5 comments about Bungalow Kitchens.

1. When I was getting ready to restore the kitchen in my 1922 California Bungalow I had no clue where to start. The previous owners had gutted the original kitchen for commerical property use and had put in Pay N Pak cabinets and almond color formica to sell the house. After 13 years living with the new kitchen I decided to put in a period kitchen. Jane's book gave me the courage, inspiration and most important, the clues on where to begin.
   
   My contractor had met Jane at a workshop and respected her expertise. I was able to contact her through her business website. She was so excited and supportive for my project. She is a wonderful person with a great sense of humor as well as history of how our bungalow homes can help us live more healthy and fulfilling lives. And Linda's photos are marvelous.
   One in particular helped me decide to use the six black glass cabinet knobs I found left in the basement. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves their old bungalow. For those building a new bungalow you will find the bones in this book and you might think twice about corian or granite countertops.



2. Being on the extremely limited budget, the idea of restoring our 1923 craftsman kitchen to the obsessive original is not even an option. This fabulous book gives you numerous ideas/ paths as to what a $100,000 restoration would encompass, and then provides compromises that the 'normal' home owner can accomplish with great results. It definitely made me re-contemplate several ideas that we had already set in stone, and I think ultimately will save us investment money. My favorite aspect of this book? Unlike several bungalow magazines (which will go unnamed) that feel the need to pretentiously describe the 'color of fumed oak' and ten million other things that the average home owner will never afford or see, Jane Powell is down to earth and able to 'talk' to you like your neighbor next door.



3. If you want to be historically accurate, this book is for you. The author gives examples of "Obsessive Restoration" and a "Compromise Solution" for each element of restoring a bungalow kitchen. However, even the compromise was too obsessive for me. In addition, the author wasted way too many pages discussing the history of kitchens, which is irrelevant to me. Her companion book, "Bungalow Bathrooms" is much of the same. I just built a new Craftsman home, and my goal was to build a new home with historic influences, so what I was hoping for were suggestions on how to incorporate modern materials and modern conveniences to achieve a bungalow look. Obviously that was not the author's goal -- she's all about keeping the historical accuracy. For me, "The New Bungalow Kitchen" by Peter LaBau was much more useful. It shows how you can bring bungalow style to your home without it looking outdated and old. And the photos are gorgeous.



4. I've been toying for years with plans to fix up the kitchen in our 1923 American Foursquare house, but last year when both my nonagenarian grandmothers moved into Assisted Living Facilities, I found myself clearing out their kitchens. When I brought some of their vintage kitchen equipment into my own kitchen, it suddenly came clear that my own kitchen re-do simply had to honor the history of my house and more importantly, the histories of my grandmothers' kitchens.
   
   I am in no way interested in obsessive restoration, but I really needed to see what kitchens of my grandmothers' childhoods and young married lives would look like. What might my own kitchen have looked like when it was first built? There are charming Craftsman details elsewhere in my home... under the barn-red paint and 1970's "country primitive" wallpaper, what was the feel of this room?
   
   This book is like a stroll through a neighborhood-full of kitchens from this era, wonderfully photographed and clearly explained. While my kitchen renovation will be a relatively simple project, I am thrilled to have such a lovely resource on which to base my search for the kitchen that lies beneath all that paint!



5. I can't even count the number of times I've reread this book or just leafed through and admired the fabulous pictures. As the owner of a 1920 foursquare, nothing makes me sadder than to see an old house that's been "improved" by someone with no sense of history or vintage style. This book celebrates vintage kitchens in painstaking detail, describing the form and function of every single surface, nook and cranny. If you're using this book as a "how to" guide, the authors are realistic enough to give you several levels of authenticity from which to choose -- for instance, are you going to go all the way and have a vintage icebox? Can you not live without a microwave and dishwasher? What kind of screws should you use on your cabinet hinges if you want to be "period authentic?" The companion bathroom book is great, too, but this book is my very favorite and inspired me to replace my brand new (but characterless) gas stove with a yellow and green 1920's model with shapely long legs!

5 comments about Jim Henson: The Works - The Art, the Magic, the Imagination.

1. Wow!!
   This is a book for everyone and anyone that loves the muppets and its good for all ages, coffee table or for propsmakers.
   Top choice as a present for muppets lovers



2. Fabulous. So many other reviewers have expressed the feelings this book gives you so much more eloquently, so I will leave mine with just that one word. Fabulous.



3. This book is fabulous. I ordered it from America to come to England as the current exchange rate made it cheaper to buy this book new than to buy it second hand in England, and the wait for shipping was worth it. There are some brilliant anecdotes from people working with Henson, and beautful pictures illustrating everything that ever went on in Jim Henson's studios, right up to unpublished notes that Henson wrote for a book.
   
