2 comments about The New American Dream: Living Well in Small Homes.

1. The New American Dream is a marvelous pictoral essay presenting a well argued thesis for the superiority of small spaces. The breakdown of the book into sections which focus on specific aesthetic merits that small houses and apartments can provide is
   extremely well articulated. It is so refreshing to be able enjoy a book on design that has a text worthy of its photographs.



2. I bought this book at Strand Bookstore in New York because of the beautiful photography and details the author included about each featured home. I love that there is a movement (apparently) towards smaller homes. I'm originally from Houston, and the disgusting scale of houses in the suburbs is such a contrast to the wonderful buildings featured in this book.
   
   The only problem I had was I felt that most of the dwellings featured were second homes. I would like to have seen more primary residences.

No comments about Ancient Pagan.

No comments about Basics Roof Construction (Basics).

No comments about The Victorian Society Book of the Victorian House.

2 comments about Country Houses Of France.

1. I bought this book because someone else's review was so high on it. The review was misleading. This book has very few exterior photos of houses and the exterior photos are tiny. It has no floor plans. I'm an architect and this book is virtually useless for me. The book is mostly on interior decorating and the interior photos are beautiful. For architecture this book gets one star, for interior decorating it gets five stars.



2. As a home builder and remodeler in three states (TX, GA, UT) I am constantly looking for new ways to set my projects apart from the crowd of new and used home on the market. It's easy to make an old home look new again, but to make a new home look beautifully old... that takes talent, inspiration (and great sub-contractors).

   "Country Houses of France" has been a wellspring of ideas for me. Each beautifully photographed house is accompanied by well-written details about its history, style, past and present owners, etc.--all in French, German, and English. (This made reading the book all the more fun since I speak just enough French & German to be dangerous.)

   However, although the commentary is interesting and informative, this book is really more about the photos of the houses and includes numerous interior and exterior shots as well as detailed close ups of interesting architectural and design elements. There are dozens of pictures of wall finishes, furniture, fabrics, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, mouldings, flooring, landscaping, etc.

   I would recommend this book to anyone interested in either the historic architecture of the French countryside or the interior design of that architecture. Both are well represented here.

No comments about Guys and Garages.

No comments about The Green Self-Build Book: How to Design And Build Your Own Eco-home.

3 comments about Studios and Lofts: One Room Living.

1. Nothing special.
   Just one among many others similar choices.
   
   If you are an architect, looking for a good source book and innovative ideas, that's not the best choice. Just an ordinary book...



2. I really like this book - it is very inspirational as you see everything from architectural point of view. Photograhs quality is good and there are lots of them, most of them taken from almost empty rooms but even without furniture on some photos, you are simply just amazed of apartments this book holds. If you love interior decorating and modern living this book might be nice inspirational source for your next project - as it was to me!



3. It's a goreous book. Usually the people that live in these spaces are in cities that you can not afford to buy a house, but because of career choices, or location must live in limited spaces in a major international city. It's more of a coffee table book for the reader "to dream" that you can live in one of these studios for a summer.
   
   Basically, if you live in a studio, and want to remodel your apartment into one these units, it will take a lot of creative resources to pay to transform a unit into one of the studios' seen in the pages of this book.
   
   If you have some money to transform your studio apartment, I have one word for you..murphy bed...and please shop around....
   
   The author besides focusing on international locations around the world, outlines the furniture used in these units (multi-functional), and the use of every inch of wall space-to help the dweller survive living in a small space.

5 comments about The Good Home: Interiors and Exteriors.

1. I Am an Optimist but I Am also a Realist, some people would give something in the road dead a good review but there are some things nothing good can be said about it.

   I bought 2 books "The Good Home" and "The Cabin" The Cabin is a little bit better but both are over priced, $8.00 would be a better price. they are a professional looking books hard cover with high gloss pictures.

   The information these books give have little to be desired, sometime these books will tell what materials was used and a little bit about the history of the owenrs but that is about it.

   If You are look for a these books to show You how to build it, forget it! these books are more like if they were written by a real-estate agent or something not a Carpenter.




2. This is a gorgeous book. The images are of extraordinary quality, and, like another reviewer commented, make one feel as though you're in the room. The text is, well, charming. And that's a good thing. This isn't a dry, academic tome, and the reader is engaged by the almost poetic descriptions. One really begins to think about what's being conveyed. My hat is off to authors Dennis Wedlick and Philip Langdon.

   But foremost is the rare talent of Wedlick. There are many bad architects out there, and the global built fabric has been significantly diminished these past five decades by Bad Modernism (as opposed to the rare Good Modernism). More rare these past five decades are architects conversant with a language of tradition. Even rarer still are architects who work this ancient language with skill, humor, and economy of line. Wedlick, like Sir John Soane, knows how to break the "rules" without ever descending into silliness.

   The crisp plans reveal an impressive attention to compact arrangements, and offer a rebuke to the needless Bigger Is Better phenomenon that has swept America. Wedlick is unusually adept at making sense from complicated geometry (notably with his star-shaped house). His ability to work with both a language of tradition AND modernism is remarkable, and it's to his credit that he has deftly maintained a foot in these opposing camps. The built world would be infinitely improved if more architects kept their feet engaged as such!

   My only complaints are:
   1) The plans are grouped at the end, forcing one to flip back and forth while reading about a house.
   2) Some highlighted houses don't have plans!
   3) No site plans are included.
   4) There's almost no information about Wedlick. One yearns to know more about the man, his practice, and clients.

   These concerns do not offset my giving the book five stars.




3. This is an enjoyable book. It consists of photo spreads of several homes by the architect author, with explanatory text. It's much more focused than similar books, but, like them, uses polished professional photography and ghost writing.

   The theme is houses with Picturesque charm, or at least as much as can be had with new construction. I feel true charm is always accidental and only accrues over time, but, for those who feel instant charm is better than none at all, there are no better examples. At least for modern homes. Otherwise, Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties takes the cake.




4. Dennis is one of the most talented young architects in America. Anyone who has come into contact with his work, whether its been a real built home or an exhibit such as the ones put up in the Winter Garden at the WFC, Grand Central Station or the Mall of the Americas will walk away saying "that's really neat...I wish I could live like that for a day". Rarely has someone so gifted focused on designing and sharing those concepts with everyday people on budgets. Most architects with a quarter the talent are the ones that design impractical spaces for Wall Street budgets. Refer to the LIFE magazine house of the year series. Dennis' design is by far the most popular one built, in spite of trophy talent like Graves, and Stern sharing the winners circle. To the reader who said he was disappointed...think about this. The mere fact that Dennis' floor plans are in the book is invaluable....try buying a better floor plan for $50. That reader should stick to buying stock house plan magazines at the checkout counter.



5. The person who wrote that the houses seem impractical to live in does not know what they are talking about. I live in one of Dennis Wedlick's magical houses and I can attest to the fact that I find the space thoroughly livable and practical in addition to being inspiring. Every day in this house is a life-enriching joy and everyone who visits here comments on what a magnificent house it is. People leave here changed by the experience of the place. It is annoying when people write reviews about things they have no experience of whatsoever.

1 comments about The Cape Cod House.

1. Photographs in this book are mostly black and white images from the Library of Congress Historic American Building Survey (HABS). Although it's a nice selection, these photographs were taken in the 1930's and are available online through the Library of Congess website. There are some contemporary houses and some color photographs. Plans are few and displayed in small images. Text is informative. Overall, expected much more.