Classic Style

Classic Style is a glorious celebration of the profound effect of Greek and Roman art and architecture on subsequent centuries and civilizations throughout the world. Studied and evoked by great architects and designers, from Palladio in sixteenth-century Italy to Michael Graves in twentieth-century America, its effect on architecture and interior design is uniquely enduring and pervasive.

Magnificent specially commissioned photographs capture the elegance of beautifully restored period interiors as well as imaginative and tasteful modern adaptations in homes throughout Europe and America. Extraordinary examples of classic style embodied in a house along the Hudson River, a Normandy château, and apartments in Paris, New York and London rival each other for beauty and splendor. Featuring the work of such leading architects and interior designers as Michael Graves, Frédéric Méchiche, and Sills and Huniford, Classic Style offers a multitude of inspiring ideas in color and fabrics, wall and window treatments, moldings and woodwork, furniture arrangement, accessories and ornamentation -- even fireplaces and stairs. The informative and carefully researched text reveals the importance of details and the key elements of the style -- from features like columns to motifs such as wreaths and palmettes -- and explains how readers can incorporate them in their own homes.

Whether your taste is for modern elegance or imposing period grandeur, this inspiring and instructive book, with an international directory of suppliers, designers, architects, museums, and stately homes, will help you recognize, applaud, and utilize these ageless elements of style.