California Romantica: Spanish Colonial and Mission-Style Houses

I purchased this as a research book for work. First off, I was taken aback by the reduced quality of the paper inside the book - very thick, and seemed to be a little bit gritty.

This book is just not that special. Although meticulously researched, I must say that it felt like every house looked the same. The photographs are mostly of the architecture of these structures. It is gorgeous architecture, but after the first two houses, I got bored. Seems like there are pages and pages of shadows on walls, and empty rooms with beamed ceilings.

I recommend the book Courtyard Housing of Los Angeles instead. That book is outstanding and a must have for fans of this California style.

I bought this book for my wife on her birthday. She had seen it at SFMOMA and I thought it would be a nice, coffee table-type addition to our modest book collection. What I found, however, was a marvelous portal to a California I had only dreamed about. As orchestrated by Diane Keaton, a singular artist in film, the photographs here perfectly present the amazing Spanish and Mission architecture of Southern California while the text, by D. J. Waldie, tells the stories behind the stucco, wood and iron of the structures. The homes and furnishings presented here are at once simple and elegant; ornate and plain; expansive and private. A seemingly simple room can be a frame-work for a splash of color that takes the breath away while ornate ironwork or colorful tile nestles in a quiet setting like a found treasure.
My wife and I are currently planning a vacation to Spain where we will no doubt encounter the original inspiration for the work here. But growing up working-class Chicano in L.A., our families used to drive through the rich neighborhoods to gawk at the houses and I remember thinking, "This is Hollywood; these can't be real houses for real people." The amazing structures and spaces in this book are all the more beautiful for being real places in the land of make-believe. What I thought would be an interesting diversion turned out to be much, much more.

I love looking at Spanish colonial architecture. I have a viceral reaction to it, as does/did Diane Keaton, who is also a Californian. I would love to look at each and every photo in this book but it's very very difficult because it is so huge and heavy. You can't hold it in your lap to enjoy the pictures, so you must lay it on a table and look at each page using both hands. The black and white photos show details in the various grand houses mentioned but I was able to look them up online so I could see each house featured in the book inside and out, and in color, e.g. Leo Carillo's house, Los Quiotes. All in all, very very beautiful photography rather than inspirational. What I thought I was getting was something like a wonderful book called Red Tile Style. I can look at and read that book for hours and get the intense feeling that is somewhere in my early psyche and is brought out by seeing the Spanish Colonial and Mission Style houses, some gone, some that still exit, like those in Long Beach and Ventura, CA. I did not get that feeling from this book, but I liked what little writing there was. How I would have liked more to read. But for me, this book is not a keeper. Too much of a physical commitment to pull out and enjoy. I wonder if this book would have been published if the photos were taken by a non-celebrity. Oh well. I have always loved California architecture and Diane Keaton can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. I hope she can get into Falcon's Lair, the last home that Rudolph Valentino owned. It still exists and I'd love to see photos of the inside of the house he loved so much at the time of his death at age 31.

I was disappointed with California Romantica. The use of a black seems to dominate. The photos are framed with a black border and pages with text are black with white lettering. For me,some photos were difficult to appreciate due to the darkness. One,in particular, the photo of huge old tree, using two pages,the foreground on the right side was black with just an outline of what one knew was a cactus. The left page had a dirt road lite by the sun giving a cooperish glow. The tree is underexposed making it very dark, therefore the focus is the cooperish dirt road. I love trees and I wish this one did not look dead since it seems to be a
beautiful place to sit and stay awhile, to read a book or meditate. The architectural features of the villas,the walls, floors, ceilings, stairs, balconies, tile work, doorways,wooden doors, pools, windows, wrought iron work, the furnishings, were creatively portrayed. I did enjoy photos showing what one would see out of specific windows, such as the window on the all black page with just a patch of blue which we know is the ocean!

I will keep the book since I love old houses and I have a great respect for Diane Keaton's efforts to renovate and restore these wonderful homes preserving California's past. Thank you Miss Keaton. Keep up the good work.

Just a bunch of art photos. Sure, some of them are beautiful. But this book is classified in the home section. If you are looking for ideas or inspiration for your house, this is definitely not the book. Casa California is far better for that purpose. Many of the photos in this book are of a tiny tiny detail. The book itself is gigantic and very heavy. It's a very self-indulgent work by the author and publishing house.