Books

Alyssa's Thoughts: "Courtney Allison's photography and design for hosting are exceptionally incredible. Inspired Gatherings transports you to the most romantic settings and makes your heart flutter with imagination."

A layered mix of tableware and flower arrangements set the stage for inspired entertaining.

ABOUT: Entertaining starts with setting a fabulous table. In Courtney Allison’s signature French Country Cottage style, she showcases a myriad of romantic table settings for every occasion. Courtney provides the styling expertise to host your own French Country Cottage–inspired gathering, whether in the backyard, at the beach, under an old oak tree, or in a country barn. A simple picnic; coffee by the lake; a cheese board for friends outdoors; a bistro table for two; a long table for a formal meal―each setting exhibiting Allison’s dreamy style for you to emulate. The pièce de résistance in every venue, any setting, is the gorgeous arrangements of seasonal flowers; Courtney’s bouquets will take your breath away, from spring to fall, for outdoors and inside.

Courtney Allison is the author of the blog French Country Cottage and book by the same name. She also has a floral line with Balsam Hill and works as a freelance photographer and stylist for magazines and brands.

INCLUDED: 1 French Country Cottage- Inspired Gatherings Hardcover Book

 Alyssa's Thoughts: "For the french-chic woman who loves to host and imagine all the pretty things. Courtney Allison's incredible photography, words and design is everything you could imagine in a book."

A romantic interpretation of French country style in a California cottage.

ABOUT: With beautiful photography and tale about a little forgotten house that could, Courtney shares the story of her renovation of a 1940's cottage in the California countryside.  

INCLUDED: 1 French Country Cottage Hardcover Book

The dahlia is a fabulous cutting flower for the home garden. Cut one bloom, and ten more appear on the plant. Blooming late summer to the first frost of autumn, this native of Mexico provides explosions of color in home gardens. The author’s commentary unearths the dahlia from its Aztec origins and imparts practical, hands-on knowledge for growing and overwintering these tropical plants in wintry climes.

Including classics like Café au Lait and lesser-known varieties like Voodoo and Honka, readers will discover a stunning range of specimens from tiny pompoms to heavy-headed dinner plates, to those that resemble daisies, sea anemones, and even fireworks!

Naomi Slade is a well-known journalist and photographer specializing in gardening, environment, and lifestyle. A biologist by training, a naturalist by inclination, and with a lifelong love of plants, she contributes regularly to a range of British publications including The English Garden and House and Garden and appears on TV and radio.

Georgianna Lane is a leading floral, garden and travel photographer whose work has been widely published. Her work has featured in BBC Gardens Illustrated, Gardener’s World, Romantic Homes and Victoria. Visit her blog at georgiannalane.com, which chronicles her styled floral photoshoots and more.

INCLUDED: 1 "Dahlias: Beautiful Varieties for Home & Garden" Hardcover Book

Alyssa's Thoughts: Steve & Brooke have incredible design talents specializing in the European, traditional home. This book walks you through their home and gardens with beautiful inspiration.

A new farm home blending modern lines and materials with French antiques.

When Brooke and Steve Giannetti decided to leave their suburban Santa Monica home to build a new life on a farm, they looked into themselves, and travelled to Belgium and France, for inspiration. Brooke’s inviting prose combines with 200 photographs and Steve’s architectural drawings to show their inspirations, their materials selections, and the enviable result of their team effort and creativity: an idyllic farm in California’s Ojai Valley. We see every corner of the family home, guesthouse, lush gardens, and delightful animal quarters.

Steve Giannetti is a renowned architect, and Brooke is an interior decorator and writer of the design blog Velvet and Linen. They also own Giannetti Home, a store that sells furniture and products for the home in their signature Patina style. The couple’s work has been featured in the Veranda, Coastal Living, Good Housekeeping, the New York Times. They are the authors of Patina Style.

