5 comments about The Victorian Home: The Grandeur and Comforts of the Victorian Era, in Households Past and Present.

1. This book is loaded with color photographs! I went through this book several times before putting it back down. It's a must have if you are trying to get decorating ideas for a victorian room.



2. This is a beautiful book to dream by. I bought one because we are building a Victorian home, but this would be enjoyed by anyone who loves Victorian style and design. Lovely!



3. I could not have decorated my recently renovated 100 year old Victorian home without this book. Friends and family think I have great potential as a decorator, little do they know.



4. I bought this book about a year ago and I still refer back to it often. The photos are so gorgeous, they give me goosebumps. They transport me into a place I'd like to live, a fantasy of design and genteel composure. The text is informative and the quality of photos is top notch. I highly recommend this book to folks who like Victorian design, both contemporary and traditional. You will feel the money was well spent!



5. I found this book at a local library, I have went threw several books to get ideas on styles and of the victorian era. I found this one to be one of the best. It has wonderful, all color photographs, has a dictionary of old words and is wonderful for discribing details. I am going to purchase it for my own collection.

1 comments about Beyond the Bungalow.

1. I really enjoyed this book because it points out several historic house museums that I was not aware of and can now add to my must see list. This book covers those homes that are not technically bungalows but are still a part of the rich American Arts and Crafts movement.
   
   The text is a bit hard to work through but the author does have some wonderful ideas. There are roughly 50 different houses shown all from the exterior and about 25 have additional interior photos. Not all the homes are available to the public so it is a nice way to see inside some private homes.
   
   This is not a how to book but it covers its subject nicely.

2 comments about Designing Small Parks: A Manual for Addressing Social and Ecological Concerns.

1. This book was listed as one of the top 10 books in Planning in 2006 by Planetizen and is a very useful manual. It's fun to read, inclusive, informative, and well-researched.



2. I am on a review committee for a local park, and got this hoping it would help. Unfortunately it is more of a text book that attempts to cover all bases without really advocating or advising on how to acheive good park design.

3 comments about Katsura: Imperial Villa.

1. If you want some solicitude and repose, here is a book for you.
   This book is extremely well crafted to show the essence of Katsura.
   Status of Katsura in Japanese garden art production does not
   demand any further explanation. Katsura is to Japan, what Alhambra is to Andalusia!
   
   In it, I found that disciplinary simplicity can be profound and strong.
   Especially in a world where one is inundated with images and media.
   Katsura is an art that invites physical presence and spiritual
   meditation. In that sense, it's an irony and a paradox to recommend to
   experience Katsura thru a book...
   
   Katsura is an art of water & island body formation/ relationally
   positioning pavilions / sculpting stones/ borrowing landscapes/ laying
   stone/ perfecting the shoji screens and combing the thatched roofs
   naming the places and tea pavilions to arouse imagination/ etc, etc, etc.
   
   However, what makes it stand out is that each mode of art does not stand
   alone. It had synergetic effect by being relational to one and another.
   Combined together, the density of experience exponentially grow to
   challenge infinitum. Hence, here is an art that tells us, "the whole is
   eternally greater than the parts."
   
   The parts are orchestrated in such a way to arouse the art of seduction.
   Not in a flamboyant manner, but in a subtly simple manner. Photographic
   images in the book tell us the multi-faceted, yet almost tea-ceremonially
   calm, story of Katsura. The book will make you retreat from the bustling
   noisiness of daily life.
   
   Isozaki's nicely written essay propels the experience of Kasura to
   a thinking level. He has placed his viewpoint in contrast to the earlier
   writers such as Bruno Taut/ Sutemi Horiguchi/ Kenzo Tange. Tange's
   earlier writing was Mondrian-like, cropping Katsura to a abstract level.
   The essay by Isojaki sets the curatorial tone to the images. It's very
   expository, revealing indigenous and rustic elements.
   
   The book also provides the hidden dimension of buildings. By providing
   field-measured drawings, readers will be able to analyze quintessential
   element of plans and sections of traditional buildings. Five past
   writings of world-class architects and critics are also part of
   publication.



2. I have been to Katsura several times, and have several books on Katsura villa, and this new book is the best.
   This is how architectural books should be produced and photographed so other architects and people interested in architecture can actually learn and use the book not only as a beautiful catalog but as a tool.
   
   The beautiful photographs are architecturally photograhed in 1 point perspective except for details, gardens, and exterior. This is helpful as you can deduct the proportion and scale of the rooms. Most of the drawings have measurements, and are very well drawn.
   
   The introduction and text by Isozaki is excellent for understanding Katsura and Japanese architectural idealogy. Additionally, there are several past texts by Tange, Taut, Gropius, and etc. to get different perspectives.
   
   Katsura, along with several temples and villas have been meticulously maintained for the last 400 years.



3. The best way to know the traditional architecture of Japan. Very good pictures, technical drawings and very interesting articles explaining the Katsura Villa.

4 comments about Great Garages, Sheds & Outdoor Buildings: 145 Projects You Can Build.

