Subjects:  1. Apartment houses    2. Domestic    3. Handbooks, manuals, etc    4. Housing development    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Public Policy - City Planning & Urban Dev.    7. Real Estate - General    8. Real estate development    9. Reference    10. United States   

Editorial Review

Marc Vassallo's Read more

Reviews (2)

An easy recipe for easy living
Vassallo puts into words the kind of home we all want: casual, bright, a place that feels good to call home. The BFH introduces the idea of the easy feeling you get when you're away on a summer vacation, renting a cabin in the woods or a house on the beach. The book provides the recipe for maintaining this feeling year-round, not just one or two weeks a year but every day in your own house.

A lavishly photographed interior design and decorating guide
The Barefoot Home: Dressed-Down Design For Casual Living is a lavishly photographed interior design and decorating guide, with an eye for the laid-back lifestyle. Emphasis on openness, lack of clutter, serenity, ventilation, and ease distinguish these suggestions for everything from kitchens to studios to bedroom. Full-color photographs on every page, diagrams, and extensive writing not only about specific suggestions but also general themes to promote a relaxed atmosphere fill The Barefoot Home cover-to-cover. The perfect interior design antidote to the pressures and stresses of a fast-paced world, The Barefoot Home is written in a tone akin to its subject matter - easygoing and thoroughly accessible to amateur and professional designers alike. Very highly recommended and informative reading.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture, Domestic    2. Decorating - General    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Domestic    5. General    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. Interior Design    9. Interior Design - Style Books    10. Interior architecture    11. Psychological aspects    12. Residential Buildings Architecture    13. Room layout (Dwellings)    14. House & Home / General   

Reviews (8)

Good book
Doesn't give a detailed analysis of anything, but is a great tool for people wanting a basic understanding of green building, energy efficient techniques, etc.

Beautiful, but....
This book no doubt makes a lovely addition to my coffee table. I feel so inspired and now.. how do I do it?? I was looking for more practical advice that addressed all my reasons for wanting to remodel green - protecting my family's health and our planet's natural resources and my financial savings. If the intention was to create a stunning, inspiring book - great job. If it was to really explain what green is and exactly how to do it, I think I'd look to books like "Green Remodeling" by Johnston and Master or read Environmental Building News....

Real Homes that Make a Difference
"A recent poll revealed that an astounding 96% of consumers are willing to pay more for green features in a home, and 91% feel that energy-efficient features in a new home were extremely or very important." Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Design & Drafting    4. Domestic    5. Ecological houses    6. Environmental aspects    7. Interior Design - General    8. Methods & Materials    9. House & Home / General    10. Housing & property for the individual    11. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (9)

Interesting book
The book is wel written and very beautifully photographed. The history is interesting, but would have liked to see more current info.

Interesting overview of prefab homes, past, present and future
In PREFAB, author Allison Arieff presents an interesting overview of "prefabricated" buildings, past, present, and future.Yet, I would not recommend this book to average modular home consumers, as many of the projects described in PREFAB are highly customized, somewhat eccentric, and generally impractical for those looking to save time and money by utilizing prefab construction as opposed to regular, stick-built construction.Some of the buildings aren't even single-family dwellings, but apartment buildings.Nonetheless, PREFAB is a helpful resource for those who'd like to learn more about the history of prefabricated buildings, as well as the current state of affairs, and in which unusual directions the industry will be headed in the future.
so-so
ok, if you're looking for more of a coffee table book than a serious research source.arieff does provide a brief history of some selected prefabricated ventures, but the other 3/4 of the book is of more modern attempts, all of which are not described or displayed as thoroughly as i had hoped.most of the designs are also of doubtful marketability, and the pompous attitudes of some of the designers is off-putting.some pretty pictures, however. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Domestic    2. Interior Design - General    3. Design & Construction    4. Architecture / Methods & Materials    5. Interior design    6. Residential buildings, domestic buildings    7. Architecture    8. Architecture, Modern    9. 20th century    10. Buildings, Prefabricated   

Reviews (4)

The Moral Impetatives of Architecture in the 21st Century
This book is a credit to Princeton Architectural Press because, rather than recite simplistic platitudes about green architecture, it illustrates green buildings that not only reflect the ecologically and socially responsibile principles of sustainable architecture but that serve the needs of, and indeed uplift, their inhabitants through the promotion of health and spirit.Indeed, as this book informs its readers, green architecture is more than energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources, it is the creation of beautiful environments that integrate cost-effective design and materials to better the well being of their inhabitants.As our consumption of natural resources threatens the vitality of our planet, these principles deserve far more consideration and application.