INCLUDED: 1 "Patina Farm" Hardcover Book

Alyssa's Thoughts: "Marie's incredible design talents show entirely through her book. Beautiful traditional design inspires me in so much of my design today."

The Beauty of Home combines refined elegance and innovative simplicity for a fresh, new perspective on traditional interior design.

Magic doesn’t necessarily follow a formula, but perhaps it does have a framework. Marie Flanigan’s interiors are timeless and soulful―immediately recognizable, yet also reflective of her clients’ individual stories. Dive deeper into the nine elements that define her work, including archi­tecture, illumination, composition, and surprise. Peek behind the curtain as Marie reveals her creative process and the essential elements for curating her signature blend of approachable elegance. Uniting poetry with purpose, this book uncovers the true beauty of home.

Marie Flanigan is an award-winning interior designer whose achievements have positioned her as a household name. Originally trained as an architect, Marie seamlessly unites structure with style, unlocking a unique level of depth through her mutual consideration of an interior and its setting. For more than a decade, Marie has crafted well-articulated spaces that expertly reflect the stories of those who dwell within. Marie’s projects elevate every day, soulfully revealing the true beauty of home.

INCLUDED: 1 "The Beauty of Home: Redefining Traditional Interiors" Hardcover Book

Romantic blooms for novice, expert, or armchair rose gardeners.

Who wouldn’t be romanced by names like Lovely Fairy, Desdemona, Elegantyne, Anne Boleyn, Leonardo da Vinci, and Blue for You? Vintage roses encompass both the true “old” roses and the best of the “modern” roses, developed to celebrate the classic, ageless, enduring beauty of the old varieties.

The 60 specially selected specimens include those that have the best visual appearance and most fragrant perfume and are also easy to grow and produce beautiful flowers for cutting.

The perfect mix of engaging, inspirational commentary and no-fuss gardening notes shows that roses can be grown and enjoyed by all―whether a novice, an expert or an armchair rose gardener.

Jane Eastoe's previous books include Elizabeth: Reigning in Style, Fabulous Frocks, and a series of guidebooks for The National Trust (UK) on everything budding homesteaders need to know, from Henkeeping to Home-Grown Fruit.

Georgianna Lane is a leading floral, garden, and travel photographer whose work has been published internationally in such magazines as The New Yorker, BBC Gardens Illustrated, Britain magazine, Romantic Homes, and Gardener’s World (UK).

INCLUDED: 1 "Vintage Roses: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden" Hardcover Book

An architectural monograph of lyrical, bespoke homes built to last.

The houses designed by Wade Weissmann and his firm tell the stories of the homeowners. Like beautiful music, a Wade Weissmann house is composed of notes and expressions, rhythm and syncopation, moving forward in time and space toward a resolution that separates ordinary from extraordinary architecture: harmony. Known for their shingle-style homes, they also design ranch houses and equestrian estates, romantic cottages, contemporary penthouses, and lake homes.

There is nothing ordinary about a WWA house; custom woodwork, architectural details, and the finest materials set these residences apart from all others. Also featured are a couple of striking commercial designs.

Steven Stolman is a writer and designer with an observant eye on high society. He has a keen sense of the history of design in fashion, architecture and interiors. He is a brand consultant and sought-after speaker. He has authored four previous books, among them Scalamandre: Haute Décor.

INCLUDED: 1 "Heirloom Houses: The Architecture of Wade Weissmann" Hardcover Book

Alyssa's Thoughts: "Steve & Brooke's newest release, this book walks you through the homes they designed with beautiful inspiration."

For anyone who has loved the Giannetti books about Patina Farm, this book continues the aesthetic in a variety of styles.

Steve Giannetti's architectural designs springboard from his image of ultimate beauty; a place where modern, classical and industrial elements merge to create a unique style with a modern sense of space and emotion drawn from history. His materials palette consists of wood, metal, and stone. His color palette is a chalky patina. Twelve varied homes ranging from a modern desert glass box and a beachfront contemporary to a historic East Coast farmhouse and a Provencal-style home in California show how Steve has used these themes to solve unique architectural challenges. Steve has collaborated with his wife, Brooke, as well as other designers on the various interiors.

