Handcrafted Modern

Presents the homes of some prominent mid-century architects and designers, homes that they designed for themselves.

An intimate and revealing collection of photographs of astonishingly beautiful, iconic, and undiscovered mid-century interiors. Among significant mid-century interiors, none are more celebrated yet underpublished as the homes created by architects and interior designers for themselves. This collection of newly commissioned photographs presents the most compelling homes by influential mid-century designers, such as Russel Wright, George Nakashima, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, and Eva Zeisel, among others. Intimate as well as revelatory, Williamson’s photographs show these creative homes as they were lived in by their designers: Walter Gropius’s historic Bauhaus home in Massachusetts; Albert Frey’s floating modernist aerie on a Palm Springs rock outcropping; Wharton Esherick’s completely handmade Pennsylvania house, from the organic handcarved staircase to the iconic furniture. Personal and breathtaking by turn—these homes are exemplary studies of domestic modernism at its warmest and most creative.

This intimate portrait of both iconic and unknown midcentury European designers and architectural masterpieces reveals an inspiring personal approach to modernism. This gorgeously photographed volume features the intimate and private spaces of both the icons and unknown vanguards of European midcentury architecture and design. Showcasing the functional beauty of midcentury design, Modern Originals presents the innovative homes by some of the most compelling and influential European midcentury designers, including Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Finn Juhl, Robin and Lucienne Day, and Gae Aulenti, to name a few. Williamson gained exclusive access to homes that are often closed to the public, and this intimacy is reflected in her richly detailed photographs. Each chapter is dedicated to a single home where the interiors are intact as they were lived in by their designers. Examples include the iconic Studio Achille Castiglioni in Milan; the Helsinki home of Aino and Alvar Aalto with signs of functionalism preserved; Finn Juhl's Scandinavian farmhouse, with warm woods and bursts of primary colors; and Carlo Mollino's eccentric Italian lair filled with his sensually shaped designs. This rare glimpse into the personal spaces of legendary designers in the midcentury canon reveals the highest expression of their ideas created for the most demanding of clients: themselves.

"Part armchair travel, part project book, Southwest Modern highlights the wide-open spaces and beautiful vistas of West Texas and celebrates the rich culture of New Mexico. Featuring 15 quilt patterns and three smaller projects author, Kristi Schroeder, celebrates five separate regions, one in each chapter. Each quilt is photographed on location with an accompanying color story to support the design. Included is a list of the author's favorite places to shop, eat, and play in each location. This book will appeal to anyone who has ever been so moved by their surroundings that they felt inspired to create."--

A fully illustrated instructional printmaking book presenting step-by-step examples alongside representative works from thirty top contemporary printmaking artists. Printmaking is flourishing in the modern era, appealing to both traditional artists as well as those interested in graphic design and digital techniques. This all-in-one guide is both technical and inspirational, examining the history and contemporary processes of relief, intaglio, lithography, serigraphy, mixed media, digital transfers, and post-digital graphics. Featuring step-by-step examples alongside representative works and profiles of top printmaking artists, this colorful resource provides a truly fresh look at printmaking today, in all its forms.

A celebration of the innovative, artisanal, and sustainable living exemplified by contemporary Dutch interiors. With a carefully curated collection of interiors, including historic canal houses, restored farms, and green homes, belonging to interior designers, product designers, architects, and artists, this book showcases creative and resourceful living. These properties have been created or renovated and brought into the twenty-first century with typical Dutch style and sensibility—environmentally friendly, imaginative uses of space filled with color and charm and never to be taken too seriously. Each home in the book reflects the personality and spirit of the people who inhabit it. From furniture designer Valentin Loellman’s handcrafted interiors in a traditional worker’s cottage on the Maas river to fiber artist Claudy Jongstra’s farmhouse in Friesland where indigo dye plants grow in the biodynamic garden, Coming Home illustrates fun ideas and easy ways to incorporate individual style into your surroundings. Whether it’s the traditional “lowlands” aesthetic of combining old and new, faded and inviting, into a casual chic or a quirky reinvention of a space that reveals a touch of eccentricity, this book illustrates why the Netherlands is truly loved by so many and can be an inspiration to us all.

Alden Dow (active 1930s-1970s) produced more than five hundred designs—often daringly modern structures. This book traces Alden Dow's life and work as well as the intensely personal philosophy that governed everything he did: houses, churches, schools, business and civic structures, and even a new town in Texas. Dow changed the face of his hometown of Midland, Michigan, leaving more than one hundred buildings, including his Home and Studio, a National Historic Landmark. 185 color and 220 black-and-white illustrations.