Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design
by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, Barbara Winslow
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (27 August, 2002)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Reviews (20)

Helped me make some discoveries about our own house
I'm so surprised that there is controversy (yes! controversy!) about this Taunton Press Book that I'm in love with.

The Amazon.com reviews are brimming with Love it! Hate it! Pattern Language was better! Patterns of Home is invaluable! One doesn't often see this kind of public passionate display, this controversy, that centers on books written by architects...so I love it, of course.

(Yes, Pattern Language was amazing. But I'm a visual learner and I NEVER tire of gazing through pages of beautifully executed detail. So, I appreciate both books in different ways. See, I'm a uniter, not a divider. Whoops! Did I say that?! Shut my mouth.)

Provides vocabulary
I liked this book agreat deal. It provides a vocabulary to describe the elements that make a good design. It is well organized and the concepts are easy to understand. I can now go into houses I like and don't like and identify why, as well as what I want to incorporate into our remodel. I followed this book up with Home by Design by Susanka. While organized differently, the latter uses many of the same concepts, and is a good companion volume. On the basis of reviews here, I bought "A Pattern Language". I think it is best appreciated after having looked at one of the two described above.

Beautifully written, accessible, helpful
For those who may not have the patience to work through "A Pattern Language," this book distills the most important elements and illuminates key aspects with photographs. I found it helpful as a suplement to "A Pattern Language". I think these books will improve any design. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561585335
Sales Rank: 14006
Subjects:  1. Architectural design    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Criticism    5. Decorating    6. Design & Construction    7. Design & Drafting    8. Designs and plans    9. House & Home    10. Technique   

The Good House: Contrast As a Design Tool
by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, Barbara Winslow
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 December, 1990)
list price: $24.95
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Reviews (4)

Transitions
This is a nice, short little book with sketches and photos showing you how to properly design transitions that provide the proper contrast from inside to outside, up and down, light and dark, order and mystery, etc.

It is a very basic book, which is probably more for a first year architect student, but it may also help to remind practicing architects what makes a house a home.

too simple
First, to give the author credit, he reviewed other architect's works first and described the aspects of what he believed showed good design. Then he showed his own designs, very interesting. The man is talented. His commentary on contrasts is just too basic to good design to deserve an entire book on the subject. His analysis was clever and facile, but any student of design (or anyone with taste) understands the contrasts of large and small, bright and dark. His use of patterns is mildly interesting, hardly captivating. When I was finished I hadn't book-marked a single page (unusual for me) and I threw it on a pile of design books to be consigned to the library. Good for first-year design students, perhaps.

Short and sweet -- an undiscovered gem.
Tells you how to create the details that make a place special, using asimple but powerful theory of linked contrasts. Highly readable, can be putto use by anyone. Few books offer such design insight, none in so fewpages. I rank "The Good House" alongside Alexander's classic"A Pattern Language". ... Read more

Isbn: 0942391055
Sales Rank: 462077
Subjects:  1. Architectural design    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Domestic    6. General    7. House & Home    8. Residential Buildings Architecture   

The Not So Big House Collection: The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House
by Sarah Susanka
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (10 September, 2002)
list price: $40.00 -- our price: $26.40
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Reviews (9)

GREAT FOR BUDGET and IDEALISTIC MINDED! yes, both.
Building a home: GET ALL YOUR DETAILS IN THE CONTRACT PRIOR TO STARTING, (INCLUDING PRICING OUT YOUR ALLOWANCES TO ENSURE THE BUILDER HAS PUT ENOUGH ALLOWANCE IN CONTRACT), MAKE A BUDGET-Detailed, and get these books: These books have been the cornerstone of our building project. True, she has advice that is for both large and small budgets (some of the details are pricey) BUT..the point of the book is spend same money on smaller scale and you will be happier. If you are building a 5,000+ sqft house, you will find these books amusing. But if you want to build a more reasonable size home, these books are great. We built a 4,000 sqft home (includes basement and above garage) and used several tips (lighting, mail area, etc.).
My advice:
1. Use a builder with design services (our architects were living too large for our budget and they build homes that are not pratical (waste material in sizing).
2. GET EVERY LITTLE DETAIL UP FRONT IN CONTRACT. This was painful for the builder--he did not want to do it. But we are only 1% over budget and only overbudget b/c we could not nail him down on kitchen allowance and he underestimated our taste.
3. Make lists/clip pictures/and dream everyday.
4. Build for expansion...maybe you cannot afford to get it all now. Set it up for easy adding later.
Good Luck!

Using this book if you're on a budget
I agree that this book isn't as useful as I'd like for those of us who are on a budget when building a house -- we're limited to off-the-rack home designs, and can't afford to have a builder put in all the options available to those who can afford to hire an architect.However, since my spouse and I are pretty handy when it comes to woodworking etc., we will be putting some of the book's principles to use when it comes to building our next house.We've also put some of its ideas into action in our present house, putting in built-ins and other storage spaces that allow us to use the space we have more efficiently.Builders are often happy to make small changes, like moving a wall to enlarge a pantry, at little or no cost.Knowing to look for those sorts of solutions and ask for them have really made our home more user friendly.

