No comments about Beach Clubs: Sea, See & Seen.

No comments about Cool Hotels Asia/Pacific (Cool Hotels).

5 comments about The New City Home: Smart Design for Metro Living.

1. Need some ideas for your loft apartment? This book is full of great decorating plans you can put into action.



2. After moving into our new loft in the Pearl District I realized it needed a new "do". It didn't feel right until I did alot of research and made major changes. The New City Home, coupled with a few others fueled the idea bank we now have the place we feel is really US. Nice presentation and beat the expense of an interior designer. After living in the burbs for so long, we feel like we're on vacation everyday.



3. My dream is to own a loft one day and I have been to open house tours and read many books about this subject. I have a very defined taste, concerning how I want a loft to look and how I want to decorate my loft. I have a very contemporary taste in furnishings and I like an open and airy loft. When I first received this book in the mail, I almost quit breathing. It was if the authors had looked into my dreams and thoughts to create this book. This book truly represents the contemporary feel and look that I like so well. I can guarantee you that if you are interested in a contemporary look to your loft, this is your book. I know that I will probably wear this book out, because it is truly an inspirational vision of a modern loft. The photos are beautifully done, the writing is sharp and concise, and the overall quality is outstanding!!



4. Young people today aren't keeping to the small-town or suburban lifestyles of their parents. They're going to the cities to rent studio apartments. Once there, they're likely to end up moving into family-size spaces.

   City planners and administrators are taking this back-to-the-cities trend into consideration. They're trying to make city living appeal to young future owners. One way is by business building up a neighborhood around it, in brownstones; floor-through flats; high-rise apartments; lofts; offbeat converted places such as autoshops and stables; rowhouses; and townhouses.

   Likewise, architects are thinking about the loss of peace, privacy and quiet that usually comes with city living. They're coming up with designs that meet young needs for shelter and express young personalities. The result really is personal space inside, even with such impersonal space outside as "shadowy" concrete buildings.

   This is done by clearly-defined lines, hand-worked materials, soothing planes, and unusual details indoors. It's also by putting in balconies and terraces and opening up roofs and windows to light and views onto deliberately planted small, green spaces. Similarly, not much space inside looks bigger, for example, by using the same materials in and out, such as cedar flooring, fencing and decking.

   THE NEW CITY HOME even brings working spaces inside, while keeping them attractively and cleverly separate from living spaces. In one case, for example, the outside has cottage-style clapboard cladding for the first floor. Indoors, the kitchen and living spaces have a cozy look, what with simple cabinetry, low ceilings and boldly painted colors. The second floor has plywood panels on the outside. Inside, spotlights, skylights, and high ceilings show the upper level to be for work.

   What if the two can't always be separated, as in bathrooms or kitchens? Space isn't clearly personal or work, if it brings in universal design. This means, for example, lever handles to doors and faucets, rocker-panel light switches, and textured non-slip flooring.

   Leslie Plummer Clagett's book is organized and written in an understandable, user-friendly way. Her choice of illustrations works perfectly with what she says. This practical help to city living is rounded out with Elizabeth Franklin's THE FRANKLIN REPORT, NEW YORK CITY 2003: THE INSIDER'S GUIDE TO HOME SERVICES.




5. I've browsed about twenty different contemporary interior books, and I've found this to be most interesting and slightly more inspiring.

   One piece of advice: I don't think any of the contemporary interior books have as much variety as one might expect. Make sure to browse the physical books before making a final decision - don't base you decision on these reviews alone. I've done this with many book on interior design and I've been disappointed.

5 comments about Lost Twin Cities.

1. A really fun book. Outstanding photos. Made me want to go out and see what is there now!! We've lost too many true treasures.
   Larry is a great story-teller and fact-finder.



2. This is a fascinating, though often sad, look at Twin Cities architectural history. I loved it!



3. Reading Lost Twin Cities feels like you've found that great uncle or aunt who can explain all the black and white family photos. This is a great example of the historian's art, a real case in which an author, by choosing a particular way to frame a set of information, calls a past world back to vivid life. It's a bittersweet pleasure to relive the life span of each historical building. Millet's approach is anecdotal, like that old relative's conversational voice.

   Indirectly, this book also raises some natural questions about our country's urban development. The demise of the Twin Cities' streetcar system is particularly well described, for example. I could see a creative professor, teaching a lower level course on urban development, assigning this book as a text. (The same professor would also have students view "Chinatown.")

   The book was also adapted for television by the local (Minneapolis and Saint Paul) public station. The program is quite entertaining, and catches the tone of the book pretty well.

   Larry Millet has written a few Sherlock Holmes mysteries, largely as an excuse to present much of this same historical information in a livelier way. If you're considering which approach to take, stick to this. The mysteries are awful, extremely flat-footed and despiriting for an Arthur Conan Doyle fan; this is a wonderful book.




