2 comments about Classic Georgian Style.

1. i just got the book - havent read much of it yet. there are a lot of good photos, some of them, however, are just different angles of the same room. it seems that by reading the book a great deal of information will be learnt about georgian homes. my direct interest here was to learn about lighting and there isnt anything to direct me here. i think its a good book for the price.



2. Georgian Style, think of those beautiful curved terraced houses in Bath in their soft-buttery colours. It was an age of clean lines and classical influence.

   It would be unfair to say that, being the daughter of the 11th Duke of Malborough, it is natural that Henrietta Spencer-Churchill should have all the advantages to publish a book like this. Not only would she have been bought up in beauty such as this at Blenheim and probably a host of other stately-home-ish settings - but no doubt she has the connections to get this published.

   Spencer-Churchill's book certainly rises well above the ordinary. It is beautifully illustrated, her points are simply put and they are generally very clear. She has chosen to illustrate 130 years of interior, exterior and architectural design - from 1700 to 1830 - broadly the Georgian era . With a time frame this broad this book can certainly not qualify as a deeply academic study of the transition of the design. However she illustrates the broad designs trends and how they flowed into one another. She also picks some of the main names of the period (Robert Adam, Capability Brown and so on) and puts them into historical perspective.

   The styles and their advent are explained, but also much about how design was influenced from the Chinese influence to the invention of wallpaper. Even the type, and use of colours and the range of colours available gets a mention.

   As an interior designer herself, Spencer-Churchill no doubt has a feel for this sort of thing. I was a little disappointed because I felt with a few areas such as window treatments, she often failed to explain if these were original designs of hers based on previous drapes, or 'a georgian style' she had dreamt up. I would have liked to have seen more of Ackermann's period prints for instance - as they showed quite breath-taking interior detail of the latter part of Georgian age.

   Occassionally too I found myself grating my teeth as she illustrated a 'Georgian' ideal, but failed to point out at what period in the 130 year time span she was talking about it would have been relevant. But I am being really picky about that.

   Overall I found this an absolutely breath-taking book. It at once made me sick with jealousy that I didn't have one of these beautiful homes. I found her style easy to read, informative and if nothing else the illustrations are so beautiful I would keep it simply to look at them.

   This is a great book for fans of the Regency period, Heyer or Patrick O'Brian type of books. It is also lovely if you just like beautiful things.

No comments about Dynamic Daylight Architecture: Basics, Systems, Projects.

3 comments about A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility : Everything Architects and Builders Need to Know About the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines.

1. This book should be the first resource for anyone wanting to educate themselves in FHA design problems. The author clearly lays out the issues in a manner that instills confidence in a subject with many variables. It is also delitefully easy to read. I actually took it on vacation with me.



2. It's bad enough to have persons without disabilities profit from their work and advocacy, but it's particularly offensive to copy to works of both Government and Ron Mace, put their name on it and call it an original work.
   
   Shame on this book...



3. I am an elementary school teacher. This passed school year, I had a student whose mother was in a wheelchair. We spoke about his motherýs situation and the difficulty his mother had getting into their home and maneuvering around the house. The doors of the house are too narrow; there isnýt enough space in the bathroom for her to safely transfer out of the wheelchair onto the toilet. Also, the mother has received many burns from reaching over boiling pots to turn the knobs on and off. I decided to do some research over the summer for this family regarding how homes can be made to be more accessible for people with disabilities. I came across this book in the search for books and decided to by it. I found the book to be well-written, clear and concise, and easy to read. The diagrams also added to the readability. They were very useful in giving a visual explanation. This book opened my eyes to many issues regarding the accessibility of people with disabilities.

No comments about Wood Cabins.

No comments about Victorian House Style Sourcebook.

2 comments about Buildings of Delaware (Buildings of the United States).

1. This book is really well done, it covers all sorts of houses and buildings all over the state of Delaware



2. After a several year hiatus, and a shift from Oxford University Press to the University of Virginia Press, Buildings of the United States returns with this fine entry.
   
   The books in this series are expensive, and let me tell you why. First, they're written by top experts in this particular field, for the use of architectural historians for reference and research. The amount of work that goes into writing and publishing one of these books is enormous, so the prices reflect that fact. Let me be the first to tell you, however, that any of the books in the series, and this one in particular, are endlessly fascinating for serious amateurs as well. That's why I've shelled out the money for more than a few of them. Architecture guides just don't get any better. This series sets the standard.
   
