Customer Reviews

American Farmhouses: Country Style and Design

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a devotee of country style and an admirer of farmhouses around the northeast, I found this book to be charming. A cross between a coffee table book and a reference guide, it's the kind of thing you can pick up and peruse easily without having to read straight through. It's refreshingly useful-with just enough historical information for the nonacademic. I learn something new every time I refer to it. Yet it's lovely to page through, which also makes it a great Christmas gift for anyone who loves country style. The nicest thing of its kind to come on the market in a while.

This book could revolutionize and galvanize traditional country decorating, much like Mary Emmerling's American Country did when it was first published. If you buy only one decorating book, this should be it. Not a bad photo in the whole book. I am thrilled with it!

I grew up in California agriculture and the houses selected for this book bare little resemblence to Western farmhouses. All the houses are from east of the Mississippi, mostly East Coast and very old. There is one Texas farmhouse from the Civil War era.

It seems that the design strategy of the owners has been to restore the old farmhouse ambience with older style elements. In California we try to reach the ambience of the farmhouse but with modern elements and techniques. If this is your objective then the book is still interesting but it won't give you much direct inspiration.

I rate it three stars because the author forgot that the western US has its own farmhouse style and we happen to be American also. A more appropriate title would have been "Colonial American Farmhouses".

- jim

This is a lovely book that I read over and over again. If you don't live in a farmhouse, you will want to after you see the inside of this book. Inside you will find lovely homes that inspire and relax you. The photography is beautiful. This book makes a wonderful contribution to any "interior design" library.

I enjoy any book that shows good pictures with enhanced captions about the material being displayed and this is no exception.

I live in an old farmhouse myself, and what I was looking for was a more eclectic approach to showing how contemporary people adapt to these houses, both in terms of decor and functionality. The majority of interiors featured in the book are from 18th century (or earlier) houses - houses this old are unusual to non-existent in most of the country - and a majority also feature a very traditional style of decoration. On the other hand, there is some interesting information on regional architectural differences, and many beautiful photographs. Perhaps this book is intended more for a city-dweller with a dream...

this is a very nice and informative book anybody who likes country and primitive will surely enjoy this book