1. This book is basically a list of plans for sale by the Hanley Wood Company. Most of the designs look rather dated to me, I would guess many of these were designed in the 1960's and 70's. I didn't find any particularly interesting or useful ideas here, most designs were either very simple or much too ornate & contrived for my taste. It's rather misleading to call this a "book" and say it was "wriitten by" and author, it is really more of a large sales brochure dressed up as a paperback book.



2. This book gives you a large variety of designs and styles to consider. It was just what we were looking for! We were able to combine a couple of ideas to build the perfect garage/guest house! Our builder had no problem just using the pictures and diagrams from the book. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, you can order the plans. (Everyone in the neighborhood compliments our new guest house/garage!



3. if you're looking for the basic garage or outbuilding book this is not it....too big , too contemporary.... also it should be called the garage plan sourcebook. as there are no actual plans...just sources



4. This book offers a very extraordinary group of ideas in the form of sketches, however that is as far as you will get with the 101 projects you can build yourself. Each project has a plan number that requires the speculative do-it-yourselfer to spend 20 to 85 dollars on a blueprint that most profesional builders won't even touch. In summary, the plans are too complicated for the weekend warrior, and the materials needed to build these elaberate structures will blow any do-it-your-selfers budget. You can get some good ideas from this book, but that is it.

3 comments about Victorian Style.

1. While there may be a plethora of books on the subject of Victorian decorative arts, none have the ample number of photographs this one has.
   
   My wife and I recently bought a circa 1900 home, complete with most of its original elements ranging from seven glorious mantels to original gaslight overhead lighting fixtures. The only problem was the awful interior paint job, and of course, lack of Victorian furniture.
   
   We searched everywhere for a book which depicts correct colors and design elements to no avail. Then at the local library we came across this currently (at the time of this writing) out of print book. It is still available as new and used.
   
   The text is excellent, however, the photographs are the main selling point. If you are interested in authentic Victorian style and want to decorate your home correctly, this book has it all.



2. This book is a must have for any lover of the Victorian era. The photographs are gorgeous, wonderful quality. I have it on my coffee table for all to see. Please don't hesitate if you want this book because you will regret it. I have always loved this era, especially Victorian homes. If I had the money, I would live one. My dream!
   
   Nancy S.



3. A must for everyone who owns or dreams of owning a victorian period home. Covering grand to smaller scale homes, this book takes you through every nook and cranny of homes...from porches to living rooms to victorian style bathrooms. This book offers the reader so many ideas but is not a true reference book...no how-to's in this one but rather a visual treasure chest of examples for those looking to renovate or decorate in true victorian style. A source directory is included. Enjoy!

2 comments about The American Brewery: From Colonial Evolution to Microbrew Revolution.

1. If you are looking for a book detailing the history of the American Brewery, this is the book to get. It reminds me of the history textbooks I had when I was in school only this book is all about beer! It starts around the time of the early settlers and moves to modern times. I love the pictures they included, they are by far the best part. If you are looking for the history of beer in America, pick this up!



2. Gave this book to my dad for Christmas and he loved it. This book makes for a nice gift to anyone who's in to beer, brewing and breweries.

5 comments about Green By Design.

1. This introductory guide to sustainable living will give you new ideas for building your home in an environmentally-friendly way.



2. I agree with Bill below - this book is outdated. The author seems to miss the concept of ecological footprint. The first two houses she features in her book are 3,300 sq ft (for three people) and 3,000 sq ft (for two people). Another house is 4,175 sq ft.
   
   Even if people use green materials and building practices, the houses aren't green if they're using excessive materials and space.
   
   There are a number of better green books, but one that specifically focuses on minimizing environmental impact is Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Salomon.



3. I am a SoCA tract homeowner getting ready to relocate to the mountains of northern Utah. My husband and I are committed to building a home that is environmentally responsible, but the "green" concept is absolutely overwhelming. Green by Design is a terrific overview of the concept of sustainable living. Through the several case studies we learned that we would not have to be locked into an ugly straw box or uglier geodesic dome, and this book gave us just what we needed for next steps. If you already have expertise in this area and are looking for a how-to, I'm sure there are more appropriate books to help you build your home. However, if you want an introduction, this book does a great job.



4. This book uses a lot of buzz words and offers very little substantial advice when it comes to actually designing your own house. It touches a little on straw bale and reused materials and barely grazes cob/clay/rammed earth. It doesn't even mention geodesic domes as far as I can tell. The book advocates on one page (p.72) that people should live in small humble buildings, only having the square footage they absolutely need. Then a few pages later (p.79) it shows a 4000+ sq. ft. home, with the title "an excersize in efficiency." I fail to see anything efficeint about a 4000 sq. ft. home, especially when it's a standard A-frame building (granted, it's for a family of 6, but then again there's nothing "green" about having 4 children).
   