The houses on either side of ours are the stereotypical "McMansions" that the book is aimed at counteracting, and I see more of them going into developments every day.I never see my neighbors in their three-story great rooms (which have so many windows it's practically a goldfish bowl).The neighbors love our house, which we chose specifically because it had a big kitchen which looks directly onto the living room -- the space is warm, inviting, and definitely used.If more people read and absorbed Sarah Susanka's ideas, they could make informed choices when shopping for a new home, and maybe we'd see fewer of these huge, unfriendly mini-mansions being built.

Grewat idea, even better pictures
This book has given us many ideas for our own home, and although I don't agree with the author's espousal of the wonders of a 'great room' (which I find an expensive trend that really only counts when you live in a one room cottage) I like her ideas about sightlines, storage spaces and the fact that people don't really need as much space as they think they do.The pictures give concrete examples of Susanka's principles, and the book is organized with nice flow. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561586277
Sales Rank: 5413
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Domestic    5. House & Home   

Creating the Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home
by Sarah Susanka, Grey Crawford
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 2000)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Editorial Review

Sarah Susanka has a not-so-insignificant idea in Creating the Not So Big House. She contrasts the glamorous, glossy-photo house plans of vaulted ceilings and palatial living rooms with the livable, day-to-day pleasure of cozy window seats and comfortable breakfast nooks, and her conclusion is resonating with families across the country: bigger but shoddier isn't better than smaller and well made. Descriptors like "spacious" and "expansive" fill the real-estate promos, but Susanka seeks the elusive yet affordable qualities that turn a house into a home. And she provides more than mere ideals around which to rally. She selected 25 house designs, from a southwestern adobe to a Minnesota farmhouse to a New York apartment to a Rhode Island summer cottage, and she profiles each home in great and well-illustrated detail.

Her ideas for interior as well as exterior views, airy stairways, diagonal views, and framed openings translate well in an array of different houses appropriate to childless couples and large families, as well as hot climes in Texas and cooler regions in Vermont. There are traditional designs to fit in with Massachusetts styling and contemporary designs to adapt to California cliffs, and they range from country spaces to suburban homes to city apartments.

Susanka selected house plans that are available for sale, because her purpose is to make affordable quality housing accessible to the general public, but they're also presented as catalysts for your own designs, because the house that worked for one person might inspire the plan that would work best for you. Whether you're in the market for a new house, want pragmatic renovation ideas, or are interested in the concept of space-saving abodes from a city-planning, philosophical perspective, Susanka's book is an eye-opener and a mind-expander, providing conceptual and practical tools to assist you in planning your own livable home.--Stephanie Gold ... Read more

Reviews (43)

No where NEAR the quality of the first book.
I found nothing in this book that was not in the first.Also, every single house photographed in this book is done in contemporary style, and I am not a fan of contemporary.The first book had a much wider variety of looks and styles.

In a nut shell, don't waste your money.Go to your local book store, thumb through it, and put it back on the shelf.

The Not-So-Special Book
This popular sequel to the well known Not So Big House in no way commands a five star rating.Written in the style of a magazine article rather than that of a well conceived book, the same ideas surface in the same way each chapter.And with only a few ideas to kick around this is not unsursprising.Very light reading indeed.
On the redeeming side, the last two chapters of the book compare a relatively inexpensive house to a more complex and costly one which use very similar floor plans.Differences are instructively pointed out and explained.
If you already bought the first book though, idea-wise there isn't much more here.It's all about casual open floor plans, spiced up with modulating ceiling heights and built-ins.What is more, when one looks into the origins of the open floor plan, i.e., in the works of Gustav Stickley and others, it becomes clear how little more than a popularizer of their ideas Susanka really is.
In short, unless you are a big fan of the author, it's probably better to flip through it at the bookstore over a cup of coffee, enjoying the nice pictures, and leave it on the table for the next guy.

Greatest House book, awesome stuff.
This is packed with so many great ideas and principles. It'll change everything you thing you want in a house. A must read. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561583774
Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Design & Construction    5. Do-It-Yourself    6. Domestic    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. Repair    10. Space (Architecture)    11. United States   

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home
by Sarah Susanka
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (27 August, 2002)
list price: $22.95 -- our price: $15.61
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Editorial Review

