Reviews (5)

I can't believe the high ratings this book received!
The titled of this book should be "Creating a Cottage Garden in North America unless you live in the south.If you live in the south, this book is usless to you."If it were titled that, I would have saved my money.What a disappointment.The are few pictures and the narrative is really boring.If you live in zones 3-4, you may find some vage (very vague) interest in this book but there are so many better books out there.I bought the book based on the recommendations on Amazon.I hope you save your money or review this book at the book store before spending your hard earned money on it.

Nice book
I do like this book and I'll probably refer to it often but I'm not quite as enthusiastic about it as the other reviewers. The history was very interesting but because there was so much of it, there wasn't as much coverage of suitable plants as other books. On the plus side of that, the author also didn't go into "information overload" and provide umteen-zillion varieties of every possible rose that could be planted.He did discuss some rarely used plants that I definitely want in my garden and he knows how to grow them, too, which is a plus.He also included some recipes for some of the unusual vegetables.And the pictures are wonderful.

Anyone can make a Cottage Garden
Stephen Westcott-Gratton has written a 'hit the nail on the head' how to book on putting in a Cottage Garden. It is obvious he is both gardener and writer because his advice is methodical and his suggestions very workable. Read more

Subjects:  1. Cottage gardening    2. Cottage gardens    3. Garden Design    4. Gardening    5. Gardening / Horticulture    6. Gardening/Plants    7. Landscape    8. North America    9. Techniques   

Editorial Review

With a decided emphasis on cozy country charm, Read more

Reviews (1)

epitome of English eccentricity, cosiness, and charm
This truly delightful book shows cottage interiors that reflect the pasttimes, habits, and way of living that one likes to believe are essentially "English".These homes look as if they are actually lived in and all exhibit that special British propensity for comfort blended with eccentricity.The ubiquitous Aga is featured in a number of the kitchens, but there are also enough 'jolts' in the form of colour use and collections to make this book memorable and somehow fresh. A book I refer to again and again and well worth adding to your collection - almost a reference on English cottage style.Very good value. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cottage gardens, English    2. Cottages    3. Decorating    4. Domestic    5. England    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration   

Reviews (2)

Excellent for those who actually own and live ina cottage
This book far surpassed all expectations and is a book I am using a great deal.We live in a cottage in the Sierras that was built in the 1800's and what the book has helped me with, is better understanding how to make every room usable and how important wise and imaginative one has to be when designing storage in a small room, which is what older cottages are all about. For those who like the expensive, yet rustic look.
Because I so enjoyed the Better Homes & Gardens book "Cottage Style", this book by Ellen M. Plante sounded like an excellent addition to my personal library.However, her book was a disappointment to me.While I would be happy to stay at most of the featured vacation homes for a week or so if the owners invited me for a visit, very few of the pictures reflect the look of relaxed, romantic comfort that I associate with cottage style. She does feature a few interiors with the feel of Scandnavian country that I really liked, but none of the rest had much appeal for me.A fine book for people actually planning to build/remodel a vacation home, but not for those of us who buy decorating books just because we enjoy the pictures and like to dream. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cottages    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Decorating    4. Decorating - General    5. Decoration and ornament, Rusti    6. Decoration and ornament, Rustic    7. Hobbies/Crafts    8. Home Improvement / Construction    9. United States    10. Vacation homes    11. Crafts & Hobbies / Decorating    12. HOME REFERENCE - Decorating TRD HC   

Reviews (2)

History through Architecture
This study of vernacular architecture is a great contribution to the social history of slavery.By looking at facets of design such as settlement patterns and the formal qualities of buildings, Vlach shows how patterns in material culture provide clues for understanding the patterns of history that one can read by examining the buildings.This remarkable book not only documents plantation architecture as an important contribution to the historical record, but it also provides a fascinating interpretation of the subject.It is an especially important study because of the dearth of written documents left by slaves.

