Book Review: Living Newport

Living Newport: Houses, People, Style by Bettie Bearden Pardee

Published by Glitterati Incorporated

 

I remember the first time that I visited Newport, Rhode Island like it was yesterday. It actually wasn't yesterday but more than 5-years ago. The impression that the fresh sea air, the gardens, the architecture, the romance, the sheer magnetism that the place seemed to have on the hundreds of other tourists is unforgettable, and the I'm sure that anyone visiting today or recollecting a memory would say the same: Newport, Rhode Island is the epitome of American elegance.

 

So when Glitterati Incorporated published Bettie Bearden Pardee's Living Newport: Houses, People, Style, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. Turning through the pages of the book was like turning back the clock and being back in Newport - except this time, I was invited past the hedge row, through the gates, and into houses that you can't see on the tours. I was the invitee of societal picnics and weddings of the social elite. I was the guest of beachside gardens where roses and boxwood knots come together to create magical resting spots to enjoy the East Coast sun.

 

Principal photographer, Mick Hales has photographed for nearly every shelter magazine in the world, and his photos of Newport Life are evocative yet familiar, welcoming and all together vivid - the perfect view into a world you seem almost instantly connected to. Certainly a coffee table book, with photos the primary focus, the 220+ pages capture gardens, interiors, social events, tablescapes and more. But Bettie Bearden Pardee also gives some wonderful narrative to the homeowners and the way they see Newport, living in these glorious homes. As a year-round resident of Newport, Bettie and her husband Jonathan, are active in the community, and their own home "Parterre" provides the perfect backdrop for some of Newport's most coveted events during the social season. Without further ado - why don't you sit back, and take a little visual stroll through Newport:

 

 Photo Credit: Alexander Nesbitt; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

 

 Photo Credit: Alexander Nesbitt; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

 

 Photo Credit: Alexander Nesbitt; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

 

Photo Credit: Mick Hales; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

 

 Photo Credit: Mick Hales; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

Photo Credit: Mick Hales; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

Photo Credit: Mick Hales; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

Photo Credit: Alexander Nesbitt; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

Photo Credit: Mick Hales; Living Newport: Houses, People, Style

  

There's more where that came from! Living Newport is a beautiful coffee table book, perfect for any collection! Filled with inspirational interiors, homes, and gardens, people, places, and everything Newport, you'll find yourself poring over the pages again and again and again. Take a closer look, and get your own copy via the Amazon link below: