4 comments about Creole Houses: Traditional Homes of Old Louisiana.

1. A very nice book on a beautiful architectual style. These houses fit perfectly into the Southern Louisiana landscape, they were built for balmy humid climate of the region. I found the history of the people that built these homes very interesting, the text was imformative and the images nicely produced. If you are interested in this style i highly recomend the book on Hays Town, he was a modern master of the venacular.



2. This book is not what you expected; it is a book on southern houses and their interiors, but not about the stuffy designer places that you usually see. The interiors are even more sophisticated and tastefull than any you have seen in such books. It is the first time you have seen the beautiful Louisiana-made chairs and armoires in their native environment.
   
   It seems like the photographers really searched hard to find just the right houses to elucidate the Creole style. It is a house style that seems like one you would want to recreate and live in today



3. This book brings important attention to the existence of these historic Creole homes in a part of the country that has been shattered by natural events in recent years. Fortunately, these homes are survivors: of their glorious past, of the ravages of weather, economy and time. The photographic vision of Gross and Daley is a brilliant dedication to documenting places as they are and not how we might want them to be. OLD HOUSES, one of their first books, set a precedent for their evocative style of artistry in what they choose to photograph from our architectural and domestic past. They continue to seek the forlorn, the forgotten, the poignant and the unusual. Their latest book, CREOLE HOUSES, is further revelation of their aesthetic message--of how old places and ways can be both beautiful and resonant in our modern, complicated world. CREOLE HOUSES is both record, homage, and a visual and written poem to historic Louisiana architecture.



4. I have over the years acquired a couple dozen books on old New Orleans and Low Country architecture, none has captured the true feeling of that fading glory like Creole Houses. Photos are superb, text is authorative, end sheets are a delight, and the binding first rate. This book is a peek inside antebellum Creole country from plantation houses to servant's quarters.
   
   Lets hope these folks do more such volumes. My suggestion would be the 18th century Georgians of the Mid-Atlantic states.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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5 comments about Good Green Homes.

1. This is an excellent book for those seeking an introduction to environmentally sound home building. There are many good general points and examples of green homes. It is short on details for actual designers but good for home builders who need to read this information desperately and stop building mega-mansions with 5 bedrooms for families with one kid.



2. Doesn't give a detailed analysis of anything, but is a great tool for people wanting a basic understanding of green building, energy efficient techniques, etc.



3. This book no doubt makes a lovely addition to my coffee table. I feel so inspired and now.. how do I do it?? I was looking for more practical advice that addressed all my reasons for wanting to remodel green - protecting my family's health and our planet's natural resources and my financial savings. If the intention was to create a stunning, inspiring book - great job. If it was to really explain what green is and exactly how to do it, I think I'd look to books like "Green Remodeling" by Johnston and Master or read Environmental Building News....



4. "A recent poll revealed that an astounding 96% of consumers are willing to pay more for green features in a home, and 91% feel that energy-efficient features in a new home were extremely or very important."
   
   If you are planning to redecorate or remodel, Good Green Homes offers ideas, real-world advice and lots of inspiration. Jennifer Roberts is a freelance writer who specializes in sustainable building, energy efficiency and corporate social responsibility. She helps people make choices that encourage positive change in their living environments. She answers the following questions:
   
   How does having a "green" home actually save money?
   How can someone who rents their home make significant changes?
   What are some ways to protect and improve the quality of air inside our homes?
   What are "rapidly renewable sources?"
   How can you afford a green home on a limited budget?
   
   Jennifer is also a merchandising manager for the Marina Green stores and joys introducing consumers to the joys of stylish clothes made from organically grown cotton, healthy paints, energy-efficient light bulbs, tableware made from recycled materials and environmentally friendly alternatives to everyday household products.
   
   Featured Homes Include:
   
   A Delightful Cottage
   An Ecofriendly addition to a historic home
   A Trio of Healthy and Green City Homes
   An Artist's studio on a Wooded Island
   A Vacation Retreat in the Wine Country
   A Neighborhood of Homes
   A Remodeled Victorian Flat
   
   It is rather shocking to learn that the air inside our homes can be five times more polluted than the air outside. One look at your energy bill might convince you to read this book.
   
   These homes don't really look all that different, but there are features like skylights to save electricity or there is a home that is naturally cooled, heated and lit. Some homes have solar water-heating systems for the summer and a unique solar power system blended right in with a backyard trellis to generate electricity from the sun.
   
   The section on air quality was of interest to me because I am always moving my Austin air filter about the house.
   
   The "Wine Country Retreat" looked like a house I could live in because it even has a tower. Well, the pools also looked rather inviting.
   
   ~The Rebecca Review



5. This book is a gift to the Earth and to so many of the people who inhabit it! Good Green Homes is educational and practical in an amazingly palatable way...that is to say, it is most enjoyable reading; and at the end one is so much wiser than when one began. It is a visual feast. The concept of environmentally sensitive choices in every aspect of the home is brought to the whole spectrum of the population, from new construction to renters to "what can I do with what I've got." This book is beautiful, user friendly and, above all, inspirational. I kept saying, "I can do that! I can take that action. I can make a difference, and I want to!" Bravo!

5 comments about More Small Houses (Great Houses).

1. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the small home movement! Like its predecessor "Small Homes" this book is full of great ideas and wonderful photography of details and explanations of building theory. The book presents each building as a case study and looks at cost per square foot, obstacles in the building process, energy efficiency, and architectural details.



2. I am going to build a small house and found great ideas in this book. I like this book a lot.



3. If you want a picture book to leaf thru, I guess it's okay. As far as practical ideas, forget it. Most of the homes here are very site-specific, and most are multi-story. I didn't really see any innovations or adaptable ideas that I could actually use in my own home construction, which was why I bought it.



4. 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.



5. 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 far that I have. The plans and pictures in this book are just brilliant. I love the fact that most of the houses are different to the normal square or rectangular shape that is so prevelent these days. All though most of the houses in the book aren't really that small, at least not to me, there are some wonderful designs. The detail provided about each design is thorough. The Energy-Efficient Houses and Craftsman-Style Houses books are terrific as well.

5 comments about The New Cottage Home: A Tour of Unique American Dwellings.

1. Some books you love and race right through them. This one I loved so much I dawdled over every page, scrutinized the photos, and extracted every bit of info I could from the written descriptions.
   I pictured myself curled up on the windowseat reading a book. I imagined walking through the woods to my camp cottage, or lounging in the adirondack chair on the porch with an ocean view. This book will fuel any dreams you have of owning a second home, a special retreat from the real world.
   The cottages are grouped into these categories:
   *Cottages by the water
   *Cottages of the forest and mountains
   *Cottages in the field
   *Cottages in town
   The final section covers designing the cottage home (26 pages).
   Each cottage gets 4 to 6 pages. The book describes the owners' vision and tells how the architect created their dream cottage. It might be 500 sq. ft. or 2,000 sq. ft. but each vacation home is a pleasure to view. Besides numerous color photos, there's a floor plan for each cottage. These combine with the descriptive text to give a pretty good picture of each home.
   Savor this book. Even if you never have a cottage, you can dream.



2. the used bookstore wouldn't even want this rubbish- about 5 pages of decent information. it's all coffee table fluff and I don't drink coffee- Boo



3. This book is great if you want gables and a structure with more character but more expensive. I am looking for simple structures. I do like the book a lot.



4. As an avid cottage fan, and living in one while designing a new one to build for myself which is even more zen and simple, I found this book to be one of the best books on cottages around. Although I also admit what was considered a cottage when my place was built someone hundred years ago and what is considered a cottage in 2006 is around five square feet more in size.
   
   Of course I am a purest and go by what my dictionary says a cottage is which is 1 : the dwelling of a farm laborer or small farmer 2 : a usually small frame one-family house. Small being reduced in size. So I was surprised that on page 112 they show a French Hunting Lodge from the Pacific Northwest. Not a cottage at all.
   
   What does make this good sized book useful for anyone looking for ideas on cottage styles is the vast array of examples given. From the coastline of Maine to the San Juan Island of Washington State, to rural Kansas to Massachusetts to favorite areas here in California.
   
   And wonderful examples of simple to elaborate. One of my favorites because of its really simple zen style is the Pumphouse on pages 52-59 on San Juan Island in Washington State that was made into a smooth lined, all in one cottage which I and other minimalists would love to own. Or the wonderful Salvage Yard cottage in Franklin County, Kansas on page 156-161 that would fit in just about anywhere where clean lines and environmental desires are important.
   
   There is even an off the grid cottage and some communities of nothing but cottages like those on Lopez Island in Washington State beginning on page 196, where the cottages are part of a land trust that was set up to allow people on moderate incomes to build small abodes with common greenbelt areas in and area where expensive homes were/are the norm. Heck, this made the book worth the price in itself.
   
   Each cottage is shown inside and out complete with basic blueprints of each cottage so one can see how the space sits and works. The photography and text meld well and makes this a book that is hard to put down.



5. You WILL find inspiration here.

1 comments about Modern Masonry : Brick, Block, Stone.

1. Be aware this book is "job practice manual" & not an actual text book. It is designed for actual workshop practices and does not get into actual howto, specifications, and code rules.

5 comments about The Guide to Lodging in Italy's Monasteries.

1. While this book may be useful as a listing of monasteries that are open to travelers, the promotion for it is misleading. The room rates quoted in the current ad running in The New Yorker, and on the website for the book, tout rooms for as low as $30/night. And the back cover of the new edition cites specific monasteries with rates quoted in USD when in fact the rates cited inside the book are the same amount or HIGHER in EUROS (which makes the dollar figures quoted on the cover wrong by 50% or more). With the value of the dollar falling as it has been for the past 2 years or more, it would have been far more honest for the room rates to be quoted in euros (as well as dollars, if necessary) in the promotion. And there is no excuse for a current magazine ad and website to carry misleading information. I just hope the remainder of the information in the book is accurate (from reading other reviews, I have my doubts).



2. It saved us money as we used it in Florence. We stopped in another in the mountains of central Italy for a social visit. The nuns are from diffenrent places around the world and quite interesting conversationalists, if wanted. The properties were quiet and clean. We will try again on the next visit. The school in Florence is in the center of the city.



3. This book is useful. We stayed in several guest houses in the book as we drove in northern Italy. I would recommend it but would also make three observations. First, some of the directions are not suffieiently detailed or clear. I think this is a significant weakness of the book. We spent quite a bit of time finding some of the guest houses. Second, understandably, some of the prices are out of date but the places still are bargains. Third, in some of those where we stayed, the people did not speak English. This was not a problem as out Italian is marginally passable but don't expect English to be spoken at all of them, especially on the phone. Nevertheless, I have recommended it to several friends who plan to go to Italy and I will get the latest edition when we go again. It is an investment because the rates are much better than hotels.



4. To be placed in another country planning to spend the vacation i some of Italy's monestaries this book you almost can't live without!



5. I paid 22.95 for this bugger, and would love to have my money back. The the directions to the "Monasteries" are awful. For example directions from Termini station in Rome to a specific monestary states "take metro and get off at
   Piazza Barberini" ( might be a good idea to let those unfamiliar with Rome know WHAT LINE THEY SHOULD USE! and where the Monastery is after you exit the metro. this example typifies the type of directions that are provided. Mrs. Barish have you ever taken a bus or a subway? Here is another example of directions provided, "get off at Firenze Santa Maria Novella and then take bus #14" Bus # 14? to where? how far? This book has absolutely NO MAPS so be prepared to dig. Locations described as "centrally" located are actually (when and if you find them with your own map work)often on city outskirts.Very lazy Mrs. Barish. Any one thinking about buying this one should definately save their money.

5 comments about Interior Design with Feng Shui: New and Expanded.

1. This book is wonderful for those that would like to know the setup of Feng Shui. It's well written and easy to understand. It doesnt really tell you about placement within the bague, however it gives you understanding of feng shui in a different light. It's very informative and helps you understand how the placement of your home effects your energy. All in all, a good choice.



2. 
   This book on Feng Shui covers only topics related to interior design, but is a must have reference, since is filled with practical information, and detailed description with examples of different possible room shapes that you most certainly will encounter at home. Each case scenario is accompanied with diagrams and figures to help understand even better how the placement of a mirror, a bed, or a fish tank can affect the mood, luck, prosperity, or even the health of each family member.
   
   "Interior Design with Feng Shui" teaches how to re-arrange your home to be in complete harmony with nature and with the surrounding environment, optimizing the energy flowing through your house.
   
   This book is for everyone, not only for interior designers or architects, since it is written in a readable and clear way, including fundamental concepts of Feng Shui, and a glossary for the beginner.



3. Another great book by Sarah Rossbach; extremely informative and well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to improve their lot in life with Feng Shui. Also check out her other book regarding Feng Shui and colour, co-written with Master Lin Yun.



4. I've read a number of Feng Shui books, so when this one was recommended and sent to me by a good friend, everything fell into place!!! all the missing information, the little details, everything I read before was fully understood once I had this marvel in my hand.
   
   After reading 18 books of Feng Shui I can totally recommend this one...Thank You Sarah!!!