Excellent Study of Plantation Architecture
John Vlach's book is a thorough study of the architecture of plantation slavery in the South.He primarily used resource materials from the 1930s Historic American Building Survey and WPA interviews with former slaves to develop a social history.The research is solid and comprehensive.Vlach demonstrates ways to interpret the buildings for information about the life of the people who worked and dwelled in them, and he backs up his conclusions with interview materials.It's a terrific way of studying architecture that merges folklife studies with architectural history.The conclusions expanded my understanding about history, and this book is an essential contribution to learning about black history. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Architecture    3. History    4. Reference    5. Slaves    6. Social conditions    7. Southern States    8. Space (Architecture)    9. U.S. Architecture - South    10. United States - State & Local - General    11. Vernacular architecture    12. African American; Anthropology; art; slaves; southern plantation; architecture; material culture    13. Central Southern states    14. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    15. Residential buildings, domestic buildings    16. Slavery & emancipation    17. Social Science / African-American Studies    18. Social history    19. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

Easy read introduction into american urban landscapes
This is really a nice book. It reads very well and gives a good introduction over major landscape elements in urban and suburban. It also includes background information about the historical development of these landscape elements. That makes it quite easy to understand the urban and suburban landscape in the U.S.. It is one of these books that you read and think "aah, that's why...". A good and cheap present for landscape architects and students (nice paper, layout and format, too). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Architectural & Industrial    3. Architecture    4. City planning    5. General    6. History    7. Planning    8. Public spaces    9. United States    10. Medical / History    11. Public buildings: civic, commercial, industrial, etc    12. Regional geography    13. Residential buildings, domestic buildings    14. Theory of architecture    15. USA   

Reviews (3)

A practical-minded resource for creating a livable modern home
Now in an updated and expanded new edition, Build Your Own Low-Cost Log Home is a solid, in-depth guide to a venerable and neglected art. Chapters cover log preparation, needed tools, site and cost considerations, sample designs, accommodating heating systems and other utilities, the differences between manufacturer's kit homes, maintenance of one's log home, and much more. Black-and-white diagrams and photographs illustrate this methodical, easy-to- follow instructional. Build Your Own Low-Cost Log Home is a practical-minded resource for creating a livable modern home, packed cover to cover with tips from firsthand experience.
Buy this book!
While no one book will make you an expert builder this book will show you that you can build your own Log Home. Roger Hard has written an easy to understand How To Guide with topics like tools needed, chain saw mills even alternative power sources. I especially liked the tree species map of the US and Canada and the insulation value chart of the different species of wood. A classic how-to
This update of the classic 1977 book will help you choose a site, plan your cabin, find a kit or build from scratch. Easy to read text, illustrations, plans and details of a pretty 24' x 40' hillside cabin can be a do-it-yourself guide or can serve as your inspiration for other cabindesigns. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Construction - Carpentry    2. Design & Construction    3. Design and construction    4. Do-It-Yourself    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. House Plans    8. Log cabins    9. Log cabins and houses    10. DIY    11. House & Home / House Plans    12. Housing & property for the individual   

Reviews (2)

It 's Log Cabins not Log Homes
Excellent book from the 1950's on how to build a log cabin in the deep woods. Designed to take advantage on site materials requiring only simple non-power hand tools for construction. It doesn't reguire onsite delivery of comercial materials. Doesn't cover fancy plumbing, the newest elec. systems : solar panels, generators, inverters, etc. Nothing on the latest super insulation or energy saver appliances. If you don't want or need all the modern conviences, these cabins are great. Covers a number comforable functional "log" cabins using local materials for walls, roofing, flooring, fountation, furniture and stone fireplaces for heating. Not a book for log cabin "kits".

hmmm.
Not a great resource.Too simplistic and incomplete. Some interesting info. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Construction - General    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - Carpentry    4. Home Improvement / Construction    5. House & Home    6. Log cabins    7. Building construction & materials    8. House & Home / Design & Construction   

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Designs and plans    4. Domestic    5. Log cabins    6. Home & House Maintenance    7. House & Home / House Plans   

Reviews (4)

Finished it in a day
I finished this book in a day.I found it easy to read and very inspiring. Just looking at the pictures gave me ideas about how I'd like my home to eventually look.Not a how-to or a book offering advice - it's a book to relax with, enjoy reading and use as inspiration!

