5 comments about Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes.

1. Good book with lots of interior and exterior pictures of houses. Only improvement would be more mod accessories shown, but overall I would recommend.



2. God Bless the folks at Atomic Ranch! I have been a subscriber to the Magazine for over 2 years now and have been dying to get the book. Finally, after a couple of strong hints, my wife got it for me for my birthday.
   This book is chock full of beautiful photographs of incredible mid-century masterpieces. Some are preserved, some restored, and some modernized.
   If this is your thing, (and I doubt you'd be reading these reviews if it wasn't)then this is the book you want. I've gambled on a few other books covering ranch homes, and none of them come close to this book. BUY IT!



3. Very nice book with lots of great photos they are mostly a collection from the magazine but worth having if you are into MCM.



4. I love this book! The author's magazine (of the same name) is awesome and this book covers homes from the early issues which are no longer available (issues, not homes). I love seeing the beautiful interiors and exteriors of modest size homes which most people consider beneath their notice because they aren't historically "old enough" or architecturally significant.
   
   I have learned a lot about mid-century modern homes from reading this book. The photos are great and the book is very informative.
   
   If you live in a plain ranch home, and enjoy a streamlined style of living, then I highly suggest you get this book. It is full of practical tips and resources.



5. I love this book!! I live in an "Atomic Ranch" and this book covers the subject very well. Not only are the pictures great, the text is informative. I also subscribe to Atomic Ranch Magazine published by the same authors. If you are a fan of this genre, both are highly recommended!

No comments about The Houses of Greenwich Village.

1 comments about Transmaterial 2: A Catalog of Materials That Redefine Our Physical Environment.

1. Cannot recommend this book highly enough - it does a great job of finding cool, interesting, ground breaking materials and then providing information on how to source them. A must-have reference for any designer, interior designer or architect who prides themselves on staying abreast of cutting-edge materials. (And since materials are the palette of the designer this book will go a long way to keeping you on the leading edge of design as well.) Not to be missed.

No comments about Brooklyn Modern: Architecture, Interiors & Design.

5 comments about Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure.

1. I simply can't recommend this book enough. I had wanted this book for awhile and my fiance finally purchased it for my birthday. What started out as an "I'll casually read this book" turned into a project that the both of us took on to completely redo and clean out our apartment. After finishing reading the book we were left with a gorgeous apartment, a lot less junk and a clearer way to think if we really need all that 'stuff'.



2. I haven't even read this book yet, but I bought it for a gift and have just received it. Without having read it - just know, there are no pictures! It is printed on that cheap kind of paper, not glossy white. I thought it was going to be the type of book that is filled with great sample images of cool designs. Its probably not worth the effort returning it, but I don't think I will bother giving it as a gift.
   
   By the way, I bought this book because I love the AT website. It didnt live up, I should have gave it less stars.



3. While I didn't dislike the book with quite the venom of other reviewers, I do understand their frustrations. I did find the tone a little off-putting, but I decided to put those feeling aside and see if the book had anything useful to offer.
   
   It does and it doesn't. Like many design/decorating book it suffers from a lack of realistic understanding of its audience. Let's face it, anyone seeking design advice and is only ponying up 14 bucks, probably isn't the same kind of person who would spend 3000.00 on a couch.
   
   still there is some excellent advice for clearing cluttering and making your home more of a refuge. And for the people that didn't enjoy the book, you can just toss it, sell it or give it away (which is what the author recommending doing with books you don't love.)
   
   Bottom line: it can get you motivated to live more simply and if you can ignore the classist attitudes about what kind of decor best suits a home and how NYC centric the book is you might be able to find a few bits of advice worth taking.



4. This book helped (and is still helping) me to turn my house from a disaster area into a lovely home that reflects my lifestyle, tastes and interests. It's not a decorating manual - if you expect to see glossy photos, colour recipes or "in" and "out" lists, you won't find them here. Instead, the author presents eight do-able steps, to be done in eight weeks, to healing your living space in every area and finding truly workable solutions to problems that drag down your home and by extension, your life. While the title of the book is "Apartment Therapy", this program works equally well for houses.



