Book Review: “Yankee Modern: The Houses of Estes/Twombly”

Howard Mansfield, the New Hampshire–based writer who penned the forward to this new book from Princeton Architectural Press, calls the houses of Newport architects James Estes and Peter Twombly un-Mansions. By that he means to contrast them with McMansions, those mega-houses that proliferated in that heady last decade or two of the 1900s, when volume, all too often, seemed to prevail over quality. It’s true that Estes/Twombly houses tend to be modest in size and free of superfluous adornment. They’re deceptively simple-looking with their weathered shingles, white trim and occasional use of rugged New England-quarried stone. But stop and look at the homes featured in Yankee Modern: The Houses of Estes/Twombly and you realize these not-so-big houses are enormous examples of ingenuity, efficiency and intelligence. With photos by a number of New England photographers (including Warren Jagger, whose work graces the cover) and essays by William Morgan, each of these ten homes gets its due as a marvelous example of how beautifully the traditional and the contemporary come together for what Mansfield calls a “regional style that works both practically and spiritually.” $40. AVAILABLE FROM PRINCETON ARCHITECTURAL PRESS, WWW.PAPRESS.COM, AND AT AREA BOOKSTORES —Paula M. Bodah

Click here to see a house designed by Estes/Twombly, as featured in our March/April 2011 issue.