At Home in Tennessee: Classic Historic Interiors

Amazon.com Price: $49.95 (as of 12/04/2019 08:12 PST- Details)

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Description

In the first half of the nineteenth century, when road transportation used to be still a somewhat primitive affair in the South, families would open their doors for what they known as an “at home,” entertaining friends and relatives who came and went during the day. This book is an “at home” of sorts: a celebration of Tennessee’s antebellum domestic décor and its influence on interiors today.

Donna Dorian and Anne Hall showcase twenty historic homes rich in material culture. From museum houses to meticulously preserved private antebellum homes to houses decorated by recent homeowners in a historic style, each displays its original furnishings or is refurbished with authentic period pieces. Even though the book includes many of Tennessee’s great historic houses, such as Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage and General James Winchester’s Cragfont, this sampling of domiciles represents a range of economic and social strata. With homes including a log cabin furnished with vernacular pieces designed by regional cabinetmakers and high-style brick mansions of planters and merchants filled with fine furniture, the book points to the remarkable legacy of Tennessee’s decorative arts between 1800 and 1860.

For each house, Dorian gives a full of life brief history of its construction and occupants. She then describes in detail the décor, stunningly captured in natural light by Hall’s photographic lens. Together, words and images focus on the arrangement and selection — in addition to the form, function, and style — of furniture, portraits, wall coverings, paint techniques, lighting, carpets, wood and plasterwork, window treatments, textiles, china, silver, ceramics, pottery, hardware, gardens, and more: in short, all the ornamental and practical touches of a home that reflect the individuals who lived and entertained there. The book concludes with an overview of the significance of the history and ingenuity of antebellum interiors in Tennessee homes today.

Only in recent years has an appreciation for Tennessee’s antebellum architecture, interior design, and decorative arts begun to emerge fully. At Home in Tennessee amplifies this beloved heritage and its place in recent décor.


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