Organized by season and anchored by authentic, classic New England houses, this book will show the real New England, capturing the experience of each place; its people, culture, and history. 200+ color photos.

Complemented by two hundred full-color photographs, a dramatic portrait of New England captures the essential flavor and style of the region in a study of the symbols, art, architecture, decorative arts, and other unique elements of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, rural New England society underwent a radical transformation as the traditional household economy gave way to an encroaching market culture. Drawing on a wide array of diaries, letters, and published writings by women in this society, Catherine E. Kelly describes their attempts to make sense of the changes in their world by elaborating values connected to rural life. In her hands, the narratives reveal the dramatic ways female lives were reshaped during the antebellum period and the women's own contribution to those developments. Equally important, she demonstrates how these writings afford a fuller understanding of the capitalist transformation of the countryside and the origins of the Northern middle class.Provincial women exalted rural life for its republican simplicity while condemning that of the city for its aristocratic pretension. The idyllic nature of the former was ascribed to the financial independence that the household economy had long provided those in the farming community. Kelly examines how the juxtaposition of rural virtue to urban vice served as a cautionary defense against the new realities of the capitalist market society. She finds that women responded to the transition to capitalism by upholding a set of values which point toward the creation of a provincial bourgeoisie.

From colonial farmhouses in the Rhode Island countryside to shingled beach cottages on Martha's Vineyard, this lush tour of some of New England's most inventive and quintessentially American interiors reveals the unique regional style that has come to define our country's idea of home. Color photos.

Melding the region’s time-honored architecture with a multifaceted design sensibility. Featuring 10 of New England’s top interior designers New England lays claim to boundless bits of history. The past is everywhere, especially in the architecture. Surrounded by all this history, is it challenging to encompass a modern design perspective; to create forward thinking interior spaces? For a long time that was the case. But not anymore. Residents now want their interiors to exude an innovative, worldly flair. They want their spaces to embody progress and technology, to exude a cosmopolitan spirit. Big sideboards and heavy chairs have been swapped out for elements that resonate with a cleaner décor. Formal rooms have been obviated with open floor plans. Punches of unexpected color, bold patterns, and layers of textural elements abound. While New Englanders previously clung to style selections that were safe and understated, interiors now feature dramatic elements, reflecting a curated mix of furnishings, modern assemblages of leather, glass, and steel, and other statement-making contrasting materials. New England Modern highlights interiors created by ten New England designers that are bold and vibrant, with a modern feel and flow just right for today’s homeowners.

"Read the stories behind the scenery: Short, rich, uncommonly engaging histories and descriptions of New England's most notable and recognizable features are accompanied by pitch-perfect photos by one of the region's best architectural photographers."--P. [4] of jacket.

New England's seasons call for plenty of warm knitwear, and New England Knits provides an irresistible collection of beautiful designs. Inspired by autumn and winter in New England (where the savvy knitter is never far from a sweater between September and March), the book is divided into three themes: Walk in the Woods, Around the Town, and Along the coast. Within each section readers will find a variety of flattering, wearable sweaters and accessories (including hats, mittens, scarves, bags, and shawls). Projects by guest designers from Classic Elite, Berroco, and the Fiber Company provide round out the collection.