   This book is beautiful, and really interesting in looking at the work of Jim Henson.



4. Complete with full color pictures, as well as black and white photos of Jim's early years, this book is not only a great read. -It's fun to look at too! Even young children can sit and appreciate the magic of Jim Henson's creations through the artwork and photo-journalistic shots throughout.
   
   This book contains a great deal of biographical information on Jim throughout his life, and includes a great deal of his earlier forrays into the world of experimental art and design.
   
   Definitely a good buy.



5. It's hard to believe Jim Henson has now been gone for over 16 years. Christopher Finch's book stands as a great testament to Henson's amazingly prolific work and his larger-then-life existence. Despite Henson's natural shyness and reticence and quiet manner, the thing that strikes you in the book is how many lives this guy touched. He bestowed livelihoods on literally thousands of people. Their gratitude is expressed in these pages time and again in fervent, emotional recollections. To say Jim Henson inspired devotion only begins to get at what this guy meant to his family, friends and employees.
   
   My hat is off to Christopher Finch for this wonderful collection, which is still available here as a beautiful and hardily-constructed first-edition hardback. Mr. Finch gets an extra level of respect for the decision (of which he no doubt had a say) to keep his name off the dustcover front. He's graciously stepped aside to let the lights shine warmly on Jim Henson.

2 comments about Architecture Culture 1943-1968: A Documentary Anthology (Columbia Books of Architecture).

1. This books is a must have for any architect or urbanist interested in theory.



2. An excellent compendium of writing from that period. Unlike KM Hayes' book covering a later period, the selections were made with the wisdom that comes with almost 30 years of hindsight and is less about the time in which it was published (90s).

5 comments about How Buildings Work: The Natural Order of Architecture.

1. The underlying premise of this book is that architecture is an imitation and application of the principles of nature. To build is not merely to impose our will on nature. It is to cooperate with nature.
   
   Shelter is a natural human need. Building is the art of meeting that need. It does so, according to Allen, by following the example of nature herself and applying her principles. An organic analogy runs through the book. Buildings live and breathe. A building, like a human body, is matter so arranged that it interacts dynamically with its environment and thus perpetuates the arrangement. Buildings, however, are highly dependent on human beings, whom they serve. The parts of buildings, e.g., the roofs, walls, windows and mechanical systems must work together with the other parts in such a way as to "survive" but most importantly to provide optimal human shelter. Buildings that outlive their usefulness "die."
   
   My favorite passage from the book is a section entitled "People as the Measure" (pp. 169-171). Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the history of architecture, Allen explains how "people literally became the measure of buildings." For example, the brick... was standardized in medieval times within a range of sizes and weights that could be easily manipulated by the left hand of the mason, leaving the right hand free to operate the trowel." Allen cautions against bulk materials manipulated by machines instead of people: "[T]he finished product will not automatically display the human-scale texture that hand-sized components have and that occupants often subconsciously identify with."
   
   This book was very educational for me, a Ph.D. in philosophy who has left academia to help run a construction business. I highly recommend it to new students of architecture or engineering or anyone who has amateur interest in those fields.



2. This is a book on how buildings are designed. It's not a book on how to design a building, that's the architect's job. It's a book on what the architect is going to do to design the building you want.
   
   The book contains hundreds of line drawings on the components of a building. This is how a wall is built, this is how heat circles around a room, this is how a truss structure holds up the roof, this is how electric power is brought into the house and distributed.
   
   This is not a book on how to design a house, you can put the bedrooms anywhere you want, you can have as many bathrooms as you want. This is the basic design of how the building does its job of providing the walls that make up the bathroom, keep it warm/cool, with water inside but kept where you want it.
   
   I consider this book to be interesting to anyone interested in the subject. I consider this book to be mandatory reading for anyone even thinking about building a house or having one built.



3. I approach this book as someone who likes to walk around old neighborhoods and look at houses. I have collected architectural field guides for years and I can identify most building styles. However, I had little idea how buildings worked.
   
   This book was enjoyable because the writing style was simple and straight to the point. One does not need a technical background to get a lot out of the book. Edward Allen's skillful line illustrations also add a great deal. If I could not understand the technical description, the simple illustration helped me with the underlying principle.
   
   To give you an example of why this book is helpful to a non-specialist. I have heard of septic systems my entire life. However, I had no idea how they worked. With the help of very clear illustrations and straight forward writing, this mystery has been solved. This book is a great introduction to all those interested in architecture. Highly recommended.