Simply the best.
Not so much a how-to book as it is a collection of homes to aspire to, The Cottage Book: Living Simple and Easy's combining of photographic examples and Carol Bass' prose transport the reader right into the cottages and their surroundings, with experiences beyond the visual alone.This is escapism at its asthetic best, a vacation-in-a-book.The title of the book is perfect, as are many of the featured rooms.Highly recommended for those who long to be close to nature and in touch with the past, with beauty all around as well.This is simply the best decorating book I've ever experienced.Inspirational!

Kudos for Cottage!
Fresh and "reader friendly".Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Cottages    3. Decorating - General    4. Decoration    5. General    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. United States    9. Home furnishing & decoration    10. House & Home / Decorating    11. Houses, apartments, flats, etc    12. Interior design   

Reviews (2)

Fun ideas
This book contains the submitions for a competition to design tree houses in a tropical climate.The best way to think of the designs is that they represent minimal shelter in a benign climate.There is a plethora of forms, mostly "experimental", some very imaginative and delightful.For the most part, the designs are not finished, in that they would need considerably more details of their construction to determine how practical they would be.That detail may exist, but it is not provided in the book, and there is no place to try to reference them. If these structures were built, they do not need to be attached to palm trees, but rather suspended by posts or anchored to walls.Think of the Dymaxion house as an example.
Proof that art majors are not engineers
This book is a coffee table book for Disney fans. While the creations are artistic they are not sound by any strech of the imagination. If you are looking for information that you can use look elsewhere. If you are looking for pretty pictures that defy logic and and engineering this is the book for you. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture And The Environment    3. Design and construction    4. Domestic    5. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    6. Environmental Engineering & Technology    7. General    8. Hana Region    9. Hawaii    10. Public Buildings Architecture    11. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings    12. Sustainable/Environmental    13. Tourist camps, hostels, etc.    14. Tree houses    15. Architecture / General    16. Houses, apartments, flats, etc   

Reviews (37)

Cluttered Country
The cover was the best photo found in the book. Many pictures showed busy rooms and cluttered kitchens. I love country chic style and am a HUGE fan of cath kidson and rachel ashwell as well as other books such as New Cottage Style and Country Chic. If you are looking for those styles, this is NOT the book. After looking through this book, i wanted to clean out my entire house due to the clutter overload.

3 and a half stars
This book is not bad, it has useful information, it has nice photos (some I've found a little dated).
Lots of great pictures & ideas
I like decorating books with less talk and more pictures. COTTAGE STYLE fits that bill. Caringer intersperses practical suggestions alongside pictures of tasteful and innovative cottage decorating. The creative juices flow! This book stays on my coffee table simply because I like to pick it up and peruse. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Decorating    2. Decorating - General    3. Home Improvement / Construction    4. House & Home    5. Interior Design - Style Books    6. Interior decoration    7. Interior design    8. House & Home / Decorating   

Reviews (10)

Few books have affected me like this one.
It was August, 1999. After a tough year of renovation my husband and I moved into our own 5,800 sf "Money Pit". We had spent a total of $ 600,000 getting ready for this day. It had been our dream ever since we had completed a renovation of our 1800 sf cottage 12 years before. We had battled bad heating guys, windows that had arrived to fit seemingly another house, workers who preferred smoking in our driveway to actually doing any work, painters who peed in my bathtub and nasty neighbors.
Lighten up about remodeling!
This is a really funny and very well-written book about two Manhattan queens who buy a mansion in the South and renovate it. Every remodeling horror you can imagine is described, but it all works out in the end! This book underscores the need for Cash, Cash, Cash!

