Residential Books

This book is a treasure of information about the great homes north of Boston and contains outstanding rare and crisp photographs that tell so much. Due to the quality of this publication, I would not hesitate to add any book published by Acanthus Press, which obviously takes great pride in creating their architecture books. The preservation of the great remaining mansions and estates is vital to our continued rediscovery and appreciation of our past and this book is an important resource. I found that the award-winning author, Pamela W. Fox, to have great talent in writing an architectural book that is a joy to read. Probably you do the same thing with this type of book as I: you go through the volume the first time looking at the fine photographs and reading the captions, and then when you have time you read the text. I would call this getting triple the value, as after you have looked, and read, you will now use this book as a reference. (LarryLufkin@comcast.net)

This is a beautiful book and a great follow up to the book on Chicago's North Shore. These books are so luxurious and elegant, the craftsmanship is just amazing, I highly recommend both. It is wonderful to explore this well researched and interesting book. The black and white historic pictures are crisp and detailed and the history well researched. Anyone who has any interest in historic estates or just appreciates fine craftsmanship in a book will not be disappointed. I commend the authors and publisher for a job well done.

I saw this book and as soon as I started looking through it I fell in love. This novel chronicles the expansive mansions on Boston's North Shore, with black and white photographs of both the exteriors and interiors. These pictures made me feel like I was part of that life, and helped me understand how people actually decorated those "Maderley" type manor houses. I was shocked to know families actually lived in them, and furnished them so lavishly!

For anyone who is a fan of architecture or old houses, even victorian decorating, check this book out! I love old houses and seeing the way people decorated them, and this HUGE book took me further in than I ever expected. Some of these have blueprints, which helped me figure out the layout of these grand mansions, and how many rooms there really were.

I haven't had a chance to by this book yet, but I did get to skim through it at my local big box of a book store (and it cost a lot more!). The projects were very contemporary, easy, and surprisingly you would be able to find the materials with no problem. A very go read, especially if you are trying to decorate on a shoestring budget.

This is an awesome book that shows you how to create sophisticated items for your every room in your home with easy-to-find materials. A wide variety of techniques in paper arts and crafts present endless decorating possibilities. The instructions are easy-to-follow and step-by-step including photos demonstrating each technique. Though some projects are time-consuming and require some patience, they are not necessarily hard to create.

The book starts out by showing you how to create your own paper, including making a mold and deckle. It then guides you through the essentials of paper mache including layering paper, pulp casting and relief formation. Several paper decoration techniques follow, including waxing, dyeing, using a latex resist, bleaching, stamping, stenciling, decoupage, collage and gilding.

Over 20 full projects follow, and they provide ideas for many more. My favorites include the flower screen, music floorcloth and modern looking coffee table made of cardboard. Other cool projects include collage wallpaper, an exquisite checkered table top, a leaf blind, herb pot, an embossed drawer unit, paneled lampshades and a mosaic window border.

There are also some very helpful hints and tips as well as a nice resource guide in the back. Even if you don't particularly like the style or theme of something this book will give you the basics of the projects and you can let your creativity flow. With so many different ideas, this book is nothing if not inspirational.

I really liked the projects/photos in this book. I'm a collage artist and I found a lot of interesting and inspiring projects nicely photographed. If you like to make your house into a work of art, this is the perfect book. If you are a mixed-media artist who likes books like Making Journals by Hand and Sophisticated Surfaces, you'll like this book. Sometimes I use books more for pictorial inspiration than for the actual projects in the book and that is the case here. However, in this case, I might actually try some of the projects, especially the collage wallpaper. She gives basic info on papermaking and paper mache, and the projects include a floorcloth, a stitched patchwork wall hanging, an embossed drawer unit, and a screen that would be beautiful if made with your own handmade paper. I have an area in my personal library for decorating books and a separate area for collage/decoupage books and this one is kept in the collage section. You won't be disappointed in this book. :)

Written by a mother and daughter team, this like their earlier book, The Pocket Decorator, was born out of necessity. Leslie was totally remodeling her condo and wanted to know and use the correct terms when talking with the various craftsman.

Designed for anyone remodeling, renovating or building, this book is a tremendous resource. The terms are listed alphabetically to allow easy access.

