Hacienda Courtyards (Mexican Design Books) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author) "For our hacienda design projects in the United States and Mexico, we have repeatedly encountered the lure of indoor-outdoor living and have become enamored with..." (more)
Key Phrases: Hacienda de los Santos, Throughout Mexico

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Explore the architectural elements and water havens that will inspire your own courtyard paradise.

From the Inside Flap

Towering walls covered in flowering vines, carved stone columns, graceful arcades, tranquil water fountains and seductive palm-lined pools create the serene oasis that is the hacienda courtyard. Discover the rich colors, natural textures and design details that define the alluring, Mexican courtyard that is the heart of every hacienda home. Hacienda Courtyards takes you on a behind-the-scenes tour of gracious outdoor living areas, from the Yucatan's colonial estates to the centuries-old homes and haciendas of Morelia, Alamos and Oaxaca. Cobbled courtyards boast sculptural stone spheres and breezy, hammock-strung portales reveal old stone pavers, handmade clay bricks and wooden beams.
Today, architects and designers are drawing inspiration from hacienda architecture and its age-old water heritage to create imaginative, secluded spaces: tiled wall fountains spill agua from old hacienda rainspouts into aquatic gardens with papyrus-filled stone feeding troughs. Swimming spaces include hacienda water tanks-turned-pools and a dramatic contemporary water space that flows beneath grand portal arches-allowing swimmers to encircle stone columns.
Explore the architectural elements, private water havens, furniture and garden vessels that will inspire you to create a courtyard paradise in your own home.
Award-winning authors of the popular Mexican design book series-Mexican Country Style, The New Hacienda, Casa Adobe, Adobe Details, Casa Yucatan, Mexican Details, and Hacienda Home-Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr were awarded La Pluma de Plata (The Silver Pen) from Mexico's Ministry of Tourism for The New Hacienda. As designers and antiques dealers, they have been at the forefront of the Mexican design movement for more than twenty-five years.
Based in Austin, Texas, Witynski and Carr are owners of Joe P. Carr Design, a gallery and design firm specializing in hacienda style, colonial furniture, and architectural elements. They have designed and renovated homes and haciendas throughout the United States and Mexico and have collaborated on numerous commercial design projects, including boutique hotels and restaurants.
The authors have been featured in national magazines, newspapers and television programs including Architectural Digest, Western Interiors, House Beautiful and HGTV's Takeover My Makeover.
Karen Witynski's photographs and articles appear in national design publications and Joe P. Carr is a hacienda design consultant and furniture designer. Together they divide their time between Mexico and their hacienda-style home in Texas. www.mexicanstyle.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1 edition (August 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423600010
• ISBN-13: 978-1423600015
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #145,770 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #88 in

  Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > Outdoor & Recreational Areas

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make the Outside of your Home as Beautiful as the Inside!, December 29, 2007

By	Nancy Baxter "Design Maven" (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This book is the bible for Interior Designers who wish to follow through with interior spaces and make the patios and gardens beckon their clients to enjoy equally their outside spaces. This book is a must in every designers library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, March 3, 2008

By	Cindy Girl - See all my reviews

Although there are plenty of photographs, they were of the same few properties over and over. I had expected more variety.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hacienda Courtyard not as good as other Wytinsky books, June 8, 2008

By	Kim Mahahual "mmbkim" (Mahahual, Mexico) - See all my reviews

I've purchased most of this series of books since I design Hacienda style homes and these make good reference. The problem is that they are starting to repeat themselves and this one actually is a step down offering nothing new and most of the images look tired and uninspired. If you are looking to design only a hacienda courtyard this might be good, but I think "In a Mexican Garden" by Melba Levick and Gina Hyams is a lot more lively and has spawned more imagination for my clients (and myself).