****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Gerard Colcord's houses are the architectural equivalent of Frank Capra's movies: heartwarming, grounded, charming and beguilingly American. And, of course, they could only exist in Hollywood. Parsons' book is a delightful survey of Colcord's work over a long and distinguished and,until now, largely unheralded career. A classicly trained architect and artist, Colcord was a master of historically inspired eclecticism, but no slave to rigid historicism. His houses were happily designed for charmed people living charmed lives in a glorious climate in the 20th century, not museum re-creations of the past. Window seats, glorious fireplaces, dutch doors, beautifully finished beamed ceilings and wood paneling, nooks and crannies - all these coexist in Colcord's houses with spaciousness, light and views, and such un-Colonial features as step-down bars that would make a set designer for Mad Men weep. Along with plentiful photographs and floor plans, Parsons' book provides fascinating stories and interviews with clients of Colcord's, many Hollywood luminaries, many not. Colcord's houses were designed not to blow people away, but to embrace them in a warm hug. You'll want to hug them right back.
