California Romantica

A gorgeous book with beautiful photographs. Great quality paper and printing. Gave it to a newly graduated nephew who is interested in architecture and design and he loved it!

Gorgeous book filled with vignettes of California architectural features. There are a few indoor photos of rooms but mostly the book showcases the homes from outside. Lots of close-up photos of interesting details and features of the style. If you love California homes and architecture this would be a lovely coffee table book. If you're looking for interior decorating ideas, this probably wouldn't interest you as much.

As one of the three children of George and Louise Welsh who purchased one of these homes (Casa Romantica) in 1960 I am thrilled with this book. Our family considers it a work of art as well as a fitting memorial to the history of this very special architecture. My parents owned the Casa Romantica for 30 years, the longest of any of the previous inhabitants. We have a unique and enduring love of the "Casa" and the City of San Clemente who have created the Cultural Center that it is today. We sincerely thank Ms. Keaton for her love of this style and for the gift of this compilation. Karen Welsh

Gave this beautiful thick coffee table book and it was a hit. A must have for a fan of interior design.

I bought this book for my wife on her birthday. She had seen it at SFMOMA and I thought it would be a nice, coffee table-type addition to our modest book collection. What I found, however, was a marvelous portal to a California I had only dreamed about. As orchestrated by Diane Keaton, a singular artist in film, the photographs here perfectly present the amazing Spanish and Mission architecture of Southern California while the text, by D. J. Waldie, tells the stories behind the stucco, wood and iron of the structures. The homes and furnishings presented here are at once simple and elegant; ornate and plain; expansive and private. A seemingly simple room can be a frame-work for a splash of color that takes the breath away while ornate ironwork or colorful tile nestles in a quiet setting like a found treasure. My wife and I are currently planning a vacation to Spain where we will no doubt encounter the original inspiration for the work here. But growing up working-class Chicano in L.A., our families used to drive through the rich neighborhoods to gawk at the houses and I remember thinking, "This is Hollywood; these can't be real houses for real people." The amazing structures and spaces in this book are all the more beautiful for being real places in the land of make-believe. What I thought would be an interesting diversion turned out to be much, much more.