"Do more with less space" is the key concept of this down-to-earth design guide for both new home builders and remodelers. Not So Big Solutions for Your Home provides simplified design principles in jargon-free language for the nonprofessional contemplating a residential building project. Architect and author Sarah Susanka, well-known for 1998's The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live, offers advice on how to redefine space to create happier living areas that function more efficiently. For example, analyzing the family's television habits and planning set placement in advance may avert future squabbles and smooth out daily living. Thinking of each exterior door as the location of a sequence of common events (such as hauling in the groceries or taking off muddy boots) will help the planner create a neater entryway adapted to the family's specific needs. Throughout, plentiful drawings and photos illustrate simple solutions to such common problems as unused living rooms, dark bedrooms, and crowded kitchens. Readers seeking to remodel on a budget will be heartened by Susanka's contention that it is often best to stay within existing walls and avoid building out. All in all, the book provides a lot of theoretical food for thought for lay people preparing to begin the daunting task of either building a new home or remodeling an old one. --Judy Fireman ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Very helpful
I found this book to be very insightful for me as a new homebuilder.While the book is a collection of magazine articles that Susanka has written in the past, they contain ideas that are refreshing and useful.I have a new direction in the way I think about the design of my house, and I can appreciate the value of maximising space, as well as building the house to suit my particular lifestyle.i would recommend this for any potential homebuilder, or renovator.

Bigger is not always better...quality counts!
Our guiding philosophy and inspiration. An engaging and intelligent defense of building (and renovating) smarter, not bigger. Sarah Susanke has made a career of promoting traditional design principles in a way that speaks to modern situations (many of us can't afford new, huge houses) and responds to the "McMansions" craze that continues to sweep the US.She has a wonderful sense of how to maximize space for personal use. She advocates for built-in furniture, design built around daily activities, and open light-filled design. She had us at "Most architects are afraid to say...'You don't need an addition, you need a cleaning service."She doesn't want to clean out your bank account.She wants you to make the most of what you have...and if you follow her ideas, you will.

Useful Information from a Pioneering Voice
Within a very short time, Sarah Susanka has had a profound impact on the way families approach the design of their home.

Eschewing the "bigger is better" model that drives the profits of developers and mass production builders, Sarah Susanka has introduced a new vocablary of user-centered design that focuses on the details that make for a pleaant living experience.

Her "smaller is better" philosophy is based on often overlooked details like window size, providing built-in spaces for daily activities, creating "comfort zones" by varying ceiling heights and room lighting, and a myriad of other simple-in-themselves, but major-in-their-impact details.

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home should be considered required reading for you if you're remodeling or building a house you want to be comfortable in. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561586137
Subjects:  1. Architecture, Domestic    2. Design & Construction    3. Designs and plans    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Domestic architecture    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. House Plans    9. House construction    10. Interior architecture   

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
by Sarah Susanka, Kira Obolensky
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (28 August, 1998)
list price: $30.00
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Editorial Review

When describing a favorite room in the house, do you find yourself using terms such as "expansive," "formal," and "spacious"--a marble foyer or a formal dining room perhaps? Or do the words "cozy," "intimate," and "warm" come to mind--a cheery little breakfast nook or a window seat complete with plenty of pillows and a breathtaking view? More than likely, you--like thousands of other homeowners--are drawn to the more personal spaces in your home, where comfort, beauty, and efficiency meet. In The Not So Big House, respected architect Sarah Susanka and coauthor Kira Obolensky address our affinity for the "smaller, more personal spaces" and propose "clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements." The heart of the not-so-big house--which is not "just a small house ... [but] a smaller house," that uses "less space to give greater quality of life," and is designed to not only "accommodate the lifestyles of its occupants" but also to express "our values and our personalities," is discussed in chapter 1, entitled "Bigger Isn't Better." Susanka's urging for homeowners to get creative with their space as well as loads of ideas to encourage that creativity are covered in "Rethinking the House" and "Making Not So Big Work." Discussions of specific needs, such as a home for one and designing for kids, can be found in "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous," while "Dreams, Details, and Dollars" gets down to the nuts and bolts of the operation, looking at quality versus quantity, budgeting, and what "low end," "middle ground," and "high end" really mean in home design and construction. Lastly, the authors look at the home of the future, which involves simplifying, recycling, reducing waste, and using energy-efficient construction. With more than 200 color photographs, as well as floor plans and Susanka and Obolensky's intelligent and lively dialogue, The Not So Big House is perfect for homeowners ready to rethink their space. --Stefanie Hargreaves ... Read more

Reviews (113)

Would have helped to have known .......
Just having bought an 1887 house in a small southern town, this book was not what I needed.It was well written, beautiful photography and layout, but not within the price range or geographical range.It might have saved me some money if these items of interest to readers had been mentioned.Also - "mission" or "prairie" is not a dominant theme in this area.

Thank you Sarah Susanka!!!
This book has overhauled everything I thought I knew about houses (which I'll admit wasn't much to begin with).I used to think I someday wanted a big giant house in the burbs with soaring ceilings and giant entry ways.Now I want a small little cottage in the woods with an away-room and built in benches under round art-glass windows.

This book belongs in every American home.

