Sonoma Valley Style: At Home in California's Wine Country

Book Description

Sonoma Valley: the name alone evokes a wonderful sense of warmth, beauty, and magic. On hearing it, one envisions landscapes of sparkling rivers, verdant, vineyard-banked hillsides, and sunshine―in short, paradise. Having had this dream, those lured by the spell of Sonoma arrive to discover a place far more spectacular than imagined. In Sonoma Valley Style, author Kathryn Masson and award-winning photographer Steven Brooke offer us an intimate tour of this extraordinary place. By way of brilliant, full-color photography and lucid prose, we gain privileged entry into the stunning houses and easy lifestyle of this lush Eden.
Sonoma Valley Style illustrates, in full color, extraordinary, restored and lived-in Mexican-period adobes, 19th-century Victorian farmhouses, early 20th-century craftsman bungalows, modern “California” ranch houses, and contemporary residences on the cutting edge of design.

Customer Reviews:

Contrasts and highlights a variety of elegant homes, from restored Mexican adobes to Victorian farmhouses.......2005-10-12

Author Kathryn Masson is a native Californian with access to some of the finest private homes and gardens in the area: Sonoma Valley Style: At Home In California's Wine Country pairs lovely color photos by Steven Brooke of both exteriors and interiors with Masson's feature of wine country homes and weekend retreats. Each home receives descriptions of the homeowner's goals, collaborations between architects and builders, and review of unique design attributes and challenges. From a historic Craftsman farmhouse to a 21st century interpretation of Arts and Crafts style, Sonoma Valley Style contrasts and highlights a variety of elegant homes, from restored Mexican adobes to Victorian farmhouses.

High Quality Writing/Photography/Printing.......2005-08-26

Sonoma Valley is not far from it's better known neighbor Napa Valley. What that really means is that it's not nearly as crowded with tourists. Still prime wine growing country the first vinyards date from the middle 1800's. It also seems that wine people tend to not be poor. The houses from the old vinyards are classical and elegant. The houses from the new vinyards are not bad either.

In this book you'll see a lot of kitchens with Viking type stovetops. There aren't many stoves from Sears purchased second hand. The book is a description of some of the more elegant houses in Sonoma Valley. It is profusely photographed by Steven Brooke an architectural photographer of reknown. His works include books on Rome, Jerusalem, Savannah, Napa and others. His pictures have a warm, creamy look that I find very inviting. The description that goes with the houses combines descriptive information with history and tales of the people who buile/remodeled them.

The book is about what you would expect of a coffee table book on a region: high quality pictures, high quality writing, high quality printing.

California Wine Country: Interior Design, Architecture, and Style

Average customer rating:

Nice start - but barely a beginning
Beautiful
An architect's opinion of this book
IMAGINE LIVING IN THE WINE COUNTRY

California Wine Country: Interior Design, Architecture, and Style
Diane Dorrans Saeks
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Style | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0811815013

Amazon.com

True to the sense of bounty and calm that the California wine regions convey, Diane Dorrans Saeks writes, "Wine Country life is private, peaceful, undisturbed. Rural bliss soothes the mind. The Wine Country encourages simple wonder and gratitude." The inhabitants of the idyllic properties presented in California Wine Country must feel grateful indeed. This unbelievably seductive book of heavenly hideaways is divided into five sections: "Classic," "Poetic," "Rustic," "Collectors," and "Weekends." The Santa Ynez, Russian River, and Alexander Valley regions are explored, as well as the more well-known Napa and Sonoma areas.

Saeks sought out creative people--artists and art dealers, designers, restaurateurs--whose houses range from a splendid Venetian villa near Calistoga to a 12-by-16-foot tent (furnished with antiques) on the edge of a peaceful Sonoma lake. The interiors are magazine-perfect (not a cell phone or fax machine in sight) and true to the prevailing architecture, whether angular and austere or funky adobe. There is a Mediterranean-inspired lusciousness in every photograph: grapes spill from the vines covering a patio, rambler roses cover a wooden gate, and doorways invariably open onto hillside vistas complete with blue sky. The directory at the book's end includes design and furnishings stores, as well as bookstores with good design sections, kitchen equipment stores, and restaurant, hotel, and winery recommendations.

