5 comments about Poolscaping: Gardening and Landscaping Around Your Swimming Pool and Spa.

1. I had high hopes due to high reviews, but I was very unhappy to find that only a small section of the book is actually about plants! You would think with a name like "Poolscaping" that the book would have had more to do about plants and landscaping around the pool. The book is instead divided in chapters about how to build a pool and many pictures on waterfalls and spa's. Very generic as a whole.



2. This book was an excellent resource for the designer looking to work with swimming pools. The ilustrated examples and artistic tips were an invauable inspiration for sparking the imagination when designing pools. Before reading this I did think of pools as slabs of concrete filled with water, but I believe this book has put far down the path of being able to design elegant swimming pools. I consider this a must read for any architectural designer.



3. Based on the description, I believed this book would be full of design ideas and photos of well-landscaped pools. It isn't. If you are looking (as I was) for examples to show a landscaper (or to do it yourself), you should look elsewhere.



4. This is one of the not so good books for pools like many many others. I don't know may be it is too hard to write for pools. There are inside some pictures but nothing to catch the eye neither spectacular. THis book was suppouse to guide you how to create your own pool but I have see much better books!
   So if you are going to spend money to build a pool keep on searching for another book!



5. Transform the swimming pool of a backyard into a Tuscan paradise with tiles and flowering plants, or create a pool with a beach-like presence filled with beach plants: that's the idea of Pool Scaping, a title which covers both swimming pool decor and appropriate landscaping around it. Pool Scaping is a lovely guide which covers the specifics of plants in a water surrounding.

5 comments about Prefab Modern.

1. as a new-to-prefab lay researcher, i loved this book. a friend passed it on to me after we were all chatting about building our "dream houses."
   it gives a basic survey of different types of prefab, from modest to elaborate, and creative diversions in between. i found it an inspirational starting point to daydreaming about fun prefab modern living. the source lists are helpful as well. enjoy!



2. Beautiful book with impressive photos and info on contemporary and cutting edge designs in prefab home. Great sampling of the most modern designs and some info about them. Could have been more detail on the homes.



3. For anyone new to this subject matter this book is a basic starting point. However the more you learn about the topic from other sources the more you realize this book is just lightweight fluff. This was simply opportunistic publishing of a coffee table book while the topic was hot. The author has little expertise in the subject matter (is she a contract writer? - her previous book was about tiles) and the book reads like breathless brochureware. If you want to research the topic for free check out the great web site fabprefab.com which predates this book and is frequently updated. Also there are other great books on prefab such as Colin Davies The Prefabricated Home.



4. This book is incredibly well-written (even poetically written in places), meticulously researched, and beautifully illustrated. It's written by a pro, not someone who just decided to write a book. The book "Prefab" by Alison Arieff was in fact literally written off of (i.e. plagerized) websites and from articles (check the text against the architect's website and you'll see paragraphs and paragraphs were literally lifted directly from the site, likewise articles on those architects.)
   This book is the real thing.



5. I was disappointed with this book. It includes profiles of 15 architectural firms. Seven of those profiles were of firms that have done one-off architect-designed homes made largely of pre-existing materials (usually shipping containers). That is not my definition of a prefab house. To me, a prefab house is one that I can order to be built on my lot. Of the eight firms that offer prefab houses, for three of them only computer-generated images were presented (not photos of real houses). That leaves only five firms offering prefab houses ready for market. Of those, one builds 10 houses per year in Finland. Another is in Australia. Two offer only really small homes (generally intended as second homes).
   
   The book does include (small) design plans and many photos for most of the houses. However, the fact that very few of those homes are available for me to purchase makes the book almost useless.
   [...]

5 comments about From Bauhaus to Our House.

1. There are a lot of legitimate arguments to be made against the Bauhaus and Purism, but Tom Wolfe seems too interested in writing a sprawling rant to really explore them. Only once, near the very end, did he mention that many of these buildings were not built on a human scale -- in my view, their biggest flaw. Instead, the book focuses on these issues, which seem minor in comparison:
   
   1. Glass, steel, and concrete are bad.
   2. Simplicity is bad.
   3. Architects who bad together into compounds are bad.
   