Excellent
After reading and searching for many months, I finally found this book. It was instantly a favorite, as we love the idea of better insides vs bigger outsides. The author is clear and concise, and the pictures are well thought out. I reccommend this book to all home builders.
Suzanne Callison ... Read more

Isbn: 1561581305
Subjects:  1. Architectural Drawing    2. Architecture    3. Architecture - Human Factors    4. Architecture, Domestic    5. Decorating    6. Design & Construction    7. Domestic    8. Domestic architecture    9. House & Home    10. Interior architecture    11. Psychological aspects    12. Repair    13. Space (Architecture)   

Small Houses (Great Houses : Fine Homebuilding)
by Fine Homebuilding Magazine
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 September, 1995)
list price: $19.95
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Reviews (3)

Good Ideas, But Outdated Images
This book seems to mark another turn in residential architecture: creating small spaces that do not skimp on quality, but give the appearance of quantity. The book features several different houses; although some of the houses' interiors are dated, the floorplans provide a good starting point for those who want to build a house that's small in square in terms of square footage, but large in terms of character.

Inspiration
My wife and i were looking for a new house to accomodate us and our son.We went to a number of open houses of typical contractor built houses and only got sick.The houses were big, inefficient and ill-designed.They lacked character and imagination.Therefore, we are now considering designing and building a house.This book, with its numerous examples of small, well-designed houses, is both helping us find features and designs we like and providing us with inspiration.The houses in this book have character.The book is well-illustrated.

My only critique of this book is that it does not always provide square footage and cost per square foot as Taunton's annual house edition does.

A lot of book for the money.
This book is compilation of articles from the magazine.There are 37 different projects covering a wide variety of styles and locations of houses.The articles are often written by the owner / designer and arequite thorough.Many include presentation style: sections, details, andfloor plans.

I found this book to be very interesting to read.There isa lot of content for the size and price of the book.The articles are allfrom the early 80's to early 90's.Which makes me look forward to the nextedition.

Anybody interested in purchasing, renovating, or designing asmall house will definitely like this book. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561581062
Sales Rank: 78772
Subjects:  1. Do-It-Yourself    2. Domestic architecture    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House & Home    5. House Plans    6. Small houses    7. United States   

The Cabin: Inspiration for the Classic American Getaway
by Dale Mulfinger, Susan E. Davis
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (15 August, 2001)
list price: $34.95 -- our price: $23.07
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Reviews (13)

Simple living in simply wonderful spaces
This book, like "The New Cottage Home", takes you on a tour of homes that reflect a particular lifestyle as much--if not more--than a particular home style. In the small homes featured here, that lifestyle is one of rustic retreat and recreation. For us cottage-folk, these little houses may be a bit coarse, but they are filled with great ideas for living simply and efficiently in a small and delightful space. The book lives up to Taunton's reputation for superb photography and extensive explanatory text.

Wishing for someplace to get away TO
It was a little disconcerting to see that the maximum-size threshold the authors set for the cabins covered in this book was actually a fair deal larger than the home I live in full-time now. But nevertheless, I was able to enjoy this look at intriguing and often innovative designs for getaway living. The color photos are frequently beautiful, and the authors also helpfully include layout designs for the cabins' interiors as well as illustrations of how the cabins fit onto the owners' land. The text tells the stories of the individual cabins and their owners, and also has useful insights on the process of planning and building these kinds of structures.

People who have, or plan to have, getaway retreats of their own will probably find much inspiration, as well as many good ideas, here. And even those of us who don't have a cabin of our own, now or in the foreseeable future, can always imagine ourselves in one of these great homes and locales (I dibs the one on page 160).

Review of the book: The Cabin
This book is must-read for anyone who has experienced or would like to experience second-home living.It has a wonderful presentation about it, with great pictures, text and site illustrations.The diversity of the many different styles and settings for these cabins makes it a real pleasure to read as well as a great reference source to inspire the reader to his and her own creations.I highly recommend it and find that Amazon.com offers it at the best value available. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561583928
Sales Rank: 70689
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Construction - General    3. Design & Construction    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Domestic    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Log cabins    9. Specific Residential Buildings Architecture    10. United States    11. Vacation homes    12. Wood Construction   

More Small Houses: Fine Homebuilding Great Houses (Great Houses)
by Fine Homebuilding Magazine
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 August, 1998)
list price: $24.95 -- our price: $16.47
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (5)

New Material
Fine Homebuilding does a great job of highlighting unique architecture.My only wish is that it wouldn't get recycled over and over again in hardcover.My plea is for Fine Homebuilding is to keep searching out fabulous homes to keep it fresh.My admonishment is to Taupin Press for boring it's very attentive audience.I now look through a book before I purchase it, I usually find that I already own 20-30 of the pics that I find interesting.

