Irresistible interiors that capture the essence of seaside living. Everyone dreams of a house by the sea, and this book presents the best examples of homes for escaping to the serenity of the seaside. Beautifully photographed interiors, exteriors, gardens, and patios offer a peek into these appealing homes, including Martha Stewart’s Seal Harbor, Maine, residence, Donna Karan’s Zen-like East Hampton retreat, Tommy Hilfiger’s Pop art–inspired Miami house, and Giorgio Armani’s Antigua getaway. Such top designers as Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Steven Gambrel, and Ken Fulk have decorated these lovely and inspiring homes—in quintessential seaside communities, including Block Island, Harbor Island, Malibu, and Martha’s Vineyard. A seaside house is a place to unwind in a relaxed setting—white floorboards, whimsical nautical touches, pastel tones, and vivid colors. Indoor-outdoor living is the norm. Yet it is also a place to entertain friends and family in style and can express a range of chic decorating and design tastes. From clean, modern beach houses to traditional-style cottages, these breathtaking interiors—presented by a team known for style and taste—will inspire homeowners, designers, and anyone who loves a water view.

“Unexpected and satisfying.” — New York Newsday The architect Klaus Lehmann loves his wife, Elsa, with a passion that continues throughout their married life despite long periods of separation. Almost half a century after Lehmann’s death in the village of Steerborough, a young woman, Lily, arrives to research his life and work. Pouring over Klaus’s letters to Elsa, Lily pieces together the story of their lives together and apart. And alone in her rented cottage by the sea, she begins to sense an absence in her own life that may not be filled by simply going home. The Sea House is the story of the village of Steerborough and the marshes and the sea beyond. It is the story of one generation living in the footprints of another; of a landscape shaped by lives, and lives shaped by landscape. With characteristic skill and a new depth and range, Esther Freud explores the twisting paths that people take—and the places where those paths meet.

"Selected from the pages of 'Fine Homebuilding' magazine and designed by some of America's leading architects, these 17 beach homes provide design guidance for building in this challenging environment and inspiration for anyone planning to have, or dreaming about, a hourse at the beach." - back cover.

In 1860, Alexander Ferguson, a newly ordained vicar and amateur evolutionary scientist, takes up his new parish, a poor, isolated patch on the remote Scottish island of Harris. He hopes to uncover the truth behind the legend of the selkies—mermaids or seal people who have been sighted off the north of Scotland for centuries. He has a more personal motive, too; family legend states that Alexander is descended from seal men. As he struggles to be the good pastor he was called to be, his maid Moira faces the terrible eviction of her family by Lord Marstone, whose family owns the island. Their time on the island will irrevocably change the course of both their lives, but the white house on the edge of the dunes keeps its silence long after they are gone. It will be more than a century before the Sea House reluctantly gives up its secrets. Ruth and Michael buy the grand but dilapidated building and begin to turn it into a home for the family they hope to have. Their dreams are marred by a shocking discovery. The tiny bones of a baby are buried beneath the house; the child's fragile legs are fused together—a mermaid child. Who buried the bones? And why? To heal her own demons, Ruth feels she must discover the secrets of her new home—but the answers to her questions may lie in her own traumatic past. The Sea House by Elisabeth Gifford is a sweeping tale of hope and redemption and a study of how we heal ourselves by discovering our histories.

Ruth and her husband move into a dilapidated old vicarage on a stunning island in the Outer Hebrides and set about turning the unloved house into a family home. Ruth's much-needed stability is threatened when they discover the remains of a baby buried beneath the house, its legs fused together into one limb - a mermaid child. When Ruth researches the history of the house, she uncovers the heart-breaking story of Reverend Alexander Ferguson, an amateur evolutionary scientist.

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER! A 2021 Alex Award winner! The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner! An Indie Next Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020" One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies” Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger) Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light. The House in the Cerulean Sea is an enchanting love story, masterfully told, about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours. "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

“America’s reigning queen of decorating.” —Southern Living “One of America’s premier interior designers.” —Garden Design Author and renowned designer Bunny Williams has been at the top of the interior design world for more than 40 years. Here she invites readers to explore La Colina, her lovely Caribbean retreat tucked into lush, tropical gardens by the sea. Williams writes “We knew we wanted a house where we would really live outside, a house where the ocean breezes would blow through, and a house that would be a place in which we could gather our friends and family and entertain easily.” The book explores every facet of the beautiful property located in the Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic—from outdoor rooms and garden plantings and design to the delightful, island-living luxury of the villa’s interiors, furnishings, and collections. Woven into each chapter are essays written by friends who have visited the property: Gil Schafer details the villa’s architecture Page Dickey tours the gardens Roxana Robinson offers a peek at a weekend stay Angus Wilkie discusses the delights of collecting Jane Garmey revels in the pleasures of cooking, food, and friends Let trailblazer and tastemaker Bunny Williams, a member of the Interior Design Hall of Fame, take you on a personal tour of this special home. In her introduction, she writes that her aim was to have this book “feel like a visit to our island retreat.” You’ll see in this lavish coffee table book filled with photographs, story, and advice that she succeeded.