Tag Archives: Books

Finding Home

/ March 6, 2013
The steep roof pitch and arched doorway create an inviting opening into this textured stone house. The intersection of the peak and the flat roof line creates beautiful imagery.

The steep roof pitch and arched doorway create an inviting opening into this textured stone house. The intersection of the peak and the flat roof line creates beautiful imagery. Slideshow

This is a fabulous updated take on a Gothic style house. The shutters are great.
A lovely covered walkway with the feel of a pergola is welcoming.
A well dressed bath with beautiful linen curtains and strategically placed chair to keep towels and other amenities handy. The large scale random size flooring adds to the texture in this bath.
Classicism at its best. The arched doorway is framed by matching columns and topiary evergreens.
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One of the themes that is evident in all of McAlpine Tankersely's work is attention to detail and a lovely layering of materials, in this case down to the matching cat.
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A simply elegant still life.
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Informal dining with a slightly rustic table and comfortable chairs tucked into a bay window is a great way to start the day. I love the lamps on the table.
McAlpine Tankersley create the most inviting doorways. This informal entrance protrudes out to encourage you to enter. The red paint adds to the informality of the structure.

Several months ago I received a very small and precious book as a gift. It was the collaborative work of the design firm McAlpine Tankersley Architecture. Photographed in black and white, poetic and thoughtful, the book is a testament to their love of creating homes. The spirit of the firm is to build houses with references to the past and a nod to the future. Following is a post from Greg Tankersley:

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Thomas Jayne: American Decoration, A Sense of Place

/ December 12, 2012
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The formal library in a house in Maine painted in a bright, old fashioned 18th century turquoise. It has panels of red linen curtains set in arched reveals. Beautiful millwork, a Tabriz reproduction carpet and comfortable wing chairs frame the fireplace. Family furniture creates a space with historical connections.
A traditional New Orleans interior in a Greek Revival house using a bold and strong color scheme. This is a traditional room with yellow silk curtains decorated with bright green bands and appropriately scaled Chinoiserie benches with charming vintage chintz patterns on the pillows.
The music room in a McKim, Mead & White designed apartment building on the Upper East Side. This is a family friendly apartment within an important historic context. Classic detailing has been retained while giving the space a fresh face for a young family.
I love this wallpaper, a reproduction of one in the Webb House in Wethersfield, CT (coincidentally the Webb House was the inspiration for our own house).The traditional decorative elements in this interior include painted floor cloths, 18th and 19th century upholstery forms and historic fabrics and carpets. The Windsor chairs in this room suit the informal nature of this interior.
This dining room retains its 1920's architectural moldings; the ceiing is covered in gold tea paper which was initially installed in the 60's and recently restored. The dark green flatters the works of art. This is a great example of a traditional interior re-imagined through a modern lens.
A newly refurbished New York apartment inherited by two brothers from their Mother needed to be refreshed. Editing existing furniture and reinstalling a remarkable art collection have made this a gathering place for this family in the 21st century.
The front hall of a grand New York features enriched architectural doorways painted a soft cream and beautiful painted panels of a damask pattern. The scale of the mirror and the rich mahogany of the chest creates an updated but traditional entry great for entertaining and greeting guests.
Thomas Jayne loves wallpaper, this one bought in London specifically for this dining room. The Aesthetic Movement sideboard is a grand scale and the Anglo Indian dining chairs create a setting formed with a new mix with an old fashioned air.

Thomas Jayne, author, historian, preservationist, decorator and friend, has written a remarkable new book, AMERICAN DECORATION, A SENSE OF PLACE published by The Monacelli Press. Thomas’ interest in architecture and decoration started with his family’s legacy of houses that ranged from the Plymouth colony to a Vermont tavern, an Italianate Villa in Iowa and a California Craftsman style bungalow amongst others. Even the re-decoration of his boyhood room by painting the walls White House red. His family’s migration across a broad swath of the country and his own sense of history have informed Thomas’s’ body of work.

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Books: The Great American House

/ November 1, 2012
New brass rim locks with cobalt glass knobs are stunning. Gil Schafer chose them for his own Greenwich Village apartment.

New brass rim locks with cobalt glass knobs are stunning. Gil Schafer chose them for his own Greenwich Village apartment.Slideshow

Formal classicism designed for a country house facade. Greek Revival details have been layered to a Palladian plan.
The Federal proportions of a cornice molding paired with a Greek Corinthian column tell the "story" for a new house by the architect.
A gracious master suite with millwork salvaged from a historic house. Scale, design and appropriateness are descriptives of this room.
Beautiful outdoor rooms, sheltering trees and old Adirondack chairs create a sense of place.
A formal classical pergola over the rear French doors of Middlefield overgrown with wisteria.
The facade of Gil's own house, Middlefield, was inspired by a Greek Revival precedent. He carefully structured the landscape around the house to define its relationship to the larger natural context.
Views of "Longfield" from its planting fields. I especially love the view of the motor court from the orchard.
A bold period S-shaped mahogany newel post at the base of the main stair in a Charleston house restored by Gil Schafer Architects.
The elegant stairwell in a Charleston house rises three stories. The space has beautiful detail and a great color called Rhett Pumpkin that give the hall a warm glow that articulates the architectural elements.

Gil Schafer, fellow Board member of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, incredible architect and friend, has just released his first book, THE GREAT AMERICAN HOUSE. We have seen and admired Gil’s projects published in the shelter magazines for years and eagerly awaited a view into his full portfolio of  American historic and classical houses. Gil’s great success comes from two important personal characteristics; he is an exceptional listener and he is wonderful collaborator. While a client may express the desire to live in a traditional setting, Gil is able to suggest alternative layouts to accommodate a more modern lifestyle. He will certainly give the house its appropriate traditional architectural details and materials but readjust the more formal and restricted layout to one that is more open and family friendly.

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Books: Contemporary Classical

/ October 17, 2012
The inside front cover of CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL is a page from the author's design file. Beautiful classical architectural drawings as inspiration for the client.

The inside front cover of CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL is a page from the author's design file. Beautiful classical architectural drawings as inspiration for the client.Slideshow

Andrew Skurman uses both Italian and French architectural references. In this case Palladian sources influenced the details for Pelican Hill.
The welcoming entry for the ultimate family house. The entry is the focal point of a strongly symmetrical composition with a broken pediment.
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This is the watercolor study of a master bedroom facade.
A dramatic staircase with simple but elegant iron railings and stone slab steps. The shape is lovely looking up at it or down from the top.
A view into Skurman's inspiration and design file.
An elegant entrance gallery in a pied-a-terre. It shimmers with silver and crystal.
The resort at Pelican Hill was inspired by 16th century Italian architecture. Florentine yellow ochre and gray pinks are used to compliment the natural colors of California. Curves and domes dominate the landscape especially at the wedding pavilion complimented by an oval terrace.

Andrew Skurman, the award winning San Francisco and Paris based architect, specializes in designing classical houses. This was not always the case. Early in his career, Andy worked with I.M.Pei and Partners designing office towers, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill where he learned to be in charge of large commercial projects and interact with clients and finally on to Gensler as a studio director. None of these prestigious firms created the Georgian country houses, French Chateaux or Mediterranean villas that Andrew Skurman Architects is known for today.

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