The Decoration of Houses - Hardcover

Wharton, Edith; Codman, Ogden Jr.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1605204412 ISBN 13: 9781605204413

Publisher: Cosimo Classics, 2008

Synopsis

Individuality in house-furnishing has seldom been more harped upon than at the present time. The cheap originality which finds expression in putting things to uses for which they were not intended is often confounded with individuality; whereas the latter consists not in an attempt to be different from other people at the cost of comfort, but in the desire to be comfortable in one's own way, even though it be the way of a monotonously large majority. It seems easier to most people to arrange a room like some one else's than to analyze and express their own needs. -from Chapter II: "Rooms in General" This classic 1898 manual of interior design is considered a standard reference of the art, and perfectly useful more than a century later. Here, renowned American architect OGDEN CODMAN, JR. (1863-1951) is joined by American author EDITH WHARTON (1862-1937), whose novels, including The House of Mirth (1905) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Age of Innocence (1920), took us into the wealthy-and tasteful-New York society she hailed from. Together, they offer timeless advice on such matters as: · the importance of balance and symmetry · how to avoid the superficial application of ornament · the necessity of adhering to proportion · the proper material for fireplace andirons · the usages of cornices · the decoration of windows · and much, much more.

About this title

About the Author:

Edith Wharton (born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 - August 11, 1937) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer. She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1927, 1928 and 1930. Wharton combined her insider's view of America's privileged classes with a brilliant, natural wit to write humorous, incisive novels and short stories of social and psychological insight. She was well acquainted with many of her era's other literary and public figures, including Theodore Roosevelt.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cosimo Classics
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1605204412
• ISBN 13: 9781605204413
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 280