Wooden Houses

by Judith H. Miller

With evocative text by Judith Miller and inspiring photographs by James Merrell, "Wooden Houses" explores the decorative potential of wood in our homes. Wooden houses range from Midwestern prairie clapboard houses with wraparound porches to wood-framed barns converted into airy living spaces. Wood has always played a part in consturction, architecture, and interior decoration and has long been valued for its practical benefits. Its insulating qualities, for example,made it an obvious choice for Scandinavian homes, and so the familiar log houses came into existence. But the vast decorative potential of wood has ensured its continued use, as evidenced by 19th-century houses with elaborately carved gables and bargeboards. Indoors, wood surrounds us in many ways. Structural elements such as oak-beamed and vaulted ceilings become features in their own right. Wood can also be used as further embellishement in the form of beautiful paneling or carved and turned banisters and staircases, and in original furniture designs. Whether it is left in its natural state to show the variety of grains and depths of colours, or used as a canvas for paint techniques, wood is a beautiful resource. *A celebration of the natural beauty of wood in decoration, interiors, and architecture. *Includes an introduction to the main architchtural styles.

Genres: Architecture

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Judith Henderson Miller began collecting in the 1960s while a student at Edinburgh University in Scotland. She had since extended and reinforced her knowledge through international research, becoming one of the world’s leading experts in the field. In 1979 she co-founded the best-selling Miller’s Antiques Price Guide and has since written more than 100 books, covering antiques, collectibles, architecture and interior design.

Judith was an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, and had also appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and CNN. She was a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines, including Financial Times, The Telegraph, BBC Homes & Antiques and House & Garden. She lectured extensively, including at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Smithsonian in Washington.
She died in April 2023

Reviews

[Michael Heath-Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, well illustrated, looking at the tradition of timber building in America.