New Spaces, Old World Charm The Art of Elegant Interiors

There is a shortage of genuinely old, livable homes in the United States.

Those that have not been demolished or fallen down over time often need expensive restoration work or have to be remodeled to fit the needs of modern families. It can be a high price to pay for the cozy spaces designed one or two centuries ago.

Ann Sample, author of "New Spaces, Old World Charm," is intimately familiar with historic houses. She and her husband, Chris Lineberger, moved into their Ridgefield Road home in 1998, over 100 years after the house was built.

"My husband and I both had these romantic views of an older house. Then we got into this house and thing after thing went wrong," said Sample, who lives the quirkiness of her 1880 home but would have liked modern amenities: an updated kitchen, for example. How, she thought, could someone have both?

Her book, released in December, tackles just this problem, albeit from a slightly different angle -- how can a new home be made to feel as comfortable as if it had been built 100 years ago.

"The scale of (new homes) is so different from the older homes," she said. "How do you make a house like that seem cozy and inviting?"

Sample provides 12 ways of giving new homes old charm: her book explores a different look (and a different designer) in each chapter. There are styles as diverse as Refined Rustic, with designer Glenn Gissler; Bermuda Cottage with designer Ann LeConey, and Eastern Influence, with designer Peter Chu. Each chapter is amply illustrated with photographs of the designers' work.

"I just wanted a variety of styles in there," said Sample.

Sample, 36, grew up in Stamford and was introduced to interior design at an early age by her grandmother, although she did not develop an interest in design until later in life, when she began taking classes at the New York School of Interior Design.

A journalist by training, Sample worked at several magazines before deciding to change her focus.

She first took an interest in design 10 years ago, when she was employed as a fact-checker for House & Garden magazine. She subsequently began taking classes so that she could better write about this subject.

"I just wanted to become an expert," she said.

Classes turned into coursework and, in December, the same month as the release of her book, Sample graduated with an associates degree in applied science from the New York School of Interior Design.

She got the idea for her book after becoming frustrated with the coffee table design books that she was buying for her classes.

"I was really tired of buying $50 coffee table books," said Sample. The books were usually full of excellent photographs, but didn't do much to tell the reader how to duplicate the rooms in the book.

"I thought it would be better to come up with a book where in the text, you tell the reader exactly what the designers did," she said.

In "New Spaces," Sample not only provides the reader with information about the process that the designers went through to get the looks in the book, but she also gives "sources," or listings of places readers can go to get the sort of materials used by the designers. There is a list of "sources" at the end of each chapter, giving the reader tips from designers, or a list of places to go for antiques, antique reproductions, window treatments, light fixtures or plumbing. Sample provides both high-end and budget sources for materials, so that everyone can duplicate the looks in her book.

She also includes profiles of companies and of artisans in each section, such as Gates Moore Lighting, in the Silvermine area of Norwalk. The company, run by Patricia Moore, creates antique-looking light fixtures and restores old fixtures to their former glory.

There are almost 150 such sources in her book.

Sample had originally hoped that "New Spaces, Old World Charm" would be produced as a series of books, but ended up writing the book as one in a series put out by Elements of Living, a three-year-old company (associated with McGraw-Hill).

Chris Kincade, creative director of Elements of Living, was intrigued when Sample's book proposal was brought to his attention by the president of the New York School of Interior Design. Her idea was consistent with a series of design books put out by his company.

"A lot of the home decor books are largely 'drool books' with pretty pictures ... but not a lot of real useful editorial," said Kincade. "Elements of Living focuses on resources, solutions and professional products."

Sample's book had these things, he said.

"Her book is actually a really nice merger of case studies, solutions and sources," he added.

Now that the book has been released, Sample is taking a deep post-publication breath. She is working at Elements of Living's magazine as a senior product editor, and enjoying the company of her 18 month-old daughter, Alden, and her husband. A renovation for her home is planned.

When asked if another book is also in the works, Sample said that she doesn't know.

"I would love to, but it really depends on how this book sells," she said. "It's a matter of having the time."Sample, Ann is the author of 'New Spaces, Old World Charm The Art of Elegant Interiors', published 2004 under ISBN 9780071439299 and ISBN 0071439293.