The classical way of spaces, their structure, order, elements, composition, proportion, ornamentation and decoration, their light and color, character, taste and style, has a language of its own. Semes, a practicing architect and scholar, shows how classical architecture has informed spaces from Roman times to the present, and finds examples even in unexpected places. He examines the principles of classical architecture across time, their literature, and their application in ceilings, walls, moldings, floors, doors, windows, fireplaces, stairs and casework. He includes photographs, original drawings, plans of historic interiors, and both a section of selected reading and a bibliography.