When Joan Kron and Suzanne Slesin wrote “High Tech: The Industrial Style and Source Book for the Home” 20 years ago, it not only made industrial objects terribly chic but also ushered in a new genre of home furnishings tome.
For decades, there had been architecture and design books that showcased individual professionals’ work and prominent decorating periods. But it wasn’t until the Kron-Slesin book that a decorating style was dissected into its individual elements: furnishings, wall, floor and window treatments, fabrics and colors.
Readers were told exactly how they could achieve a look through beautiful four-color photographs of homes and apartments that reflected a proper mix, and through retail resources listed at the back with names, addresses and phone numbers.
In “High Tech,” homeowners loved the spare, laboratory look that recycled drafting stools for chairs, gym lockers and rolling metal carts for storage, rubber matting for flooring and restaurant ranges and refrigerators for kitchen equipment. The book, published by Clarkson N. Potter, sold more than 100,000 copies.
The publisher realized it had hit the right chord, and Slesin and another co-author, Stafford Cliff, debuted the first of many books with a slightly different twist on the style theme. They began to focus on different countries. The first go-around was on France in 1982 and the title was “French Style.” Two years later they published “English Style.”
Around the same time, other editors zeroed in on variations on the concept. Former decorating editor Mary Emmerling began to promote the American country look through several titles. Martha Stewart gave the entire decorating-entertaining niche mass appeal, without taking up the torch of a particular nation or region.
Nowadays, if you browse through the design section at most large bookstores, the shelves are filled with rows of books on various countries, regions and styles. Almost any place seems a fair target for microscopic study. Some are as beloved as Provence in southern France, others a bit more exotic, such as Africa and Bali, and still others right under our noses, such as Nantucket, the Hamptons, California wine country, New York and Los Angeles.
How the places are presented has also moved in several new directions. Many of the books could just as appropriately be cataloged as travel guides. The photographs within capture the landscapes and buildings and evoke a way of living as much as they present the decorating styles of area homeowners. Examples include publisher Stewart, Tabori & Chang’s “The Art of Living” series and Taschen’s “Interiors ” books.
The reason is driven partly by economics. “These days coffee table books have to be functional. Pretty pictures alone aren’t enough, which is the guiding principle behind our `Art of Living’ series,” says Jack Lamplough, director of publicity at Stewart, Tabori & Chang. “The books focus on such places as Brussels and Venice and consciously try to get at people’s travel instincts by including lists of places to visitmuseums, galleries, shops. But they also include information about a city’s design sensibilities.”
Phyllis Henrici, vice president of sales and marketing at Taschen, concurs that the purpose of the books is both to capture the feeling of an area and to offer design ideas. Her company has published Interiors titles on Paris, Tuscany, New York, Provence, Morocco and the Alpine region — and plans more.
Other series, such as Clarkson Potter’s new “Bringing It Home” and Gibbs-Smith Publisher’s line, take an even more pragmatic approach with detailed how-to explanations and recipes adapted for American homes and lifestyles.
Clarkson Potter executive editor Pam Krauss says its new series reflects the fact that homeowners are less willing to be dictated to by design professionals. “They want their homes to reflect their own personality and taste,” she said. “When they travel they may bring back something, but they want to incorporate with what they already own to create a harmonious blend.”
But a question remains. Why are we so interested in re-creating how others live, whether it’s thousands of miles away and in a different climate, in a neighboring state or even in our own back yard? For multiple reasons, observers say.
For some of us, it is a way to remember a favorite country or city where we vacationed or once lived, or simply a way to re-create a look we find appealing because of the mood it connotes. Most readers, however, rarely try to clone another style in total. They favor a few elements that spark the spirit, such as some Soulaido prints or intense hues to suggest the French Provencal countryside or some baskets and Indian blankets to hint at their love for the American Southwest.
Here is a roundup of nine favorite books that reflect the stylistic design diversity that has become popular:
“Bringing France Home,” by Cheryl MacLachlan (Clarkson Potter, $40). This latest generation of style books from Clarkson Potter takes a more hands-on approach to explain the common threads that produce a particular country’s look. In the case of France, author MacLachlan focuses on the warmth, textures, colors, light and scale that are evocative of French decorating. Fabrics consist of Souleiado print, petit points, Jacquards and toile de Jouey prints. She also offers how-to lessons, such as making a bed with the traditional French long pillow known as a traversin, serving dinner and the right Roquefort cheese. Even recipes are included.
“California Wine Country,” by Diane Dorrans Saeks (Chronicle Books, $40). Is there a single look that has emerged from the wine-producing countryside in Northern California? After studying this book: Yes and no. There is no single architectural style but a casualness that abounds, whether the structure is a barn, a farmhouse or an Italian-style villa. The main common denominator: a love for the outdoors.
“Japan,” by Suzanne Slesin, Stafford Cliff and Daniel Rozensztroch (Clarkson Potter, $12). Part of a series of mini-books based on the publisher’s larger counterparts, this one and others measure only 4 1/2 inches square and give you a quick taste of the country’s design style through a few key details that define it. You can easily tuck one of these books into your purse or briefcase when you head off to your favorite home furnishings source. The goal, says editor Roy Rinamore, was to get a younger audience that might not want to spend $30 or $45 to consider another decorating style.
“Java Style,” by Tara Sosrowardoyo and Peter Schoppert (Periplus Editors, $45). Few of us may want to re-create this look in total, but certainly the sense of enjoying this Indonesian island’s gorgeous scenery and a leisurely lifestyle appeals, wherever we live. The book includes a good short history of the European and Asian influences on Javanese design. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself wanting teak or rattan furnishings, wood carvings and large potted plants.
“Mediterranean Style,” by Catherine Haig (Abbeville Press, $35). Another travel guide-cum-how-to book, this work explains how this particular region’s look emerged in part because of its hot climate. Thick walls, shutters and other architectural elements reflect ways for homeowners to escape the heat. At the same time, the lively colors vary in intensity, depending on the exact geographic area — crisp whites and blues in Greece, deep ochers and umbers in Northern Africa.
“Mexican Country Style,” by Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr (Gibbs-Smith Publisher, $39.95). Forget the American Southwest look and go a step back to the source of much of the look: the Mexican countryside. Here the art of the craftsmen flourished — and continues to — with handcarved beds, chests, doors, Day of the Dead masks, and miniature trasteros (freestanding cabinets for utensils or food). The book includes a good chapter on buying, restoring and preserving patina.
“Spirit of African Design,” by Sharne Algotsson and Denys Davis (Clarkson N. Potter, $35). This represented the first fully illustrated book on African design and is filled with examples of African cloths, tribal art and artifacts such as drums and spears. The rooms reflect a wide variety that are owned by African- Americans who looked to the decorating ideas and materials of the African continent, but wanted to blend them into their American lifestyles.
“Tuscany Interiors,” by Paolo Rinaldi (Taschen, $39.95). This title, part of an ongoing series, evokes the mood of its region through glorious photographs of the exteriors and interiors of palazzos, villas and modern apartments. Most reflect an unstudied sense of design that comes from putting together furnishings lovingly collected or inherited rather than purchased instantly and put together by someone else.
“Williamsburg: Decorating With Style,” by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Tricia Foley (Clarkson N. Potter, $30). To be released this November, this book is filled with 18th Century-style furnishings and decorating ideas that re-create the Colonial Williamsburg look for a dining room, living room, kitchen, bedroom and more. The book includes special sections on period lighting, mantels, colors, silver and bed hangings.
