Tropical Style Inspirations by Melody Beattie: Private Palm Beach - Tapa dura

Both old and new money flocks to Palm Beach for "the season," and the houses that line the oceanfront and Intercoastal Waterway exhibit a remarkable range of approaches to living under the subtropical sun. Among the twenty homes that are featured in this lavish volume are those of Dorothy Spreckels Munn and Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau. All the most renowned Palm Beach architects -- Addison Mizner, Maurice Fatio, Howard Major, and Belford Shoumate -- are represented.

But author Jennifer Ash also takes us off the beaten path to fascinating residences known to natives alone: an artist's bungalow on the bohemian Root Trail, a luxuriously appointed yet fully seaworthy yacht, a cozy retreat in a landmark church. And while relating the gossip-packed history of many of the island's famous residents, she gives us a guided tour of interiors created by both local and world-renowned designers, including David Easton and Juan Pablo Molyneux.

From the rococo splendor of Mar-a-Lago -- designed by Joseph Urban for Marjorie Merriweather Post and now owned by Donald Trump -- to the ultra-modern chic of a house by Richard Meier, Private Palm Beach affords intimate access to life behind the island's meticulously manicured hedges.

Jennifer Ash is a contributor to Town & Country, Diversion, and the Palm Beach Daily News, the town's premier society paper.