4. HOW BUILDINGS WORK is just a great book, even more interesting than Macaulay's THE WAY THINGS WORK. Buildings are everywhere, and most everyone uses buildings of various kinds for various purposes. Yet how a building works is often a mystery. In this way, I think buildings are much like computers; most people who use them have no clue about the inner workings of them.

   Edward Allen takes us through the functions of a building without going into traditional architectural theory. This book is more concerned with the needs that buildings must fulfill, and how we can fulfull them. He discusses water, waste, heat, ventilation, lighting, accoustics, energy, structure, and more, first by explaining each particular concept, and then by examining how problems can be solved with the knowledge of those concepts.

   While this isn't a book on theory, neither is it a wholly practical book. That is, it won't equip you with the skills to go and build a house. But it will open your eyes to the various elements of buildings and building construction and you may think "Aha!" the next time you look at a building and observe a strange structural or design detail. You don't have to be an architecture freak to enjoy the book either. You just need to be curious.




5. I practice and teach architecture. This is the best book I have ever found for communicating material essential for the study of building science and architecture. The presentation style is frendly and informative. The knowledge of the subject displayed by Edward Allen is superb. I am a unashamed book-a-holic, if I could only take one book to the proverbial desert island - How Buildings Work would be it.

No comments about Dressing the Home: The Private Spaces of Top Fashion Designers.

5 comments about Charles Faudree's French Country Signature.

1. This is a yummy book with many wonderful ideas and rooms and I am absolutely stumped at the other (negative) reviews here. Hey, if you don't like traditional, don't buy the book. It's traditional! It's mega traditional with its beautiful symmetry and richness. Some of us still like that by the way and you need not have a French background, nor does it matter where you come from, to have good taste and love traditional. While his taste is a bit too fussy even for me, I still love looking through the book and always get new ideas. Get a life and go buy a contemporary design book if you don't liked traditional traditional.



2. Certainly, this is about individual style. It is that character which pervades Mr. Faudree's work. We all take from our cache of knowledge, and Mr. Faudree has chosen from French, Spanish, and English styles.
   
   I don't see more clutter than in English Country or French opulence. I do think the rooms appear a bit too "clean" -- not lived it. I believe the photographer is the problem and not Mr. Faudree. That said, with my collection of over two hundred interior design books, from Billy Baldwin to Faudree, this deserves its place on the shelves along with the rest.



3. If you have enjoyed Charles Faudree's beautiful rooms in Traditional Home Magazine over the years, as I have, you will love this book. It is absolutely loaded with wonderful rich-colored pictures/photos. It is divided into sections by the room (kitchen, bedroom, etc...) and each section begins with the author's commentary about these rooms and how he chose the design/pieces. Next follows the gorgeous pictures/photos with wonderfully descriptive captions that give the origin of the piece, fabric or wallpaper. This is one of those books you will pick up again and again...and you will most likely see something great you missed the time before. After pouring through this book, I immediately ordered Faudree's other book, "Country French Living". After just one time through this beautiful book, I came away with three or four ideas that I was able to immediately implement in my own home. One suggestion: when you sit down to enjoy this book, do so with paper and pen close by. The pictures are so detailed that I was able to read the titles of many of the wonderful books Faudree has displayed throughout his home. I recognized some I have collected but jotted down 6 or 7 titles that I had never seen or had seen but wasn't sure if I should buy. Also, if you love animals (dogs and cats) this book will definitely make you smile. Almost every page has a snoozing, pampered pet curled up for an afternoon nap. This book contains a wealth of information, but putting that aside...it is a feast for the eyes!



4. I like this book, and keep it on my coffee table for others to enjoy. The only reason that I haven't given it 5 stars is because the kitchens section wasn't anything particularly inspiring.



5. Profusely illustrated with dreamy, close focus photographs, this book seems to sweep the reader right into each French Country room. This style of interior design is a little too fussy for my taste, but I enjoyed the authors' ability to take me on a tour of these homes as if I were on a mini-vacation.

No comments about Far from Equilibrium: Essays on Technology and Design Culture.

3 comments about Houses of Los Angeles, 1920-1935 (Urban Domestic Architecture) (Urban Domestic Architecture).

1. I bought the book for my husband for Christmas. He loves it. He is a native of Pasadena, California and has always loved the houses of this era. The history of each home is well done as well as the photography. Would love to see more books like this one to even include smaller, post WWII housing. They all have a unique style.