INCLUDED: 1 "Patina Homes" Hardcover Book

Alyssa's Thoughts: "Steve & Brooke have incredible design talents specializing in the European, traditional home. This book walks you through their gardens and farm life with beautiful inspiration."

The heartwarming story of how the Giannetties live and entertain in the well-designed and lushly planted gardens of their farm in Ojai, California.

An intimate look at life on Patina Farm enjoying the interplay of rustic and modern European farmhouse charm―including the sheds, outbuildings and well-designed gardens where the Giannetti's entertain and enjoy their miniature goats, sheep and donkeys, the chickens and ducks, and dogs. In addition to the home, charming sheds and outbuildings in the Patina landscape are inspiration for a beautiful life in the popular Patina Style.

“We decided to write this book to share why we decided to create this life and what we have learned along the way. We share how we decided where to live, how to design and layout our property and how to think about the individual spaces. One of the main nuggets of wisdom that we have learned is that there is not only one way to live this life. The idea of this book is to give you some options.” -Brooke Gianetti

Brooke Gianetti is a California-based interior decorator, shop opener, and blogger. Her projects frequently incorporate Belgian and Swedish antiques paired with industrial and outdoor elements. She frequently collaborates with architect husband, Steve Giannetti, on projects as well as their home store, Gianetti Home in Santa Barbara. They live in Ojai.

INCLUDED: 1 "Patina Living" Hardcover Book

ABOUT: A vital young voice in the gardening scene teaches a new generation of Southerners to love gardening and to make it a focal point of their lifestyle. James Farmer III teaches respect for the age-old rules of flower and vegetable gardening in the Deep South (e.g., plant in spring for fall blooms, plant in fall for spring blooms), in a fresh voice that resonates love of life and entertaining at home. Also included are delicious recipes for seasonal meals, as well as suggestions for floral arrangements and centerpieces from the garden.

INCLUDED: 1 A Time To Plant: Southern-Style Garden Living Hardcover Book

Among the more than 30 great and small projects within In & Out of Paris are Vaux-le-Vicomte, Versailles, and Courances―all classic André Le Nôtre–style French gardens. Also discover the Paris gardens of celebrated artist Jean-Michel Othoniel and art aficionado Pierre Bergé, architect Kenzō Takada’s Japanese retreat in the Bastille, Australian couturier Martin Grant’s tiny terrace in the Marais, Mexican painter MariCarmen Hernandez’s Montmartre rooftop, and American architect Michael Herrman’s homage to Le Corbusier’s surreal Champs Élysées garden for bon vivant Charles de Beistegui.

Modern masters Louis Benech, Gilles Clement, Pascal Cribier, Christian Fournet, Camille Muller, Hugues Peuvergne, and Pierre-Alexandre Risser are also featured, representing a new era of experiments, color, and asymmetry in the Paris garden.

ZAHID SARDAR is a San Francisco–based editor, writer, and curator specializing in architecture, interiors, and design. His work has appeared in Dwell, Interiors, Western Interiors & Design, Interior Design, House & Garden, Elle Décor, House Beautiful, and Landscape Architecture. He has taught design history at the California College of the Arts and has written several other books, including West Coast Modern and New Garden Design.

MARION BRENNER is an award-winning photographer whose work has appeared in numerous books including New Garden Design, and magazines including House & Garden, House Beautiful, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, Elle Décor and Sunset. Her work is also in the permanent collections of the SFMOMA and the Berkeley Art Museum, which showcased her photographs in a solo exhibition. She lives and gardens in Berkeley, California.

INCLUDED: 1 "In & Out of Paris: Gardens of Secret Delights" Hardcover Book