Synopses & Reviews
$29.95 hardcover 1-58685-173-X May 8 X 10 in, 144 pp, 140 Color Photographs, Rights: W, Design Desert Style is cool living in hot climates. Based on the idea that a home should exist in harmony with its landscape, author Mary Whitesides shows how materials and textures reflect the land, and how desert hues and cooling tones can be used in beautiful and efficient ways. She discusses how to use flowing and open interiors, patios, and thoughtfully placed windows to extend living spaces outside, enhancing the relationship to the natural world. Desert Style is abundantly illustrated, and offers advice on every aspect of desert living, including building materials, space issues, heating and cooling systems, furniture, paint-even how to choose art that will complement a particular style like Old World Anasazi or High Desert Adobe. Desert Style also includes a section on landscaping and choosing plants for a desert environment, plus information on how to incorporate fountains and reflecting pools into landscaping to create a private oasis for any desert home. With 140 gorgeous full-color photographs of desert homes throughout the high Rocky Mountain deserts and the Southwest, plus a comprehensive resource listing, Desert Style will have everyone heading for drier ground. Mary Whitesides has extensive experience with interior design and home furnishings. She created some of the original interiors at the Sundance Resort and was one of the four founding members of the Sundance Catalog. She is the author of Mountain Style, and lives in Park City, Utah.
Synopsis
Living with the harsh demands of climate and solitude, people have flourished in the desert for thousands of years. Drawing on the rich history of desert-style living, author Mary Whitesides illustrates contemporary desert style in modern desert dwellings. She shows how historic building materials and methods, such as rammed earth and adobe, are combined with modern style and contemporary conveniences. Desert Style examines how exterior design in architecture can create homes that meld with the desert landscape, how materials and textures can reflect the desert, and how color schemes of desert hues and cooling tones can be incorporated into living spaces to create desert style. Indoor spaces and designs are abundantly illustrated, from use of space and materials to create the best heating and cooling for desert homes, to what furniture, paint, and art you should use. Modern art, Old World Tuscany design, Spanish Colonial style, and wrought iron are just a few of the elements that can be combined to achieve the style you want. Open interior spaces, patios, and well-placed windows are incorporated in the design of desert style homes to create openness and to extend living space into the out-of-doors. Water, a precious commodity in the desert, can be used in fountains or reflecting pools whenever possible, to create a sense of oasis in a dry environment. Showing examples of homes throughout the deserts of the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest, the book includes rich full-color photography, a section on desert landscaping, and a resource listing and guide. From an understanding of the philosophy behind desert style, down to incorporating the most specific details, this book explores themany options for creating beautiful, contemporary desert style living.