Excellent incubator for ideas and more
The book is more than a good addition to a coffee table to tempt your unsuspecting guest.The book begins with a short philosophical journey on the definitions of sustainability.I was surprised to find how the word has eveolved as well as its application to architecture.Following the introduction is an excellent breakdown of a wide range of houses and buildings created in diverse environments.The creative ways in which "greenness" was incorporated into the construction of the buildings was fascinating.My wife and I want to build a "green" house, but I realized as I read this book that I really didn't know what that meant.The book is not a how-to manual for direct applications, but offers important perspectives that will likely apply to whatever project one may consider.The book serves as an excellent incubator to reflect on how you create a "green" house.We have a folder of ideas for our "green" house.This book dhowed us how we can make it happen - but without the final blue prints.The book also provided names and examples that provide key references to realizing "green" architecture.For example, we have names and ideas that we can incorporate into our collaboration with an architect for our house design.Overall, I highly recommmend it.

Over twenty residences are featured
Any home builder who would learn better ways to fit a home within a landscape or ecological environment would do well to consult The Green House: New Directions In Sustainable Architecture first: from tropics to urban jungles and arid Arizona deserts, the authors have traveled around the world studying sustainable or 'green' homes to determine which fit best into their environments. Over twenty residences are featured: the best of those which not only fit into their surroundings and are sustainable, but are also the best places to live. Color photos, blueprints and design specs, and comments on the unique features of each offer plenty of opportunity for learning what makes a home 'sustainable' and 'green'.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. Ecological houses    4. Exhibitions    5. Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning    6. History - Specific Styles    7. Sustainable architecture    8. Architecture / General    9. Non-Classifiable   

Reviews (5)

Arcadian splendor
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson have a long illustrious history stemming from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Seattle, Washington.As such, this beautiful collection of twelve "arcadian" homes represent the tip of the iceberg of their collective work.In these immaculate residences you will find their signature details, many of them by James Cutler, who worked with Peter Bohlin on the Gates Residence and other projects.You will marvel at the romanticism of the Adirondack Retreat on Lake George, New York, with its granite boulder fireplace and natural cedar and fir interiors.Then there is the Endless Mountain House, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, with its projected balconies atop crumbling fieldstone walls with a towering chimney anchoring one end of this evocative residence.The house appears as though it were built over ancient ruins.Nestled within these idyllic residential projects is the Pacific Rim Estate, co-authored by Bohlin and Cutler for Bill Gates on Lake Washington, near Seattle.It is a stunning work, not so much in its assemblage as in its marvelous kit of parts, from a barrel-vaulted garage buried into the wooded landscape to the beautiful timber connections in the main body of the residential complex.Here we see brute concrete and heavy timber blended naturally into the landscape, making for a surprisingly unassuming compound that incorporated many sustainable design features, including recycled heavy timber posts and beams.

Stunning Hardcover on Top Architect
This is one of the most well crafted books on a single architect. The scale and quality of the photographs, the packaging, it is the best gift you can offer to someone who has a passion for materials and detail.

outstanding!
an absolute treasure.this quite weighty volume covers thetop-notch residential work of BCJ in great detail - beautiful drawings and photography all work together to illustrate these wonderful buildings...highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architectural Firms    2. Architecture    3. Domestic    4. Individual Architect    5. U.S. Architecture - General    6. Architecture / Individual Architect    7. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Art    3. Decorating - General    4. Design - General    5. Domestic    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Interior decoration    8. Art / Design / General    9. Decorative arts & crafts    10. Fashion design   

Reviews (5)