   It does cover some good stuff like gray-water use, rain collection, alternative heating and cooling, but it glosses over all of this and takes up a lot of space with strange-angled shots of rooms and floor plans. I KNOW the floor plan I want, and there's very little that a floor plan has to do with green building (it's more about orientation to the sun for passive solar use). What I'd prefer to have seen was simple diagrams of how the systems of the house work. There's a spot that explains how one house has the pool hooked up to the AC such that the hot exhaust from the AC heats the pool. Now THAT's something I can get into, but I want more than a couple sentences about it. That deserves a diagram!



5. My 50's Florida ranch style home is in the design stage for major remodel. In the the first "case study" in Green by Design the owner's took a 50's style one bedroom home in Utah and incorporated the foundation and concrete masonry shell into the new design. Exactly my plan. The author uses 14 green design homes as case studies with wonderfully insightful pictures and just the right text to accompany the pictures and to explain "process", "design", "site", "materials", "space", "energy"- all concepts I can use to make my newly remodeled home a certifiable Florida Green Home.
   
   Building Green is NOT about the latest designs and materials as the previous reviewers would have you believe. It's about designing for "sustainable living". Go to floridagreenbuilding.org to find a 5 page checklist of features required to build a green home in Florida. Nothing will get you more points (other than a small home) in this 5 page checklist than not having a permament irrigation system. In fact not having a swimming pool, not living on a natural body of water and not having an attached garage all count toward living "green" in Florida. If you want an up-to-date and "exhaustive resource" buy the latest edition of the "Greenspec Directory"-$89.00 here on Amazon. However the last 5 pages of this book is a list of resources, including the Greenspec Directory and 5 local green building programs. With Florida's now you have 6.
   
   The ultimate green home is a SMALL HOME! In Florida, a 1000 sq. ft. home will get you 50 points (out of 200 required minimum for certification) and a 2000 and above sq. ft. home will get you 0 points. Over 50% of the case study homes in this book would have recieved extra points if they would have been built in Florida. Which brings me to the regional focus of this book. Most of the homes featured where located in western states ( a few were in the northeast) and normally that would disqualify most books for a Florida resident, but not in this case.
   
   I highly recommend this book if you are serious about designing a home for sustainable living.

2 comments about Painted Ladies: San Francisco's Resplendent Victorians.

1. I've ordered numerous books on Victorians and this one is by far the worst. The photos have a washed out look to them. Colors look faded and if you've ever seen a Victorian painted correctly, the colors are vivid and plentiful. Electric lines that ran between the Victorian and the photographer, printed out thick and dark black. Needless to say it decreased the beauty of the home.
   
   Number of pages totals 80 and the majority of them are photos but this book isn't nearly as good as Elizabeth Pomada's other books. It will remain in my home library because I've already paid for it but I can't say it gives me much pleasure to turn it's pages.



2. If Peter Maass, in "The Gingerbread Age" and "The Victorian Home in America," first made us truly aware of the glories of Victorian domestic architecture, it was Elizabeth Pomada who showed us how it could be brought to vivid life. In this, her first book about the modernizing-by-paint of 19th-Century houses, she concentrates on San Francisco, where the Painted Lady style was invented during the heyday of the hippies. The houses shown in the gorgeous full-color photographs range from the elegantly somber (like Don Parodi's many-bayed house on p. 23) to the minutely detailed (the imposing Colonial Revival mansion on p. 20 and the Bert Franklin rowhouse opposite) to the downright gaudy (Rhine & Kennedy's fire-engine-red offices on p. 29, a tiny lavender cottage on p. 50, a literally rainbow-striped confection on p. 69). If you can't make it to San Francisco in person--or if you've been, and want to relive the glories of its vintage housing--this book belongs on your shelf.

2 comments about Sonoma Valley Style: At Home in California's Wine Country.

1. Author Kathryn Masson is a native Californian with access to some of the finest private homes and gardens in the area: Sonoma Valley Style: At Home In California's Wine Country pairs lovely color photos by Steven Brooke of both exteriors and interiors with Masson's feature of wine country homes and weekend retreats. Each home receives descriptions of the homeowner's goals, collaborations between architects and builders, and review of unique design attributes and challenges. From a historic Craftsman farmhouse to a 21st century interpretation of Arts and Crafts style, Sonoma Valley Style contrasts and highlights a variety of elegant homes, from restored Mexican adobes to Victorian farmhouses.



2. Sonoma Valley is not far from it's better known neighbor Napa Valley. What that really means is that it's not nearly as crowded with tourists. Still prime wine growing country the first vinyards date from the middle 1800's. It also seems that wine people tend to not be poor. The houses from the old vinyards are classical and elegant. The houses from the new vinyards are not bad either.
   
   In this book you'll see a lot of kitchens with Viking type stovetops. There aren't many stoves from Sears purchased second hand. The book is a description of some of the more elegant houses in Sonoma Valley. It is profusely photographed by Steven Brooke an architectural photographer of reknown. His works include books on Rome, Jerusalem, Savannah, Napa and others. His pictures have a warm, creamy look that I find very inviting. The description that goes with the houses combines descriptive information with history and tales of the people who buile/remodeled them.
   
   The book is about what you would expect of a coffee table book on a region: high quality pictures, high quality writing, high quality printing.