The work of architect and interior designer Lee Ledbetter represents a one-of-a-kind combination of traditional details and chic Modernism. Lee Ledbetter established his practice in New Orleans in 1996 and has developed a body of work that emerges from his ability to incorporate historical precedent as well as regional and environmental context, and his firm has received recognition for its expertise well beyond its Deep South roots. Ledbetter s interiors and architecture combine a cleanly tailored and bright modernity with the unapologetic embellishments of refined and luxurious decoration. Ledbetter strongly believes design to be a fine art along with painting and sculpture, and he considers placement and scale of furniture, artwork, and lighting as carefully as he does the creation of walls and the spaces they contain. As Mayer Rus, who provides the text for this title, once wrote in House and Garden, Lee Ledbetter rejects the idea that a serious architect cannot be a dedicated decorator as well.