Casa Mexicana: The Architecture, Design, and Style of Mexico (Paperback)

by Tim Street-Porter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
An exploration of the charm and sophistication of Mexican style, celebrating the variety and beauty of Mexican houses, inside and out. It displays the mixture of cultures, heritage and natural influences of which they are a result. Mexican style is a contrast between wisdom and naivety. The houses of Mexico mix the heritage of the Toltecs and Mayas with that of the French and Spanish invaders. The land itself is a strong influence on Mexican architecture, from seashore to desert and jungle to mountaintop. Tim Street-Porter is the author of "Freestyle: The New Architecture" and "Interior design from Los Angeles".

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556703678
• ISBN-13: 978-1556703676
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #757,773 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Photo-journalist trip through Mexican Homes, September 24, 1998

By A Customer

Tim took a wide and diverse subject and wove it into a wonderful reference book. Primarily a photo album, accompanied with words, this book is A++. How could you take a bunch of pigeon cages, paint them different colors, and make a wonderful wall in your home? Or a group of Oriental fans? In reading this book, I sit and wonder how many thousand photos had to be discarded to pull all of this together. Thanks to this book, my wife has decided to redo our ENTIRE house. You have to SEE the photos; words fail to describe it. This may end up being the Most Expensive book I ever purchased.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casa Mexicana--photographic tour of Mexican architecture, September 30, 1997

By A Customer

Casa Mexicana offers stunning photographic portrayals of various periods in the architecture of Mexico, from haciendas to colonial and contemporary architecture. If you enjoy the intermixing of modern and traditional architecture, you'll love this book. And should you become entranced by contemporary Mexican architecture as presented by Mr. Street-Porter, an equally satisfying "sequel" to this book is Mexican Contemporary by Herbert Ypma.

33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fell short of what I hoped, April 12, 2003

By	"chelita101" (Olympia, WA United States) - See all my reviews

I bought my copy because of the name, since I am FACINATED with interior design and decorating ideas with ANYTHING Mexican. My text IS in English, and if I would have known it was available in Spanish I would have preferred to have it that way!!

Anyway, this book DOES show the enormous VARIETY of what can truly be called "Mexican": from indigenous homes to still functioning haciendas to colonial-style buildings to the Broque French influence so many of the wealthy class favored before the revolution.

However, for me, it is just too cold, too sterile, for the Mexico I know and love. The colonial and Baroque-influenced homes look more like museums. They look like something only the extraordinarily wealthy could ever even dream of, and are far removed from the comfy, cozy, antique-filled hotels featured in "Mexicolor" or "Mexicasa". There is also a huge, AD NAUSEUM section on modern Mexican architecture -which I LOATHE- and a whole chapter on American, Chicano influenced houses -which I could CARE LESS about. All in all, I have my few favorite pages, which I love and look at repeatedly, but the majority of the book consists of large sections that I skip in their entirety. If you are looking for a treatise on the gamut of architectural styles in the country of Mexico, this is probably a good choice. If you want a book on Mexican interior design and decoration with a passion for things Mexican, this is NOT going to be your first choice.