   It's hard to accurately judge this book properly, since I read it 30 years after it was written. Still, if Tom Wolfe wanted to make a case against this type of architecture, it seems like he could have set his ego aside and done a much better job.



2. Tom Wolfe's FROM BAUHAUS TO OUR HOUSE skewers the Bauhaus School and Modernism in general (characterized by the International Style of architecture), as well as Post-Modernism (essentially, another version of Modernism). It's an intelligent, satirical look at an early 20th century European architectural ideology that rose up to reject the bourgeois and design for the working class--which the International Style architects may have regarded as too benighted to know what it really wanted. Apparently, according to these architects, what the worker would want, if s/he knew better, was to live in unadorned, black-and-white, steel and concrete boxes constructed with mass produced materials. Architecture schools and art institutes in the U.S. not only enthusiastically embraced the ideology ("They do things better in Europe," said Malcolm Cowley), but also its principle European champions, giving places of honor to the likes of Walter Gropius (Harvard), Mies van der Rohe (Armour Institute), and Josef Albers (Yale). Much of this movement was constructed around drawings and theory vice actually building buildings. In this way, architecture suffered from some of the same scholastic claptrap as the other arts, indeed of academe itself. When Wolfe drolly comments, "For the ambitious architect, having a theory became as vital and natural as having a telephone" (p. 121), he could have been speaking in general of contemporary academics--which many of these architects, ensconced in their university "compounds," were.
   
   Wolfe's targets easily lend themselves to such a treatment. The Modern architects' disdain for the opinions of both client and occupant are obnoxious. One wonders why the client (but not so much the occupant) kept, as Wolfe puts it, taking it like a man. However that may be, Wolfe's style gets a bit old after a while. You just want him to chill for a bit. People weren't all necessarily duped by Modernism. The clean lines and simplicity of forms of work by Le Corbusier constitute a refreshing break from the past, and has certain aesthetic appeal. The offense of the style is not just that it is impractical; it's that it becomes so damn derivative and so dogmatic from that point on. (Frank Lloyd Wright, who was not a member of the International Style clerisy, but was "an American original," and so fairs pretty well in Wolfe's treatment, was not necessarily very practical himself. If you're a parent, tour "Falling Water" and you'll see what I mean.)
   
   Wolfe's venom, to be sure, is aimed at the arrogance, pretentiousness, and hypocrisy of many of the leading architects comprising the Modernist and Post-Modernist movements. In that regard, Wolfe is very much on target in his criticism, even if he does go a bit overboard. Understanding that this is a screed, and not an objective critique, the reader will be pleased to find in this little book a readable, trenchant, witty, funny, and erudite treatment of these leading trends of 20th century architecture.



3. The good news is FROM BAUHAUS TO OUR HOUSE (1981) is a quick and easy read; the bad news is it is over a quarter-century out-of-date. Wolfe gives a good overview of modern architecture which developed between the wars in Germany and the Netherlands (mostly), by men [sic] who fancied themselves champions of the worker, scoffed at bourgoisie cravings for ornament and comfort, migrated to the United States, and isolated themselves in academic compounds where they spent more time issuing manifestoes and striking poses than actually designing and building buildings. These academic architects, for all their Marxist ideology, seemed to care little for what the common worker wanted or needed. And they never embraced authentic modernist American architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright [who broke two of the compound architects' sacred rules by (a) listening to his clients, and (b) actually having clients]. Wolfe's presentation is swift and impactful and his opinions will be gratifying to anyone who is baffled or bored with modern arctitecture. I'm not sure I am ready to dismiss all 20th century architecture so completely (I love the Seagrams Building, for instance).
   
   The book ends with a preliminary sketch and discussion of Philip Johnson's AT&T building in New York City. This building with a top that is said to emulate that of a Chippendale highboy has since been built (long enough for its original tenant to have moved out) and New Yorkers have ceased to comment on it (indicating, I suppose, either acceptance or boredom). Michael Graves, whom Wolfe criticizes for doing lots of drawing and little building, has actually taken on commissions and produced buildings that are defining post-modernism (for more about these, the reader must resort to Google). I suspect Wolfe has continued to write articles on architecture; it would be nice if he could bring these together with a Second edition of FROM BAUHAUS TO OUR HOUSE.



