Designers Here and There: Inside the City and Country Homes of America's Top Decorators »

Michele Keith is a freelance writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Departures, Traditional Home, New York Spaces, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Her previous books include Country Living Easy Makeovers and Great Country French Style.

"During the week, interior designers select fabulous fabrics, furniture, paint, lighting, and accessories for clients' homes. On the weekends, they can devote themselves to beautifying their own. Materials and finishes that later appear in commissioned work often appear here first, as designers use the rooms and walls of their primary and secondary residences like a blank canvas for perfecting details and techniques central to their trade." "Thirty-eight private primary and vacation residences belonging to today's most renowned decorators from around the country inspire with full-color images of exquisitely appointed chic city apartments, elegant townhouses, minimalist mid-century gems, quaint cottages, historic mansions and farmhouses, cozy log cabins, and beachside retreats in locations ranging from Palm Desert to Palm Beach, Austin, Chicago, East Hampton, and Boston." Michele Keith's lively, accessible text brings each distinct personality to life, revealing how and why the designers gravitate to styles ranging from firmly traditional to coolly contemporary to Hollywood Regency, how the attributes of each location - setting, proportions, and character - influence design direction, and how designers including Martha Angus, Barclay Butera, Eric Cohler, Andrew Fisher and Jeffry Weisman, Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz, Eve Robinson, and Vicente Wolf choose to spend time in the intensely personal spaces they have created. Each designer s top five favorite decorating tips encourage all eager to perfect their own homes to begin.

MARTHA ANGUS
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA

ANDREW FISHER & JEFFRY WEISMAN
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA HEALDSBURG, CALIFORNIA

STEPHEN SHUBEL
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA SAUSALITO, CALIFORNIA

MICHAEL BERMAN
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

MOLLY LUETKEMEYER
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA

BARCLAY BUTERA
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA PARK CITY, UTAH

PAM DUNCAN
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO TRES LAGUNAS, NEW MEXICO

JOHN PHIFER MARRS
DALLAS, TEXAS EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

RENEA ABBOTT
HOUSTON, TEXAS AUSTIN, TEXAS

BEVERLY JACOMINI
HOUSTON, TEXAS ROUND TOP, TEXAS

LAWRENCE BOEDER
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ROLLING PRAIRIE, INDIANA

ALEX JORDAN
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA

SUE BURGESS
CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND UPPERVILLE, VIRGINIA

ERIC COHLER
NEW YORK, NEW YORK CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

CHRISTOPHER COLEMAN
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK ELIZAVILLE, NEW YORK

BENJAMIN NORIEGA-ORTIZ
NEW YORK, NEW YORK SOUTH BEACH, FLORIDA

EVE ROBINSON
NEW YORK, NEW YORK WATERMILL , NEW YORK

VICENTE WOLF
NEW YORK, NEW YORK MONTAUK, NEW YORK

LEE BIERLY AND CHRISTOPHER DRAKE
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

DESIGNER TIPS AND CONTACT INFORMATION

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS