This is a comprehensive manual of design and building methods for owner-builders as well as professional builders and their clients. In addition to presenting specific building techniques, the book explains the design principles and planning processes that underlie all good building, so that readers can develop their own exceptional designs, independently.

Independent Builder develops subjects not covered thoroughly in other books, but critical to success:

Designing small houses that seem big

Understanding innovation

Estimating and controlling costs

Incorporating ergonomics and accessibility

Doing drawings and scale models

Making contracts that work

This book captures today's hottest design trend for the home - textures, design, colors, and craftsmanship that evoke European ideals of a bygone era. Explore kitchens and baths rich in the fine details that characterize Provencal, Tuscan, and English country designs. Massive range hoods and brick hearths, faux finishes, rich natural stone, and tile provide polish and posh to up-to-the-minute home environments. Enjoy hand-carved wood, wrought-iron, and fine crystal chandeliers in spaces filled with the latest appliances and an abundance of workspace. The atmosphere is timeless, and these designs are certain to endure. This is an indispensable design guide for professional designers and discerning homeowners.

What more appealing scene can you conjure up on a wintry day than a pair of comfortable armchairs pulled up to a crackling fire while wisps of smoke curl from the chimney top? All your senses are in use--the sight of the flickering flames, the sound of the crackling logs, the warmth on your face, and the fragrance and taste of wood smoke. The hearth truly is the essential core of every home, whether it is an actual fireplace or merely a mantel displaying the treasures and trophies of intertwined lives. Long past the days of strictly utilitarian purpose, fireplaces and stoves are a design feature in their own right. They are available in an array of styles, sizes, and colors; offer a variety of fuel choices; and feature benefits beyond mere aesthetics, including heat and cooking. Fireplaces and heat sources are also widely found in many rooms throughout the house, including the family or living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom, as well as outdoors. And the latest innovations in fireplace and stove technologies make having one no longer an expensive proposition.
While the building market is seeing growth in the fireplace market, so too is the remodeling marketplace. In fact, many homeowners are refacing their existing fireplace, upgrading their wood fireplace to gas, or simply installing a new faux fireplace where there wasn't one before. In this book readers will find hundreds of examples of all types of indoor fireplaces--from wood to gas, freestanding, and ventless--and stoves, both wood and pellet. In addition to gorgeous photos of a full range of fireplace styles, materials, and decor for indoor and outdoor fireplaces and stoves, solid information on practical designconsiderations--maintaining a fireplace or stove, remodeling an existing fireplace, safety, converting a wood-burning fireplace to gas, and the like--are explained in detail, making this the only book on the market to offer the breadth of content on both the design and practical components of all types of the latest indoor and outdoor fireplaces and stoves. Aesthetic and practical design considerations for hearths and mantels, built-ins and storage, lighting, and accessories like screen, brooms, and bellows are also covered. A thorough glossary, resources, and index provide reference-like information.

Prized by the avant-garde and the haute bourgeoisie of central Europe in the nineteenth century, Biedermeier style is experiencing an unprecedented revival around the world today. Biedermeier, with its newly updated introduction and expanded bibliography, serves as an unrivaled sourcebook for those who are interested in the furniture and decor of an era that has uncanny parallels with our own. Angus Wilkie traces the complex history of this forgotten era, giving a cultural background to the work itself. Providing an overview of the astonishing variety of furniture produced by local cabinetmakers from Germany to Scandinavia, this text showcases the candlesticks, secretaries, and spittoons crafted in rich fruitwoods and subtly decorated with ebony inlay and sunburst veneer. Over 160 specially commissioned color photographs - as well as watercolors of Biedermeier interiors, original textile designs, and original drawings of furniture and draperies - illustrate this book.

This collection of beautiful photographs showcases the artistry of those who sculpt outdoor living environments with solid rock, impressed and tinted concrete, and brick in many forms. You will be both inspired and informed. This practical guidebook will help you choose a patio style suitable for your home, learn to speak your contractor's language, pick a plan that fits your budget and style, furnish and organize outdoor areas for entertaining or intimate family dining, create containers and border areas for dynamic gardens and landscaping displays, and develop outdoor sanctuaries with artfully placed planter boxes, shrubs, and privacy screens. There are also step-by-step instructions for the successful installation of your own paver patio

Easy-to-follow shed designs with loads of color examples.

The new edition of this classic do-it-yourself guide for backyard builders now contains more material and photographs than ever.

Sheds helps the do-it-yourself builder think through all the issues involved in designing and building a shed: intended use, size, cost, placement, degree of construction difficulty, and much more. Following a chapter on construction basics, the authors preview each step of building a beautiful and useful shed -- from foundation to cupola, and everything in between.

Sheds contains:

• Material lists
• Cost estimates
• Step-by-step illustrations
• New tips and hints
• Detailed instructions
• Schedules
• 16 pages of color.

Packed with detailed illustrations, plans and commonsense advice, this new edition of the classic book on building a shed is like having a professional carpenter beside you, making the project easy to control and successful.

This handy, how-to manual is also a charming repository of make-it-yourself log furnishings and practical shelters that will inspire back-to-nature advocates. Instructions for building simple log structures are accompanied by clear, accurate line drawings of simple log structures, lean-tos, Adirondack cabins, fireplaces, stairways, furniture, beamed ceilings, and more. 102 line drawings.