The Architecture of the Classical Interior

The principles of classical architecture applied to the design of interiors, both residential and public. A practicing architect shows how the elements that constitute the classical interior—wall and ceiling treatments, doors and windows, fireplaces, and stairs—can be composed into rooms satisfying both aesthetic and practical criteria. Historic and contemporary examples illustrate both generic and specific solutions for designers working in the classical tradition today. 75 color and 75 black-and-white photographs.

Review
A practicing architect shows how the elements that constitute the classical interior can be composed into rooms satisfying both aesthetic and practical criteria. (New England Antiques Journal )

Author Steven Semes provides a comprehensive study of the architectural conception and treatment of rooms designed in the classical tradition. . . . Semes' hearty text strives to give readers a keen appreciation for the variety of the classical interior. . . . [R]eading The Architecture of the Classical Interior is the armchair equivalent to taking a master class in design. (Shelter Interiors )

Comprehensive and crystal clear. (New Urban News )

Should remain on the shelves of bookstores and personal libraries for as long as the art of gracious living remains. . . . He has gathered together a great deal of widely scattered information and assembled it all into one slender, graceful and elegant volume. The organization of the book is lucid and useful. . . . his book offers a useful index, an extensive bibliography and an equally extensive reading list. . . It was indeed Semes' good fortune to be granted the opportunity to write an unprecedented book on an important subject. (Period Homes )

[A] seminal book... both from the standpoint of sheer volume and from the more significant standpoint of quality. -- American Arts Quarterly, D.V. Marcantonio, Spring 2005