WOW
I just love the small(?) houses in this book. I'm one of those people that dream of one day being able to build my own home, and therefore have numerous books and magazines with house plans. This book is the best by farthat I have. The plans and pictures in this book are just brilliant. I lovethe fact that most of the houses are different to the normal square orrectangular shape that is so prevelent these days. All though most of thehouses in the book aren't really that small, at least not to me, there aresome wonderful designs. The detail provided about each design is thorough.The Energy-Efficient Houses and Craftsman-Style Houses books are terrificas well.

one of the best books on small houses
This book has a wide variety of different homes-- which to me didn't seem that small. The plans as well as a description of primary concerns in design are often included. Best of all, many of these homes were designedon a budget of about $100,000, which makes these houses seem much moreinspiring and realistic to the potential home builder. I'd never thought ofdesigning my own home until I saw this book, but now it's one of my hopesfor the future. ... Read more

Isbn: 1561582786
Sales Rank: 89859
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Domestic    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. House Plans    6. Residential Buildings Architecture    7. Small houses    8. United States   

Inside Log Homes: The Art & Spirit of Home Planning and Decor
by Cindy Teipner Thiede, Cindy Thiede, Jonathan Stoke
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 October, 2000)
list price: $39.95 -- our price: $39.95
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Reviews (3)

great ideas - wonderful book to dream with
Loved all the idea's and variety this book provided. For anyone planning an adventure in log home construction and living, this book is a true inspiration.Thanks for access to so many creative expressions by homeowners and builders, and for another wonderful log home experience.

Disappointing
The interiors are not the quality I had hoped for.And an entire book of log home interiors became too much for my eye in the end. I have bought several second home books recently, and my favorite remains a new book called Second Home, which shows not only log and timberframe homes but airy beach cottages, cabins in the woods, lake homes, and every other style one can imagine.

Inside Log Homes--The art and spirit of home decor
There seem to be two types of log home owners.First, there are the owners with an unlimited budget who hire archetects, interior designers, and lighting specialists who build and furnish the home immediately ready for "Archetectual Digest."Then, there is the rest of us.

This book offers superb ideas, hints, and warnings for both groups.In my case, the log home we are renovating was roughly built and poorly maintained.However, the price was right and the home had, as they say, potential.

The potential and decoration was also going to have to match our lifelong possessions. After three decades of marrage, dozens of moves, and time in Europe and Asia, our furniture was certainly eclectic.We were not about to have a giant yard sale and start over.Cindy Thiede's book on decorating help us in many ways.

Most importantly, she gives specific ideas and pictures that can help log home owners regardless of their problems or budget.In our case, there was the perfect answer to an problem we were having with an addition. Additionally, we found a picture of the exect rock fireplace we were seeking. In each case, we marked the book and told the subcontractor that this was what we wanted.

Finally, the author offers highlighted tips, facts, and web sites to help you through your decorating and renovation problems.The book concludes with a resource directory that cross-references pictures and ideas with the specific archetect, designer, or retailer.

In summary, if you building, renovating or decorating a log home, this book will help you in many countless ways. ... Read more

Isbn: 087905963X
Sales Rank: 401301
Subjects:  1. Architecture, Domestic    2. Decorating    3. Decorating - General    4. Design & Construction    5. Design and construction    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Interior decoration    9. Log cabins    10. Log cabins and houses    11. Residential Interior Design    12. Wood Construction   

Log Homes Made Easy: Contracting and Building Your Own Log Home
by Jim Cooper
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 October, 2000)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
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Reviews (9)

Not very good or inspiring
This book is not for anyone who wants to build there own log home. It is clearly written from someone who wants to continually sell log home kits. There is a wonderful book called Home from the Woods that is much better and describes the details of building a log home from an everyday persons perspective.

Biased but good
This is a very good book if your intention is to be your own general contractor, or even hire a general contractor to build your log home. The author (as noted in many other reviews) shows a bias towards milled kit homes since that's what he sells.

Since I am planning to build my own log home from scratch (not using a kit) I found the bias a little annoying, but I still found a few good pieces of advice here and there. If you are planning to build it yourself from scratch I would recommend taking the two-day seminar from loghomebuilders.org instead, or in addition to this book.

Best book on the subject (but milled kit bias)
This is the best book currently available on the subject of log home construction planning. It is well-organized, clearly written, and offers helpful information to anyone who is planning on building a log home. The reason it gets four stars instead of five is that some statements in the book must be read with your thinking cap on...The author is a milled log kit seller, so he shows a subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) bias against handcrafted homes, build-it-yourselfers, and the like. Of course, every salesman believes that his own product is the best- so who can fault him...just take in the book with a "grain of salt" and remember to think for yourself. ... Read more

Isbn: 0811728471
Sales Rank: 86250
Subjects:  1. Construction - Contracting    2. Contractors    3. Design & Construction    4. Design and construction    5. Do-It-Yourself    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House Plans    8. Log cabins    9. Reference   

Cabins: A Guide to Building Your Own Nature Retreat
by David R. Stiles, Jeanie Stiles, David Stiles
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (03 March, 2001)
list price: $19.95 -- our price: $13.57
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (8)

Poor
I found this product an utter disgrace, it was of no use and i found it a complete waste of money!

