Product Description

In their third book, authors/designers Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr forage through the mountains of Mexico and the deserts of the American Southwest in celebration of the strength and wonder of adobe design style. From its humble beginnings to its present-day renaissance, "Casa Adobe" unearths the homes, haciendas, and holiday getaways that have blended handcrafted details, natural materials, and cross-cultural furnishings to express the elegant simplicity of adobe living. Stunning photographs reveal the textures of both traditional and modern homes and the unique marriages between adobe's ancient simplicity and homeowners' eclectic global treasures. The interior design elements-hand-wrought iron chandeliers, punched tin and copper sconces, painted Mexican-country furniture, early American antiques, Navajo textiles, African folk art, contemporary paintings, New Mexican retablos and Pueblo pottery-are at happy communion inside the comfortable surrounds of adobe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1348956 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
Based in Austin, Texas, Witynski and Carr are the owners of Texture Antiques, a gallery specializing in Mexican furniture, architectural elements, contemporary art, and accents. Individually, Witynski writes on home and garden design for national publications, including This Old House magazine, and Carr designs furniture from recycled Mexican wood. Together, they divide their time between their Austin, Texas home and the Yucatan Hacienda.

Customer Reviews

Casa Adobe
Casa Adobe is a terrific source book for those contemplating living in an adobe or any other earthen style home. Photographs with informaive descriptions tease the casual reader, while those already familiar with Mexico, Arizona, and the Southwest immediately jump head first into the well-written, beautifully illustrated text. Joe P. Carr and Karen Witynski take you to Sante Fe and the surrounding areas with early photographs of adobe structures. Then you are taken to country and contempory homes and structures that best reflect what Casa Adobe is all about. The last chapter of the book is especially helpful foranyone interested in adobe, stucco, or rammed earth homes. It gives sources and individuals to contact as well as galleries and suppliers. My next purchas will be Casa Yucatan, written and photographed by the same collaborative authors.

Review--Natural Home Magazine
Casa Adobe depicts homes, haciendas and holiday getaways that have blended handcrafted details, natural materials, and cross-cultural furnishings to express the elegant simplicity of adobe homes, from their humble beginnings to their current renaissance.
--Natural Home Magazine, December 2001

Book Review--New Mexico Magazine
Many people find the lines and textures of an adobe building at once seductive and compelling. This book is all about the unique aesthetic of houses made of mud. Third in a series of four books on popular residential design in Mexico and the Southwest, this book contains photos of spectacular adobe homes, inside and out, in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and various places in Mexico.

The book documents the evolution of adobe from its historic past to its most modern applications, including interior details and architectural elements. The authors chose well the buildings they use as examples for their premise that "adobe is an old tradition with a new future," the recurring theme of the book.
--New Mexico Magazine, May 2002