The Allure of Charleston celebrates this historic city’s eighteenth- and nineteenth-century styles and demonstrates how they continue to be employed and updated by design professionals today. Anyone who loves houses and interiors loves Charleston. The Allure of Charleston shows why by delving into the architecture and interiors of the past and present. Exploring the question of what makes Charleston so distinct, Sully demonstrates why the language of its architecture, interior design, and gardens is so versatile and enduring. Examples of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture and of rooms containing an array of English, European, and American decorative details convey the complex harmony that characterizes the city’s houses. Featuring historic masterpieces including Drayton Hall, the Nathaniel Russell House, and Middleton Place, this volume also offers a look at present-day residences, among them a new house built faithfully to colonial style, a charming eighteenth-century dwelling with modern updates, a stunning Georgian town-house with a contemporary addition, and a sophisticated Federal home. The Allure of Charleston also includes a visual lexicon presenting the individual elements—wrought iron gates, garden statuary, pastel plaster walls, refined porcelain—that comprise the city’s style, making this exquisite book both informative and inspiring.

From the stately elegance of the Georgian era to the exuberant eclecticism of the twenty-first century, the houses of Charleston, South Carolina, are defined by great architecture and elegant design. This book offers an insider's view of the beautiful houses, gardens, and decorative arts that comprise the city's unique charm. This richly illustrated volume opens with an overview of Charleston's decorative arts and architecture, followed by sections entitled Elements of Charleston Style, Period Charleston, Eclectic Charleston, and, finally, Quintessential Charleston. Also included is a source guide to designers, shops, and manufacturers. This book will inspire and educate readers about the specifics of Charleston's style and the historic and contemporary spirits that infuse it. Susan Sully is a best-selling author whose publications include The Southern Cottage: From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Florida Keys; Casa Florida: Spanish Style Houses from Winter Park to Coral Gables; New Orleans Style: Past and Present; Charleston Style: Then and Now; and Savannah Style: Mystery and Manners. A graduate of Yale University with a degree in art history, Susan lectures frequently around the country and contributes articles to many newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Southern Accents, Metropolitan Home, Art and Antiques, Town and Country Travel and Coastal Living. She lives in New Orleans.

Charleston is one of the most historically significant cities in the United States. One of the prime attractions of Charleston is the spectacular array of historic buildings spanning a wide variety of architectural styles. From simple pre-Revolutionary–era dwellings to spectacular Italianate, Greek Revival, and Victorian homes, to colonial government buildings, to some of the oldest and most beautiful churches, Charleston’s architectural splendor is unparalleled in the United States.

Highlights the architectural heritage paying tribute to the skill of America's early architects.

In this elegant hardbound volume, photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daley take you on an intimate tour of some of the finest historic homes, gardens, churches, and plantations of the old city of Charleston and its surrounding Lowcountry. Their luminescent photographs reveal an insider's look at the definitive architecture and landscape of the region, ranging from private gardens hidden behind wrought iron gates to some of America's first landscaped garden vistas. From colonial-era French Quarter homes to Federal and Greek Revival townhouses and antebellum plantation houses, the selection featuring old family, private homes to museum showplaces make this an essential book for visitors, architects, preservationists or armchair travelers. Photographers Steve Gross and Susan Daley specialize in photographing interiors and the architecture of the changing American landscape. They are the coauthors of ten previous books on the various styles of American homes and design, including Creole Houses, Old Florida, and most recently Farmhouse Revival and The Creative Cottage. Their work has been published extensively in magazines around the world and is in private collections including the Smithsonian Institution

Ever since Charleston first gained a reputation as a bastion of southern living in a modern metropolitan setting, its style and grace have been clear to all visitors to this unique city. Charleston's roots go all the way back to its days as a powerful colonial port, and Charleston Past and Present represents the finest residences from the early seventeenth century to more modern times, as well as their histories. This newly formatted edition maps the city's charm through its exquisite and sometimes eccentric architecture, decorative arts, and garden designs, featuring full color photography by John Blais of nineteen southern homes and estates. With a delightful foreword by acclaimed novelist Josephine Humphreys, it is the essential coffee-table book for the thousands who visit Charleston each year.