Mexican Country Style [Hardcover]

Karen Witynski (Author), Joe P. Carr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Mexican Country Style is a celebration of a rugged, romantic beauty and soulful antiquity that is sweeping the country and making its way into the contemporary interiors, gardens, and commercial settings of well-known people and businesses. The authors traveled by bus and burro through coastal villages and old colonial mining towns to seek out simple, robust country tables, weathered storage trunks, and sculptured sugar molds, pictured in 170 photos, 140 in full color.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Authors Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr have spent years winding their way by bus and burro through coastal villages and old colonial mining towns, bumping alongside sugarcane fields and down narrow cobblestoned streets in search of simple, robust country tables, workbenches, storage trunks, corral gates, and old, heavy doors. They were intrigued by the diversity they encountered--the variety in style, design, and shape of utilitarian vessels and carved wooden objects. From milking stools shaped like animals to grain-measure boxes and sculptural sugar molds, the pieces were like mirrors reflecting a rich local history as well as the ingenuity of the hands that made them. From mesquite-carved beams and window lintels to jail doors and coffee mortars, Carr and Witynksi found new homes in the United States for their salvaged finds. Although artists and collectors have been enjoying and living with Mexican antiques and accents for decades, the last ten years have seen a meteoric rise in their popularity in every corner of the country. Carr and Witynski soon found that their customers were as intrigued as they were with these Mexican objects and shared their curiosity to know more about their origins. The result is Mexican Country Style, a showcase of the rich heritage of Mexican antiques. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

For decades, Mexico's countryside has startled visitors senses with the rich flavor of its tradition-bound world. Charmed by the character and ingenuity of the Mexican people, lovers of country style are irresistibly drawn to the rugged romantic beauty of the native architecture and the soulful antiquity of their handcrafted elements. The markings and textures that decades of time and wear have left on the indigenous furnishings and objects are character marks, alive with history, color, and personality.
Mexican Country Style is a celebration of this style's simple splendor, which is sweeping the country and making its way into the homes or offices of Jane Fonda and Ted Turner, Ralph Lauren, Val Kilmer, and Gene Hackman.
Nelson A. Rockefeller said of Mexico that "Its people have a love and understanding of the importance of the ordinary to the essential vitality of life. Instinctual, the mundane things made to carry out everyday acts, are all valuable and worthy of the greatest creative expression, (which is evident) in their lasting value and in the skill of their creators, their sense of sacredness of the routines of their daily lives."
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith Publishers (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879058145
• ISBN-13: 978-0879058142
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,702 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Interior Design > Style

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive book on Mexican country decor!, May 5, 2000

By 

Dari B. Wayne (Lawrenceville, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mexican Country Style (Hardcover)

Beautifully photographed with a pallete of colors that invite you to decorate a small space or an entire home. Mexican Country Style is the definitive volume for those of us who seek southwestern/south of the border interior design, furnishings and accessories. Sumptuous photos that invite you to sit down with a margarita and explore this comfort feel decorating style. Authors, Witynski and Carr, have an enthusiastic love and flare for this style decorating and this book showcases their skills.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stylish Presentation on Style, December 14, 1999

By 

Joel Marcus Johnson "chesapeakebishop" (Easton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mexican Country Style (Hardcover)

With the proliferation of websites offering Mexican furniture, it has become difficult to tell the real from the ersatz - and especially when it comes to antique furniture, and in the colonial style. The authors have taken all of the doubt out of the search process through an amazing inventory of furniture, accessories, and hints for discovering provenance. It's a must-read for those considering furnishing and decorating their homes in the Mexican style.

It is also an important companion volume to Mexicolor; and to those years-ago titles published by Architectural Publishing.

For the would-be the hunter of these pieces, however, this book makes one fact quite clear. The treasure troves are to be found outside the major Mexican cities, out in the provinces. But with the skills to be learned in this book, the search will be more rewarding.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book for those interested in Mexican furniture., September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mexican Country Style (Hardcover)

Mexican Country Style is a very informative guide to furniture, handicrafts, textiles, and much more from South of the Border. A must read for anyone slightly interested in the colorful world of Mexican living. Karen Witynski doesn't leave you hanging, the book also comes with many references as to where one can find such pieces that are pictured in the book. I'm already planning a trip to Mexico! Thanks for opening my eyes to the colorful world around me!