5 comments about Tudor Style: Tudor Revival Houses in America from 1890 to the Present.

1. This book offered plenty of ideas in my restoration and planning process of my tudor home. Great buy for the $$$



2. This is a very good book, the houses chosen are first rate and the text well researched and informative. The images are very well done, they are crisp and well presented. Some of the houses chose are amazing, frankly Tudor is not my favorite of the Eccletic styles, I really prefer Beaux Art and Georgian, but this book made me appreciate the beauty of the Tudor. I highly recommend this book, it made me fan of the style.



3. The photos and houses shown in this book are fantastic, both the old and modern dwellings. I have many books on Manor houses and old english houses but the photos shown in this book are the best I've seen. I was very interested to see the modern tudor style houses that have been built in the USA like the one shown on the cover. I bought this book from Amazon and it was delivered to Australia in top condition. A great buy and people visiting my place have picked it up and had a read because it captures the eye.



4. I caught a glance of the book on my architect's desk, and immediately ordered it the next day. I was not disappointed.
   
   Tudor Style gives an excellent overview of the English Tudor influence on architecture in the United States. I particularly enjoyed the narrative that accompanied the pictures throughout the book - very well written and researched! The picturesque neighborhoods and historic homes featured were inspiring examples of what truly draws people toward this style even today.
   
   An excellent book for anyone who appreciates timeless architecture and european-influenced design.



5. This book is long overdue. There's really no exclusive published works in print on American Tudor Revival architecture, except for this. It is a beautifully photographed and organized book, with nice fonts and well-balanced photographs. There are a few holes, though. Styles and geographic concentrations aren't focused on well enough. The section on Philadelphia Tudor Revival ingores a rich and very diverse Tudor variety in favor of a few French country houses. Also, the 1950s and 1970s mixes of ranches and split-levels with Tudor sensibilities are ignored, either out of distaste or pretension. The modern Tudor section is dominated by one very large McMansion with mock Tudor references. In all, the book is unfit for study but is basically a very pretty coffee table book.

4 comments about Birdfeeders, Shelters and Baths (The Weekend Workshop Collection).

1. In three short pages of Introduction, the author (Edward Baldwin) highlights some Essential Info for all of us home-based bird lovers: what the birds really need and how to provide it as well & efficiently as possible--and not only with home-made feeders & shelters. In those few pages there is a rich summary of insights on birds' daily needs; how we can help them in their lives; as well as how to lure them into our vicinity--and our viewing range--with various sources of food and shelter.
   
   Then: on the book goes to show us various forms of feeding & sheltering stations that are quite make-able by a careful adult with some kind of "craft-making" skill. I, for example, had only sewing and fabric-construction types of skills to bring to the Roosting Box I made (see pg. 87). But, the skills were transferable to the wooden pieces that had to be cut and assembled (parallel functions to what one does w/cloth for a slip-cover, for example).
   
   A number of projects and their plans are set up to use the simplest of household objects (plastic and glass jars or bottles once empty of foodstuffs, and even an 8 oz. milk carton). So, carpentry is not necessary in all of the projects. Some of the feeders look "do-able" by small children's hands with scissors and glue -- all with the encouragement & supervision an adult might lend.
   
   The photos and illustrations of feeders/shelters and their parts as they get assembled are nice and clear. If you don't often take to carpentry and other forms of hand-crafting of items, it might be good to read through the instructions and examine drawings & photos a couple of times before the day you plan to start the actual "making" steps. You might also make a list of items you will want to purchase or borrow while pre-reading & getting prepared. That way, anything confusing can be cleared up ahead of time and you can be truly "ready" to start-in on schedule.
   
   The book was thoughtfully organized for me as a bird-loving "enthusiast" with only basic manual skills and basic tools at home. It helped me produce something well-built for our backyard birds. There were tasks new to me, but the small size of the end-product and the fact that I could do all the steps on one work-table kept it manageable.
   
   I'm planning to make a Squirrel-Feeder in a couple of months (to launch next autumn)--as a variation of one of the bottle-feeders in the book. I'd like to divert the squirrels' attention to Their Own feeder and away from the part of the yard where we keep birdfeeders (one of the ideas I picked up in the Intro). AND: I'm pleased w/the book; glad to have it at home and available "as needed."



2. The book has a lot of great ideas for birdfeeders and shelters. It on had once birdbath that you could construct but was simple to construct.



3. I bought this for my husband 2 years ago and he has made all the large feeders. He really enjoyed building them and I enjoy showing them off. I'm currently looking for another book with different designs but so far this is the best one.



4. An excellent book that illustrates how to make some very nice birdhouses that vary from the easy to the complex like the one on the cover. I'm building the one on the cover and am having a lot of fun! The best birdfeeder book I've seen so far.

2 comments about Successful Restaurant Design.

1. This book is great - it is broken down into logical sections, all with incredibly practical advice. The interviews with professionals at the rear are particularly helpful, as are the case studies. The case studies are a wee bit outdated now in terms of style, but the information is still relevant. Its great that the book establishes the need to do market research, as this is an area often overlooked.
   
   Note that this is not a glossy coffee table book - most of the pics are black and white and it is definitely a resource book for learning the basics.
   
   I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in hospitality design.



