The work of renowned firm McALPINE has always communicated the power of romanticism, speaking directly to the heart through the beauty and poetry of the home. Tapping diverse influences, the residences draw from architectural languages ranging from Elizabethan and Dutch to colonial Caribbean and agrarian American. The book opens with Bobby McAlpine s own newly designed house, featuring exquisite spaces that are modern in expression but classical in order and balance. Other projects include a white-on-white neoclassical pavilion-by-the-sea in the Bahamas; a masonry dwelling in the rolling hills of Virginia; a quintessential American country house in Tennessee that combines the familiarity of a farmhouse with crisp minimalism; and an exuberant house sited on the edge of a pastoral golf course in Alabama. Freely choosing from architecture s treasury, the assembly of houses is familiar, bold, and surprising, all at the same time reflecting the complexity of the human experience.

In this latest book, the renowned Southern-based designers discuss the principles that guide their extraordinary work. Five stylish houses are presented that resonate with the McAlpine aesthetic of elegant restraint and hospitality: a colour palette of heathery pastels and warm white, and grace in every piece that wears its age with dignity. Throughout this design primer, we are shown the steps that these masters have honed to produce striking interiors. Presented are five sections that cover such useful topics as the transformative powers of light through reflective materials like silver and glass; and bringing the natural world indoors with accents of shells, stones, and horn. Evocative still life compositions are devised, representative of the hues and textures that express a harmonious mood. In one of the featured residences, the prevalence of white creates a modern ambience. In another, shades of gray combined with highlights of silver, glass, and gilt establish a restful atmosphere. Colours and textures drawn from the outside world - the reflective blue of water, the soft lustre of eggshells, and the velvety brown underside of a magnolia leaf - bring natural beauty inside casual and traditional houses. All these spaces are filled with sensuous pleasure, and quiet messages of welcome and comfort; combining slipcovered furniture with Paris Flea Market finds, they appeal to a wide range of tastes.

This volume features the recent projects of McAlpine, one of the country s most highly respected architecture and interior design firms, renowned for its timeless houses exemplifying the charm and elegance of traditional and vernacular English, American, and European styles blended with a modern sensibility. Following from their first book, The Home Within Us, this book profiles twenty stunning projects, from a stone tower folly standing in the gardens of a Tudor-style house to a humble yet elegant wooden lakeside retreat. Through his poetic voice, Bobby McAlpine narrates the story of each residence, pointing out its unique qualities. Featured are an exotic Florida Panhandle beach house; a Tuscan-style horse farm; a rambling Colonial Revival compound; and a miniature European manor house, among others. These dwellings are classically understated and welcoming. With its gorgeous photography of inspiring interiors and exteriors, Poetry of Place will appeal to those interested in design romancing the past.