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The magic of the sea

By Angelika Taschen. Excerpt from the book 'The New Seaside Interiors'

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For me, the choice and placing of the photos is always of paramount importance. Only if that is right will a book generate an atmosphere that can fuel emotions and inspire dreams. Though a sense of the whole must be palpable, no purpose is served by dutifully illustrating the entire house from top to bottom. A full-page photo of light hitting a glass of water can sometimes have a greater impact than meticulously showing the whole of a perfectly furnished living room. And then of course there is the question of your photographers and their interpretations. If you have a house photographed by three fine professionals, you feel as if you're looking at three completely different interiors - so a key decision is which photographer is best suited to which design style. In recent years, dozens of interior styles have appeared and, just as quickly, disappeared. Nonetheless, the interiors of houses beside the sea are less affected by fashions than one might expect in the age of globalisation. In my view, this is because people long for the simple life. In the morning you catch the fish (or buy it in the port) that you intend to eat for lunch. You pass your time simply contemplating the sea. Many of these house owners refuse to have an internet connection or even a television in their seaside homes. It's a way of ensuring that they really get a break from the everyday world. One good development in recent years has been the growing tendency to employ first-class architects. It is the only way to guarantee lasting values. Good architecture has an immense influence on the psychological state of those who live in a house, and a well-proportioned room filled with light is quite simply a passport to happiness. If you have a view of the sea as well, you're practically in paradise.

I am particularly proud to be able to show the plain but magnificent house of Scandinavian architect Hanne Kjærholm in this book. She built it on the Danish coast back in 1959. It is one of the gems of modern architecture, and today serves as a wonderful setting for the celebrated furniture of her late husband, Poul. Every detail, from the pillars on the terrace to the tea service and the lamps, is perfect, and without any sense of strain. The air of modesty, refinement and lightness is unrivalled. John Lautner's spectacular house in Acapulco, Mexico, makes an engaging contrast. But it doesn't have to be a famous architect. Another real dream house by the sea is a Dutchman's Robinson Crusoe idyll in Costa Rica (the mix is the thing!) - where everything, down to the smallest detail, was hand-made by the owner from whatever Nature offered.

I hope that as you turn the pages of this book you too will experience the magic of the sea.

Ahoy!

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New Seaside Interiors

New Seaside Interiors

Hardcover, 24 x 31.6 cm (9.4 x 12.4 in.), 300 pages
$ 39.99
From minimalist to cozy, from ethnic to modern, these homes all share a love for the deep blue


Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen, Hardanger, Norway. Photo (c) Bent René Synnevåg