"An impressive reference work." - Library Journal (on the 1997 edition) A richly detailed and easy-to-use reference to 500 years of architectural details and styles. Owners and potential buyers of period houses, restorers, architects, interior designers and historical preservationists will find this reference invaluable. The Elements of Style is the most comprehensive visual survey, period-by-period, feature-by-feature, of the styles that have had the greatest impact on interiors of American and British domestic architecture. Compiled by a team of experts, this is the first book on architectural styles that is comprehensive, incredibly thorough, and accessible in its presentation of individual details. This magnificent volume covers more than 500 years of architectural styles from Tudor to Post-Modern and includes American and British vernacular styles. First published in 1991 (with 150,000 copies sold), this new edition is expanded to include the most contemporary styles. Detailed illustrations include 3,000 analytical drawings and historic engravings, 400 photographs in color and 1,000 in black and white. The heart of The Elements of Style is a chronological survey of the primary styles and periods of architectural design. Each chapter begins with an illustrated essay, then covers in detail features such as: Doors Windows Walls, floors and ceilings Staircases Ironwork and hardware Woodwork and built-in furniture Kitchen stoves and fireplaces Essential period architectural details, and more. The book also includes: A useful system of quick reference, employing color-coded tabs showing how particular features evolved over time, and A fully updated resource list with contact information for locating suppliers of those design elements illustrated throughout the book. The Elements of Style is the essential reference for preservationists, architects, interior designers, owners of period homes, and historians.

Visual presentation of the many types of houses built in America from the earliest Indian dwellings to designs for futuristic homes.

Victorian architecture, with its quirky diversity, eclectic origins, and exuberant ornamentation, continues to exert a strong attraction on today's architects, builders, and homeowners. For those interested in restoring, preserving, or even re-creating Victorian homes, authentic plans and designs are invaluable. This volume, meticulously reproduced from a rare nineteenth-century publication, offers an exceptionally rich pictorial record of actual mid- to late-Victorian designs. Extremely clear and detailed engravings — drawn to scale — present elevations, floor plans, perspectives, and other drawings (in some cases, complete framing plans) for country houses and cottages in a variety of styles: Queen Anne, Eastlake, Elizabethan, Colonial, Jacobean, Southern, Californian, and more. There are even designs for several store and office fronts, with counters, shelving, etc. Supplementing the large number of complete designs are nearly 700 large-scale drawings of virtually every architectural detail, many embodying the unique "gingerbread" that characterizes Victorian buildings. Included are clear, precise renderings of balusters, brackets, dormers, fireplaces, finials, gables, mantels, moldings, newels, porches, rafters, rosettes, staircases, transoms, verandahs, wainscoting, windows, and hundreds of other features. Restorers of old houses, preservationists, students of American architectural history, admirers of Victoriana, and anyone interested in the Victorian Gothic styles that dominated American domestic architecture in the late 1800s will want to have this inexpensive treasury of authentic century-old plans and details.

Publisher description

The graphic design equivalent to Strunk & White's The Elements of Style This book is simply the most compact and lucid handbook available outlining the basic principles of layout, typography, color usage, and space. Being a creative designer is often about coming up with unique design solutions. Unfortunately, when the basic rules of design are ignored in an effort to be distinctive, design becomes useless. In language, a departure from the rules is only appreciated as great literature if recognition of the rules underlies the text. Graphic design is a "visual language," and brilliance is recognized in designers whose work seems to break all the rules, yet communicates its messages clearly. This book is a fun and accessible handbook that presents the fundamentals of design in lists, tips, brief text, and examples. Chapters include Graphic Design: What It Is; What Are They and What Do They Do?; 20 Basic Rules of Good Design; Form and Space-The Basics; Color Fundamentals; Choosing and Using Type; The World of Imagery; Putting it All Together?Essential Layout Concepts; The Right Design Choices: 20 Reminders for Working Designers; and Breaking the Rules: When and Why to Challenge all the Rules of this Book.