[.uk] The New Country Style England (ISBN 0811854825)

flash of colour, slash of line, bowl of lemons, eye of newt:
I was a little disappointed in this book because I expected the cover photo to be more indicative of the content; ie, a conventional décor book filled with photos of English Country house interiors - my favourite décor style. I wanted to take away a star for this, but I will try to rise above & rate the book for what it is. After all, a book ought to expand one's horizons & push one beyond the comfort zone. It is more a celebration of the photographer's eye and the nostalgia for life in the English home and countryside. It is all about atmosphere and detail, flashes of color and slashes of line, suggestion more than substance: red-soled rubber boots striding across a stubble field; a William Morris cushion on a faded wine sofa; an old wooden bowl filled with oranges and lemons ("say the bells of Saint Clements"); a white seagull perched on a stone chimney pot against a vivid blue sky; a collection of well-used kitchen knives hanging on a blood red wall; a saddle at the foot of a bed made of logs; a heavy iron door latch; a straw hat on an ancestral bust, a chipped enamel teapot on a floral table cover, a scarred blue trunk juxtaposed with a vibrant red woven cloth; a carpet of silvery & taupe oak leaves littering the ground; gothic stained glass; silver candlesticks; old leather books, the green arc of a fern frond... If that is what you want, it is quite beautifully done.