Books published by The Monacelli Press

A privileged peek at the homes and gardens of Montecito, the increasingly popular Southern California getaway for celebrities, designers, and creatives.Montecito is a seaside community often overshadowed by its neighbor Santa Barbara - which is generally how its residents like it. Though home and refuge to numerous celebrities such as Steve Martin, Drew Barrymore, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the intentional cultivation of a low-key profile has allowed for a unique enclave to emerge, and with it, a multifaceted interior and garden design culture. From earliest twentieth-century standards in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by George Washington Smith to the style-setting projects by John Saladino to more recent work by prominent interior and landscape designers Pamela Shamshiri, Michael S. Smith, and Lee Kirch, the homes and gardens of Montecito demonstrates a wide range of design styles and eras. Firooz Zahedi and L.D. Porter, both long-time residents of the area, explore this design haven in all of its coastal glory.

The Path of Drawing shows readers how to introduce drawing into their everyday life in simple-to-follow, step-by-step lessons, exercises, and daily sketchbook practice, in order to nurture their creativity. Introducing a practice to enhance mental and spiritual well-being for the enrichment of one's life, Watwood offers readers a systematic approach to drawing that combines basic instruction and mindfulness exercises.The Path of Drawing is a book on cultivating creativity and using drawing as a practice of mindfulness. Today, many people are looking to practices of mindfulness to improve quality of life, to unplug, to alleviate negative conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression, and to build resilience and enjoy the present moment. Adjacent to such practices as meditation and journaling, creative visual thinkers need a pathway to mindfulness that works through their hands and materials, in a visual and non-verbal way.This book will guide readers to cultivate a creative drawing habit in three ways:(1) Step-by-step demonstrations will guide makers through beginning- and intermediate-level drawing and mixed-media projects that will build technical skills and teach realist concepts. These will provide a road map for their development of a personal creative sketchbook practice.(2) Introduce strategies for cultivating creativity, inspiration, and imagination, so that readers can strengthen their capacity for individuality in their creative work. The author will share her process steps, and those of other working artists, on how to find, refine, and develop a creative idea from inkling to completion.(3) Focus on the aspects of mindfulness as particularly relevant to creative individuals in overcoming blocks and common emotional challenges to accomplishing creative work. It deals with overcoming fear and how to develop confidence in your individual voice.The sample projects in this book are designed to be approachable and manageable in a short period of time. It is not intended to be a rigorous course of study toward mastering complex skills. These projects are designed to offer the reader samples that will help them enjoy time spent working creatively, and develop some technical skills and master concepts along the way. They should fit into daily life to bring more creative thinking to every aspect of life or work, grounding readers in a practice that helps them feel calmer, more patient, and more open to observing the joys of the world around them. A creative practice can help build qualities of patience, confidence, calm, connectedness, and bravery.

The latest monograph by doyenne of West Coast interior design Suzanne Tucker, who is renowned for her timeless, richly detailed, and luxurious rooms.Over the course of her illustrious career, designer Suzanne Tucker has perfected a unique approach to creating elegant, sumptuously appointed residences eminently suited to their owners and their architectural and geographic context. Tucker describes her process as part anthropology, part archaeology, part psychology: she uncovers her clients' dreams and desires for their home, and the nuances of their lifestyle, and applies her vast knowledge of decorative arts and antiques to compose splendid spaces perfectly tailored for each life.Extraordinary Interiors, Tucker's third monograph, presents a selection of the designer's recent work, including a mountain retreat featuring a symphony of natural tones and textures; a Bay Area pied-a-terre exhibiting international flair; a Manhattan apartment whose muted hues showcase an exceptional art collection; a beach house that marries high sophistication with leisurely living; a magnificent San Francisco townhouse whose intarsia floors, coffered ceilings, and natatorium are inspired by historic Italian palazzos; and Tucker's own oasis-like home in Montecito, California.Across the varied styles and locations of these remarkable residences, Extraordinary Interiors heralds Tucker's passion for architecture and the decorative arts, and consummate skill for creating timeless, luxurious, exquisitely detailed, and art- and antique-filled rooms.

An extraordinary industry insider's look at glamorous, eccentric, captivating, and storied modern homes that embody California cool.For more than twenty years, globe-trotting English-born, Los Angeles-based photographer Roger Davies has shot stunning, luxurious, unique, and storied residences by the world's most acclaimed designers and architects for the most prestigious magazines. In Beyond the Canyon, he trains his camera on residences in the Golden State, his adopted home, driving the coast to shoot interiors from Malibu to Marin County, Laurel Canyon to Hollywood. Granted unparalleled access, Davies takes readers into the often glamorous, always compelling homes of the artists, film producers, actors, musicians, interior designers, art collectors, and others who lend the West Coast its cachet. Across the variety of spaces represented - among them legacy works by midcentury masters John Lautner, A. Quincy Jones, and Craig Ellwood, and contemporary designs by Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry - he captures the essence of California living in his portraits of spectacular spaces and breathtaking views of the Hollywood Hills and palm tree - lined beaches, all bathed in a warm glow.As one of the world's top photographers of interiors, Davies's work has appeared in many interior design and architecture monographs. In Beyond the Canyon, his own first book, he provides in his own words a rare behind-the-scenes, industry insider's experience of photographing the stunning residences.