3 comments about The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History Of Architecture.

1. As an Art History major, and a former Architectural student, I was skeptical when I found this book required for my study abroad course on French Art and Architecture. Generally, I've found that books attempting to cover basic knowledge on such a broad topic are somewhat lacking. However, after the first chapter or two, I was pleasantly surprised with how much information was packed into this entry level architecture manual and how few instances occurred in which I wanted to edit or add to the content. I would certainly suggest this book for entry level courses or course which only require general knowledge of Architecture.



2. I am teaching Art History and AP Art History this year and this book is invaluable to my students and myself. The students do a seminar type class and this book has provided such a qick reference tool for them when they have one of the artworks to research and teach. The large oversized pages are excellent. This book, along with the Annotated Mona Lisa, are wonderful reviews before the AP test. I am so glad that I found this excellent quick reference tome.



3. This book is jam-packed with information, presented in a fascinating, readable manner. The introductory chapter explains the elements of architecture which helps the reader appreciate the extraordinary buildings humans have created through the ages. The chronological progression of the rest of the book's chapters highlights major trends and developments in building styles and materials, demystifying the origins of many of today's structures. The book is just as easy to read straight through, as it zooms along through the history of architecture "from the Stone Age to the Space Age," as it is to locate a topic of particular interest and to start there. The glossary and extensive index make it easy to quickly learn about any one subject, building, or architect, and the numerous sidebars and timelines help the reader understand the context in which a building was created.
   The beautiful pictures and interesting stories bring you right to the doorstep of humanity's greatest achievements. I highly recommend this book for anyone who has ever wondered why a building is considered special, and think it would be a terrific present as well. Enjoy!

2 comments about Forgotten Modern.

1. This book has some great photos but the content is very middle of the line. Some of houses included really don't need to be in the book. I was hoping to find more relevant examples of structures that qualify as "Modern" or as part or as part of the modern movement.



2. Modern is not new. It has a history and this book remind us about it.
   The language of Modern Architecture change in time but au fond remains the same. The book is nice, good photos and has many examples of old modern.

5 comments about Perfect Neutrals: Color You Can Live With.

1. So it is a nice book -- well printed, good in the hand, and done on quality paper.
   
   I can't stop staring at this thing. There is something so utterly correct and compelling about the color sense that underlies the work here. Quite a remarkable achievement.



2. I am delighted with this book, which is very current since it was just published in 2007. It covers every color in the palate, but in their muted, neutral versions. It's divided into several sections that show ideal ways to blend each neutral color family, including reds, purples, blues, yellows and greens, in addition to several shades of white, beige, gray, taupe and brown. Each section has fully referenced pictures of swatches of paints, fabrics, and flooring material. The paints are readily available in the USA from Benjamin Moore among other suppliers.
   
   The quality of the photography is outstanding, with crisp, clear detail. The book focuses on the work of a handful of designers in USA, England and South Africa. It is nice to see the geographic dispersion -- the South African rooms, for example, contain feather headdresses on the walls which are just extraordinary and something I've never seen in USA.
   
   If you are doing your own design, you can easily replicate what is presented here. Not only are there schemes to copy, but the author clearly presents a practical methodology to create lovely interiors using the "neutral" fabrics, paints and materials that are widely available today.
   
   I own lots of design books. This one ranks among the very best.



3. This book shows how many muted colors can become beautiful, new neutrals for your decorating. Each section is broken down into color palettes. Easy to flip to hues you are interested in. Colors used in photos (of famous int. designers) don't always agree with paint, fabric and rug swatch examples used in each section. Paint colors are all referenced, but furniture, etc are not.



4. I don't know much of decoration and having this book makes me feel like I have the best decoration book I could wish for...full of pictures and great ideas.



5. The book is well priced and full of beautiful color photo's showing this neutral concept that is always in style. Nice work on color boards of real materials that you can research. I see this influncing many of us to use more neurtalized colors in our palettes for our homes and places of work. As big user of the Munsel, color theory is alive and well and it shows in this book neutrals will always be in style they are the canvas and background that enhances the higher chroma colors.
   
   This will become a resource book for me.
   
   MS (Industral designer and colorist)

5 comments about Creating the Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home.

1. Sarah Susanka, an architect orginally based in Minnesota, has written an extremely valuable book about creating comfortable living space in a small house. Until the recent housing crisis (and yes, even despite it among the super-rich) residential housing in this country was guided by the principal that "bigger is better". From an average house size of about 1,300 square feet during the housing boom that followed the Second World War, houses have been getting larger and larger. The effect of this on the environment went virtually unnoticed until it became fashionable to talk about global warming. No retired couple needs a weekend home of 8,000 square feet, yet one would be shocked by the number of such houses that were built in the 90s and were all the vogue up until about a year ago. Now that Hollywood movie stars, earning $20 million a film are driving hybrid cars and installing windmills in their backyards to power their 50-inch flat screens, the small house is somewhat in vogue.
   
   Ms. Susanka has many interesting ideas on how to maximize the use of space, including the notion of creating "living" space, e.g., seating, a fireplace, and even a tub, on the other side of the walls of a house.
   
   If you are thinking about building a house, read this book first. Perhaps you will scale down your plans and that would be a benefit to both you and to the world outside.
   
   Books of this type have proliferated in the past few years but this volume, one of the first on the subject, remains as vital as it was when first published.



2. Hopefully all the people who are supposed to be interested in preserving the natural world will buy into Susanka's idea and build smaller, more useful houses rather than energy and environmental guzzlers. Be nice if some of the "talking heads" would do as they say. Great ideas for all of us interested in using less and preserving more.