An easy, entertaining read
"On A Street Called Easy, in a Cottage called Joye" is an easy and entertaining read, with short chapters perfect for the ride on the subway, or a break between tasks.A close parallel to "A Year In Provence", which is referenced by the authors, the story is essentially a humorous take on the gentry's lament "you can't get good help these days", but the biggest difference is that while "A Year..." is heavily slanted towards food, "A Street..." is almost entirely about the travails of renovating a wreck.It is after all, set in the deep (if it ain't fried, it ain't cooked)south, this is NOT Provence.Read more

Subjects:  1. Aiken (S.C.)    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Buildings, structures, etc    4. Decorating    5. Historic buildings    6. Joye Cottage (Aiken, S.C.)    7. Regional Subjects - South    8. South Carolina - Local History    9. Aiken    10. Homes and haunts    11. Whitney, William C   

Reviews (9)

Wish it had even more
While this book is geared toward setting up elderly parents near you, I think it could be useful for other types of families as well, such as multiple couples who wish to live together or multiple adults who wish to live together but still lead separate lives.In most ways, this is a book about adding an apartment onto your house.The plans are rather dull to look at and a lot of the advice is rather commonsense but they are a useful place to begin research if you are interested in such construction.I wish it had examples of houses and suits created by people today though -- some more realism to the entire book and some good ideas of how such an arrangement might work between families.

Helpful Book!
I thought this book was great.It covers everything from the reasons why an in-law suite is a good idea, to designing the plan, incorporating handicapped fixtures, etc.Yes there are only 40 separate plans (the other 40 are mirror images) but the plans are well thought out and encompass sizes from 300+ to 1000+ square feet.The plans are simple, straightforward and can be easily modified.I sent a copy of this book to my parents after buying one for myself, as we are considering building an in-law suite onto our house for my parents.My husband sells lots in a new subdivision and is keeping the book at his office with his other house plans because it's so useful.

Don't buy this book
I purchased this book after reading all the good reviews on this site.I consider the book a complete waste of money.It included suggestions like matching the colour of the siding on the suite to the rest of the house, and ensuring that you follow the building code.It was full of such ridiculously simple comments.Read more

Subjects:  1. House & Home / Design & Construction    2. House & Home / Remodeling & Renovation    3. Architecture, Domestic    4. Design & Construction    5. Designs and plans    6. Dwellings    7. House & Home    8. Personal space    9. Planning    10. Remodeling    11. Remodeling & Renovation   

Reviews (2)

Disappointing
When one thinks cottage they imagine a mountain cabin, oceanside bungalow or lakefront getaway.Home Planners Cool Cottages was filled with mostly black and white 'Home Plans', many over 1800 square feet with manicurred lawns.Through the entire book, I only found 3-4 cottages in 800-1200 square foot range showing a unique creative design.The floor plans were even worse.Do people actually build and live in these?What about traffic patterns? Formal dining rooms?Hello!That's what I do when I think getaway college, entertaining.Cool Cottage would have made a good $3.95 magazine in the Home and Garden section of a local newstand.A disappointment at any price.

Not at all what I expected
The description is very misleading.It is a book of 235 cottage floor plans - all black and white (with the exception of the first few).I expected the book to include floor plans, but I also expected it to be a good read and have real pictures.If you are just looking for floor plans, it's a great book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture, Domestic    2. Cottages    3. Design & Construction    4. Designs and plans    5. Do-It-Yourself    6. Home Improvement / Construction    7. House & Home    8. House Plans    9. United States    10. Gardening    11. Home & House Maintenance    12. Houses, apartments, flats, etc   

Reviews (7)

Great book; classic info
Anyone who enjoyed the boy scout handbook would love this book.It's full of all the diagrams and how-to's I enjoyed as a kid.This one's for grown kids and covers dwellings of every type - temporary to permanent, small to large.Great drawings; I'mso glad I found this book.

a must for your survivalist collection
Well written, easy to read, and full of details and pictures. Presented in a clear and concise manner this book will take you naked into the wilderness and give you the basics of survival structures but build you up to a full understanding of large permenant structures. a pleasure to read, recommend to everyone of all age groups.

