BELLAS ARTES

With new photographs of houses steeped in the period revival tradition, from 1838 to today, not since Rizzoli’s Santa Barbara Style (2001) has a book so eloquently captured the distinctive splendor of this seaside paradise. Known worldwide for the Santa Barbara style, the town epitomizes a type of building at once elegant and suffused with poetry. At its heart is the historic downtown, featuring white-washed Mediterranean-style stucco buildings with tile roofs and the iconic Santa Barbara Mission of 1786, whose austere beauty set the tone for all that followed. From its earliest days, the influence of this place has been felt and has since radiated across the sunbelt; it continues to be a model of emulation and inspiration. But it is the houses and the dream of living in Santa Barbara and its sister communities of Ojai, Carpinteria, Summerland, Goleta, and Montecito that casts the most profound spell.

This is Bunny Williams’ most ambitious book to date. Inviting us into her impressive grounds with charming personal anecdotes, expert advice, and hundreds of stunning photographs–printed on two different speciality stocks–Bunny Williams illustrates every aspect of the gardens surrounding her eighteenth-century manor house in Northwestern Connecticut in different lights and seasons. A popular stop on the Garden Conservancy circuit, Williams’ property boasts a parterre garden,year-round conservatory, extensive vegetable garden, orchard, woodlands, an aviary with exotic fowl, and a rustic poolside Greek Revival–style folly. Each section of the garden is accompanied by adirectory of featured plants—from native ferns and succulents to a wide variety of flowering specimens.

Flanigan looks at the home on a room-by-room basis, identifying common design challenges, offering solutions on how to create rooms that are aesthetically pleasing and efficient. With examples chosen from her work, she shares seasoned wisdom and creative approaches to every decision ranging from building materials and architectural details to furnishings, color, textiles, accessories, and organization.