Book Description

The first book to celebrate Wine Country lifestyle and interiors, California Wine Country offers an intimate tour of the ease and elegance that prospers amidst the vineyards and lush hillsides of the California wine-growing regions. Best-selling style writer Diane Dorrans Saeks walks the personal, memorable, and inspiring homes and hideaways of more than twenty-five Wine Country homeowners -- including an apple orchardist, a painter, a chef, an architect, and a gardener -- as they enjoy the seasonal splendor of outdoor dining, vine-covered vistas, sun-dappled interiors, and the spectacular surroundings of a region where lifestyle marries landscape. One of the most popular travel destinations on the West Coast, the Sonoma-Napa countryside is esteemed for its natural beauty and casually luxurious way of life. Throughout the region, and from the Anderson Valley to the vineyards of Santa Barbara, uniquely decorated homes are treasured for their architecture, seclusion, and unparalleled setting. Saeks visits nearly thirty such houses, including a renovated farmhouse and barn; a rustic family home amidst a walnut orchard; and a dreamy lakeside "tent" home in Sonoma. With more than two hundred beautiful color photographs, California Wine Country brilliantly captures the spirit and flavor of the Wine Country way of life.

Customer Reviews:

Nice start - but barely a beginning.......2003-09-06

Ms. Saeks did a reasonable job, but the book is close to worthless if you want to design your house in a recognizable California Wine Country style. Katya and I suggest developing a color palette from the book, but after tens of hours of studying it we can not determine a quantifiable style. Consider this book as a raw first start; a survey of modest importance. The interiors are all over the map. The only commonality is their location in California. Worth buying - yes, but only to understand the diversity possible. Is a more serious study necessary - yes. California wine country is a combination of Tuscan, Provencal, and Spanish Colonial/Early California, with Asian influences. Themes and moods vary. Pretty much freestyle designing. However, certain rules will give you a recognizable style. We're working on it.

- Jim and Katya Preston

Beautiful.......2001-07-29

I collect decorating books (I'm obsessed with them!) and this is my absolute favorite! It's sitting on my coffee table and I look at it again and again; I wish I could find more like it. We have recently purchased/remodled another house and this book was the inspiration for many of the things I incorporated into this house.

An architect's opinion of this book.......2000-05-05

This book is a beautiful presentation of Interior (and outdoor) Design, but little true architecture. Most of the profiled homes appear as sets in a film and seem unrealistic as full time residences. As an architect, I will admit that most are wonderful, humanly scaled spaces. I'm not sure why the wine country is profiled-- other than the budgets are fat there. Overall, the book is worth the price.

IMAGINE LIVING IN THE WINE COUNTRY.......1999-08-03

Hi, I am the author. The Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez...they are hot now. Everyone dreams of living in the Wine Country. The pages of this book will set you dreaming more...and imagining a trip to relax, go wine tasting, perhaps look at real estate...and certainly to dine at The French Laundry. (See Chef Thomas Keller's kitchen in this book.)

Book Description

Produce beautiful trees quickly and easily with Terry Harrison's simple watercolour techniques. He paints many of his favourite trees, including cypress, conifers, willow, horse chestnut, oak, birch and trees with blossom. With clear step-bystep instruction and inspirational paintings, this book will encourage artists to create their own original pictures.

Average customer rating:

Infrared shooters must have!!!

Awesome Book

Great Infrared Book for Wedding Photographers Everywhere

Author Comments on the book

Good technical advice, but poorly written

Infrared Wedding Photography: Techniques and Images in Black & White
Patrick Rice , Barbara Rice , and Travis Hill
Manufacturer: Amherst Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Reference | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | How-to | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Digital Infrared Photography: Professional Techniques and Images

Photographer's Guide to Wedding Album Design and Sales

The Art of Wedding Photography: Professional Techniques with Style

Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Memories

The Best of Wedding Photojournalism: Techniques and Images from the Pros

ASIN: 1584280204

Product Description

Discover new techniques for capturing dramatic images at every phase of the wedding with this step-by-step manual. Professional photographers and photographic instructors themselves, the authors cover selection of film and equipment, lighting, marketing infrared wedding photography and much more. Over 60 black-and-white photos, 128 pp., 81/2 x 11 (21.6 x 27.9cm), Softbound.

Customer Reviews:

Infrared shooters must have!!!.......2007-09-06

Many examples of infrared images and a thorough explanation of each one that includes both technical and artistic qualities applied. From cover 2 cover it is great!!!!