Wow! Nice book and for a nice price!
For anyone who loves to do the Sunday-afternoon-drive-around-and-look-at-old-houses thing, this is the book for you. The quality of the photos is really impressive and while I suppose it'd best be described as a coffee-table book, it also contains a fair quantity of information about the houses and their style and influence and history of design.
You have to be out of your mind to like this book
This book is the evident that the housing projects in the United States are mere products of the market force that lack inspiration, imagination, and progressive attitude.People who praise this book for its beautiful photographs only expose the biggest flaw in this book: there is no content.All the homes in this book are built on false premises of consumerist culture.There is no attempt to make the houses affordable or challenging the notion of domestic living.People may have bought the book because they like the drape or the furniture in it, but you will be better off buying yourself a copy of Martha Stewart's "Living" for that purpose.Don't waste your money on propelling the cycle of our wasteful culture, give that money to the charity and you will sleep better at night.

Multo-Bene! Aram
This book documents what I have understood for many years. BLA is one the premier american residential architectural firms. Beautiful work! Fabulous projects! A joy to peruse. The book has interior and exterior photos of several "Pure" California design approaches from Spanish, to Coastal, to Tuscan style. If you are building a home, or enjoy good architecture, you will not be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. General    4. U.S. Architecture - General   

Reviews (36)

An Excellent Reference
As an architect, I use this book as a reference tool. The library of photos contained within this book sometimes help when trying to develop the characteristics of a certain style of building.I have even used to with a few clients who say thay want this or that look. I then have them thumb through this book and show them the style they have mentioned only to have then say "No, this is the style I'm talking about" pointing to another style.
And it has a Sears Home inside!!
For many years, I've written about historic architecture and vintage homes and have also written four books on this topic (including "The Houses That Sears Built").
Excellent Primer and Reference
"Field Guide" is the first reading required of all graduate students in at least one highly esteemed university degree program in historic preservation.It is also one of those rare books that serves well as both an introduction to and a reference for its subject.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Description and travel    4. Domestic    5. Guidebooks    6. Guides    7. Reference    8. U.S. Architecture - General    9. United States    10. Architecture / Reference   

Reviews (13)

The Not So Big House Collection
Quick and easy transaction.Fast to get it shipped out.Very satisfied with condition and entire sales process!

Good Reference
Nice reference and will hopefully be useful on our next project.Good photo ideas.

Unique Slant
It's evident Ms Susanka has fashioned a niche for sleek, tasteful and refined living. She seperates style from fashion with a keen eye set for timeless architecture. She stresses quality over quantity in square footage. I was pleased with the quality of these books. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Do-It-Yourself    4. Domestic    5. House & Home    6. House & Home / General    7. Interior design   

Reviews (3)

Virtues of the Ranch House
"These modest homes were the fulfillment of the American middle-class dream, bringing a higher standard of living to average people, and giving birth to a whole new way of life. There is a type of beauty in their simplicity, their efficient use of space, and the creativity with which they employed inexpensive materials to deliver a modern look." ~Rob Keil
Beautiful Book, Important Topic
This is a great book that finally gives America's "average" midcentury tract houses their due. The photos are beautiful and the information is great. Eichler, Levittown, Westlake, and other midcentury neighborhoods are pictured along with detailed information on remodeling, restoring, and preserving these underappreciated little gems of modernism. It's a nice coffee-table presentation of the subject that is pleasing to just flip through for the sake of the photos, but also informative enough to spend some real time with.

Mid-Century Marvels
Having just purchased my 1954 Mid-Century Marvel I was ecstatic to find this book.It has become an essential resource guide to help me restore my Mid-Century Marvel to its former glory.It is full of gorgeous photography, decorating ideas, and it even has a section on landscaping.This book is a must have for any Mid-Century enthusiast.Simply, excellent!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architectural Design    3. Architecture    4. Design & Construction    5. Domestic    6. History - Specific Styles    7. Home Improvement / Construction    8. Interior Design - General    9. Ranch houses    10. Residential Buildings Architecture    11. U.S. Architecture - General    12. United States    13. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (2)

Wonderful book, great pictures
This book contains a wonderful pictorial view of stone houses, better than I've ever seen.It includes all forms of construction and gives very informative descriptions of each style.The history related here is invaluable to the reader, as it takes you back in time. The pictures are full color and very articulately done.I found the colors presented in the homes helpful to me in restoring our stone house, built in the 1830's.This book is more than a "coffee table" book, it's a history lesson.