I loved their tips for "smooth sailing" when working with construction people. Their suggestion is to work as a team as much as possible with architect, builder and designer. They suggest you learn the symbols used on a design plan so you understand what is being done and where.

Not only do we learn a term, each has an illustration-and when relevant, we can read about its history and how the word was derived.

Do you know the different between undermounted and drop-in sinks? I do now. Each has a different look and demands certain know-how when being installed. What do you know about toilet heights, shapes and flush/water efficiency?

The chapters cover construction issues like cabinetry and built-in furniture, interior layouts, kitchen, baths and vital systems like heating, cooling, etc.

The authors also added four newly important areas: green design, safe and healthy home, financing and real estate transactions.

I found the safe and healthy house interesting as it covered the toxic things in our homes like lead, carbon monoxide, asbestos, mold and radon, as well as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.

This writing team is very thorough. If it isn't in this book, I wonder if the average homeowner really needs it.

The Pocket Renovator would make a great gift for yourself and anyone who is buying their first home, building a new one or remodeling/renovating. Carry the book with you in case someone uses an unfamiliar building term.

Armchair Interviews says: With The Pocket Renovator, you will have the answer at your fingertips.

First off, do not buy this book if you are looking for a how to book. This guide is not intended to show you how to complete a project. It is intended to show you, the average homeowner, with little or no construction experience what materials and techniques are available to do projects around the home. The authors cover a broad range of subjects, but not in depth. This book will enable you to communicate more effectively with your architect, builder or home improvement contractor.They cover alot in 200 pages, however there is so much to know in this field, that you could spend 200 pages alone on one subject such as fireplace techniques. However, for its intended purpose I rate it 5 stars.

An extremely useful reference guide for navigating the jargon of renovation and construction. A visual dictionary, the book helps you figure out what it is you're looking for by matching illustrations with terminology. Now, when your contractor asks whether you want your new sink to be drop-in or undermount, you'll understand what he means. The entries frequently contain useful guidance points and tips, though that's not the primary point of this book. I really enjoyed the Pocket Decorator, this team's previous book, and am glad to see they've pulled off another success.

This is a wonderful resource to have on hand when experiencing all aspects of a home renovation. To be able to speak the same language as your contractor is priceless, and to understand what he is talking about makes all of the difference. Built-ins, cabinetry, bathroom and kitchen projects, etc. are all addressed in this handy book. The book includes all sorts of vocabulary previously foreign to me, and is written in a refreshing, accesible style. Would be a great gift too.

A Luscious book - with inspirational photos, in both quality and selection. A valuable book for educating those new to this trend in building, so they can abandon old ideas of prefab and look at the hot creative and even green possibilities.

PreFab Now

For me, this was a pleasure to look through. The variety of homes covered in the book are extensive; and the photography captured the Pre-Fab installations beautifully. I plan on building a Pre-Fab in the future and I found this book to be a great source of inspiration and visual information.

PreFabNow, $26.37 Amazon.com, is a two hundred page square-format book from author James Grayson Trulove. His recent hardbacks include 25 Apartments and Lofts Under 2500 Square Feet, New Sustainable Homes, and The Modern Townhouse. This volume highlights prime examples of striking prefabricated homes on the market today - and examines facets such as cost, durability, and sustainability. The book also includes drawings, plans, renderings, and sumptuous full-page color photography from various architects and photographers.

Resolution: 4 Architecture envisioned the Mountain Retreat that occupies 18 of the first 30 pages appearing after the Contents and Foreword. This 1,800-square-foot home was assembled in a factory before being erected on-site in the Catskills. Once the prefabricated bars were raised, exterior sheathing of cedar board and cementitious panels were applied; a deck for entertaining was also added. My favorite element on this house is the butterfly roof with clerestory windows.

English countryside homes like Cedar House - designed by Hudson Architects - are enviable. This 3,450-square-foot home (utilizing off-site construction) was erected in just one week. Timber-panel floors, roofing, and walls allowed for easy installation; 15,000 untreated cedar shingles complete the exterior. Because the roof structure was lightweight, roof beams were not required - therefore the residence has soaring ceilings and vast open spaces. My favorite feature on this structure is the cantilevered corner window in aluminum-frame.

