Decorating Texas provides a broad survey with an emphasis on a wide variety of individual buildings, which exhibit an assortment of interiors and decorations by many different artists.

Purple three-awn. Tree of heaven. Alamo vine. Narrowleaf cattail. These exotic and fanciful names conjure up visions of lush foliage, colorful grasses, and dense plant life. They are, in fact, names of native and naturalized Texas plants—grasses, pods, vines, and weeds. Lovely and all-too-often overlooked in nature, they become ornamental delights when used imaginatively and decoratively. Grasses, Pods, Vines, Weeds introduces 44 of Texas' most common and important naturals. Quentin Steitz shows how to recognize them and discover their aesthetic wealth. By taking the reader through all of the steps involved in utilizing naturals—from harvest to design—her book becomes an important tool for floral and landscape designers, decorators, horticulturalists, home gardeners, botanists: all those people who enjoy hands-on experience with Texas' vast array of native and naturalized plants. The book presents clear and concise descriptions of many Texas naturals, accompanied by approximately 150 full-color photographs showing each in one or more stages of growth and also in a design. The reader can see the plant as it looks not only in the wild but also in an arrangement. The author offers techniques on how the species can be prepared for display, discussing drying and arranging. And a chapter on cultivation and conservation suggests to outdoor enthusiasts species they can grow for decorative natural materials as well as conserve and appreciate in the wild. Grasses, Pods, Vines,Weeds is enhanced by flora selected, collected, prepared, and dried by the author. These hand-culled materials have been used in designs contributed by some nineteen notable floral designers as well as the author. The text and designs combine to reveal the fresh, creative applications of Texas' decorative naturals and to increase our pleasure in the wonders of natural Texas.

Texas Country Style shows a way of living and decorating that is richly historic, proudly patriotic and wildly free. Incorporating all these elements into the Texas style opens the door to an eclectic expression of personal taste.

A compelling survey of Texas houses that draw both on the heritage of pioneer ranches and on the twentieth-century design principles of modernism. Helen Thompson and Casey Dunn, the writer/photographer team that produced the exceptionally successful Marfa Modern, join forces again to investigate Texas modernism. The juxtaposition of the sleek European forms with a gritty Texas spirit generated a unique brand of modernism that is very basic to the culture of the state today. Its roots are in the early Texas pioneer houses, whose long, low profiles express an efficiency that is basic to the modern idiom. This Texas-centric style is focused on the relationship of the house to the site, the materials it is made of--most often local stone and wood--and the way the building functions in the harsh Texas climate. Dallas architect David R. Williams was the first to combine modernism with Texas regionalism in the 1930s, and his legacy was sustained by his protégé O'Neil Ford, who practiced in San Antonio from the late 1930s until his death in the mid 1970s. Their approach is seen today in the work of Lake/Flato Architects and a new generation of designers who have emerged from that distinguished firm and continue to elegantly merge modernism with the vocabulary of the Texas ranching heritage. Twenty houses are included from across the state, with examples in major urban centers like Dallas and Austin and in suburban and rural areas, including a number in the evocative Hill Country.

“Inside Texas: Culture, Identity and Houses, 1878–1920” is a 464 page book with 296 photos that tests and rejects the notion that Texas homes, like all things Texan, were unique and different. Over the 40 year time span covered by the book, decorating ideas nationally and in Texas went from the era of Victorianism with “all that stuff” to the spare, clean lines of the arts and crafts movement. By 1920, like Americans across the country, many Texans, especially the wealthier, were taking their decorating ideas from the new professionals – architects and designers – and their homes reflected less their own identity than the taste and eye of the decorator. In seven years of research, Brandimarte traveled the state, collecting photographs of interiors of Texas homes – rare in comparison to exterior views. The images reprinted here are arranged neither in chronological order nor according to decorating style but by identities –occupation, family, ethnicity, social group, region, culture and refinement, class and style. Brief biographical information about the homeowners is incorporated into the text. “Inside Texas” is about people and houses. It is social history, a significant contribution to scholarship, an invaluable resource for preservationist, docents, architects and designers as well as a book to be treasured by anyone who loves old houses.

An impressive collection of more than 70 of the finest interior designers and decorators in Texas, this volume features homes selected by the designers as some of their best work.

The story of historic churches in Texas is the story of the Anglo-American and European immigrants in Texas. It is the story of the struggle of three cultures trying to coexist in an empty and often hostile land: the Native Americans, the Mexicans, and the immigrants. It is the story of circuit-riding preachers tirelessly, clandestinely crisscrossing Texas, bringing the Protestant word of God to the people in a land where, prior to Texas's independence, only Catholicism was legal. It is the story of a people who successfully fought and won their independence to build a nation. It is the story of Texas. Over the past ten years, my wife and I have visited and photographed almost one thousand historic churches in Texas. We have seen stunningly beautiful stained-glass windows, listened to the rich tones of Texas's largest organ, and prayed in the smallest active Catholic Church in the world. We visited the oldest Polish church in the United States in Panna Maria, lingered with spirits in an abandoned church in Nacogdoches, and were dazzled by the bright colors and designs found in the Catholic Cathedral in Beaumont. In Berlin, we held a silver communion cup donated to the church in 1889, and in San Antonio we touched the sarcophagus where the remains of Alamo heroes William Travis, David Crockett, and James Bowie are said to be kept. The photographs and text, which was jointly written by William and Mary Pamela Schaefer, are attempts to capture the important history and the quiet beauty of the 186 historic Texas churches presented in this book.