Awesome Book.......2007-02-15

I have read several of Patrick Rice's books. He is awesome. His books are very educational, and well writen. The way he writes it makes it easy to understand.

His work is the best. I personally love his infrared work best. He is truly inspiring to the rest of us Professional Photographers.

I have had the great pleasure of sitting in on one of his classes. GREAT!!!

I highly suggest you read this book if you are interested in infrared and wedding photography. Then I suggest you read several of his other books.
Especially his new book, Master Guide. You will learn ALOT.

Great Infrared Book for Wedding Photographers Everywhere.......2006-02-22

This is by far the best book on infrared photography for the wedding photographer. Although some other wedding books I have touch on the topic, this one is complete. In great detail, every photo included is described with both technical information and the photographer's thoughts when creating the picture. This is a great book.

Author Comments on the book.......2006-02-22

As one of the authors, I wanted to create a text that covered the art of infrared photography from the wedding photographer's point of view.

The images are from real weddings with real Brides and Grooms. Infrared photography provides a "dream-like" look to your images that can not be achieved any other way. I have found infrared wedding photography to be rewarding both artistically and financially. I hope it can do the same for you.

Good technical advice, but poorly written.......2002-03-24

This is an excellent book regarding infrared photography, with many fine examples which are clearly explained. It is a good starting point for anyone who wants to try infrared photography. This book could have been much better, however, had the authors studied basic syntax and sentence structure beforehand. Much of the writing style is clumsy and tends to get in the way of enjoying the content.

Customer Reviews:

"Look out for that plucked Chicken.....".......2003-01-09

Fuzz, a stuffed teddy bear escaping from an abusive child, and Pluck, a plucked Rooster on the run from a soup factory, wind up in a strange city where slavery has replaced prisons. They're purchased by a strange couple (The wife has unusual plans for Fuzz..), must fight a giant shrub creature, learn starvation techniques from an emaciated Zen Monkey, and vomit on a baby. If this sounds like fun to you, Fuzz and Pluck would be a wise purchase to make. I mean, who wouldn't love the ornery Pluck, whose cute antics include stealing crutches from old crippled men? I lost count of the times I found myself doubled over with laughter reading this book- Ted Stearn is a genius! The art and dialogue are perfect, and Fantagraphics has created a lovely, affordable package. Looking forward to the sequel, Splitsville. Highly recommended!

very high.......2002-05-27

Probably the best comics-book I ever read. Funny and sad at the same time - and that on a very high level.

Big in Virginia.......2000-05-31

Ted Stearn's Fuzz and Pluck details the struggles for survival of his title characters, a talking teddy bear and a skinny, plucked chicken, respectively. Broke and sold into slavery, our guys make their escape and manage to get by any way they can, meeting all manner of bizzarre characters along the way, and creating an odd sort of metaphor for life itself. Fuzz and Pluck made their first appearance in David Mazzuchelli's Rubber Blanket several years ago, and this story was originally serialized in Fantagraphics' anthology title, Zero Zero. It has a much stronger effect, as most comics do, as a collection. Very odd, and oddly entertaining.

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......1999-10-25

This is an incredible book. Ted Stearn is an inspired and talented author. His artwork is something to behold.

Funny and fascinating.......1999-09-15

Ted Stearn is a genius! He captures life's ironies in a way that is unique and believable.

Average customer rating:

Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville
Ted Stearn
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QG3370

Average customer rating:

Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville
Ted Stearn
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006S4R8W

Average customer rating:

Fuzz & Pluck

Manufacturer: Cornelius
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I70MIA

Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville (2002) (FUZZ & pLUCK IN SPLITSVILLE, 2)

Average customer rating:

Fuzz & Pluck in Splitsville (2002) (FUZZ & pLUCK IN SPLITSVILLE, 2)
TED STEARN
Manufacturer: GARY GROTH AND KIM THOMPSON
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
ASIN: B000KNLPDS

Product Description

COMIC

Average customer rating:

Fuzz & Pluck.
TED STEARN
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RQUBBU

Product Description

The Mandara Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Mandara name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Mandara family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Mandara name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Mandara last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Mandara name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Mandara family name book. If your last name is not Mandara, then check out our collection of nearly 300,000 family name books to find other available names in the series.

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