cocktail. Other books embrace modern architecture; Asia-Pacific courtyards; our enduring love of French décor; and the sense of place in the American West.
COURTYARD LIVING: CONTEMPORARY HOUSES OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC
By Charmaine Chan Thames & Hudson; $60; 272 pages
Courtyards, those secret spaces that are part living area, part garden, have an irresistible charm. Hong Kong-based design editor Charmaine Chan’s new book, out Oct. 15, focuses on courtyards of Asia and Australia, which feature rock gardens, ponds and greenery that range from über modern to some that hark back to another time. Bonus: Chan allows readers to explore the insides of the homes they come with, as well.
WHITE HOUSES
By Philip Jodidio Thames & Hudson; $50; 288 pages
Fans of modern architecture will enjoy Philip Jodidio’s “White Houses,” a tour through more than 40 of the world’s most interesting homes that happen to be white. Modernism is slowly growing in the American real estate market, but elsewhere, it’s eagerly embraced. While nearly half of the book’s featured homes are in Europe, there are some unexpected finds, too: an unusual stack of boxes in Iran, another in South Korea that looks like an oversized playhouse, and one in Israel that looks like it’s wrapped in lattice.
ENTERTAINING AT HOME: INSPIRATIONS FROM CELEBRATED HOSTS
By Ronda Carman Rizzoli; $45; 256 pages
Ronda Carman — who this year earned a spot on the Salonniere 100 — was born a hostess, planning dainty tea parties and injecting a big of “fancy” into family holiday dinners. Now in “Entertaining at Home,” she visits other great hosts at their homes for party inspiration. You’ll find recipes for Houstonian Lynn Wyatt’s guacamole, New Orleanian Julia Reed’s grapefruit champagne cocktail and Atlantan Danielle Rollins’ cherry pie.
FRENCH REFRESHED
By Betty Lou Phillips Gibbs Smith; $50; 240 pages
You might think that Francophile Betty Lou Phillips had run out of angles on French design. Her 14th book, “French Refreshed,” revisits the luxury and sophistication of King Louis XIV and his descendants and shows the ways it is incorporated into 21st century American decor. A 1750 Louis XV commode or 19th-century French painting in a gilt frame still can make their way into homes striving for a more contemporary mix. Powder rooms are another great place to go Française, using little color, fabulous wallpaper and an artful mirror.
CABIN STYLE
By Chase Reynolds Ewald and Audrey Hall
Gibbs Smith; $50; 224 pages
Big skies and vast wilderness fill the pages of Chase Reynolds Ewald’s and Audrey Hall’s “Cabin Style,” a book whose simple title undersells the beauty in its 224 pages. These amazing homes in the American West are filled with rough hewn logs, wood floors and big stone fireplaces, and the decor adds to the sense of place. Windows look out onto grassy plains or wooded lots, and nearly every one has a view of a mountain range. Maybe it’s time for a vacation.
NEW ORLEANS: AN INTIMATE JOURNEY THROUGH A CITY WITH SOUL
By Geoffrey H. Baker
Images Publishing; $50; 288 pages
A city’s architecture says much about its history, and in New Orleans it shows us the evolution of needs and wants, materials and manpower, culture and class. In his new book, Geoffrey H. Baker shows the enduring soul of this historic place, even after Hurricane Katrina delivered so much damage. Baker finds beauty in mossy, above-ground crypts, charm in shotgunstyle homes and, of course, grandeur in the European influences in the French Quarter and the Garden District.