Raleigh, North Carolina.  Developing Your Home Style And Interior Preferences Can Be Fun.  Yesterday I listed a number of magazines you can look at to start this process.  Today I would like to suggest some architecture books and interior design books that will help you go into the kind of depth that will make what you see make sense.  As with magazines the number of books available to select from cover a tremendous amount of shelf space. I think that working with decoring first will be of considerable help in determining the kind of homes styles you like best. 

A coffee table book that I would recommend to you is - Bunny Williams Point of View - Three Decades of Decorating Elegance and Comfortable Homes.  Another along this line is - Decorating Ideas That Work published by Tauton Press.  If you live in a ranch style home of the 50s, 60s and 70s, and would like to re-work it try Updating Classic American Ranches  by Connolly and Wasserman.  If you would like to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the styles of American homes look for Great American Houses and Their Architectural Styles by Virginia and Lee McAlester. 

On a broad brush basis try The House Book by Phaidon Publishers, New Rooms For Old Houses by Frank Shirley, American Houses by Mary Miers, Private Views - Inside The World’s Greatest Homes, put out by Architectural Digest, Homes & Courtyards - Bassenian/Lagoni Architecture, 30 Luxury Estate Homes by Dan F. Slater II, Japanese Detail by Sadao Hibi, Updating Classic American Colonials by Schoenherr, European Classics by Dan F. Sater II, Tuscan & Andalusian Reflections by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects, The Best of American Dream Homes - Hanley Wood LLC, Dream Home Carolinas, American Country Homes of the Gilded Age - Arnold Lewis, Houses of the Founding Fathers by Hugh Howard, Pure California by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects and Inspiration from France & Italy by Betty Lou Phillips.

Why do so many of these books concern European architecture, styles and decorating?  Because they were at it long before we were and because so much of what is done in American homes now is inspired by what was done in Europe long ago and what is being done in Europe now.  Why are so many of these books about very expensive homes most people can’t afford?  Because the finest in style and decoration is quite often created for and used by those who can afford the best.  Designers and manufacturers borrow from these styles and decorations to produce furniture, rugs, wall decorations, lighting and everything that goes into a home that can be afforded by the masses.  If you think about it the wealthiest people in the world 200, 100, 50 and even 25 years ago could not purchase most of the building materials, appliances, fixtures, flooring, etc. that go into very modest homes today.  Thus, it is the creativity that matters as much, if not moreso, than “big bucks” in what becomes your home and reflects your style and taste.

If I may digress for a moment I would also like to recommend two other books to you.  They are certainly related to a development of style and taste but not as related to homes and interior decoration.  Tony Bennett is not only a great singer of popular songs but a painter of note as well.  His book In The Studio is well worth reading.  The photographic genius of one of the worlds greatest photographers, Ansel Adams, is captured in a book called 400 Photographs (of Ansel Adams).  The color of black and white is truly remarkable.

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John Fish (919) 696-3474   Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com   Website: www.JohnFish.com

MONET EXHIBIT - For those of you who enjoy fine art I would suggest you get yesterday’s (10-08-06) News & Observer.  It has a great special section in it on the forthcoming exhibit of Monet paintings. It covers the basics of the “impressionism” period very nicely and shows photos of a number of Monet’s paintings. The exhibit will feature 50 of his paintings; paintings that are on loan from the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Fine Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art.  The exhibit will be at the North Carolina Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, in Raleigh.  It will start on October 15 and run through January 14.  Tickets will be $15 for adults, $12 for students, seniors and groups of 10 or more, $10 for children 12 to 18 and $5 for children 6 to 11.  To verify ticket price and other ticket information (please do so) call 839-6262; tickets - 715-5923, www.ncartmuseum.com   As a would be professional photographer (among other things) I enjoy seeing things through another’s eyes.  I think you will find it a great way to spend some of the very little free time you might have.  Enjoy!!

John Fish  (919)696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com  Web Site: www.JohnFish.com

Dog Paintings.  For those of you who love dogs and art I would recommend the September-October issue of Veranda magazine.  It goes into detail about and shows a number of photos of famous paintings of dogs.  It also details the showings of dog paintings, photographs and sculptures that have been featured by the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut and that will be featured by the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.  The title of these exhibits is “BEST IN SHOW: THE DOG IN ART FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO TODAY.”  The Bruce exhibit ends the 27th of August while the Museum of Fine Arts exhibit starts on October 1 and runs through the end of the year.

While on the subject of art exhibits, Veranda also has a feature article on the forthcoming exhibition at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.  It is called LOUVRE ATLANTA, starts October 14 and will feature, for the next three years, 400 works of art from the Louvre that have never before been exhibited in the US.  The loan fees for the exhibition will be used to help restore the Louvre’s 18th Century decorative art galleries that are now closed to the public.  The art works are not limited to paintings.  Porcelain, antiques, drawings, tapestries and decorative arts will be displayed as well.

I can’t leave the current issue of Veranda without directing your attention to the article and photos of a marvelous home in the mountains of North Carolina at Cashiers.  Hal Ainsworth and Winton Noah furnished the home they had designed for them.  They opened retail shops in Atlanta in the seventies and have done many marvelous interiors since then as well.  The majority of their clients are designers.

John Fish  (919) 696-3474   Email: marvmax@mindspring.com   Web Site: www.JohnFish.com