5. This book is so fun to read and so motivating. It gets you to look at your home differently and gets you working in little ways to make it what you really want. It is great at getting you to organize your stuff. It is hard to decide whether to finish the chapter or start putting things in the outbox, or the out basement as I call it. The blog is so interesting and helpful. Anytime I am wondering what I should do or what might be in the realm of possibility, I just go out and see what others have already figured out on the blog. It is a great resource for places to buy things or to see photos of what others have done.I have already cleaned out three closets, painted, and reconstructed those closets to glorious results. I began working on redoing my kitchen on my own, it is going well, the kitchen does not look the same. This book really got me organized and thinking until I just have to do it. Seriously buy this book.

5 comments about Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages: At Home by the Sea.

1. I have been waiting for this book as I am one of Mary's devoted fans. After reading the reviews from other customers, I was feeling let down before I even saw the book. I have to say that I was happily surprised and thought it was BETTER than her previous books. I love the size of the book - it has a cozy feeling - and the photographs are perfect. I, for one, enjoy seeing pictures of people's swimming pools (even if they are part of a beach house). I loved her choice of homes and don't really care if some are redundant (Rachel Ashwell) because a lot of these designers/homeowners move all the time and there is always something fresh to see. Count me in as a continuing huge fan of her taste and joie de vivre. So many books today (in the dying era of coffee-table tomes) are sterile and boring. You can tell she cares about her subjects - both the homes and the people who inhabit them. Go Mary!



2. as the previous reviews. I found the book to be full of wonderful pictures and very evocative of a wonderful stay by the seashore. The houses were not the usual beach cliches.... they were very elegant and had a lot of personality and individuality. I would recommend. A concise, nice little volume.



3. As much as I love Mary and her work, the title 'beach cottages' is misleading. The pictures of the homes did not lead me to believe there was a beach nearby and most I would not consider cottages at all. My favorite was of a shingled shack with no heat and laid back beach charm. This one falls short and is disappointing. Please don't show me pictures of pools in a beach book! Mary's charm is missing from this one.



4. I was so excited to get this book, I pre-ordered it 6 weeks ago. I have always loved Mary Emmerling and a cottage by the sea is my dream. So, I figured this was a no-brainer. I honestly don't know what happened here but this book is not at all what I expected, wanted or even like. I did enjoy the lists, i.e. beach music, movies etc. However, there are better decorating ideas in magazines and more inspiration found in "themed" rooms of landlocked homes. Not only were some of these homes unattractive and unappealing, the book lacked heart and warmth. Mary's all about that, so it makes me wonder if she had anything more to do with this publication than lending her name to it.



5. If you loved Mary Emmerlings first cottage book you will probably be disappointed with this new book. It lacks the charming, evolved over time look that the homes in her previous books have had. There are a few that have that comfy beach cottage put up your feet on the coffee table feel to them but most are cold ,austere and seem to have been plopped down yesterday. This may be in part to some of the huge dollar locations that these houses reside in, the owners just called someone and said put what is currently popular in my home. One house has every single pillow in the place with that annoying yet seemingly popular "knife chop" down the center which just screams" DON'T SIT ON ME" you'll mess me up and the same photos of Rachel Ashwell's house have been in print many, many times before. I will keep this book because I love Mary's previous books and I too live in a house a short walk from the Atlantic ocean but sadly it wasn't what I was hoping for. I did give it three stars because I enjoyed reading the text.

5 comments about California Romantica: Spanish Colonial and Mission-Style Houses.

1. I love looking at Spanish colonial architecture. I have a viceral reaction to it, as does/did Diane Keaton, who is also a Californian. I would love to look at each and every photo in this book but it's very very difficult because it is so huge and heavy. You can't hold it in your lap to enjoy the pictures, so you must lay it on a table and look at each page using both hands. The black and white photos show details in the various grand houses mentioned but I was able to look them up online so I could see each house featured in the book inside and out, and in color, e.g. Leo Carillo's house, Los Quiotes. All in all, very very beautiful photography rather than inspirational. What I thought I was getting was something like a wonderful book called Red Tile Style. I can look at and read that book for hours and get the intense feeling that is somewhere in my early psyche and is brought out by seeing the Spanish Colonial and Mission Style houses, some gone, some that still exit, like those in Long Beach and Ventura, CA. I did not get that feeling from this book, but I liked what little writing there was. How I would have liked more to read. But for me, this book is not a keeper. Too much of a physical commitment to pull out and enjoy. I wonder if this book would have been published if the photos were taken by a non-celebrity. Oh well. I have always loved California architecture and Diane Keaton can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. I hope she can get into Falcon's Lair, the last home that Rudolph Valentino owned. It still exists and I'd love to see photos of the inside of the house he loved so much at the time of his death at age 31.