Great book
Wonderful photos and very interesting and informative text.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Design & Construction    3. Domestic    4. Historic Preservation    5. Architecture / Domestic    6. Pennsylvania    7. Residential buildings, domestic buildings   

Reviews (4)

The Poster Book
The book is giant in size (12.3" x 12.4" x 1.4") with extra large poster size photographs, some of them covering 2 sf areas.
Great compilation of recently completed houses in a handsome book!
Recently published by Rizzoli, this handsome book is a collection of the most recent or newly built houses that go beyond convention.Author Michael Webb selected forty houses from five continents that exemplify the various types of houses throughout the world today that truly one of a kind. The houses featured are by some of the most gifted architects whose practice are of all different scales.Houses by large firms such as Richard Meier & Partners are included as well as small or single practices such as Glenn Murcutt.Each project is beautifully portrayed in large border less photos along with a detailed explanation of the project contained in about eight pages.Handsomely crafted in a one square foot volume, this compilation should be on the must have list of professionals as well as house enthusiasts who want to know today's artistic and inventive solution to the age old concept of a house.
Dream Houses
I've seen a lot of books on new houses, but this one stands out from the crowd. The selection of 40 new residences covers the world, from a forest in northern Japan to an idyllic bay in New Zealand, by way of Lake Bled in Slovenia and a hillside in Mexico City. There are masterpieces by celebrated architects and exciting work by people who deserve to be better knownThe brief text explores each house and the needs and personalities of its owners. The pictures are exceptional and are printed large enough that you can imagine yourself walking through these rooms. Now I've bought it the biggest challenge is to discourage friends from "borrowing" it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. Residential Buildings Architecture    4. Architecture / Domestic   

Reviews (14)

Wonderful Book!
Great book!The minute I opened it I knew it was going to be a thrilling trip to another time in California history.Beautiful pictures of grand homes, grounds, and other structures built with Spanish and Mexican influence.If you want just one book covering this subject, this would be the one to buy.Highly recommend.

Images of California Style
CSAS CALIFORNIA is one of the coffee table books bound to please not only those who live in California and are eager to study examples of California architecture termed Spanish Revival, butalso a fine gift for those out of state friends who wonder if California has any history before 1950!
Not that special
I didn't glean anything more from this book that I couldn't have gathered on a Sunday drive. Most of the pictures are of exteriors and amazingly enough, none of them really inspires appretiation of this architechtural style. I'm an absolute sucker for Spanish Colonial. There's almost nothing built during the classic era of the 1920's and '30's that I don't swoon over. This book, however, compiled some of the least attractive examples of that style and ends up being thoroughly disappointing. Definitely look elsewhere if your objective is designing interior details that honor the classics. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Architecture, Spanish    4. California, Southern    5. Design & Construction    6. Influence    7. Regionalism in architecture    8. Residential Buildings Architecture    9. U.S. Architecture - South    10. Vernacular Architecture    11. Architecture / Interior Design    12. Houses, apartments, flats, etc    13. USA   

Reviews (1)

Hampton Havens Review
The book was purchased for an anniversary gift for my daughter who resides on one of the Hamptons.She liked the book and even was familiar with the owner of the garden on the cover. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Decorating - General    4. Design & Construction    5. Domestic    6. Gardens    7. Hamptons    8. Home Improvement / Construction    9. Interior Design - General    10. Interior decoration    11. New York (State)    12. U.S. Architecture - General    13. Architecture / Domestic    14. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (1)

Beautiful, Dramatic, and Still Fairly Small Houses
To word it simply, the houses designed by the Hariri sisters are the most dramatic small buildings I have ever seen. Here you will not find gigantic homes built to use size to impress. The Spartan House, built in the Hague, Netherlands was required to have a house footprint no bigger than 26 by 33 feet. Yet even in that small a space their house standa out.
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Subjects:  1. Architectural Firms    2. Architecture    3. Domestic    4. Individual Architect    5. Individual Architectural Firms    6. Residential Buildings Architecture    7. Architecture / Individual Architect   

