Shades of Country: Designing a Life of Comfort - Hardcover

"Chippy Irvine has masterfully presented some of America's most beautiful, charming and fascinating country houses. The book is written with style and wit as she directs her readers on a truly grand tour of houses from manor to cottage. All are houses that reflect a strong personal taste while at the same time employing the sometimes elusive qualities that make a house a home!" --Albert Hadley
Shades of Country: Designing a Life of Comfort by Chippy Irvine (Taunton Press, $40), offers a grand tour of a wide variety of lovely American homes whose country-inspired decor ranges from Shaker simple to grand and stately, cozy cottage to massive mountain lodge. --Eils Lotozo, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Regardless of your personal aesthetic, there's a style or shade of country that can work for you -- that's the premise of Irvine's latest book. She writes about dozens of real people's homes, including her own in upstate New York, which fall into six categories or chapters: Farmhouse (functional and familiar), Grand Country (stately and traditional), Cozy Cottage (nostalgia and sweet sentiment), Rusticators (romantic retreats), Clean and Simple (Shaker and Swedish country) and Urban Arcadia (eclectic, artistic and edgy). She saves the best for last -- fashion and design maven Marian McEvoy's stylish 1740 stone house on the Hudson River.--Marge Colborn, The Detroit News
Shades of Country by Chippy Irvine (Taunton Press; $40; hardback) looks at all the ways country can be country through fabrics, accessories, paint and furniture. Irvine goes to the heart of sub-styles -- such as grand country or Cape Cod cottage -- to discuss the spirit, basic elements and traditional details. This bookdoesn't reinvent country for modern audiences, but celebrates the appeal of a charming and complex style. Photos highlight unusual and interesting features from a variety of homes, while essays offer in-depth explanations on history and traditions. --Orlando Sentinel