4. This is a delightful little book, particularly so if you want to have your prejudices confirmed. Those prejudices would include the following: 1) Theory should never become detached from practice; 2) Elites who think they know what is best for the common folk are never to be trusted; 3) Europe is different from America and we should neither be intimidated by their culture nor excessively defensive concerning our own; 4) Ugliness--regardless of the political ideology supporting it--is still ugly; 5) Common sense and common aspiration trump hothouse academic posturing; 6) Architecture is space for human life, not an opportunity to make an abstract statement; 7) (my personal prejudice) Art deco (on the large scale) and prairie-style (domestically) so far exceed modernist or postmodernist architecture that one must wonder why they were ever abandoned.
   
   Tom Wolfe's purpose here is to demonstrate that establishment architecture (which happened to also be left-leaning, ideological, elitist architecture) is flat-out ugly. While he shows the linear progression of influences that led to the international style and sustained it, he never fully answers the question of why so many tolerated this nonsense for so long.
   
   I have had some personal dealings with one of the individuals in TW's rogues' gallery and I found him to be arrogant, pretentious, highhanded and not terribly imaginative. How do such individuals prosper? TW's answer, in part, is that they draw their actual living from university appointments rather than from real world construction projects, but he also argues that, in general, the consumer simply defers to such a person's judgment rather than following his own lights. Thus, one of the key lessons of the book is to trust yourself and your own inclinations and perceive the nudity of the elite culture's current emperors--a healthy antidote to many persisting cultural diseases.



5. Wolf's main thesis is that the original impulse for Bauhaus modern was for worker apartments . That it became in the lead enterprise is deeply ironic .
   
   The impulse arose in the difficult period between the two world wars when socialism and seems more vital and relevant an extreme capitalism . Very name the "international style" was rather haphazard , appearing in an essay by Johnson based on Gropius's 1925 book , international architecture .
   
   The jump canes with a Rockefeller supported museum of modern art in 1929 in New York . The rise of Hitler led many of the architects to emigrate to New York or the East Coast architecture schools . This is happening in parallel with Arnold Schoenberg 's abstract music . Freudians also came , of which I was a beneficiary through Fromm. The buzz around these figures masked the American and she once, for example in psychology of William James . While the Europeans were looking to the Americans in using such as Scott Joplin and the Aaron Copland , the Americans were looking to Europe . Perhaps one can say looking without finding was the characteristic of the age .
   
   The alignment Between socialist origins and an elite clientele made a modern movement hostile to the middle class and to any sense of comfort or nostalgia . The oldest traditions became heresy . Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright was constantly marginalized . What came to dominate was what was called the "Yale box", an endless series of Cuba's made of glass and steel arranged somewhat organically and painted white and undecorated . The boards of universities and corporations embraced this move because it was simple, cheap, and made technology and modernism look good . As wolf says, "the building could scarcely have been distinguished from a Woolco discount store in a shopping center . and "an architecture whose tenets that prohibits every manifestation of exuberance, power, empire, Granger or even high spirits and playfulness . In short, the reigning architectural style in this, the very Babylon of capitalism , became worker housing. " yamasaki , the architect of the world trade center , was an early advocate and built a housing project in Saint Louis in 1955 that was dynamited in a famous movie in 1972 . The similarity with a world trade center is painful to contemplate .
   
   Creative impulses like Aero Saranan's here terminals at Kennedy and Dallas were scorned simply because they used curves . The modern architects moved strongly from office buildings to malls and museums , but the imitators can be seen in block after block of almost any ten were cheap rectangular buildings of failing break and cracked plaster are the results and remains of a hotbed undisciplined economy.
   
   It is striking a small number of people who made names for themselves and those. And this small number of commissions . Most of the building was done by unknowns in imitative style in collaboration with developers looking primarily at the bottom line . In a way, the modern movement was not so serious. This book does a good job of naming the characters and showing their interconnections .
   
   From a rhetorical point of view, Wolf at critical moments compares events to the renaissance and scholasticism. Well done.

2 comments about The Outdoor Living Room: Stylish Ideas for Porches, Patios, and Pools.