2. I was disappointed with California Romantica. The use of a black seems to dominate. The photos are framed with a black border and pages with text are black with white lettering. For me,some photos were difficult to appreciate due to the darkness. One,in particular, the photo of huge old tree, using two pages,the foreground on the right side was black with just an outline of what one knew was a cactus. The left page had a dirt road lite by the sun giving a cooperish glow. The tree is underexposed making it very dark, therefore the focus is the cooperish dirt road. I love trees and I wish this one did not look dead since it seems to be a
   beautiful place to sit and stay awhile, to read a book or meditate. The architectural features of the villas,the walls, floors, ceilings, stairs, balconies, tile work, doorways,wooden doors, pools, windows, wrought iron work, the furnishings, were creatively portrayed. I did enjoy photos showing what one would see out of specific windows, such as the window on the all black page with just a patch of blue which we know is the ocean!
   
   I will keep the book since I love old houses and I have a great respect for Diane Keaton's efforts to renovate and restore these wonderful homes preserving California's past. Thank you Miss Keaton. Keep up the good work.



3. Just a bunch of art photos. Sure, some of them are beautiful. But this book is classified in the home section. If you are looking for ideas or inspiration for your house, this is definitely not the book. Casa California is far better for that purpose. Many of the photos in this book are of a tiny tiny detail. The book itself is gigantic and very heavy. It's a very self-indulgent work by the author and publishing house.



4. The photography in the book is "Breathtaking" ! Learned so much about my new home , California , early architecture ! A great help for restoring homes here in Southern California !



5. This is an excellent ART book. The photos are exquisite but the whole of the book leaves a little too much left unsaid. The beauty of these period houses are the huge quantity of fine detail and how those details interact. To really get a feel for this type of style it's important to see those details in total and not just specific details in a vacuum. While the shots were all beautiful it would have been much better if the overall feel of the book was more encompassing instead of a macro view with the focus on fine art photography. I absolutely loved the photography, I just was left wanting a little more.

3 comments about How to Build Your Own Greenhouse.

1. I originally bought this because I am thinking about making a greenhouse. The book is very comprehensive with lots of drawings and pictures. It was well worth the investment.



2. Any who would build a greenhouse will find HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN GREENHOUSE: DESIGNS AND PLANS TO MEET YOUR GROWING NEEDS offers up the hope of year-round gardening as it explores a range of greenhouse designs and options, from simple cold frames to elaborate freestanding tropical constructions. Chapters cover basic freestanding and extension designs for greenhouses, include lean-tos and garden shed blends, and discuss not only construction of independent structures, but how to incorporate them into an existing home. From floor to ceiling options, HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN GREENHOUSE covers it all, includes design tips and basic plans, and is a pick for any library strong in homeowner's or gardener's construction references.



3. I am always looking for ways to improve my gardening and this book offers excellent instructions on building several different types of greenhouses.

5 comments about Professional Practice for Interior Designers.

1. thick book,man. I have to carry it to school for my class.
   it has all need about Inerior Design profession



2. The reviewer prior to myself I feel summed it up best when describing this book. The author has written the book as if she's always been your trusted friend. She writes in a way as if she is actually talking to you.
   
   Other books I've read often come across a bit too technical and slightly over my head. This one is more down-to-earth, packed with good advice, and one can sense her sincere concern for the reader to understand.
   
   I really love the entire book, especially the chapter dealing with ethics. Since there are many "seasoned" designers who seem to lack ethical conduct, this book is great for beginners and veterans alike.



3. It was fast
   It was what I ordered
   Im happy, they're happy
   Win Win!



4. I have practiced interior design for over 20 years and still found this book to be invaluable. The information about legal ramifications and insurance coverage was enlightening but also sobering. It's a must read for any design firm principal or freelance designer.