Lacking in detail
The book is billed as a guide to building a nature retreat. This is not a fair or accurate characterization of the subject matter of the book. There is almost no substantive information provided with regards to building codes or engineering. This book has some very primitive drawings that would only go so far as to enable an individual to make significant and serious errors in judgement in the design and construction of a cabin. It appears that the authors of this book have little if any experience in actually building or designing a structure.

they make it sound so easy
Pictures aren't bad either.

I've always thought that the Stiles' books are empowering.Yes, it IS put one foot down right after the other. ... Read more

Isbn: 1552093735
Sales Rank: 58219
Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Construction - General    3. Design & Construction    4. Design and construction    5. Do-It-Yourself    6. Do-It-Yourself - General    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. House & Home    9. House construction    10. Second homes    11. Vacation homes   

The Distinctive Home: A Vision of Timeless Design
by Jeremiah Eck
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 January, 2003)
list price: $40.00 -- our price: $26.40
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Reviews (5)

Excellent
I really enjoyed looking at the pictures and picturing in my head what those ideas could look like in my area.

Beautiful !
Another high-quality, gorgeous book from Taunton Press, a company that I remember from its inception when I lived in Newtown, Connecticut!

This book is full of countless beautiful color photos and drawings that add immensely to the author's viewpoints and to his descriptions of the components of a distinctive home.

Eck discusses every aspect of a home: siting the house; the roof; the landscaping, and everything in between. He overlooks no detail that will aid homeowners in deriving a sense of satisfaction from their homes. The homes he describes are livable and comfortable.

I especially liked reading Eck's four elements of a "pleasing" house and the significance and importance he attaches to each element.

Don't buy itif you suffer from serious house-envy...
...if you are the sort of person who dreams of building your perfect house some day, this book will give you conniption fits, and leave you absent-mindedly drawing little floor plans on napkins in restaurants.

Eck's framework for the book cites four sources of great design:siting the house on the property, floor plans, exterior (elevation) and final details.This makes the book more balanced than those that just focus on, say, the floor plan and finish.

I found his discussion of the 'massing' of the house to be fascinating.It went a long way towards explaining why the too-large floor plans of the usual suburban house today--although in many cases just traditional layouts blown up by 50%--just don't look quite right.

That said, the book is predominantly oriented towards relatively empty-nester second homes in relatively rural locations.With some pleasant exceptions, these are not houses for people who have to, say , wonder where to store the dirty soccer equipment or the snow blower, or where their kid's model collection is going to go.

They ARE beautiful, though - I swear that some day I'm going live on p.107!! ... Read more

Isbn: 1561585289
Sales Rank: 64789
Subjects:  1. Architectural design    2. Building    3. Design & Construction    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home   

The New Cottage Home
by Jim Tolpin
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 May, 1998)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77
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Editorial Review

It takes only a drive through any typical American subdivision to confirm that in recent decades the average house has grown in size, narrowed in style, and shrunk in vision. Jim Tolpin's The New Cottage Home represents a return to a previous school of thought about living space: that it should be no larger than is needed, conservative of resources, rich in detail-- in short, that it should pay homage to honest architecture and fine craftsmanship, not to conspicuous consumption. The 30 cottage homes pictured, all recently built, have the slightly unfair advantage of almost magically beautiful locations, but each has a unique character and many cottage-style nooks and crannies: the converted island pump house with sod roof, the 600-square-foot woodland temple, the salvage-built house on the Kansas prairie, the off-the-grid shingled hilltop house built to take advantage of natural light. Tolpin does an excellent job of pulling together the elements of each that make it a cottage and make it appealing. In his own words, "These houses seem to call as much to the heart as to the head, enriching us more with the highs of nature than with the highs of technology. These are the new American cottages that embody the ancient storybook dream, and the kind of homes that many of us have always dreamed of living in." ... Read more

Reviews (19)

More than just another coffee table book!
You WILL find inspiration here.

Get Cozy!
This book hails a return to the smaller house. We have overlooked the value of coziness for too long.
Delightful! I must confess, my copy is quite dog-earred.

A collection of wonderful smaller homes
Getting away has taken on a certain urgency in the past week. The second home we've been wanting now seems like a good idea for our primary residence, instead. Getting our family of the metro area is something we are seriously considering. This book is gorgeous. It looks like most of the homes are architect designed, so the architect's fees might eat you alive if you decided to go this route. Still, though, the houses are reasonably sized and include lots of charming details. I also recommend:
SECOND HOME (shows great houses around the country but also includes real estate shopping information, tips on evaluating a region or a small town, and so forth. inspiring and helpful too. houses includes new homes as well as refurbished older ones. A handsome but realistic book.)
CABIN FEVER (a style book that does show how delightful a small cabin can be)
SMALL HOUSE BIG STYLE (a very helpful book that also shows how to live in smaller spaces) ... Read more

Isbn: 1561582298
Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Cottages    4. Design & Construction    5. Design & Drafting    6. Domestic    7. Domestic architecture    8. Interior Design - Style Books    9. Residential Buildings Architecture    10. United States    11. Vernacular Architecture   