3. We have read both books and did find some things interesting, there was only one or two houses in either of the books about the Not So Big House that would have worked for us. One thing we did find that the cost of the "not so big house"; because of many of the materials used; it is really more than what a number of people might find too expensive for their budget.



4. We are remodeling our house and my daughter and husband are about to build a new house. A friend of us got many great ideas from this book when they built their home, so they recommended it to me. I had purchased it as a gift for my daughter who, along with her husband, have been reading it since then word by word, and studying the pictures. They are so excited by the concept of a great home and the excellent ideas found in the book. It gave them the direction that they will definitely take when designing their new home.



5. A FURTHER EXPLORATION OF THE NOT SO BIG PHILOSOPHY, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. INTERESTING AND INFORMATIVE, GOOD COMMON SENSE.

2 comments about Reading Architectural Working Drawings: Residential and Light Construction, Volume 1.

1. Seller described the book as gently used, not missing pages. Book came used but with many pages missing. I started my class in architectural blueprinting, and I find half the homework I cant do, would not buy from this seller again.



2. This is a very useful book if you are looking to draft something it is full of information on everything you will need to know.

1 comments about Italian Villas and Their Gardens: The Original 1904 Edition.

1. My sister read about this book in a recent magazine and we are totally delighted to see that it was available as a reprint from the original plates. Maxfield Parrish, the painter, did the illustrations and they are wonderful in their dreamlike qualities. And the prose by Ms Wharton are flowing and typical of the turn of the last century.
   
   I would recommend this book as a coffe table book, a piece of art and a conversation piece all in one.

5 comments about Bungalow Bathrooms (Bungalow Basics).

1. This book is another selection for a wedding gift. The recipients are restoring a Bungalow home. It was on thier gift wish list.



2. Bungalow Bathrooms (Bungalow Basics)
   For anyone building a NEW bungalow style home or refurbishing an OLD one, this is a great source of accurate info on the materials and styles typically used and resources for obtaining materials. Powell's detailed explanations of original bungalow styles from the late 20's thru the early 50's include suggestions for "obsessive" and for "compromise" solutions and the list of resources is super. Her witty writing style and Svendson's wonderful photographs make this book as enjoyable as it is useful.



3. Unfortunatley (or fortunately depending on the perspective), most of the images and information in the rather expensive book can now all be found on the internet.



4. I've read other Jane Powell books and have always found them both entertaining and informative. In this book, she provides a history of bathrooms and bathroom fixtures and provides information about restoring older baths. She even includes advice about repairing old fixtures, broken tile etc. As in her other books she gives the readers advice about "Obsessive Restoration" and modern "Compromise Solutions" - all in keeping with the historic theme. The photographs in this book are wonderful; I was suprised by the wild colors of some of the bathrooms that were created in the 1920's and 1930's. This is a great book if you have an older house and are looking to create a period-appropriate bath.



5. In the midst of planning for the remodeling of my bathroom in the Arts & Crafts style, I found this book filled with plenty of pictures and examples of bathrooms from that time period. Arts & Crafts magazines rarely show pictures of bathrooms. So it was great to have a book that was filled with such a variety of pictures as well as giving the history of this time period and tips for those who actually want to restore their bathrooms. Better money spent than trying to buy a huge amount of magazines hoping to get one picture here and there.

1 comments about Old & New: Combining Past and Present In Contemporary Homes.

1. This was an awesome buy. It gave me lots of ideas for decorating my aspiring eclectic home.

1 comments about The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, Student Edition.

1. This was a required text for my daughter's architecture class at the University of California. Someone must think its GOOD!!

5 comments about The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects).

1. This is an absurd, but very American, architecture book. Usually with this genre the glossy pictures make up for the text -- that is NOT the case here. The pictures are very average. The text is okay ... a gospel of architectural $implicity substituted for actual ... well ... simplicity.
   
   Here's the thing: simplicity in this book is interpreted as minimalist furnishings. Well and good. But it is easy to relish the zen luxe of a room when one has the most wonderful architecture to surround that perfect, single $10K furnishing. It is easy to be "simple".... own few possessions and buy few furnishings when you can afford a house designed with built in window seats, dining nooks, stainless appliances and murphy beds.
   
   What is really needed is a guide to designing with simplicity and sustainability in mind. That would be .... you buy some nasty tract home for $300K in Redmond Washington and want to decorate / design sustainably, simply, tastefully and, above all, peacefully.
   
   Probably the most amusing thing about Sarah Nettleton's book is the secret glimpses into the homeowner's stuff: forests of books, cotton fields of clothes, acres of wood cabinetry, and pits of stone and concrete tile and countertops.
   
   My hard earned ducats bought this book. Don't use yours.



2. This book is wonderful. I immediately had ideas about ways to simplify my home without costing a dime. This book was worth every penny.



3. I adore this book. I am a professional organizer and it really speaks to me and my clients about downsizing and the privilege it is to have a home that is uncluttered and 'just enough'. Thank you for a wonderful book.



4. Great book to help you get focused on the necessities of your house. It makes you think what is necessary and what really is not. Do you really need two ovens...etc. After reading or more realistically paging through several other books I found myself jotting down notes made from this book that really hit home. Our lives are fast paced and complicated enough, so it was wonderful to hear the great thoughts of Sarah Nettleton. I recommend this book along with The Farmhouse by Jean Rehkamp Larson and the New Old House by Russell Versaci. Great Job Sarah Nettleton!



5. Wonderful case studies about 20 homes with good explanations about material choices, site considerations, and the people who own them. It's a Taunton Press book, so the photos are great, of course. I especially like the floor plan illustrations that support the photos and give a sense of flow through the houses.