For "boys" of all ages
When I was a child, I would look for this book when I went to the public library. I checked it out frequently and marveled at the lined drawings of various kinds of wilderness dwellings, especially the "Boys Hogan"-a type of hidden shelter built into the side of a hill.No doubt this book became the inspiration of the "forts" we built in the woods and the lean-tos constructed in Boy Scouts. Read more

Subjects:  1. Construction - General    2. Crafts & Hobbies    3. Design and construction    4. Hobbies/Crafts    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Huts    7. Log cabins    8. Outdoor Skills    9. Reference    10. Residential Construction    11. Sheds    12. Wilderness survival    13. Active outdoor pursuits    14. Handicrafts    15. House & Home / Reference   

Reviews (3)

Camps and Cabins review
Beautiful coffee table book.The pictures are large and there are many of them.The focus of the book was on the Adirondack style mostly and birch Adirondack style furniture.

Invinting
This book is a banquet for the eyes.The reader feasts upon the visuals and is drawn into the rooms, the homes, and one can almost smell the wood.
Cabins & Camps
This is by far the best cabin/camp book I own!Pages and pages of gorgous camps and cabins with wonderful decorating. I own many rustic decorating books and this is tops!! All Ralph Kylloes books are great but this one is the best! The pictures of inside all the beautiful camps and cabins is a true feast for the eye!I look at this book at least once a week and never tire of the homes and always put the book down with more ideas on how to make my home more rustic and adirondack/camp like. I can't imagine if you are a person that is into camp decorating that you would ever be disatisfied-it is truely the best of its kind!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Decoration    3. Decoration and ornament, Rusti    4. Decoration and ornament, Rustic    5. Domestic    6. General    7. Log cabins    8. Vacation homes    9. Architecture / Methods & Materials    10. Interior design    11. USA   

Features

• Illustrated

Subjects:  1. Construction - General    2. Do-It-Yourself    3. Do-It-Yourself - General    4. Garden structures    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. House & Home    7. BG-HISTORY - BG-AMERICAN HISTORY    8. DIY    9. Greenhouses, conservatories, patios    10. House & Home / Do-It-Yourself    11. Shrubs & trees   

Reviews (5)

English Cottage Gardening: ForAmerican Gardeners
I ordered this book because Tasha Tudor wrote the foreword, and her garden was featured.Ms. Tudor has long been one of my favorite artists and I've enjoyed collecting her books and books written about her. But what a special treat, not only was I able to get a glimpse into her gardens but that of a multitude of other wonderful cottage gardens that inspired and challenged. Never Have a Drab Garden Again
There is a wild and romantic image associated with cottage gardens and this book gives us page after page of incredible photos that inspire us to create one of these intimate spaces of our very own. Opening photos of Tasha Tudor's Vermont garden draw us into the continuous flow of picturesque gardens that range from photos of simple doorway gardens to massive perennial borders. It's a favorite.
This is one of my very favorite garden books. Pictures are beautiful, and the book is informative...giving plant names and even showing layout drawings of how the plants were placed. The gardens were not designed by professionals but were created thru trial and error, the way most people do their own. Shows how pretty a garden can be without perfection. Even shows many tiny doorway gardens that should not be intimidating for busy American gardeners. I would highly recommend this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cottage gardening    2. Cottage gardens    3. England    4. Garden Design    5. Gardening    6. Gardening / Horticulture    7. Hobbies/Crafts    8. Individual Photographer    9. Pictorial works    10. Techniques    11. United States    12. Garden design & planning   

Reviews (1)

Artistic Log Homes
Inside Log Homes takes log homes to new levels. While log homes are the feature, artistic expression is the focus. Each home is carefully accessorized in order to maximize the beauty of the living space. This is Cindy Thiede's fifth book and she presents quite a few beautiful ideas like the cabin wrapped in soft green summertime trees with transparent walls and massive pine posts that reach from the floor to the ceiling. It is like living in comfort outdoors.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Architecture, Domestic    3. Decorating - General    4. Design and construction    5. Home Improvement / Construction    6. Interior Design - General    7. Interior Design - Style Books    8. Interior decoration    9. Log cabins    10. Log cabins and houses    11. Home furnishing & decoration    12. House & Home / Decorating    13. Interior design