The Desert Home
by Tamara L. Hawkinson
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 November, 2002)
list price: $40.00 -- our price: $26.40
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Reviews (4)

Beautiful book don't use it as a travel guide.
The Desert Home is a lovely book. I highly recommend it. The photography is exceptional. Its cover reveals the Rancho de la Osa "dude ranch". We saw this and we were sure we wanted to stay here.A big mistake--it is not as it appears in the book.The camera captures the glow of candlelight, colors enhanced by firelight and sunlight streaming through a half open door. Reality was $500.00 plus for (one night stay) a small bedroom with a boarded up window, allowing neither light nor ventilation. No ranch chef producing gourmet meals nor the world class wine list mentioned.It is an historic, old "museum" that still needs a lot of repairs.Visit, photograph and then stay elsewhere.Better yet just buy the book at $28.00 from Amazon and forego this $500.00 per night, not as advertised hacienda,"dude ranch".This was our experience in October 2003 and reflects our opinion.

The best in desert decor!
This offering, by Northland Publishing, of "the desert home" is a visual feast for those who long to bring the beauty, serenity and spirituality of the desert into their living space.Sumptious decorating ideas abound whether you call the city, 'burbs or rural counties your residence and all have taken the flavor of the American and Spanish deserts. From clean modern designs to old world collectibles, this is a wonderful expos'e on decorating and living as a desert dweller.

Warm earthen tones predominate
The Desert Home by professional interior designer and freelance writer Tamara L. Hawkinson takes the reader upon a wonderful and memorable tour through a series of Southwestern American homes which are filled with personality, flavor, charm, and showcase a love for life in the desert. Warm earthen tones predominate the styles depicted herein, all of which are beautifully illustrated with numerous full-color photographs, and commented upon at length in a "reader friendly" text. Simply put, The Desert Home is great source book of ideas when searching for a desert or western motif for any area of one's own home. ... Read more

Isbn: 0873587960
Sales Rank: 168475
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Design & Construction    4. Domestic    5. Domestic architecture    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - General    8. Residential Buildings Architecture    9. Residential Interior Design    10. Southwestern States   

Buildings of Earth and Straw: Structural Design for Rammed Earth and Straw Bale Architecture
by Bruce King
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 January, 1997)
list price: $25.00 -- our price: $16.50
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Editorial Review

Chelsea Green's The Rammed Earth House and The Straw Bale House chronicle the possibilities and realities of straw bale and rammed earth construction. Buildings of Earth and Straw fills in the gaps for professional builders, contractors, engineers, inspectors, lenders, and architectural students. It includes special construction requirements of earth and straw, design capabilities and limitations of these materials, and documentation of testing data for use in addressing the concerns of officials. This book offers the nuts and bolts of rammed earth and straw bale building techniques, and why they are so spectacular, durable, and earth-friendly. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Earth, Straw, Yehaa!
Learn how to build with earth, and straw. The one thing I didn't like about the book is that there are no photo's of finished projects.

Technical information on the mentioned building methods.
This book educates the lay builder of "earth and straw" about the technical side of the mentioned building methods. This technical lingo is explained clearly for the person's understanding. This book bridges thegap between building inspetors and the "alternative" builder byincreasing the technical knowledge of basic building structures and forces.

The funniest structural engineering book I have ever read.
This book is definitely the funniest structural engineering book I haveever read.It is also useful for the professional, intelligible to thegeneral reader, and attractively illustrated. King includes California'sstraw bale code, a comprehensive wish list for further testing, and auseful list of references for both stabilized earth and straw bale. Included are equations for the engineer who is ready to start designingright now, and a glossary for the lay reader who isn't quite sure of someof the terms.A valuable book which is also enjoyable to read.This isnot always true of engineering texts! ... Read more

Isbn: 0964471817
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Design and construction    4. Earth houses    5. History - Specific Styles    6. Pise    7. Straw bale houses    8. Structural engineering    9. Study & Teaching   

Hot Dirt, Cool Straw
by Nora Richter Greer, Dennis Wedlick, James Grayson Trulove
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 2001)
list price: $39.95
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Reviews (1)

Not just strawbale and rammed earth.
A current topic, "green" architecture has a broad, reasonable definition in this book.One often thinks of green house books as full of solar and straw bale houses of middling design (whatever the sensitivity of the construction).The book categorizes several ways buildings can be green, and shows a variety of houses with designs as (or more) innovative as their green techniques.The photographs are well done, and of (for the most part) really good-looking houses.I think the "Lakeside Residence," "Howard House," and "Low Compound" are especially memorable. A good book for those interested in current, contemporary architecture as well as green architecture. ... Read more

Isbn: 0823023362
Sales Rank: 349701
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture - Human Factors    3. Domestic    4. Methods & Materials    5. Residential Buildings Architecture   

Living Homes: Sustainable Architecture and Design
by Suzi Moore, Nora Burba Trulsson, Suzi Moore McGregor, Terrence Moore
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (May, 2001)
list price: $45.00 -- our price: $29.70
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (4)

A good intro.
This book offers a good introduction into building with earth, straw and recycled materials. There are lots of nice photos with a brief story telling how and why the builders used the chosen materials.