Flexibility and portability are found in the Portable House from Office of Mobile Design. This California dwelling has ample living and sleeping spaces divided by a kitchen and bath. Once the 12-by-60-foot steel frame is trucked to its site and set on a foundation, the exterior is fitted with metal siding and translucent polycarbonate panels that serve as windows. My favorite detail here is the bamboo flooring, since bamboo is a sustainable hardwood.

Another home designed by Resolution: 4 Architecture is in rural Virginia. The Country Retreat is a 2,600-square-foot house with communal areas on the lower level and private areas on the upper level. Once its prefabricated bars were raised, exteriors of horizontal cedar siding and cement-board accents were applied; a ground-level stone courtyard conceals a swimming pool. My favorite attribute of this retreat is the view from the dining/living area onto the aforementioned courtyard.

Besides the Mountain Retreat, my favorite residence in PreFabNow, is the Red Cabin designed by Alchemy Architects. Perched in the Minnesota woods, a 750-square-foot house with two bedrooms and a galley kitchen evokes the image of a tugboat stranded atop a hill. Configured from two pre-built modules, the home appears spacious due to ground level and rooftop decks. Clad in rough-sawn siding, the house is painted firehouse red to mimic nearby cabins.

Next I'll discuss the X 1 which is part of the X-Line from Hive Modular. This 2,300-square-foot modular home - also located in Minnesota - has 15 foot ceilings in the dining, kitchen, living, master and second bedroom, and study area. Its exterior is covered with maintenance-free fiber-cement and metal siding, and the windows are all black-clad aluminum. I'd say the architects at Hive Modular are fans of the artist Mondrian, based on this prototype.

Of the houses featured here, I especially like the Mod3 Riverview. This green home was designed by Studio 804 of Lawrence, Kansas. All its ceiling, floor and wall cavities are filled with recycled cellulose instead of fiberglass insulation. The exterior is home grown Douglas fir used to reduce fuel consumption associated with shipping materials from overseas. Floor to ceiling windows utilized here also insure ample natural light, reducing the need for artificial light.

While I can't imagine living in a Mobile Dwelling Unit - designed by Lot-Ek - it does possess a certain post-Millennial charm. This unit is built from recycled shipping containers. Its interior and sub-volumes are fabricated from fixtures, plywood, and plastic-coated plywood. When all the sub-volumes are extended, the square footage of the dwelling increases by ten percent. Overall, I'd say this is an excellent coffee table book for anyone that's contemplating buying a prefab home.

The craft of this book is as enhancing as many other that have won awards over the past decades. I personally have been trained to view things at the tectonic level and the technical pages coordinate wonderfully with the graphic pages. The Andersons have a very nice way of depicting there key elements within each project.

If you're looking for some precedents of Pre-Fabrication projects that literally are site specific, modular, green and even custom this is a perfect book and you will be very happy with your investment. From the choice of colors to how they label the diagrams makes understanding the project very nice.

Good job and thanks

This book is gorgeous. Excellently written with amazing axonometric drawings of provocative projects. In a word, the drawings are luscious. It's no wonder these guys are winning competitions left and right.

This book goes above and beyond the typical prefab picture book. The images are not only compelling but are informative in a way that brings clarity to someone who wants to have a better understanding of how prefabrication actually works. The Andreson's passion for design, experimentation, and progress is truly inspiring. As a young professional it is good to see a smaller firm doing interesting work. The book is very detailed, and provides clear diagrams of connections and materials. You can see very easily how it all comes together. The one thing I would have liked to know more about is (on a project by project basis) how exactly the prefabrication process takes place. It is not clear how the architect and prefabricators interact as far as collaborating on a set of documents that gets the building or project built. Perhaps that is thier proprietary secret, or perhaps it is too boring for a handsome architecture book. You can only put so much information in one book, and this one is filled to the brim.

It has been a while since I read it, so this will be short, but I can tell you that I loved this work. In fact, I read it twice.

Seale takes you through the origins and changes in the house and the property, which is interesting enough to me. But he also takes you, with great detail, through the families and events that occupied and occurred in the President's House. You get a real sense of what life was like there, and how history was made. It is a very interesting story both from a historical house perspective, and a human perspective. I only wish I had bought the leather bound edition.

