The castellated building style is thought by some to have fully run its course over the past 800 years, and if that was ever so, then architectural illustrator and author David Spellman has succeeded in bringing it back to life, much to the excitement of both castle aficionados and general readers with an interest in architecture.

Based on a talent for drawing, a keen lifelong interest in the design of houses and his personal experience of studying both American and European castellated houses, in this volume David provides exceptional original exterior designs for twelve grand residences in the castellated style, exquisitely presented with over 240 colorful illustrations including elevation and perspective views, floor plan sets and individual house stats, along with fascinating background material explaining why this adventurous style of architecture was popular through so many ever-changing historical periods and describing the changes that would be necessary to create these beautiful and powerful buildings as livable and functional houses in today's world.

Part 1 presents a discussion of the most important signature elements of the castellated style—where they originated and how each of these elements have been incorporated into the 12 designs in this volume—conducting an examination of the rooms comprising the floor plans and addressing some of the challenges inherent in creating period house designs. In Part 2, specific descriptions are given for all of the 12 plans, including exterior illustrations, floor plans for the above-grade floors and some interesting stats for each design.

David Spellman is an architectural illustrator with a penchant for the romantic and adventurous. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles with a degree in Technical Theater Design, he began his artistic career as a theatrical scenic and lighting designer, but now specializes in the area of architectural illustration. David is a member of the American Institute of Architectural Illustrators, the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, and the International Network of Traditional Building, and he is the author of one other book on architecture: Victorian Houses—A Treasury of 100 Original Designs (Hill House Publishing, 2000), a monograph consisting of 100 original line drawing elevations of Victorian Houses. David currently resides in Northern California and is working on his third book.