Ordovás, Susana (text) & Guido Taroni (photos). Inside Yucatán: Hidden Mérida and Beyond. Vendome. Apr. 2024. 336p. ISBN 9780865654457. $75. INTERIOR DESIGN

Capturing both history and design, debut author/journalist Ordovás (contributing editor, Cabana) explores Mexico’s Yucatán state through sample haciendas. Each is introduced in a page of descriptive text and then illustrated through Taroni’s (Inside Tangier) photographs. Crafted to offer readers glimpses of locale and interior/exterior design, the book skims across Mayan, Spanish, and early 20th-century history to arrive at contemporary reclamations of historic spaces: houses formed around the foundations of older buildings, historic restoration efforts, modern updates to country estates and city homes. Taroni captures colors—from earth tones of ochre, soot, and stone—to bright pops of tiles, pools, and cascading light. Everywhere there is the eclectic (Catholic iconography mixed with neoclassical lighting), the whimsical (a tin windmill), and the strikingly transposed (a colonial stone pavilion lined with white veranda curtains). VERDICT From pools to peacock chairs to peacocks roaming inside austere bedrooms, the images offer inspiration for design choices in garden landscapes and interior design. Many of the homes are lavish estates, and wealth is certainly on display. However, gazing at the photos of some of these buildings might leave readers with a feeling of mourning for the older structures whose walls have been weathered by time and history.

McEvoy, Maura & others. The Maine House II: Inland, Inshore and on Islands. Vendome. May 2024. 296p. ISBN 9780865654426. $60. INTERIOR DESIGN

The authors of the buzzy 2021 book The Maine House (which sought to capture the houses of their childhoods in the Pine Tree State and document a way of life that seems to be vanishing) return with a second volume. This time, they consider 30 houses across the Maine landscape, on islands, on the coast, and inland, that epitomize the vernacular architecture of the state. Photographer McEvoy, stylist and art director Basha Burwell, and Kathleen Hackett (Brooklyn Interiors) hope that these examples, which range from camp cabins and a lighthouse to an 18th-century grand space and a boathouse, will inspire readers to keep and restore—rather than bulldoze—existing homes that have sheltered generations. Each home is introduced with a short exposition on the structure, its location, and key elements. The homes’ owners add their views as well, recounting history or features that are important to them. The photographs are expansive and evocative, with captions providing further context. VERDICT From wood panels across floors, walls, and ceilings to double-hung windows, model boats, wood piles, bookshelves, and crowded kitchens, these spaces speak to a way of life, a statewide aesthetic, and a time-loved sense of being.

Cardinale, Ana (text) & Matthieu Salvaing (photos). Amalfi Houses: Architectural Gems on the Italian Coast. Rizzoli. Jun. 2024. 224p. ISBN 9788891838896. $70. INTERIOR DESIGN

Rambling along the edge of the sea and climbing into the hills are the fabled Italian towns of Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello. They are the home of the dolce vita, of glitzy parties, monied families, and an influx of artists, including Rudolf Nureyev, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, John Steinbeck, D.H. Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, Franco Zeffirelli, and Gore Vidal. The houses they occupied, along with all the other starry-named guests and owners, are the subject of this ode to place and style by Cardinale, a journalist specializing in design, art, and architecture (Living in Argentina). The nine featured houses, including Villa Tritone and Villa Cimbrone, are each introduced with a brief description, mixing the history of the current owners with the home’s glittering past; a few design and architectural highlights are also noted. Then come Salvaing’s photos, rich in color and mood and offering engaging angles, details, and panoramas of gardens, pools, kitchens, porches, and more. VERDICT A lovely, inspirational work. Readers who crave the sea will marvel at the views, while those dreaming of hand-crafted tiles will be thrilled by rooms whose floors glisten with coastal colors.

★Weir, Ingrid. New Coastal: Inspiration for a Life by the Sea. Hardie Grant. Jun. 2024. 256p. ISBN 9781743799178. $45. INTERIOR DESIGN

Weir (New Rural), an interior designer and photographer, has crafted a beautiful book that considers seaside life. She showcases houses and communities located in Australia and the U.S. and a range of moods and gives advice on designing for a coastal aesthetic. An ocean’s worth of atmosphere is created by lavish and lovely images of the sea, the shore, and the homes, like a photo of a giant shell chandelier dominating an A-frame house and one of a floaty, hazy wash of seagrass. There’s also a soothing color palette and select quotes from the likes of William Carlos Williams and Mary Oliver. The main content flows across a range of homes (from the palatial to trailers), with intimate profiles highlighting their design aesthetics and philosophies, expanded upon by detailed images of interior and exterior spaces. Widening even more, the essays focus on the locations as well, giving a sense of seaside site like Venice, Laguna Beach, and Malibu in California; Kepa Kurl in Australia; Montauk, NY; and Portland, ME. VERDICT Just what ocean-obsessed readers have been yearning for. Each page is a pleasure and is flooded with a quiet, ocean-tinted glow.