The Elements of Style

This reference book is an investment buy you'll appreciate long after other style books have become dated. A team of experts give a comprehensive look at architectural styles over the past five years, with a wealth of detail and superb illustrations and photographs. If you're wondering what fireplace to put in your Edwardian house or what porch tiles your Victorian redbrick would originally have had, you'll find it illustrated here.

The book is a goldmine of information, and this updated edition includes a chapter called Beyond Modern, dealing with the period from 1950 to 1996.