Jane Powell Books

I bought this book for the library where I am a reference libarian as soon as I saw it, and it is worth every cent of the purchase price.

Now I have the title on my wish list, and I have hinted strongly to certain offspring that this book would certainly make a wonderful Mother's Day present!

I purchased this book for my Sister-in-law, who is a film historian. She absolutely loved it. The artwork is fantastic....almost worth buying two copies so that you can remove and frame some pages.

This is a beautifully illustrated book if you are at all interested in old movie posters and the people who created some of them.

I was very interested in this book since my cousin, Jane Powell was one of he authors. I have to say I was very impressed and actually surprised about beautiful the book turned out. Anyone with an interest in movies will find the art of the posters interesting.

This book is a must-have for movie buffs, but I was bowled over by the beauty of the art. From the spectacular Batiste Madelena cover of Rudolph Valentino through dozens of creative renditions of original old-time movie posters, to the back cover depictions of Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Walter Huston and Boris Karloff, the artistry of these unsung craftsmen is dazzling. "Now Playing" is now prominently displayed on the coffee table in our living room.

Jane Powell is THE bungalow author to read. As a remodeler who specializes in 1920's bungalows, it pleases me to no end to read an author who really knows what she is talking about. Every Jane Powell book I have read is like a college course on that aspect of bungalow history, preservation, and renovation. This book is no exception. And she is really funny! Beautiful photos (as usual)by Linda Svendsen.

I enjoy this book and look at pretty regularly. I plan on using some of the details on future construction projects. However, the author is a bit too politically correct for my tastes. She keeps reminding us how "poison" vinyl is. That sort of bothered me. I am sure, given a choice, most people would choose to live a beautiful wooden or stone home rather than a vinyl clad manufactured home or tract home.. however lets be realistic. Those types of home are often what is affordable to the average family. Other than that issue.. I would recommend the book.. it has some great pictures and lots of information about bungalow exterior details.

I don't live in a Craftsman bungalow, but I'm adding a number of Craftsman details to my existing NW cabin style house. Over the years I have collected numerous books full of photographs of various bungalows but I have sold all of them now that I have this book. This one book contains information on nearly every exterior detail you are likely to need, and is lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings. It's an excellent reference for buffs and restorers. I have already pre-ordered the next volume which will cover interiors. Shame I have to wait 6 months!

Together writer Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen create the best bungalow books on the market -- full of information, not just fluff. Whether you are thinking of remodelling your house, changing a few details, or just want to understand the history of your bungalow, this is the book to buy... and really, this book is very cheap compared to the price of a bad remodel.

In my opinion the chapter on avoiding replacement window scams, while energy-retrofitting your house, should be required reading for all homebuyers.

This book became and instant reference for our home project and I have quite a few in my collection. If you are looking for good examples to put the finishing touches on a bungalow or arts and crafts project, Ilike this one!

In her Bungalow books Jane Powell has come close to inventing a new genre: the architectural book that is actually fun to read. The latest (Bungalow Details:Interior)is no exception. The illustrations by Linda Svendsen are stellar, as always, but sometimes I think they distract from the best part: Ms. Powell's writing. Jane Powell manages to combine extraordinary erudition with a real sense of fun, two things that virtually never go together. Her knowledge is encyclopedic, her humor unending, her love of puns totally scandalous. She is also wise, with a real sense of what should and should not be done with old houses and the resources they represent. The writings in her Bungalow (and Linoleum) books deserve to be excerpted and presented in a smaller, less expensive edition: the Sayings of Chairman Jane, if you will, devoid of distracting pictures. I highly recommend this and all of her books.

I loved the author's sense of humor... very candid about what IS acceptable for a truely historically accurate home... although my 1914 home was remodeled by not-so-accurate "carpenters." I loved the pictures (so many rooms that look like mine!). Great for ideas, but remember this is not a DIY book. Just a pretty picture book.

The reader might well develop a relationship with this book. Jane Powell takes you on an in-depth tour of the American bungalow. As she talks, her writing is conversational, the details are often interrupted with a pun, other humor, or an outburst revealing her biases. Readers who are looking for an academic study should go elsewhere. This is an enjoyable light-hearted "Open House" without a salesperson but rather a builder-decorator-owner. Powell knows this subject from being there and having done that. Behind her puns you find a seriousness based on an emotional bonding with bungalows. If the reader is thinking about rehabbing a bungalow this book is a necessity. If the reader has rehabbed a house meet a friend.