4. I have a newer version of this book, and I just wanted to say that it is a very, very interesting book. Even if you arn't originally from the Twin Cities this book is still very interesting to look at to see how things have changed over the years such as the cars, the billboards/advertisements, and the way people dressed. I think that this is definetly worth every cent, and I look forward for another edition to come out with different photos of streets in the Twin Cities.



5. So far the best architectural book I've read, especially since I'm from the area of the subjects.

No comments about Miniature and Panorama: Vogt Landscape Architects, Projects 2000-06.

2 comments about American Covered Bridges.

1. A great book on Covered Bridges except for the inclusion of one Canadian Bridge, the 45 river bridge in NB Canada. Its not in the US, LOL One mistake in an otherwise good book on historic covered bridges.



2. I AM A COVERED BRIDGE FANATIC AND I HAD THIS BOOK INTER-LIBRARY LOANED FROM MY LOCAL LIBRARY AND I AM GLAD THAT I HAD THE CHANCE TO READ IT! IT HAS BEAUTIFUL PHOTO'S AND NICE STORIES TO GO ALONG WITH THE PHOTO'S ! PLUS UNDER EACH PHOTO THEY TELL YOU WHERE EACH BRIDGE IS LOCATED SO IF YOU ARE LIKE I AM WHO TRAVELS AND TRY'S TO FIND BRIDGES THIS IS VERY HELPFUL!! SO I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL COVERED BRIDGE FANATICS!!! READ AND ENJOY!!

2 comments about Tricia Guilds Country Color.

1. This purchase was one in a million! From the initial contact from the seller, to the delivery of the book in fabulous condition- Absolutely an Outstanding experience!
   I feel like I've made TWO new friends - One, with the Book, and one with the Seller... Best of luck to you, Nina, Thank you for your kind emails and updates. I promise to take as precious care of your beautiful book as you did! Through your manifesting your dreams into reality, you will continue to manifest NEW dreams into reality.... Your love for Interior Design and Photography will continue to grow through others that are as fortunate to "meet you" as I was.
   Best wishes for Happy and Safe Travels...
   I can give my personal guarantee to everyone else that purchases from you - "You will NOT be disappointed"! A++++++++++ :-)



2. Tricia Guild's Country Color is a refreshing view of country life in England. Tricia portrays her style through dymanic cominations of rustic furniture and bold contemporary colors. Country Color stimulates all five senses throughout the book. From vibrant pictures of country meadows and cozy cottage corners, to mouth watering recipes. Every time you open this book you will discover something new and intriguing. Country Color functions well as a coffee table book or on a cluttered book self. It will always be noticed. It is a great addition for the novice collector, or the perfect start for the beginner interested in interior design literature.

4 comments about Patterns from the Golden Age of Rustic Design: Park and Recreation Structuires from the 1930's.

1. I thought this would be a book of instruction or patterns for creating rustic furniture. Not even close. It is a book about layouts and some architectural design for parks and campsites. I sold it to a man designing and building his own campground. He loved it.



2. As a professional designer and consultant to the resort development industry, I found this book very informative, with extensive photos and architectural illlustrations, plans and diagrams originating from the early 20th century. A valuable reference book for land planners, architects and developers looking to create "authentic" park and recreational structures for their communities, whether in the mountains or the prairie!
   
   Excellent Book.



3. This guide, originally printed in the 1930s, is an incredibly complete overview of the many structures created in state and national parks from across America. Every kind of structure, and I mean EVERY kind, is represented here with an amazing number of photographs and plans so that you can reproduce them on your own property.
   
   Whether you want to make a simple stone fire pit or a two-story timber-frame visitor's center, this is the book for you. Chapters include fences, signs, administration buildings, drinking fountains, comfort stations, fire lookout towers, trail steps, bridges, picnic shelters, fire pits, outdoor theaters, cabins, bath houses, and lots more. There's even chapters on furnishings and camp layouts.
   
   The book is written in the somewhat flowery tongue of the early 20-century style, but it's quite readable and in some cases truly amusing, especially when discussing the evils of vandalism. A particularly funny passage is found in the chapter about signs:
   
   "Barring an act of God, like a cyclone, or assault by that instrument of Satan, the initial carver, signs like these promise long life... In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, [the initial carver] is a physical, as well as mental, sluggard and is likely to think twice (we flatter him) before he will stand on his head or shinny up a post to accomplish his scandalous, vandalous ends. Twin to the jackknife pest is the souvenir hunter. Signs too appealingly picturesque and easy to get at and carry away fall prey to his pack rat instincts."



4. I always wondered how these incredibly beautiful wood and stone structures were built, everytime we went camping in some state or national park. Now I know!

   Where's my pick, hammer, axe, adze and saw? I can't wait to get started! This book has everything. I hope to be able to buy the rest of Albert H. Good's books on the subject. Fabulous.

3 comments about We Made a Garden (Modern Library Gardening).

1. Margery Fish must have loved her Walter very, very much to have put up with him all those years. Her account of the garden they made despite each other is one of the great triumphs of the "garden memoir" genre, and vastly more interesting than most such works.