   Little Delaware is like a diamond (to quote Lofland), and art historian W. Barksdale Maynard has compiled a superb collection of important historic and modern sites for this book. Wilmington, Newark, New Castle and Dover all get the extended treatment you would expect, but the author also brings us comprehensive coverage of smaller towns and the rural landscape. There are 450 well-chosen entries here, all supported by interesting brief essays. There are about 250 small monochrome photographs that are adequate but not distinguished, mostly borrowed from other sources. The photography is pragmatic rather than artistic. The author introduces each district and town with a brief descriptive abstract, which includes reference to some of the important structures to which he does not dedicate a specific entry. This is a nice device for expanding the comprehensiveness of the survey. Trust me, you're favorites are here! For those of you who like age, Delaware contains some of the most ancient examples of European-American architecture in the original 13 states. Newark has probably endured the most destruction of its original colonial fabric of all Delaware towns, but there are many more examples across the state. And while Newark has suffered through haphazard development, it contains one of the loveliest public spaces in the country at the University of Delaware.
   
   Keep in mind that this is a selective survey. Wilmington alone has a building stock to support a survey of over 1,000 buildings, so respect and appreciate the author's keen eye for what he believes we will enjoy. He's done a lovely job of selecting important and interesting sites for all tastes.
   
   A true rarity for a book like this, the introductory essay is excellent, and a feature in itself. Don't just flip past it to get to the catalog. Maynard gives us an historical overview, a discussion of the geography and landscape, a description of the built environment, and an overview of important architects working in Delaware.
   
   All this good stuff is framed by sidebars spaced throughout the text on important topics such as the du Pont family and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.
   
   Well constructed in cloth and nice thick-stock paper by UVA Press, this book is proof that the Society of Architectural Historians remains dedicated to this important series.

3 comments about The Colonial Revival House.

1. I found this book most interesting, not only from an architectural point of view, but also for historical information



2. This book is a meandering discussion of influences and variations on the theme of colonial revival architecture and includes some tasty pictures. However, it is not a stylistic reference with specific, prescriptive descriptions of what is generally envisioned as colonial revival. If you're hoping for proper paint schemes and/or the millwork detailing and proportions or plans you'll be disappointed. Still, some of the photographs were beauts...



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the photos are sharp and crisp and it is very scholarly. Mr. Wilson traces the Colonial Revival house from its begins until the present. The houses he choses are wonderful, expecially the McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont, which I consider to be one of the most beautiful homes in the country; he even wisely chose it for the cover. The photos and the text fuse nicely and the book layout in general is very well done. If you have any interest in beautiful houses and well written easy to follow text, then you will be pleased with this book.

2 comments about The Ranch House.

1. Mr Hess may be an architecture critic in San Jose but his focus in this book is low-end, tract style Ranch houses and his photographer, with similar credentials, is less inspired than a novice realtor photographing homes for the first time. When you realize his coffee house book was a 1950's effort, you know he doesn't have a broad experience beyond San Jose. Don't expect floor plans or any clues as to square feet under roof. This is a waste of time and money.



2. Another beautiful Alan Hess architectural history that deserves to become the standard work. The book is in two parts, in the first sixty-eight pages he writes a readable and interesting history of this very popular housing concept and being popular it was looked down on by the architectural elite and many critics. The second part (147 pages) is a pictorial study of twenty-six ranch houses photographed by Noah Sheldon.
   
   It is Sheldon's photos that makes the book come alive for me. With one photographer taking all the color photos there is a consistency of composition and color values and these 230 photos really work, with exteriors and interiors showing structural detail and the use of space. He manages to make the work of Cliff May, William Wurster or Harwell Hamilton Harris really sparkle plus Hess has written comprehensive captions to all these images, another refreshing plus for a highly visual book.
   
   The design and production can't be faulted though to really make it perfect I would have liked to see floor plans of the twenty-six houses. By the nature of the ranch house, on one floor and no need for second floor supporting walls, rooms could meander in any direction and the leading architects of the style certainly took advantage of this. The back pages have a bibliography and index. I think Hess has written an excellent survey of this past popular house style and it will appeal to anyone interested in domestic architectural design.
   
   ***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

3 comments about Island Living: Inland Retreats and Shoreside Havens.

1. these are not luxurious oceanfront homes. they are ALL ugly
   plain homes that give no decorating ideas (maybe to my grandma)
   if you are looking for spectacular,check out Florida Design magazine.



2. Very nice layout and graphics and selection of relatively modest but well thought out homes.



3. When I thought of living on an island, my first thought was the tropics. Somewhere down in the Caribbean or perhaps the South Pacific. Here houses would be open to the wind, here it would be necessary to produce your own electricity, your own water supply and so on.
   
   Instead in this book, most of the houses are on islands just off the coast of the US. And as part of the sub-title, there are some that he considers to be Shoreside Havens rather than actually on an island. Further many of these houses are quite far north, off the coast of Maine perhaps or in the area around foggy, rainy Seattle. Here you don't want a wide open house, but one that can be warm and cozy while presenting a view of the storm tossed water.
   
   Here are some twenty-five spectacular homes. These are not the huge mansions often seen in such books, but homes that are only slightly above the mainstream. Here are homes that are made to fit into a site and to reflect the love that the owners have for that site.

1 comments about Log Cabins (Architecture and Design Library).

1. Not only are the photos riveting, but the captions are well-written and informative and the introductory text is positively poetic.