Lone Star Living: Texas Homes and Ranches [Hardcover]

A born and bred Texan who grew up in a "boots-and-hat environment full of tall Texas tales and braggadocio," Beard is the perfect author for this exuberant celebration of Texas taste. He has authored several books on American Western style (The Cowboy Boot Book; 100 Years of Western Wear, etc.) and, with his wife, custom-built his own pioneer ranch house. In this fully illustrated book, he showcases all manner of Texas houses: from the restored Masefeldt Ranch, which is decorated in "Texas Château Style" with Louis XVI furniture and mesquite-wood chopping blocks, to the "Modern Mayan" home of artist and ex-Soul Survivor rocker Charles Trois, whose architectural work most resembles that of the Spaniard Antonio Gaudi. A section of "Cottages and Lofts" documents smaller, more urban homes, but even these contain details suggestive of the Texan penchant for expansiveness and eccentricity. There are big displays of child-sized cowboy boots, backyards glowing with kitschy neon signs and plenty of leather, wood and stucco. Beard's own writing has pleasantly irreverent swagger-he doesn't hesitate to point out when a homeowner has "bootfuls of money"-and Parson's photos are uniformly crisp and excellent.
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The definitive book on Taxas interior design and architecture--from log cabins to urban lofts to sprawling Hill Country ranches--by the expert on Taxas style.

Tyler Beard is a native Texan whose home and ranch has been featured in more media than any other private residence in the West, including spreads in Architectural Digest, Metropolitan Home, the New York Times, True West (Clarkson Potter), Under the Sun: Desert Style and Architecture (Bulfinch), etc. He is the founder of True West, a western style company. He has outfitted the western departments of Ralph Lauren stores throughout the world, and has served as consultant for Ralph Lauren's own Colorado Ranch. He is the author of The Cowboy Boot Book, 100 Years of Western Wear, and The Art of the Boot.

Jack Parsons has spent more than twenty-five years photographing the American Southwest. Among his many books are Santa Fe Style (Rizzoli), Native America (Clarkson Potter), True West, and The Santa Fe Home (Clarkson Potter). He lives in Santa Fe.