5. I'd had this book recommended to me as a good one with which to begin to understand Feng Shui. While I will agree that aspects of it were clear and full of practical application (the examples of room layouts, etc.), in general I found the book to be poorly organized and certainly not enough in and of itself to gain a basic understanding of Feng Shui.

   I found that I learned enough to be interested further, and got some practical advice about furniture placement. Not where I would send a beginner, however.

No comments about Green Building Products, 3rd Edition: The GreenSpec Guide to Residential Building Materials-3rd Edition.

3 comments about Cabin in the Woods.

1. Many thanks for stocking Cabin In The Woods. Amazon has it together as buyers can find books and music CDs to match or dreams. Author Ralph Kylloe has done it again for us dreaming of a rustic cabin hide away in the woods. The photos in the book are great as you get to see how others designed and furnished their cabin hide aways. The key to Kylloe's books is that he foucuses on the rustic wonders of living in a cabin. He's also an expert in natural furniture that goes so well in these rustic cabin settings. Keep up the good work Amazon. Your the greatest.



2. Wow! I loved this book. The pictures are the best yet in a Kylloe book. The architecture captured therein is amazing! I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the evolution of rustic architecture and the speed with which it is developing, just by perusing Ralph Kylloe's books over the last several years.
   
   First, a note about the dimensions of the book itself. It is only about half the size of previous Kylloe works. His books are usually the size of coffee table tomes, but this one is much more manageably small, and I have found myself pulling it out and looking at it much more.
   
   My favorite cabin in this book is the Copper Cabin. I have seen this cabin featured in two magazine articles and was impressed the first time I saw it reviewed. But the photography used in Cabin in the Woods to highlight this cabin is breathtaking. It is a small cabin, and in my favorite picture, Kylloe shows it overlooking a Montana mountain range. This particular effect highlighted the beauty of the design while also setting it perfectly within the Yellowstone Club in Montana where the cabin is located.
   
   Great book, Mr. Kylloe! I hope there are still more ideas in your head yearning to be published!!!



3. Will someone please beat this man with a stick and take away his yellow filter and indian blankets. All the outdoor photo's are very nice and clear. All the interior shots would leave one to believe every cabin or rustic home is lit by yellow lamps, and has a colorfull blanket draped in every room. Enough already. I have all his books and do enjoy the homes and cabins, but am sick of his constant use of yellow filters. Like having to much cleavage showing, no one wants to tell that person. Someone please tell this man his yellow cleavage is showing. Without the filter his book deserves a 5.

5 comments about The Rammed Earth House: Revised Edition.

1. This is a beautiful book, which expanded my respect and knowledge of earth construction. I was formally most familiar with rammed earth tire construction (Earthships, by Michael Reynolds), but this more accessible and palatable version of rammed earth has wider appeal. The book lacks good construction and engineering specs. There are plenty of photos of rammed earth forms, but no technical drawings to help in their construction. I assume that Easton thinks that the subject of form building in concrete construction has been thoroughly covered elsewhere. His discussion of soil testing is impressive (as is the soil testing appendix), but at the same time discouraging. It seems that the likelihood of having proper soil at one's site is slim to nill, though most soil types can be amended with portland cement. I admire his reserve in not advising readers to just dig up their site and use whatever is there, without regard for the future durability and function of the structure. Overall, a good book, but it is absolutely not a step by step construction guide for the novice who is unfamiliar with homebuilding.



2. Any owner/builder who would study up on rammed earth construction, both theory and applied concepts, must have The Rammed Earth House: this edition has been completely revised and pairs color photos by Cynthia Wright with discussions of the art and technology of rammed earth housing. Chapters come from an architect and discuss everything from field testing soil to understanding layout, design, and soil compaction. A 'must' for any studying alternative housing, and sure to be a popular, repeat lend for any public lending library.



3. I bought this book because I'm researching wall systems, hoping to build a place of my own some day. After lots of study, I probably won't use the rammed earth system, but I think it's fascinating, and I will probably use this book for reference in the future. If you're interested in earth walls, this one is a must-have for your library.



4. this is the guide to rammed earth. David Easton's enthusiasm and expertise provide for the most informative and readable book on rammed earth on the market.



5. I purchased this book in order to find an optimistic source on the subject of rammed earth. David Easton does have a positive attitude about the subject. I enjoyed his enthusiasm. I enjoyed the 10 or so pages of color pictures and the many black and white pictures through the book. Like another reviewer, I felt the book lacked some good engineering sketches and some good pictoral illustrations of the forming systems. I was encouraged enough by his book to want to build a rammed earth house somewhere in the coming years. johnkurtz@comcast.net.