Casa Adobe

By Karen Witynski & Joe P. Carr
Gibbs Smith Publisher
Hardcover $39.95; Paperback $24.95

Adobe is an old tradition with a new future. Authors Karen Witynski and Joe P. Carr forage through the mountains of Mexico and the deserts of the American Southwest in celebration of the strength and wonder of adobe design style.

From its humble beginnings to its present-day renaissance, Casa Adobe unearths the homes, haciendas, and holiday getaways that have blended handcrafted details, natural materials, and cross-cultural furnishings to express the elegant simplicity of adobe living.

From rugged-thick-walled haciendas in Mexico to a west Texas fort-turned-luxury-ranch, the seductions of adobe dwellings are many: sculptural walls with contoured corners and softly flowing lines, fireplaces that replace traditional corners with warmth and grace; carved nichos for displaying artworks; ceilings of exposed vigas; earthen floors hand-troweled to a smooth finish; hand-carved Mexican doors; gleaming Saltillo tiles; and stepped walls that hide reflecting pools.

In vivid detail, Casa Adobe traces the roots and reaches of earthen buildings in their many architectural forms including modern rammed earth homes. An extensive resource and travel guide completes the authors' visual journey and invites readers to discover sources, ranches and hotels that embrace the spirit, design, and details of the adobe lifestyle.