2. As with all the books Acanthus Press puts out this one is fantastic. The images are crisp and beautifully executed and the text is well layed out and flows well. Los Angeles is graced with many elegant pre war mansions and this book showcases some of the best, although some of the houses picked are perplexing, and some omissions were shocking, like the Warner estate; but Greystone, Green Acres, and the Paley house are included and they are probably the most famous houses in L.A...I had wished to see more of Paul Williams work, I loved his California Regency houses, they are the very definition of the L.A. mansion, I guess his house for the Paley's will have to suffice. If you have an interest in Los Angeles, grand residental architecture, or just appreciate fine books, then I can't imagine you not loving this book. Yes, these books are expensive, but if any book is worth this amount of money, it's this one.



3. This volume completes the two volume set. It is a superb book showing the golden age if residential architecture in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was an emerging meca in paradise during those years and architect had free reign to design structures in any style that had ever existed, plus creating some new and bold styles of their own. These books are a must for all architects, interior designers, landscape designers, historians and anyone interested in architecture and life style.

5 comments about AIA Guide to New York City.

1. This book may seem like nothing more than a tourist guide to New York City, but that assumption could not be further from the truth. This book is insightful, interesting and very eye opening, even to myself who has lived in NYC for some time. It helped me appreciate this city as a living work of art, a place where every style of architecture comes together on a truly unique canvas.
   
   A real selling point are the walks outside of Manhattan that this book offers. This shows off a side of New York hardly ever covered by other book or looked into by tourists, and it is very interesting.
   
   The pictures are few and far between, and not large enough to give you an in depth look at the buildings described, but the walks layed out in the book are well organized, easy to follow and very interesting.
   
   Buy this book and go explore one of the greatest city in the world!



2. This guide really opens up a perspective of Manhattan with tons of information on architecture and building styles. It gets you thinking about the structures that you see every day. I am learning a lot from it.



3. This book is the benchmark for books of this type. It doesn't just focus on Manhattan, it does justice to the wonderful architecture in the other buroughs. It is just amazing how many great buildings this city has, the book just goes on and on. The quality of the book is first rate and the pictures, though B&W, are crisp, though understandably small. The latest update was 2000, so the World Trade Center is mentioned as extant, and some of the newer buildings in N.Y., like Time Warner and Bloomberg are not mentioned, but that is for the next update I suppose, New York is ever changing.



4. What can we say about New York that hasn't been said? It's an awesome place, and its architecture is truly astonishing in scope, diversity and importance. This book is a selective catalogue of the City's most beloved historic buildings, with a sprinkling of important modern structures as well. I say "historic" because this guide just happens to be that way. There are some conspicuous gaps in the presentation of important modern buildings, which probably reflects the artistic preferences of the editors, but all of the most well-known modern architects are appropriately represented.
   
   This is a book for architectural historians, curious cultural tourists and general readers. The entries are many, so the words included with each are few. Readers are not treated to long narrative histories of imporant landmarks but, rather, to a book that is exceptionally wide and quite shallow. This is what one generally expects from AIA-sponsored guides, so there should be no surprises. There are tiny monochrome photographs with almost every entry, but their small size limits the reader's ability to get a good mental image of the building. Buy this book to take New York's lovely historical architecture with you wherever you go. And by all means, go to see it! No city on earth even comes close.
   
   Latest edition is 2000, so World Trade Center towers are included.



5. I have been a New Yorker all my life and thought I'd known it all. There were buildings/structures that I knew to be older than most and probably landmarks, but never got around to checking them out. Then I picked up the AIA Guide to New York City sometime in 2001. Ever since, I have kept it with me at all times: in my back pocket, my briefcase, my jacket... Sometimes I go to some of these places in advance, with the intent of looking at them after I'd read about them. Other times, when on my way to or from work or lunch, I will see a building, stop, and look to read about what it is. My hunches aren't always correct, of course: not all the buildings I think are landmarks are. But I always keep this Guide on hand to find out.

5 comments about Tile Idea Book.

1. The book has a lots of great ideas. There are many examples of traditional and innovative uses for tile.



2. I enjoy that there are several pictures that give ideas of the different directions you can go into with a tiling project. I've purchased several of the Idea Books and I haven't been disappointed yet. Each one is referenced often while I'm working on my condo redo. This is a great series for anyone who is a DIY guru or anyone working with a contractor (I've been doing both).



3. Hs a lot og great ideas for retiling bathroom nd other areas of the house.



4. This was the BEST book for Tile ideas; there are tons of photos for inspirations. There are ideas for every area of the home and yard. Highky recommend for someone looking for inspiration.



5. The Tile Idea Book by Andrew Wormer is my favorite book to show to my customers when they're struggling with what they want to do design-wise for their next tile job. We flip through the pages and get great ideas for kitchens, bathrooms -- just about any space where tile is the answer. This book was a very good investment. Grout Girl