1. I bought this book as a gift for my husband, who is a carpenter. He makes furniture as a hobby and has improved our back patio with the addition of a handmade trellis, flower shelves and boxes, and--of course--plants, plants, and more plants.
   
   He says, "This is a book for rich people," but as he gazes at the photos I see him drawing blueprints in his mind. Buy the book for ideas if you are rich and can pay someone else to execute them, or if you are handy and can build them yourself, like my husband. Or buy it because you just like to admire the elegant spaces where the other half plays.
   
   I'm dreaming of an adirondack chaise lounge handmade by my husband, which I'm sure will appear on my patio one day soon.



2. Loved this book. Beautiful photos-my only criticism is that I found many photos were repeated through the book in different chapters. I liked the index at the back of the book which listed sources for finding objects featured in photos. I also have Martha Baker's book, Garden Ornaments, and recommend both. These books have a permanent place on my bookshelf and bedside table.

5 comments about Traditional Mexican Style Exteriors.

1. I am a landscape designer in central Florida, and I am always looking for inspiration for specialty projects. The photos in this book are outstanding! The text is well-written and interesting!



2. If you are building a Spanish home and we are, then this book will provide you with a wealth of ideas about what to do beyond the 'box of the casa.' Filled with brilliant photographs of terraces, swimming pools, fountains, outdoor rooms, columns, entrances, furnishings, use of paint, etc. you will refer to this book over and over again as you design and continue to decorate your dream home.



3. The photography is excellent and the ideas abound. It is a book that's fun to thumb through and colorful. I enjoyed it! It's sister publication is just as good.



4. I have bought more than a Dozen Mexican Design Books already. And none can compare to the Traditional Mexican Style Exteriors and its Companion Book Mexican Style Interiors by Donna McMenamin.
   
   It is a wonderful book! You will not need any other book if you are planning on redecorationg your house. But, even if you will not decorate your house, this Book(s) are a worthy read. The Pictures are wonderful. Giving detail to what is really Mexican.



5. Every time I re-do a room or make a home decor purchase these days, I'm looking for things to make my house look more Mexican. This book, and its companion volume "Traditional Mexican Style Interiors" are wonderful reference books for anyone looking to copy that style.
   
   If you're just a fan of Mexican style, or have been to Mexico and want to have a way to go back without leaving your easy chair, this book is fun to read and magnificent to look at. Although it emphasizes exteriors (facades, architecture, etc.) there are photos of gardens, courtyards, and plenty of other spaces that you could create on your own property, even on a very modest budget, and without knocking the house down and starting over.

5 comments about 10 X 10 _ 2 100 Architects 10 Critics.

1. The publishers did a fine job on the quality of this book. Although 10x10 was not at all what I was looking for others may find it useful. I found that it had extremely contemporary design throughout, current and old. Its focus was more on the very soul and defenition of contemporary that is shown in form. I am not a designer or architecht, but am sure that type of person would get more from the book than I did. Basically I was looking for a collection of ideas that could some how be implemented into other forms, but I was not successful. All I could see was page after page of a revolving theme that I now know does not appeal to me in its purest form..



2. Im an architecture student at the University of Florida and this book, including 10x10 are a must have. Simple as that. Full of pictures and small captions describing projects. Great for a student in design courses.



3. As a web designer, going through this book of beauifully designed homes and buildings give me layout and design ideas. Full color with large pictures and descriptions, I would reccomend this book for starting architects.



4. I am currently a design student - and this is an indispensible resource for recent and fairly obscure architecture. Has full rich photos and a wealth of information inside. Great selection of buildings as well. The photos can be used for ideas on detailing to spacial organization. I highly recommend this to anyone who needs to get a fresh breath of air and clean out the cobwebs. Everytime I close it I am ready to design.



5. I was thrilled when I received this book. Being an architect myself, I appreciated the excellent photos and disussion of the featured persons in my profession. A wonderful book that will be a worthwhile read for anyone with an admiration or even mild curiosity in the subject. Highly recommend.

4 comments about George Washington Smith: Architect of the Spanish-Colonial Revival.

