DESIGNERS HERE AND THERE

During the week, interior designers select fabulous fabrics, furniture,paint, lighting, and accessories for clients' homes. On the weekends, theycan devote themselves to beautifying their own. Materials and finishes thatlater appear in commissioned work often appear here first, as designers usethe rooms and walls of their primary and secondary residences like a blankcanvas for perfecting details and techniques central to their trade.Thirty-eight private primary and vacation residences belonging to today'smost renowned decorators from around the country inspire with full-colorimages of exquisitely appointed chic city apartments, elegant townhouses,minimalist midcentury gems, quaint cottages, historic mansions andfarmhouses, cozy log cabins, and beachside retreats in locations rangingfrom Palm Desert to Palm Beach, Austin, Chicago, East Hampton, and Boston.Michele Keith's lively, accessible text brings each distinct personality tolife, revealing how and why the designers gravitate to styles ranging fromfirmly traditional to coolly contemporary to Hollywood Regency, how theattributes of each location—setting, proportions, andcharacter—influence design direction, and how designers includingMartha Angus, Barclay Butera, Eric Cohler, Andrew Fisher and JeffryWeisman, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, Eve Robinson, and Vicente Wolf choose tospend time in the intensely personal spaces they have created. Eachdesigner's top five favorite decorating tips encourage all eager to perfecttheir own homes to begin.