William Seale has put together an excellent historical perspective of the history of the White House, including it's construction, reconstruction, and many renovations. The book also recounts the evolution of Washington, D.C. relative to it's relationship with the White House and it's occupants.

Along with describing the physical structure and it's many evolutions, Seale has managed to include a significant amount of history relative to the occupants of the White House, including their personal and political lives. This provides the reader with a good feel for life in the White House. Additionally, most will learn a significant amount about presidents who we simply know by name but not much else.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to those most interested in american history. Although it includes two volumes, the book is such an interesting read that it is hard to put it down.

Often, history is written in broad sweep narratives that can be static and boring to the reader. Although William Seale wrote more than 1,000 pages on the history of the White House, you can be assured that there is nothing static or boring about these volumes. He displays an understanding of the fact that history is about the human drama of real people facing real predicaments, and it's poignance is found in how they react to those predicaments.

Whereas a history book will tell you that the British burned the White House in 1814, Seale tells us what was happening on the DAY the British marched into town. The hundred sentry guards who were supposed to defend the White House were gone, and they could easily have taken on the battalion of 150 British soldiers who marched in the mud down Pennsylvania Avenue, walked around the White House like tourists, ate Dolley Madison's dinner, and then torched the White House with precision. Then there is the even more dramatic moment when Lincoln looked out across the Potomac into Virginia to see the flags of the Confederacy flying, knowing that soon the capital would be surrounded if Maryland seceded from the Union.

The book is a perfect match of comedy and drama with stories ranging from the infestation of rats in the basement to a presidential love story that rivals "The American President," and in places describes a house that you would never imagine to be destined as the symbol of the most powerful nation on earth.

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This is an exquisite look at Newport Rhode Island by Betty Barden Pardee, a contributing editor to Bon Appetit, who, with her husband is a year-around resident of Newport. Ms. Pardee takes the reader inside the mansions for a private look at the interiors and gardens of this community from a bygone era.

Photographer Mick Hales, whose work has appeared in House and Garden, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, and Town and Country does an extraordinary job capturing the light, mood and character of Newport.

Designers, decorative artists, and landscape designers will especially enjoy these pages.

Private Newport features page after page of gorgeous homes--those that only we mere mortals can only dream about! The photography is spectacular and I love the way the exterior of the homes and their grounds are included, as well as the amazing interiors. This is a great gift for anyone who has visited Newport or who desires to. You won't see these homes on the mansion tour as they are privately owned and not open to the public.

I used to live in Newport and I recognize many of the houses in this book. You will not see these private interiors and gardens any other way. The photography and writing are excellent.

I have never been there, but through samplings such as this treasure of a book, I have seen on print what I most want to see: Provence! This "gift" presents the reader with the best views of interiors that I am aware of. I have combed my library and bookstores for views of Provence for almost forever. This book almost makes me cry, I long to see it so! Until I do, this sumptuous look at this magical region is availble in this outstanding book. I am SO glad I have my copy!

In this rich photographic essay of interiors in Provence, Lovatt-Smith captures the design, style, essence, texture, life and breath of this magical location and its occupant's beautiful interiors.

This book is a gorgeously photographed journey into the homes of wealthy and/or very stylish residents of Provence. Not a book of typical 'French Country Interiors', it covers a wide range of styles from super modern to 17th century grandeur, from 'to the manor born', to gypsy caravans (stunning). As with all things French I adore the way they so gracefully combine the old and the new. These are for the most part not homes that were 'designed', but instead homes that 'grew' with thier owners over time. This book is one of a series of books by this publisher/editor team and they are all wonderful. I have this one, the book on Indian Interiors, the book on Moroccan Interiors (my favorite) and the one on Tuscan Interiors. Each of these books is pure quality. The photography, the variety of well chosen homes, the layout and design of the books, including paper quality, binding etc. is superb. There isn't one aspect of any of these books, including this one, that is run-of-the-mill or poorly conceived. If you are interested in Provencial style, creative interiors, use of colour and texture, and French Culture, you will adore this book. It is without a doubt the best book on French Interiors that I have found.

