Just the thought of "going green" can make you feel blue. Trying to live sustainably sounds like a whole lot of work and a whole lot of deprivation. Well, Josh Piven aims to both shrink your carbon footprint and soothe your eco-anxiety. In a guidebook that's as funny as it is practical, Piven shows you how to green every room of the house--and have a good time doing it. Projects range from the playful (raising trout in your swimming pool) all the way to big-time, serious home alterations (installing a root cellar) that will have your neighbors green with envy. Don't fret if you're not a natural wrench-turner: Most of Piven's suggestions are inexpensive, totally approachable, and accompanied by clear illustrations. This Green House is likely to be the most entertaining homeowner's manual you've ever used.
Choose a picture-perfect pool to complement your landscape. Home design can be as easy as browsing through this collection of 200 pools from some of the world's top builders. This book presents a broad range of pool designs, from garden-like settings to integrated outdoor living areas. You will find hundres of ideas for: - Fountains, spas, and fire - Bridges and decorative additions - Landscaping and hardscaping designs - Edge treatments The swimming pool has never been more alluring Find your picture perfect pool
Whether you're trying to protect your garden from wildlife predators or want to keep your livestock from wandering too far, effective fencing can bring welcome peace of mind. Covering the pros and cons of a variety of fencing types, Gail Damerow shows you how to build a fence that works for your needs. With clearly illustrated instructions for building wire fences, rail fences, electric fences, woven fences, and more, you'll soon be creating effective enclosures that are guaranteed to save you time, money, and worry.
Ten years ago, Sarah Susanka started a revolution in home design with a deceptively simple message: quality should always come before quantity. Now, the book that celebrated that bold declaration is back in this special 10th anniversary edition featuring a new introduction and 16 additional pages that explore three new homes.
Nearly a quarter-million people bought this ground-breaking book when it was published in Fall 1998. Since then, the book's simple message -- that quality should come before quantity -- has started a movement in home design. Homeowners now know to expect more. And the people responsible for building our homes have also gotten the message. Architects and builders around the country report clients showing up with dog-eared copies of The Not So Big House, pages marked to a favorite section.
Why are we drawn more to smaller, more personal spaces than to larger, more expansive ones? Why do we spend more time in the kitchen than we do in the formal dining room? The Not So Big House proposes clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements, whether for a couple with no children, a family, empty nesters, or one person alone.
In 1999, Sarah Susanka was then architect and principal with Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, the firm selected to design the 1999 Life Dream House brought Frank Lloyd Wright's same common-sense, human-scale design principles to our generation. Consider which rooms in your house you use and enjoy most, and you have a sense of the essential principles of The Not So Big House. Whether you seek comfort and calm or activity and energy at home, The Not So Big House offers a place for every mood.
The Not So Big House created a movement that is changing the way people think about the American home. That groundbreaking book proposed a new blueprint for the American home: a house that values quality over quantity, with an emphasis on comfort and beauty, a high level of detail, and a floor plan designed for today's informal lifestyle.
Creating the Not So Big House is the blueprint in action. Focusing on key design strategies such as visual weight, layering, and framed openings, Sarah Susanka takes an up-close look at 25 houses designed according to Not So Big principles. The houses are from all over North America in a rich variety of styles -- from a tiny New York apartment to a southwestern adobe, a traditional Minnesota farmhouse, and a cottage community in the Pacific Northwest. Whether new or remodeled, these one-of-a-kind homes provide all the inspiration you need to create your own Not So Big House.
- Step-by-step photographs and illustrations guide homeowners through every step of the process.
- Includes a comprehensive skills and techniques section along with must-have information about the tools and materials used to build fences and gates.
- The one-stop guide for homeowners looking to tackle residential fencing or gate projects from start to finish.
Clarke Snell and Timothy L. Callahan, whose popular "Good House Book" helped environmentally-minded readers create an earth-friendly home, have returned with a photo-packed, amazingly complete, start-to-finish guide to "green" housebuilding.
This absolutely groundbreaking manual doesn't just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually "shows" every step More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the addition of final-touch interior details. Co-authors Clarke Snell and Timothy Callahan (a professional builder and contractor) provide thorough discussions of the fundamental concepts of construction, substitutes for conventional approaches, and planning a home that's not only comfortable and beautiful, but environmentally responsible. Then, they roll up their sleeves and get to work assembling a guest house that incorporates four different alternative building methods: straw bale, cob, cordwood, and modified stick frame. The images show every move: how the site is cleared, the basic structure put together, the cob wall sculpted, the bales and cordwood stacked, a living roof created, and more. Most important, the manual conveys real-world challenges and processes, and offers dozens of sidebars with invaluable advice. It's head and shoulders above all others in the field.