2. With 27 years of restaurant experience I know the importance of design to the success of a restaurant. What is often overlooked, however, is that the kitchen and dining spaces have to work together. The authors of Successful Restaurant Design are the first to point out the importance of a holistic approach to restaurant design. Their insights into the design process are a must read for anyone planning a new restaurant or renovating an existing facility. The chapter of interviews offers readers design tips from leading designers and restaurateurs. And the case studies offer a straighforward way of understanding simple solutions to complex issues. This book belongs in the library of every restaurateur and designer interested in keeping up with front and back of the house design.

No comments about At Home by the Sea: Houses Designed for Living at the Water's Edge.

3 comments about The Old Barn Book: A Field Guide to North American Barns and Other Farm Structures.

1. This field guide has what I consider to be soso black and white photos and drawings of each type of barn and supporting structures. If you are looking for accurate information on a style of barn and where it may be located this is the book for you. I would perfer better quality photo's and some color. Rather boring presentation!



2. For what I wanted the book for it is a fantastic resourse. I build model barns and covered bridges. This book has not only given me new ideas but also a history behind them. Love the book.



3. While the book presents numerous types of agricultural buildings from all over the U.S., it doesn't go into any sort of detail about any of them, making it of limited reference use.

5 comments about 100 of the World's Best Houses (Architecture).

1. This book gives a complete perception of the houses described, because of plans and multiple views inside the houses. That is what I expected from a book like that: not only a compilation of pictures



2. I have seen almost every house in this book published before and the ones that i hadn't seen weren't anything special. In fact several of the homes are quite old by Moore Ruble, Predock, Gwathmy, etc. If you have a collection of residential books allready, pass this one over.



3. Although this book has more than a handful of great contemporary homes, we get only a teasing glimpse of each of them. The author would have been better off reducing the number of houses covered, and doing a more in depth coverage of each of them. The book could have been improved by calling it, 25 or 50 of the worlds best houses, and doing a more comprehesive spread on each house. The few pictures we get of each house are of good photographic quality, but the scene selections and angles the houses are shot at, don't give the best representation of them. I have seen several of these same houses in other publications (books or magazines) and have seen them shot from better angles. Another complaint, but this one is subjective, is that, for me, there were too many "woodsy" houses in the book.
   I realize that this is only my opinion and taste, but for me, I like my contemporary homes very minimal and sleek, and with a touch of industial in the mix, with no sign of wood. There are a few like that in the book, but the majority of them are mostly wood based.
   I did purchase and keep this book, feeling it had enough fresh ideas to merit keeping it. Again everything is relative, and compared to most other contemporary architecture books, this ones a keeper.



4. This coffee-table book is massive in size. I wouldn't say that it's a cerebral book which offers much in architecture literature. The introduction is rather superficial which defines the meaning of private dwellings by Catherine Slessor, the managing editor of The Architectural Review. Her comment is simply most of the featured dwellings here are commissioned by affluent clients & they do have an impact upon the landscape, fulfillment of their lifestyle circumstances, enabling them to express themselves as much as the architects who design those dwellings. The book cut into the chase immediately with illustrations of 100 houses which span around the world. I'm pleasantly surprised that some houses in New Zealand are featured too. There are many types of houses ranging from International House to Deconstructivism to Post Expressionism to Minimalism to Intelligent House (regulating the temperature in the house by using passive means to conserve energy) & the list goes on. Should readers would like to read more about those houses, there are briefs provided at the end of the book. It would be good if there are headings given in the book but obviously, it's not done in this instance. It would be ideal if contact information for architects are provided in this book as some architecture books would have done. There are enough pictures to keep us interested and ocassionally building plans. It would be interesting if editor shares with us how she picks those houses that are featured in this book because I would like to think that preferences are rather subjective. Therefore, for what she thinks is the best 100 houses in the world, other people might not necessarily think so. Perhaps, the choice of the title of the book is questionable. Anyhow, this book does provide us with a broad view of available houses in the world. I wouldn't say that this is a definitive architecture book or a book that you should have in your collection. However, as a reference material, it shall made do. A book with enormous potential but ultimately, disappointing. By the way, many of the houses here come from the States. Is it because other places in the world are devoid of creativity or that Americans do put a lot of effort into their homes?



5. This book provides a nice selection of contemporary home design, and not just the unatainable homes often depicted in such volumes. Floor plans are included, and the photography and quality of reproduction is first-rate. Highly recommended.

No comments about In Detail: High-Density Housing: Concepts, Planning, Construction (In Detail (englisch)).

No comments about The Manual of Museum Planning: Second Edition: Second Edition.

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.

4 comments about Virginia Plantation Homes.

1. I would recommend this book if you're looking for something with great pictures and a brief narrative. The photos were good in that they weren't all taken in the summer, as in most books of this type. It was nice to see these historic homes in the spring bloom, fall colors and winter white-scape. Of course the summer shots were also beautiful. A good book for your own or for a gift.



2. Gleason really excelled in books of this kind, he really knew how to capture these old grand buildings. This book is first rate and it covers all of the well known homes as well as some that may not be so familiar. All of his books of this genre are consistantly top notch. The colors are vibrant and just pop off the page. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the grandeur of the Old South, it's just amazing how many of these houses survived the Civil War, with battles often within earshot of the veranda.



3. Beautiful photos, good text, but awkward size (doesn't fit on book shelf)



4. In my opinion this coffee table book is the one by which all others should be judged. Gleason is one fine professional photographer who needs to expand into yet more regions on this same subject of old plantation homes