1. Our church is changing our open garden to a cloister-type space enclosed by a wall. The church was designed in Spanish Revival architecture so we wanted something in the California Mission style. This book has proven to be an invaluable resource for us.



2. An interesting book from a historical and academic perspective. It is well written and illustrative photos are included. Good as a reference book for architectural style but not a book for those interested in interior decoration.



3. When one thinks of southern california architecture, spanish colonial revival style always comes to the forefront and George Washington Smith was at the apex of the style. This is a well researched and chronicled book on this singular architect. The images are crisp and well thought out. This style of architecture suits the mediteranian climate of southern califoria perfectly, it really is the perfect blend of style and setting. When someone asks me, where would you live if you could choose anywhere and i always answer, Santa Barbara, where spanish colonial revival florishs unabated and the sun shines year round. If you have any interest in great residental architecture or just appreciate wonderful books, then i cant imagine you being disappointed in this purchase. Highly recommended.



4. Patricia Gebhard has done a superb job in carrying on the tradition of David Gebhard, her deceased husband, who was masterful at the collection of information on architecture and able to portray it to the reader in a very logical way. It is the most completely detailed book written yet on George Washington Smith, one of the most forward and original developers of the the Spanish Revival style that swept America in the 1920's and has enjoyed a rebirth in recent years. The illustrations are excellent throughout the book, both old and new ones. Anyone interested in this style of architecture, whether an architect, designer or any person interested in this style that has left such an important mark in American architecture, should buy and enjoy this book.

5 comments about Decorating with Books (House Beautiful).

1. I am completely satisfied with my purchase. It's the first time and I'll do it again.



2. This book shows some stunning rooms beautifully decorated with books. For everyone who loves books and loves decorating it is full of inspiration and ideas.



3. I sent the book back to Amazon. Was disappointed in it. I expected it to be more about books and less about elegant rooms to put them in. A few books put on a chair or on a table or, obviously, in a bookcase really isn't that imaginative. A good magazine showing displays of collectibles including books does a better job as far as I'm concerned.



4. When you have 6000 books and counting, it is a continuing challenge to find ways of storing, shelving and displaying them without looking like you've taken up residence in a public library.
   
   "Decorating With Books" is not my favourite book on this subject. (I preferred "At Home With Books" by Ellis, Seebohm and Sykes for the sheer volume - no pun intended -- of books shown in the illustrations). Nevertheless, "Decorating With Books" is a very practical choice for many book owners and is chock full of interesting ideas for incorporating your collection into your décor.
   
   Who knew that a stack of books could double as a bedside table as well as bedtime reading, or that leaving piles of books on the tables and on the floor would function as design elements?
   
   Works for me!



5. Photo book featuring home libraries and - shock - books stacked throughout homes! Five year olds decorate like this when you tell them to put their books away. No original ideas or actual creativity to be found. There are other books on this subject, search Amazon for them. I suggest "Living with Books" by Alan Powers.

5 comments about Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, and Practice.

1. "What thou lovest well remains . . . is thy true heritage . . . shall not be reft from thee"
   
   This book is a very good basic introduction to the principals, laws and resources governing historic preservation issues. As is pointed out, historic preservationists oppose the conventional American ideal of consuming ever more and more, and seek, instead, to reverse the "use it up and move on" mentality by cleaning/clearing up and making what was once used up livable again. That is the purpose of historic preservation: to protect and preserve the past so that we can live with it as part of our heritage and learn from it to create our future. To quote from the text, ". . . not to arrest time, but to mediate sensitively with the forces of change to understand the present as a product of the past and a modifer of the future." John Lawrence, Dean Tulane's School of Architecture. This book is a good place to start.



2. This book was a requirement for an undergraduate course in Public History. For a student just starting out in the preservation field, it is a wonderful informative book encapsulating everything from the philosophy of the historic movement to homeowners purchasing a historic structure. Mr. Tyler has taken his expertise and knowledge and shared it with those of us within the realm of historic preservation. I would highly reccomend this to anyone interested in saving America's heritage.



3. I had a graduate class in historic preservation, and while certain books were recommended, none was required.
   
   If I were teaching historic preservation, this would be the text. This is a book largely about Main Street America, not about the U.N. or ICOMOS or preserving the Parthenon, but about preservation in a country that in many cases is philosophically opposed to it.
   