5. This book reads like a friend whispering all the good advice and secrets of the interior design business in your ear. I wish my Professional Practices class had used this text. It's a lot of information but Christine Piotrowski truly takes you by the hand and lets you know what you need to prepare for in a budding interior design business as well as how the interior design business is done in general. I will be referencing this book again and again. A huge thank you and bravo to Christine Piotrowski

5 comments about Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan.

1. While "Delirious" has its fair share of archispeak, Mr. Koolhaas pulls off an intelligent, fun and thought-provoking take on the early 20th century building culture of New York.
   
   One of the quirkier aspects of "Delirious" is Mr. Koolhaas's analysis of Coney Island: an "incubator for Manhattan's incipient themes." As a reader, one initially questions the inclusion of such a trashy place in such a lofty manifesto. However, as the chapter progresses, you start to see Mr. Koolhaas's iconoclastic brilliance. He pays an amazing homage to "the laboratory" that was Coney Island, illuminating the vital role it played in the building philosophies that would emerge later in Manhattan.
   
   Scattered throughout "Delirious," also, are compelling supporting images that Mr. Koolhaas clearly spent a lot of time digging up. In fact, flipping through the book for the images alone makes for a near-equivalent, and fun, learning experience.
   
   However, unlike his tasteful use of images, Mr. Koolhaaas's flamboyant use of scholarly English makes his writing difficult to digest at times:
   
   "It is probably inevitable that a doctrine based on the continual simulation of pragmatism, on a self-imposed amnesia that allows the continuous reenactment of the same subconscious themes in ever new reincarnations and on inarticulateness systematically cultivated in order to operate more effectively..."
   
   Given Mr. Koolhaas's journalism background (and assumed mastery of writing), I suspect he made the conscious decision to remain somewhat inaccessible to preserve his "lofty" image. While such a decision may be understandable, his brilliance as a writer often gets overshadowed by the sheer irritation of trying to understand him.
   
   Ultimately, "Delirious" proves itself to be a very intelligent synopsis---just as delirious and congested the themes Mr. Koolhaas puts forth. For the most part, it's a pleasure to read, and it also reflects the exhaustive research on Mr. Koolhaas's end. Much like Mr. Koolhaas's buildings, "Delirious" is on the cusp of being as grand as it intends to be.



2. through the exhaustive historiography of the phases of congestion coney island brought to manhattan, koolhaas provides a rather cynical view of the Grid as being an ulimatley neutral zoning system of constraining ideas that represent the continual decline of a phantastically realistic civilization, represented as mutated symbols of architecture in the "void" of repeated "pregnancies."
   
   it's really well written. funny. uses, like above, a somewhat inefficient vocabulary but remains in the same vein throughout. it is also a graphic design hubris consuming every page, even the left-justified text, showing off koolhaas's interpretation of the importance to combine scholarship and marketing.
   
   buy it. it's a very good book.



3. A very inventive concept of New York's "culture of congestion" and how people are affected by the architecture they create. It is heavily researched and exhaustive, and after pretty much the third page I agreed with his concept of NY being "totally fabricated by man". What could of been a fascinating article becomes a spastic, heavy-handed read with a sledgehammer effect to your brain. (However,for those of us reading it for school, there are plenty of pictures that fill up the almost devastatingly vast 300+pages quickly.) It will scramble your brain with its thousands of nearly bumper-stickerish statements ("It hides life." "The Mountain MUST become architecture.") written with pretentious glee. However, I believe an independent scientific study has concluded that when pretending to read this book on the train people around you will assume your IQ is 40% higher than truth.



4. koolhaas is a bit over-the-top for me, but this I think is is best work. it's worth checking out if only for the story of coney island. once you get past blisteringly pretentious phrases like "coney island is a fetal manhattan", you'll find it gloriously entertaining as both a narrative and theoretical work.



5. This is by far Koolhaas's most accessible work, as it is rooted so clearly in detail from the city's past. Further, the book is simply brilliant. His take on urban history is to Jane Jacobs what Socrates is to common sense. New York is a special case of modernism that sprang from a special constellation of poltiical and technological forces that collectively create a cultural "big-bang" at the turn of the century. Read it. Blow your mind.