If you are interested in restoration this is a WONDERFUL book! Both of my daughters have purchased homes built around 1920-1927. They are using this book as their bible!

Ms. Thomas has done a careful, interesting job of organizing a lot of information in a most readable fashion. I particularly liked her tables about the population growth at the end of the sections and the time line presented inside the front cover. It was interesting to read about some of the names of streets known to us such as McGilvra Boulevard as we had not known anything about the McGilvra family previously.

I also appreciated the last chapter on the various residences that are still about and plan to bring our copy to the neighborhood so that I might be able to spot more of them. Her comments on the various businesses in Madison Park were also very interesting to read.

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.

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.

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.

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.

If I were restoring an old bungalow, this book probably would have been useful. The author gives explanations of "Obsessive Restoration" and a "Compromise Solution" for each part of a period Bungalow bathroom. For my new Craftsman bungalow, I merely want to bring in a few period touches, so the examples in this book were too extreme for me. Also, the author wastes too many pages discussing the history of bathrooms, which is irrelevant to me. Her companion book, "Bungalow Kitchens" is much the same.

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.

If I were restoring an old bungalow kitchen, this book might have been more useful. But I am just trying to bring some period touches to the new Craftsman bungalow that I'm building. The author gives examples of "Obsessive Restoration" and a "Compromise Solution" for each element of restoring a bungalow kitchen. I found a few things useful, such as what countertops were found in a period bungalow, but I could have found that elsewhere on the internet. 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'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!

Together writer Jane Powell and photographer Linda Svendsen create the best bungalow books on the market. Whether you are thinking of remodelling your kitchen, changing a few details, or just want to understand the history of your kitchen, this is the book to buy.

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!

This is my first contact with Powell/Svendsen's books, and while it is indeed coffee table size (it needs to be large to accommodate the beautiful photography)it is so charming and readable that, without so intending, I READ it (in one sitting, yet). We have several other books of gorgeous bungalows, many with the same houses as subjects, with accomanying commentary equivalent to dry stale cornflakes; this one is crumpets and cream. Like others documenting bungalow style architecture, this book is not intended as a construction or instruction manual, but as inspiration. For admirers of bungalow style and for those seeking a picture to replace the thousand words BUNGALOW is an easy choice.

This book is lovely to look at with marvelous pictures. A great 'coffeetable book. My only complaint is that it is light on 'how to' information.

I read this book by Ms. Powell and I loved it although it was actually quite an unexpectedly truthful story. Did you know her mother tried to kill her? Yes, and so this saga can be viewed as a cautionary tale for parents who are contemplating pushing their child into show business and what can happen. It is stealing your child's childhood and putting her/him into adult situations.

Ms Powell seems to have had an unhappy life until only recently due to her happy marriage to fellow child star, Dick Moore.

You'll appreciate Ms. Powell's candor yet be shocked at the kind of childhood she endured. Clearly Ms. Powell learned eventually to like performing but she paid a big price for her parents ultimate decision to support themselves on her talents.

If the girl next door has this kind of life, maybe things aren't as nice for her as we'd like to think.

I just renovated my 1949-50 ranch house's kitchen into a retro look from the date the house was built. I ordered "LINOLEUM" with great anticipation. It was totally worthless to me. My expectations may have been too high since I had not seen the book before I ordered it online. So before you order it, make sure you check it out in a bookstore. It made maybe a total of about a page worth of comments on current products. No mention of all on their durability or success in today's real world.

While linoleum has become a generic term for a particular kind of floor covering, it's not the same as vinyl and has a long history as a popular residential and commercial use. Jane Powell examines the history and evolution of linoleum coverings, blending some gorgeous photography with a focus on home interior design which will please a wide audience. Any who would collect, use, or design with linoleum will find Linoleum to be a unique, remarkable, informative, and unexpectedly colorful history.

I was disappointed in this book, not because I was expecting a comprehensive reference work, but because it was so extremely narrow and artificial in scope. I had hoped to see vintage linoleum patterns in vintage rooms. Instead, the focus seemed to be on the rarest and wildest linoleum rugs - most of which were displayed rolled up - and all of which seemed to come from the same store in lower Manhattan. I could have achieved the same effect by visiting the store's website, which shows all the same pictures.