Living In New England

Just as New England served as the cradle of so much of American history, so, too, has the architecture of New England come to define the American idea of home. From the colonial farmhouse in the Rhode Island countryside to the shingle-style beach cottage on Martha's Vineyard or the simple saltbox on a village square in Massachusetts, New England has evolved a distinctive residential tradition that is quintessentially American. With purity, simplicity, and a respect for the past as its hallmarks, the style we associate with New England has again come to the forefront.

Celebrating houses and interiors from Maine to Connecticut, "Living in New England" shows us the old and delights us with the new by introducing us to some of the area's most inventive and elegant interiors. Despite the rich traditions of the region, the houses showcased in this book do not rest on their laurels. Instead, their owners -- writers, artists, designers, publishers -- have created rooms that are informed by the regional vernacular but are freewheeling and up-to-date.

"New York Times" columnist Elaine Louie has worked in close collaboration with the gifted photographer Solvi dos Santos to locate some of the most beautiful, inventive, and memorable interiors throughout New England. And so this marvelous book gives us an exclusive tour of the Maine island where artist Jamie Wyeth lives and paints during the summer months, a compound that includes an antiques-filled home, a studio, and a live-in lighthouse at the mouth of the Penobscot Bay. We visit the Newport home of a grand family, its stunning interiors originally created in the nineteenth century in collaboration with Edith Wharton. We find a convertedbarn with a drop-dead view of the sea on Martha's Vineyard. And we stroll through the gardens created by interior designer Bunny Williams at her colonial farmhouse in northern Connecticut. Finally, this beautifully designed book closes with a location guide that allows us to explore the villages, towns, and countryside of New England.