The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms [Hardcover]

Bobby McAlpine (Author), Susan Sully (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2010

Architect and designer Bobby McAlpine creates idyllic houses that wed historical precedent with gracious modern living. His distinguished firms, McAlpine Tankersley Architecture and McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors, are renowned nationwide for their talent in designing residences that resonate with nostalgia, fantasy, and a sense of place. Their dwellings—from country and seaside retreats to homes in historic American neighborhoods—offer favorite period styles with a timeless quality. Presented are over twenty houses in a variety of settings that illustrate concepts running throughout their work. Juxtaposing intimate spaces with lofty entertaining areas and combining unexpected materials, such as stone with thatch, are among the hallmarks of these prestigious firms. Examples include a Mediterranean-revival house with sleek factory-sash windows and classical Roman columns, a beach house with a vaulted hallway leading to a light-filled contemporary salon, and an unusual house that blends Scottish vernacular style with modern details. With lush photography capturing the romance of these houses, The Home Within Us is ideal for anyone wishing to be inspired by the poetic design of a romantic home.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Visionary architect Bobby McAlpine of McAlpine Tankersley explores the concept of home as emotional fortress. Well written with Susan Sully and featuring Mick Hales' photography of the firm's 'romantic houses,' this is a landmark design book." ~Veranda

"Published by Rizzoli, the Cadillac of architectural publishing houses, the book presents twenty-five houses in a variety of settings that illustrate concepts running throughout Bobby's work... With lush photography capturing the allure of these houses, The Home Within Us is ideal for anyone wishing to be inspired by the poetic design of a romantic home. The book is as beautiful as you would expect, and is an indispensable addition to the library of anybody who owns or admires a McAlpine-designed home. And that's just about everybody around here." ~Montgomery Independent

"Dozens of photographs capture the exterior and interior imagery with spectacular results. The book is a must-read for every design or architecture enthusiast." ~Romantic Homes

"McAlpine has forged a reputation for marrying the classic with the modern in both architecture and interior design. And that's the thread that ties together the 25 homes featured here: From a Mediterranean revival estate to a Cape Dutch beach house, every space gives a nod to the past while fitting seamlessly in the present." ~Luxe

"The Home Within Us, a luscious anthology of architect and designer Bobby McAlpine's work, evokes a sense of romantic home décor entwined with gracious modern living. The pictorial folios accompany McAlpine's own insights on his designs, which results in a memoir-like tour through some of his most notable work." ~Mpls St Paul magazine

About the Author

Bobby McAlpine designed his first house at age five and has not stopped since. His distinguished firms, McAlpine Tankersley Architecture in Montgomery, Alabama, and McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nashville, Tennessee, have an extensive portfolio including residential buildings, which have been featured in such magazines as House Beautiful and Veranda. His popular furniture collection, McAlpine Home, is available nationwide.

Susan Sully is a renowned expert on Southern style whose books include The Southern Cosmopolitan: Sophisticated Southern Style, New Orleans Style: Past and Present, Charleston Style: Then and Now, Savannah Style: Mystery and Manners, and The Southern Cottage: From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Florida Keys. An author and photographer, her work has appeared in Veranda, Town & Country, Southern Accents, and other major magazines.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; 1st Ed. edition (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847832899
• ISBN-13: 978-0847832897
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 1.1 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Arts & Photography > Design & Decorative Arts > Decorative Arts

More About the Author

Born in the Alabama sawmill town of Vredenburgh near Beatrice and Monroeville, Bobby McAlpine designed his first house at the age of five and hasn't stopped since. Architect, romantic, and entrepreneur, he has gathered an eclectic family of professionals for his interior design firm, furniture lines and world-renowned widely-published architecture firm now in its 27th year. Bobby holds both architecture and interior design degrees although he continues his lifetime of learning in the world's classroom. He is the author of the critically acclaimed and best-selling book from Rizzoli International, The Home Within Us, which went into a second printing after only 16 days on the shelves. It is currently in its third printing and has garnered critical acclaim.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a talented architect, April 15, 2010

By 

Peter H. Millen (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms (Hardcover)

This book gives a lovely glimpse of the select output from architect Bobby McAlpine and his firms. His body of work is more akin to a talent and style not seen since the early last century with architects like Harrie Thomas Lindeberg or Mellor, Meigs & Howe. These are gracious, intricate, lovely and very inviting structures inside and out.

He's been served well by clients who must have the resources to build such structures and more importantly appreciate the stately old world feel. Not a hint of McMansion or chest-thumping loud architecture that so many homes of today sadly exude. McAlpine could design and build a dog house and I suspect it would be more visually inviting then most homes, even those of the 'well heeled', built in the last 50-years.

A comparable contemporary firm would be Fairfax & Sammons, who also have had a book issued in the last decade on their output. If you have that publication you'll certainly appreciate this one.

Some publications such as Southern Accents and Veranda have showcased his work (he's been based in Alabama) but otherwise he's not receiving the widespread accolades he deserves. Perhaps this book will change that. 'The Home Within Us' is not without some quirks - no detail accompanies the homes shown so no idea when they were built or even where they stand. Some of the pictures appear to have been sourced from prior photo shoots so sometimes the pictures themselves look dated. And perhaps a good thing as it reflects well on what he's accomplished I was hungry to see even more exterior and facade detail shots.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like wood, dark, Saladino, you'll love this, May 6, 2010

By 

Deborah S. Hall (Rochester, New York United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms (Hardcover)

Have long been an admirer of Bobby McAlpine and have wished he would publish a book. This is marvelous and has already become one of my favorites. Several but not all of the houses shown were previously published in Southern Accents and elsewhere -- and it is wonderful to have them together here with the author's narrative. One of the things that makes this book especially interesting is the feature on the architect's own house which is shown in three quite different iterations. It is fascinating to see how the same space looks dressed in three quite different schemes.

McAlpine's narrative relates some of his design choices, for example, the preference for a smaller entrance at the side of the house rather than the grand center entrance, the interest in natural stone and limed antiqued wood, and patina of all sorts. McAlpine gave me a real appreciation for the use of dark. Seeing these rooms, I understood that one does not require pastel walls to have an experience of light in a room -- on the contrary, sun flowing into a room with dark walls can render a much richer experience of light. Seeing his rooms in the eighties gave me the courage to paint the light walls of my sunroom dark, dark green, and I have loved it. Of course McAlpine is not unique in using dark, but he has done it so skillfully and compellingly.

If you like patina'ed surfaces, stone and brick, dark, dare I say, somewhat masculine and oversize furnishings, nuanced colors, antiques -- if you like Saladino and Tarlow and VerVoordt -- you will most likely enjoy this book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms, May 9, 2010

By 

Connie J. Adams (Michigan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Home Within Us: Romantic Houses, Evocative Rooms (Hardcover)

If you loved John Saladino's book, Villa, you will love, The Home Within Us, by Bobby McAlpine. This most wonderful book is filled with homes that are timeless, worldly, romantic, soothing, and have a sense of history. I love the juxtaposition of rustic wood and stone with velvet and crystal shown throughout the book. The rooms are peaceful. They are not over-decorated, but warm and interesting. Each item, whether chair, urn or sconce, is art. Beautifully done. Recommended