This book does not go into depth on how to make a home out of straw bale, adobe, rammed earth or any other techniques. There are lots of other good books that do though.

I am kind of disappointed in a couple of the things the author says that are a bit misleading or untrue, probably unintentionally, but non the less they are there and you will not pick them out unless you are well read on alternative building techniques.

Living Homes shows "Architecture"
Finally! A book on sustainable architecture that shows quality buildings designed by Architects. All too often, these books show buildings that are not well designed, and detailed, and the quality of construction is lacking. I was very pleased to see well known architects, as well as lesser known architects' work detailed in this beautiful book. This book is wonderful to look at and it also has excellent, well written descriptions of each project.
It's a great read, and it is now in my personal library. I also bought one for the office.

A beautiful book
In the course of designing our new house, my family and I were looking for inspiration.This book gave us plenty of ideas and opened up new possibilities as to materials we could use that would be kinder to the environment that traditionally built homes.

The photographs are beautiful, and it was interesting to read what each of the book's homeowners had to say about constructing their houses.I had always thought that homes built of rammed earth or bales of straw were boring-looking, but this book proves the materials can be used to make great-looking houses. ... Read more

Isbn: 0811824691
Sales Rank: 188070
Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Design & Construction    4. Design & Drafting    5. Domestic    6. Methods & Materials    7. Sustainable architecture    8. United States   

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It: The Complete Back-To-Basics Guide
by John Seymour, Will Sutherland
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 April, 2003)
list price: $30.00 -- our price: $19.80
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Reviews (7)

A true pleasure
If you own only one book on self-sufficiency this should be it.A beautifully written, concise back to basics guide.

If you were to take just one book with you...
This would be the one! Not only is the book packed with priceless information, it's beautiful to look at. It really does cover most aspects of the skills you are likely to need as you move toward self sufficiency. It will also humble you. I was shocked by what I didn't even know I didn't know! How could I have made it this far without knowing such simple, logical and essential knowledge!?

I haven't bought my land yet, but I've been trying some of the techniques described in this book. It's just incredible. We have been sold a lie by governments and corporations and this book is an operations manual for undoing that lie and setting things right in the world. I couldn't recommend any book any more emphatically than this one.

How to get back to the land...
As a family that has abandoned the city and suburbs for the countryside, the very presence of a book like John Seymour's "The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It" is enough to inspire fits of joy. A perfect companion to works like Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden" and Mollison's "Permaculture: A Designer's Manual," this book is a must for would-be urbanites fleeing the cities. Covering every topic relevant to self-sufficient, sustainable living and farm life, Seymour's classic provides a great way to start a different life. An update from the venerable mid-Seventies edition of the book, this 2002 release is a fine improvement.

The book has quite a bit going for it:

1. Beautifully made, illustrated and laid-out, this book is meant to last and be used readily and often. Typical Dorling Kindersley quality.

2. An eye-friendly typeface and bright, semi-gloss pages make this easy reading.

3. The shear breadth of the information here is outstanding. Packed into 306 letter-sized pages are the following chapters:
*The Meaning of Self-Sufficiency
*Food from the Garden
*Food from Animals
*Food from the Fields
*Food from the Wild
*In the Dairy
*In the Kitchen
*Brewing & Wine-making
*Energy & Waste
*Crafts & Skills
*Things You Need to Know

4. Good specifics on all the categories of info listed above. You should be able to get started on your way to being people of the soil. Need to know how to kill, gut, and prepare your cattle? It's in here. Got a hankering to get off the electrical grid altogether? Helpful windmill buying advice is here. Can't tell rye from barley? You will after reading this book.

5. A helpful list of contacts and companies that can get you started on your dream are included.

But there are issues amid all this helpful advice:

1. The book makes some references to US-specific qualifiers on info, but it is quintessentially British. Some of the very helpful info simply does not apply to American would-be farmers.

2. There's a lot of the "green" credo here. Some of it is a bit condescending to anyone who doesn't share the author's opinions of life outside the farm. How well the reader handles this is up to the reader.

3. While the book is certainly comprehensive, considering how complex a shift from urban to rural living can be, it could have gone even deeper. (I know that I still had questions.) The book probably could have been twice its length and would still be a bargain.

4. Much of the advice here comes from a lone methodology for approaching self-sufficiency. Despite the update, there are some more cutting edge permaculture methods that can be more satisfying than what we find in Seymour's book.

All in all, despite the cons, this is a fine primer on self-sufficiency. Anyone looking to escape the rat race could hardly do better than to pick up a copy of "The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It." ... Read more

Isbn: 0789493322
Sales Rank: 5343
Subjects:  1. Agriculture    2. Agriculture - General    3. Country life    4. Handbooks, manuals, etc    5. Self-Help    6. Technology & Industrial Arts