Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

The award-winning designer and author of Rooms showcases inspiring opportunities for the exteriors, interiors, and details of houses in this lavishly photographed book

Celebrated designer Mariette Himes Gomez believes that a house becomes a home only when it is infused with personal touches, when its individual parts flow together logically, and when it assumes a warm and welcoming character. In Houses, Gomez begins by inviting readers to consider the many elements that unify a house. She reveals how each detail—from the doors, fireplaces, and staircase, to the more conceptual elements of balance, color, and movement—contribute to the home's overall aesthetic, and how each can be combined to create a certain effect. She provides practical guidelines for building, buying, or renovating to create the perfect home, while illustrating how to instill flow and harmony in your overall design. Subscribing to the philosophy that less is more, Gomez reveals how to create homes of unparalleled beauty and grace.

Complementing Gomez's invaluable advice are stunning photographs of the interiors, exteriors, and details of breathtaking houses in a variety of gorgeous settings. An inspirational guide for every design-minded home buyer, builder, or renovator, Houses illuminates the world of possibility that opens up when you create your own home.

Average Customer Rating:

Inspirational	Customer Rating:
A true inspiration. An absolute must for anybody who wants to decorate their house.Clear layout, beautiful photos and a very interesting text. After I finished reading the book, I opened it again and browsed through all the wonderful photos. I am going to buy another book by the same author, "Rooms".

Good Buy	Customer Rating:
I had seen this book in a bookstore and so I knew what I was getting. It's a good read and the pictures are lovely and interesting. If you like these kind of books, I think you'll like this one.

Nicely written, gracious approach to home design	Customer Rating:
Ms. Gomez's style is timeless, classic. I enjoyed reading this book (in addition to the beautiful photos.) In my mind, she captures in words a great sense of how a house should "feel" in addition to how it "looks". I also appreciated her articulation of the necessary relationship between all of the parts that make up a home (the rooms, porch, landscaping, pool, etc.)

Design in Collaboration with Architecture

Customer Rating:

'Houses Inside and Out' is an excellent companion book to 'Rooms' also by Mariette Himes Gomez. I was a Gomez fan prior to her first book, 'Rooms', which I think is one of the most useful interior design books available. 'Houses inside and Out' features Gomez's understanding of a house being more than its interior. The book chronicles the harmony found in thoughtful design from the ground up. I like the photographs for their visual detail and because they showcase good design in collaboration with good architecture in environments suiting the homes. They also showcase Gomez's artful arrangement of shapes and forms in the volumes of the homes she designs within. I reviewed 'Rooms' when it first came out and was followed by a review alluding to my being in the publisher's camp. Not the case, but as a fan of Gomez, I still sticky-note my issues of 'Architectural Digest' whenever a Gomez interior is featured. Gomez's second book is a good read like her first. I'll refer to 'Houses Inside and Out' (as I do with 'Rooms') for useful inspiration and when the company of a good interior design books beckons me. Gomez's writing style is refreshingly open and steeped in designer wisdom. I enjoy absorbing her thoughtful approaches to color choices, furniture groupings, scale and texture and placement of art and accessories. 'Houses Inside and Out' is a delightful complement to my collection of interior design, architecture and landscape design books.

Very Pretty Book!

Customer Rating:

Beautiful photography of gorgeous interiors & useful, informative text on decorating, illustrating how interiors can be gorgeous, functional and practical at the same time. Also looks at starting out buying and decorating your first home. Not terribly oversized like some recent decorating books - compact & neat looking. All color & good quality glossy paper used. The cover is seductive because it makes you feel as if you're being invited into that house! And the cover is just the beginning - the rest of the book is just as tempting!