Shades of Country [Hardcover]

Chippy Irvine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 17, 2006

Country living and style permeates every aspect of our culture- we yearn for the simplicity and comfort of country style living as seen in the pages of popular publications like "Country Living" Magazine and in Shabby Chic decor. There are many shades of country to match your personal style and "Shades of Country," written by "Chippy Irvine," masterfully presents some of America's most beautiful, charming and fascinating country houses. Chippy introduces six unique country styles; Farmhouse, Grand Country, Cottage, Rusticator, Clean and Simple, and Urban Arcadia; enrich a home with warmth, texture, color and beauty. "Shades of Country" shows how you can mix and match styles or create a unified look while helping you enjoy the comfort of living in country style.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In answering the question "What is Country?" this lush, colorful coffee-table book offers an impressively detailed look at country style as presented by design writer and author Irvine. She breaks this particular aesthetic into six major categories: farmhouse, grand country, cozy cottage, rusticators, clean simplicity and urban arcadia. Detailed descriptions, closeup photos and Irvine's explanations of the various shades' relationship to personality and lifestyle (are you artistic and edgy? or stately and traditional?) offer myriad options for architecture, design and crafts that can be used to create the country look and feel that best suits a home's inhabitants. Ideas include layered wallpaper, wall-mounted china collections, and shells used to decorate everything from a mantel to a headboard. The author's own upstate New York country home is used as an example of comfortable yet opulent country style, as are homes in Maine, Montana and elsewhere in the U.S. A resources section provides contact information for antiques, carpet, ceramics and flooring dealers, plus a list of museum houses (nearly all are in New York) that may serve as inspiration. (Oct.)
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Review

"Chippy Irvine has masterfully presented some of America's most beautiful, charming and fascinating country houses. The book is written with style and wit as she directs her readers on a truly grand tour of houses from manor to cottage. All are houses that reflect a strong personal taste while at the same time employing the sometimes elusive qualities that make a house a home!" --Albert Hadley
Shades of Country: Designing a Life of Comfort by Chippy Irvine (Taunton Press, $40), offers a grand tour of a wide variety of lovely American homes whose country-inspired decor ranges from Shaker simple to grand and stately, cozy cottage to massive mountain lodge. --Eils Lotozo, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Regardless of your personal aesthetic, there's a style or shade of country that can work for you -- that's the premise of Irvine's latest book. She writes about dozens of real people's homes, including her own in upstate New York, which fall into six categories or chapters: Farmhouse (functional and familiar), Grand Country (stately and traditional), Cozy Cottage (nostalgia and sweet sentiment), Rusticators (romantic retreats), Clean and Simple (Shaker and Swedish country) and Urban Arcadia (eclectic, artistic and edgy). She saves the best for last -- fashion and design maven Marian McEvoy's stylish 1740 stone house on the Hudson River.--Marge Colborn, The Detroit News
Shades of Country by Chippy Irvine (Taunton Press; $40; hardback) looks at all the ways country can be country through fabrics, accessories, paint and furniture. Irvine goes to the heart of sub-styles -- such as grand country or Cape Cod cottage -- to discuss the spirit, basic elements and traditional details. This bookdoesn't reinvent country for modern audiences, but celebrates the appeal of a charming and complex style. Photos highlight unusual and interesting features from a variety of homes, while essays offer in-depth explanations on history and traditions. --Orlando Sentinel

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561588164
• ISBN-13: 978-1561588169
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #595,344 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Country Homes, January 15, 2007

By 

Virginia Allain "(retired librarian)" (Poinciana, FL) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Shades of Country (Hardcover)

This may not break any new ground in decorating, but I never fail to enjoy browsing one more book on the topic of country style. This shows use of fabrics, accessories, paint and furniture that makes country style what it is. It also defines some sub-genres of country; Farmhouse, Grand Country, Cottage, Rusticator, Clean and Simple, and Urban Arcadia.
If you like Country Living magazine or enjoy the Shabby Chic trend, then you'll find pleasure in this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars inspiration for your dream home, February 27, 2007

By 

Shemogue (New Brunswick) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shades of Country (Hardcover)

I can seldom resist a good décor book, especially one on Country Style. My current excuse is that I'm looking for ideas I can use in my own country house which I've been renovating for the past 5 years.

Shades of Country is perfect for the amateur decorator and it's reasonably priced too. It is profusely illustrated with a wealth of examples of actual American homes -- including the author's own country retreat -- which are not only beautiful but emphasize comfort & practicality. Some of them are derived from European country styles, but most are what we think of as typically American - east coast farmhouses, Shaker simplicity, Montana ranch and rustic Adirondack cabin.

There is something for every taste here; cosy bedrooms with iron beds & antique bureaus & old quilts in muted pastels; walls painted, wallpapered, wainscotted or of varnished logs; walls hung with blue and white platters, old portraits or prints or ornate mirrors; a stair rail made from a birch tree; support posts disguised as palm trees; kitchens with open shelves of china bowls or glassware, and red-painted iron pots hanging from overhead beams; staircases plain or classic; toile's and stripes and rose-bouquet chintzes; floral cushions on a jade green slip-covered sofa; cobalt blue cushions on spruce-green wicker chairs on a white-painted verandah; a window box on a country out-house, and bookshelves - which I seldom see in American decor magazines - including one converted from a fireplace hole-in-the-wall (I guess I'm not the first to think of doing that) and fluted pilasters high-lighting an otherwise plain bookshelf .

Whether you are renovating your home; or still dreaming of that someday home in the country; updating a tired décor or looking for ideas for colour schemes or a knick-knack shelf, this book will inspire you.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just another potpourri book..., October 19, 2006

By 

Viewer (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shades of Country (Hardcover)

I love interior decorating books, especially Colonial, Regency and Victorian or English Country Style. But this book covers too much territory. A few pictures of each, as well as others styles like Ranch, or French. If you are having trouble deciding on a style, this book might help you. It has lovely illustrations, but again, as it is trying to cover many different styles falling under the broad title of "Country" your information is limited. There are too many books coming out like this. Specialty books are much better. Look to Rizzoli for the best in interior decorating books, or if you want some kind of country, best buy a book that covers that one particular style. I browsed through this at the store, hoping it might make a good Christmas present for me, but it ended up back on the shelf.