Customer Reviews

At Home: A Style for Today with Things from the Past

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
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In her own words interior designer Suzanne Rheinstein takes you on a personal tour through six of her design projects including two of her own homes: her L.A. home and her New York City pied-a-terre. The living room of her NYC pied-a-terre is featured on the cover of this book. Rheinstein describes what she loves most in design: "fewer but better things, painted surfaces, a mixture of furniture styles, a personal art collection and attention to comfort, colors, textures, details and light."

If you like these elements, you'll love this book. The designer makes the case that if you buy and keep fewer and better one-of-a-kind pieces, you can decorate around them. You may change colors and fabrics etc. throughout the years, but the essential beauty and quality is always there. It's like these choice pieces are the characters in the play who always have starring roles in your homes and something to say--the scenery revolves around them. The beautiful and interesting rooms featured in this book support this philosophy.

The projects showcased in this book are diverse. In addition to the New York apartment, there is a Georgian Revival house, a horse country estate in Virginia, a Sun Valley Idaho mountain home, a seaside home in Newport Bay and a Florida cottage. Rheinstein takes you leisurely through each home and explains the design choices in her own words so it's a fun tour. She is very knowledgeable about design history, and there's many references to styles and well-known designers. She mixes Gustavian with Edwardian with Regency with ease and has an educated eye. Rheinstein owns a shop called Hollyhock in California and designs fabric for Lee Joffa. Some of her fabrics are used in the rooms in this book.

I love her quote by Joan Didion: "Every day is all there is." Rheinstein encourages you to use and enjoy the best every day. At the end of the book, she generously lists her design inspirations in Europe and the United States, her favorite design books in her library and her sources for her work.

"All design is opinion," she quotes her friend, and fellow designer, William Yeoward. We're delighted to see and hear her opinion on design in this beautifully unique book. If you love the cover, as I do, you'll love touring the rooms inside with her as your personal and companionable guide.

The most gorgeous, dreamy and inspiring book out this fall.
I love every page, every detail.

I have been known through the years to clip pictures of Ms. Rheinstein's work from the pages of shelter magazines. (I heard that she pronounces her name "Su-Zahn"). Anyhow, she is certainly a woman of immense talent, with an eye for the beautiful and unusual. And I am definitely a fan of her work. But certain things in the book surprised me. Especially the front cover, where either the lamp is too tall (and would most certainly shine in your eyes if you were to lie back on the chaise), or the table is too tall, or both. If it's all about comfort and scale, or at least part of it, I think it is so much nicer to be able to reach over to switch on a lamp, or put down a cup, on something which is the correct height; and not have light bulbs shining in your eyes.

On the back cover, the beautiful pair of lamps were not given lampshades which come down far enough to cover the lightblub socket and switch. This is a no-no and is not correct, but I don't understand why someone didn't catch it.

In the potting shed which was photographed, there is a collection of old watering cans placed up on high, which seem to do nothing but create clutter. So there are a few things such as these which surprised me, but I am still a fan, and wish I could afford one of her beautiful rooms. Her own house in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles, is especially beautiful----I could move in and not change a thing!

As I reside in Australia, I had not heard of Suzanne Rheinstein before reading this book (the emphasis here trends more towards Antipodean and British designers). I was pleased to find that Ms Rheinstein's work was approachable despite the obvious grandeur of some of the homes depicted. The text is erudite and informed, and she is clearly knowledgable regarding the history of the decorative arts. She has a clear penchant for eighteenth century furnishings and 19th century needlework (homemade pieces, made by ladies of the period, feature strongly throughout her designs). The book depicts a diverse number of homes within it's pages and there is a clear nod to the practicalities of modern living in the kitchen, bedroom and gamesroom spaces in particular, even though the style remains resolutely traditional throughout. The treatment of televisions, children's play spaces, utilitarian corridors and pantry's are given photo and text space, and are not ignored in favour of the more glamourous public rooms of the houses. The emphasis on a very traditional style of decorating is perfectly in keeping with the book's subtitle, that makes it clear from the very outset that the designs will have a heavy emphasis on antiques and the decorative arts of previous centuries. Those readers, whose taste preferences run to the more traditional style of decorating, will find much to admire in this book. The writing is clear and practical, the photographs of the spaces are sumptuous, but not sterile. One does come away with a sense that these houses/rooms are actually lived in, rather than simply untouchable showcases. Whilst there are no surprises, there should not be any serious disappointment either. She delivers on the promise inherent in the title.

Elegant, well appointed, and restful. However, I agree with other reviewers who would have seen color in more rooms. A book full of the same palette was (for me) a bit one-note... Not all rooms are vanilla, no matter how delicious vanilla is.

I am a big fan of Ms Rheinstein's work as displayed in the pages of high end shelter magazines, so I was looking forward to her book. Each page is like a soft sigh: dreamy, ethereal, romantic, but also lacking in energy, newness and spark. Each decor seems a bit the same, relying heavily on 18th century predominantly French antiques. The tones are muted and somewhat dusty, and one is left wondering if she is afraid of color. Sepia, grey and faded gilt, while beautiful and successful in moderation, seem to predominate and come together in a blur without a distinct focus. One is left yearning for some unexpected juxtaposition, some pizzazz, while still remaining in the world of antiques, but this book sends the message that old is old and new is new and never the two shall meet. I much prefer Michael Smith and Suzanne Kasler.

I collect interior design books. This book has beautiful interior design. I have it on my coffee table and I find myself going back to it time and time again. A great book.

I purchased this book a little by accident , but what a beautiful purchase. Houses are my life and this book was perfect for what i was looking for. A great refference book , but also looks fab as a coffee table book