The New Country Style England

By Ingrid Rasmussen and Chloe Grimshaw

Book Overview

The first in a new series that breathes freshness into interior and lifestyle books, The New Country Style England presents a wide array of rural retreats, seaside cottages, forest huts, and nature getaways. While the city home has undergone countless well-documented stylistic changes, there has been a quiet revolution going on in the countryside. The picture of pastoral perfection (think chintz) is being reinvigorated and modernized by the creativity of a new generation of owners, reflected in the stylish (and sometimes utterly unexpected) interiors of their homes. A converted neo-Gothic church is home to a contemporary furniture maker and his family, with Arne Jacobsen chairs in the dining room, Pucci upholstery in the chapel, and a trampoline for the children in the nave. In Gloucestershire, a dark wooden bed from Lombok is tucked into the eaves of an old rectory, while a Venetian glass chandelier hangs in the dining room, and hand-painted Chinoiserie adorns the walls. The mix of colors and textures, palettes and patterns, and, most importantly, a commingling of eras all help to make this book a visual delight. The intrinsic value comes with the hundreds of photographs, an incredible juxtaposition of detail, and a handsome heft. The New Country Style England showcases interiors that redefine traditional country style with wit, fun, and modern taste. It's the rustic experiencewith a here-and-now twist

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811854825
• ISBN13: 9780811854825
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 3.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

flash of colour, slash of line, bowl of lemons, eye of newt

I was a little disappointed in this book because I expected the cover photo to be more indicative of the content; ie, a conventional décor book filled with photos of English Country house interiors - my favourite décor style. I wanted to take away a star for this, but I will try to rise above & rate the book for what it is. After all, a book ought to expand one's horizons & push one beyond the comfort zone. It is more a celebration of the photographer's eye and the nostalgia for life in the English home and countryside. It is all about atmosphere and detail, flashes of color and slashes of line, suggestion more than substance: red-soled rubber boots striding across a stubble field; a William Morris cushion on a faded wine sofa; an old wooden bowl filled with oranges and lemons ("say the bells of Saint Clements"); a white seagull perched on a stone chimney pot against a vivid blue sky; a collection of well-used kitchen knives hanging on a blood red wall; a saddle at the foot of a bed made of logs; a heavy iron door latch; a straw hat on an ancestral bust, a chipped enamel teapot on a floral table cover, a scarred blue trunk juxtaposed with a vibrant red woven cloth; a carpet of silvery & taupe oak leaves littering the ground; gothic stained glass; silver candlesticks; old leather books, the green arc of a fern frond... If that is what you want, it is quite beautifully done.