Reviews (4)

Where R U Karrie?
I maybe a fool for architectural discourse but The Perfect $100,000 House is as redolent of architectural joy as the Witold Rybczynski book of the eponymous title The Perfect House: Travels with the Master: Anrdea Palladio.Karrie Jacobs just put a price on it.
Very Interesting Book!
Karrie Jacob's book, The Perfect $100,000 House, tackles a problem I've been wondering about for a long time--why is the majority of housing in America today extraordinarily expensive crap?Do people in this country just have no taste, or is it that they have no choice? Is good design only for those who can afford a custom single family residence of 500K and up?
Why the pre-fab movement has gained so many followers
A diary of one woman's search for what seems so reasonable on paper--a modern home on a budget--the strength of this book is its many entertaining interviews with people who are both part of the mainstream homebuilding industry and those that are trying to offer an alternative. If you've heard about pre-fab, this is a good way to learn why it's exciting--but why it only addresses part of the problem.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Domestic    4. General    5. Psychological aspects    6. Residential Buildings Architecture    7. Themes, motives    8. U.S. Architecture - General    9. United States    10. Architecture / Domestic   

Reviews (5)

A Beautiful book of New York History and Architecture
An exquisite book! There are stories about each apartment house and how it came to be. I found the two architects, Candela and Carpenter, to be very interesting characters. The homes they designed are ahead of their time. The floor plans are fascinating. The book also shows, by the floor plans, how people lived and what their needs were. The authors even quote costs of building and tell of the people who lived there. If you like real estate you will find this fascinating.

Grand New York
Let me first say that I loved the period black and white photos of the buildings, I also appreciated the fact that all of the buildings mentioned came with requisite photos, that is a must in book of this sort.I really didn't know that much about these buildings nor the architects so this book gave me a real education, I came away more knowledged and very impressed. The attention to detail the architects employed in these buildings is amazing and the fact that so many are still extant is a tribute to the artistry and talent that went into designing and building them and obviously contempory wealthy apartment seekers appreciate these attributes or else we all know these buildings would have been pulled down long ago, just like so many of the Gilded Age mansions they replaced.This publishing house puts out such finely crafted books and this one does not disappoint, I highly recommend it.

Andrew Alpern's Labor of Love
Candela and Carpenter were two of New York's most noted architects of the inter-war era, specializing in luxury apartment buildings. Architectural historian Andrew Alpern has assembled a reference text of their buildings, organized in geographic sequence. In this book, a typical building has two pages dedicated to it. One page consists of a floor plan, and the facing page has a photo or rendering of the exterior, combined with a one-to-six sentence description. Also, there are several brief essays at the beginning of the book.Read more

Subjects:  1. (James Edwin R.),    2. 1890-1953    3. Apartment houses    4. Architecture    5. Candela, Rosario,    6. Carpenter, J. E. R    7. Catalogs    8. Domestic    9. Individual Architect    10. Interior architecture    11. New York    12. New York (State)    13. Planning   

Reviews (1)

The joys of one-level living
Another beautiful Alan Hess architectural history that deserves to become the standard work.The book is in two parts, in the first sixty-eight pages he writes a readable and interesting history of this very popular housing concept and being popular it was looked down on by the architectural elite and many critics.The second part (147 pages) is a pictorial study of twenty-six ranch houses photographed by Noah Sheldon.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architecture    3. Design & Construction    4. Domestic    5. History - Specific Styles    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Ranch houses    8. United States    9. Architecture / Domestic   

Reviews (2)

Inspiration for western architects and craftsmen
Among our collection of a dozen or more illustrated books about Japanese architecture and design, this is by far the best. The exquisite photographs are accompanied by a thorough yet interesting explanation of the various traditional styles found in Japanese architecture.
Great Book on Real Japanese Interiors
Beautiful photos of great interiors.Mostly traditional Japanese homes as they are currently lived in.Features homes with collections of traditional Japanese crafts.Also, some modern homes designed with Japanese aesthetic.I would also recommend the book "Japanese Style". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Domestic    3. Interior Design - General    4. International Architecture - Asian    5. Home furnishing & decoration    6. Interior design    7. Japan