BELLAS ARTES

The inimitable style of renowned French interior designer Madeleine Castaing, chronicled in-depth for the first time. While many were drumming to the beat of modernism in the early- and mid-twentieth century, French antiquaire and decorator Madeleine Castaing created her own look that was a unique blend of neoclassicism, Proustian romanticism, and pure wit. Her distinctive aesthetic vision has inspired tastemakers on both sides of the Atlantic, and her devotees--both then and now--are legion. Ocelot carpeting, opaline blue, "coolie" lampshades, and an eclectic mix of neoclassical furnishings ranging from English Regency to Napoleon III all formed part of the vocabulary of "le style Castaing." This lavishly illustrated volume--the first on her work--explores in-depth the elements of her style, and examines how she crafted interiors so emotive that visitors felt that they had stepped into a Balzac novel or a Proustian recollection. Her entire life and career are chronicled, from her early years in Montparnasse, the epicenter of artistic activity in Paris, to her incomparable country house Leves and her legendary shop on rue Jacob in Paris.

The architectural style of the classic American summer, the shingled house can suggest the beach, the countryside, the mountains, and even the city. AD100 architects Ike Kligerman Barkley, one of the most successful firms practicing in a traditional style today, presents 14 houses that celebrate the simple wood shingle's infinite flexibility--ranging from richly historic to sculptural and experimental. The New Shingled House includes examples throughout the fabled seaside resorts of New England--Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, and the Hamptons--as well as houses in California's Bay Area and Point Loma, on a pristine mountain lake in South Carolina, and a Scandinavian influenced family residence in Connecticut. All are characterized by a sense of graciousness and generosity that makes them unique spaces for the owners and enviable spaces for readers. The versatility of the shingle style allows the designers to explore formal ideas and to respond to client preferences and taste. The houses thus achieve the architects' fundamental goal: when their clients enter their new house for the first time, they should feel as though they have always lived there. This stunning visual presentation features new photography by noted interiors photographer William Waldron, who has captured the graciousness and generosity of the elegant interiors and welcoming porches and terraces that make these houses so inviting and timeless.