   Toward the end of the book is the best explanation of the use of historic tax credits I have ever read. As Tyler notes, these tax credits are the best friend the American preservation community has today.
   
   If you're interested in historic preservation in America, buy it and read it.
   
   Plus, I'm pretty sure it's the only book on historic preservation that has a drawing of the jewelry store in Huntington, W.Va., where my wife and I bought our wedding rings.



4. This book provides a concise and thorough overview of Historic Preservation. It has become the building block on which I will continue my studies of Preservation.



5. Having recently purchased an older home in an historic neighborhood, I thought it would be a good idea to aquaint myself with the topic of historic preservation. Norman Tyler's "Historic Preservation" was originally written as a text for a college class on historic preservation. His purpose was to expose his students to the major themes in the field of preservation.
   
   The book starts with a philosophical overview of preservation and moves onto chapters dealing with historic districts and the legal basis for preservation. I found his chapter on the documentation and designation of individual historic properties to be most valuable. Tyler concludes with chapters on design issues, preservation technology, downtown reviatalization and preservation economics.
   
   This book is a well written introduction that will get you started in learning more about historic introduction. Highly recommended.

5 comments about America's Painted Ladies: The Ultimate Celebration of Our Victorians.

1. WOW!! This book is truly a feast for the eyes, and that's no exaggeration! There are so many first rate photos and plenty of text. Every page has multiple color photos. It is a very heavy book! The paper is high quality and the photos are extremely high resolution and stunningly beautiful. What a great job they did just in printing this book! If you love Victorian homes, then this book is a must have! I like it so much I think I will eventually buy a brand new hardcover copy of it (I bought a used paperback copy). I plan on getting all the other books in this series too. Some of the very best Victorian homes are in this book. They kind of remind me of Disneyland with all the colorful paint schemes and fanciful shapes and decorations.



2. Believe it or not but the main reason I purchased this beautiful book was for reference material for scale model building (i.e. LEGO, etc.). I was hunting forever for a book on Victorian homes--with pictures of the OUTSIDE (as most of the books on Victorian architecture deal with the classic interior designs, furniture, etc.). LEGO and Victorian homes go hand in hand, as this book's wonderful color pictures perfectly illustrate--who could imagine such combinations would actually look so stunning!? In addition to excellent photography the text is well written, with interesting facts about each home, why it's unique, yet how it fits into the overall "Painted Lady" lineage... excellent. :-)



3. A fantastic book, a must for anyone who is thinking about painting a Victorian house. It was very helpful to me and my husband who had to come up with a color scheme for our three-story Queen Anne built in 1895.
   
   If you're in the same boat, then you know that deciding on a color scheme for a detailed Victorian house isn't easy and takes careful thought and consideration. This book will help you. It will give you countless ideas, and just looking at the photos is inspiring.
   
   And then, the book will appeal to any fan of Victorian architecture as well. I love looking at the numerous photos of the houses and find myself thumbing through it again and again. Every time I look at this book, I see something intriguing that I hadn't noticed before. Such a book serves to keep me inspired during the remainder of our home's renovation, which is trying at times.



4. i was speechless each picture was so beautiful , i love each and every house. a great book



5. Taller than any of the other books and nearly twice as thick as the thickest, this gorgeous 1992 volume (Ms. Pomada, isn't it time we got a fifth??), once again produced with the help of partner Larsen and photographer Keister, is, like "Daughters of Painted Ladies," a survey of Victorian homes from all over the country. From Searsport, ME, where the subtly detailed, white-bodied Mansard Carriage House Inn welcomes its guests, to a pink 1887 Steamboat Gothic in National City, near San Diego, here are dozens of Victorians, large and small, somber and vivid, plus an assortment of interiors, some fully period, others furnished in more contemporary style against the richly detailed background of the time. If you buy it to "get ideas" for your own Painted Lady, you'll find more than you can choose between. If you buy it just to look at, be prepared to spend hours drooling! A treasure trove for lovers of period detail, which is so admirably brought out by the creative combinations of color used in decorating these buildings.