   The book is haunted by the presence of Walter, and his likes and dislikes, and right ways and wrong ways to do anything. You can't help but feel Mrs Fish must have breathed the world's biggest sigh of relief at his passing, since it finally allowed her to get on with her gardening.

   Here's a sample: Walter would smother her seedlings by putting too much manure around HIS roses, he decorated the outbuildings with bought mounted animal trophy heads (until they rotted), and he would stand guard over his wife while she planted dahlias to ensure she did so 'correctly.'

   Not to be missed! (And for others in the just-as-absorbing-when-not-about-the-garden books, you must turn to Beverley Nichols and any of his brilliantly charming works about house or garden).

   Note: a 3 star ranking from me is actually pretty good; I reserve 4 stars for tremendously good works, and 5 only for the rare few that are or ought to be classic; unfortunately most books published are 2 or less.




2. I wanted to like this book. I just finished the Dudley Warner Book, in the same classic gardening series, which I had savored like a good box of chocolates, rationing out a few pages, each day. But this one--oddly enough--depressed me slightly. It has a sad subplot. You have this stiff upper lip British Matron, who was married to Walter, who oppressed every good idea she had for their garden. She basically isn't able to implement her visions until he dies. But once he's dead you realize, in her humerous complaints, that she misses him. The rest is all gardening, without the breathtaking observations Charles Dudley Warner has, about plants, and without the richness of his language. Fish is an OK writer, but she's not great. I guess Charles Dudley Warner is an impossible act to follow. Warner has one chapter where General Ulysses Grant visits, then he realizes he must burn the chair he sat in. He's unbelievably funny. That book is full of life and a grand vision. Fish's book is somehow claustrophobic. Reading Warner's book, I feel like I'm in a most interesting place filled with surprises, in Fish's book I feel like I'm trapped in a garden, I'd rather exit. I've read about half of her book, and you'd have to pay me to finish it. I frown when I see it on the pile of books behind my comode.



3. WE MADE A GARDEN is a lovely little book by Margery Fish, an "elderly" English lady who with her husband (he who must be obeyed or cleverly deceived it seems) moved to a country manor and converted the mostly lawn areas into gardens of shrubs, flowers, and herbs. First published in the U.K. in the 1950s, the book has been republished as part of the `Modern Library Garden Series' edited by Michael Pollan.

   Fish's little book will be considered a gem by experienced gardeners who can picture the plants she names in the mind's eye, identify with her triumphs and failures, and appreciate a useful clues from an obviously seasoned hand. Garden veterans will also identify with the greedy gardener who never has enough space, the stubborn gardener who plants Nepeta despite it's runaway habits, the recalcitrant gardener who hides the verboten brilliant orange Lychnis chalcedonica at the back of the beds, and the disobedient gardener who leaves many openings in the cemented walkway hubby designed to thwart weeds.

   The book may appear a bit dense to the new gardener as it describes activities such as composing flower beds, creating walkways, and engineering rock gardens with inferior rocks,with no illustrations, other than a few black and white photos-one of Mrs Fish on bended knee at work in her rock garden. However, all is not lost. Determined gardeners unfamiliar with the various plants Mrs Fish names can refer to a nursery catalogue since 60-70 percent of the plants available in the 1950s can be found contemporary mail order publications

4 comments about Great Houses of New York, 1880-1930 (Urban Domestic Architecture).

1. Kathrens' book is simply superb and is the only one I know of that pretty much thoroughlly documents the now almost lost domestic architecture of the Gilded Age. Not only are the descriptions of the houses outstanding, but the history of families that built them and under which circumstances is also given, and to completely understand a work of architecture, be it a commercial building or house, this is necessary, though not always included but it is in this book! It's a pity that these great houses of New York are now, for the most part, gone, but at least one can get a wonderful, visual documentation from his wonderful, rare, archival photos of the houses, not just exterior, but interior as well. I reccommend this book to anyone interested in great houses or in New York. It's a book that one must have and will enjoy reading and looking through forever. Lee Govatos



2. A fascinating book, covering the now mostly demolished great homes of New York, during the extraordinary flowering of wealth and enterprise in the late C19th.
   All the famous families appear together with Edith Wharton style stories of scandal and excess...
   The book boasts beautiful photographs, attractively reproduced, and fascinating floor plans.
   Great Houses is exceptionally well written and a joy to the eye. One for architecture enthusiasts everywhere!



3. A must read for design, architecture and house enthusiasts. Well written and althought all pictures are in black and white they are fabulous. An easy read full of great backgound and rich in history.



4. I have been waiting for a book like this for some time, and this one does not disappoint. It is well researched with wonderful historic black and white photos. The book is of the finest quality and the text is well put together. This is such an interesting subject and the authors are very thorough in their research, the book really feels complete. I highly recommend it to anyone with any interest in wonderful Gilded Age residental architecture or just an interest in the rich history of this great city. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed in this book and I commend the authors on doing such a fine job on a most worthy subject. Thank you.