Any interested in the architectural heritage and culture of American neighborhoods must look at RANCHES, ROWHOUSES & RAILROAD FLATS: AMERICAN HOMES: HOW THEY SHAPE OUR LANDSCAPES AND NEIGHBORHOODS. It lacks glitzy color photos but provides a wonderful blend of black and white line drawings and insights into how American housing forms evolved and influenced their neighborhood's development. Three forms of housing -freestanding homes, attached houses, and apartments - are the focus here, with registered architect Hunter's background in housing design and construction lending to a history of the practical impact of each form on land use, local economics, and local culture.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Much as John MacPhee has offered a new way of appreciating canoes, Alaska, and U.S. geology, Christine Hunter offers a new way of appreciating U.S. dwellings. He deals with our natural environment; she deals with our man-made environment. Combining description with evaluation, she provides a compact review of the evolution of housing since colonial times, seen through the eyes of a trained architect employing a social scientist¹s critical detachment. Her study will be useful for a wide variety of general readers as well as those in the fields of history, city planning, design, and government. The book is easy to read, with dozens of clear sketches showing the changing forms and anatomy of houses and rooms under discussion. Technical detail is relieved by occasional gentle humor. After a chapter on fundamental requirements for human dwellings (³what we all need to survive²), she tells how minimum standards for urban and rural housing have evolved as the population grew and spread across the continent, taking advantage of abundant resources and new technology, while confronting political and economic complications. A central chapter spells out the necessary components of a modern dwelling (plumbing, lighting, heating, connections with the world outside, etc.), giving these familiar aspects of our surroundings a fresh and revealing specificity. Three chapters discuss freestanding houses, attached houses, and apartments. An incisive final chapter on neighborhoods comments on the problems and prospects surrounding our homes today.

Much as John MacPhee has offered a new way of appreciating canoes, Alaska, and U.S. geology, Christine Hunter offers a new way of appreciating U.S. dwellings. He deals with our natural environment; she deals with our man-made environment. Combining description with evaluation, she provides a compact review of the evolution of housing since colonial times, seen through the eyes of a trained architect employing a social scientist¹s critical detachment. Her study will be useful for a wide variety of general readers as well as those in the fields of history, city planning, design, and government. The book is easy to read, with dozens of clear sketches showing the changing forms and anatomy of houses and rooms under discussion. Technical detail is relieved by occasional gentle humor. After a chapter on fundamental requirements for human dwellings (³what we all need to survive²), she tells how minimum standards for urban and rural housing have evolved as the population grew and spread across the continent, taking advantage of abundant resources and new technology, while confronting political and economic complications. A central chapter spells out the necessary components of a modern dwelling (plumbing, lighting, heating, connections with the world outside, etc.), giving these familiar aspects of our surroundings a fresh and revealing specificity. Three chapters discuss freestanding houses, attached houses, and apartments. An incisive final chapter on neighborhoods comments on the problems and prospects surrounding our homes today.

Regency Architecture is so elegant and these houses just exude class. George IV, the regent, was a debauched libertine, but the man had taste and it is shown in his fabulous Brighton Pavilion. This really was a golden age in British Country House design, these huge estates are tasteful and much like Louis XIV is to Louis XV, Regency is to George III, it's a bit less extravagant, but still regal and elegant. This book does a fine job taking from the great County Life Magazine, the black and white images are supurb and the text very interesting and informative. If you have any interest in Regency architecture or just like looking at elegant estates, then I believe you will not be disappointed in this wonderful book.

This book is what is promised, a great coffee table read and a satisfying way to spend an afternoon. Great fun to review places to visit and re-visit whilst examining English estates and architecture. This book showed several features to incorporate in a home setting. The photography and lighting are well-done. I wish there had been more color photos and more images, preferably more from each region of England and Wales. We'll keep this book. The book arrived with excellent speed and reasonable price from Ya Ya Coburn.

This is a beautiful coffee table book. Lavishly beautiful photographs featuring the stately homes of the British aristocracy, gentry and the Royal Family.

My only complaint is that some of the photographs are not colorized and there weren't enough photographs of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Palace, both beautiful Royal palaces in their own right.

I give this book 5-stars because it's an entertaining read and gives you a wonderful insight of living life like a nobleman/woman or better yet Royalty and the colorized photographs are breath-taking!