Small Space Style: Because you don't have to live large to live beautifully


Whitney Leigh Morris - 2018
    In her debut book, Whitney shares her best ideas for making any tiny space efficient and stylish—whether it’s a rustic A-frame in the woods or a chic microapartment in the city.Featuring 300 tips for making the most of your tiny home, Small Space Style is the must-have, incredibly inspirational guide for living large in the smallest of spaces. Join tiny home expert Whitney Leigh Morris as she demonstrates how to craft floorplans so spaces do double duty, personalize storage to look chic, go vertical when surface space is limited, DIY your own clever custom built-ins, streamline media devices, use furniture for more than one function, keep clutter to a minimum, and even entertain a crowd in a small area.With chapters on all that we do in our homes (living, sleeping, eating, and bathing), Small Space Style features real-life examples from Whitney’s own delightful and sophisticated cottage in Venice Beach, California, as well as home tours of some of her favorite tiny houses, micro apartments, and otherwise small spaces.

Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System


Mary Appelhof - 1982
    Small-scale, self-contained worm bins can be kept indoors, in a basement or even under the kitchen sink in an apartment — making vermicomposting a great option for city dwellers and anyone who doesn’t want or can’t have an outdoor compost pile. The fully revised 35th anniversary edition features the original’s same friendly tone, with up-to-date information on the entire process, from building or purchasing a bin (readily available at garden supply stores), maintaining the worms, and harvesting the finished compost.

Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-scale Permaculture


Toby Hemenway - 2001
    Key features include:- use of compatible perennials;- non-invasive planting techniques;- emphasis on biodiversity;- specifically adaptable to local climate, landscape, and soil conditions;- highly productive output of edibles.Now, picture your backyard as one incredibly lush garden, filled with edible flowers, bursting with fruit and berries, and carpeted with scented herbs and tangy salad greens. The visual impact is of Monet's palette, a wash of color, texture, and hue. But this is no still life. The flowers nurture endangered pollinators. Bright-featured songbirds feed on abundant berries and gather twigs for their nests.The plants themselves are grouped in natural communities, where each species plays a role in building soil, deterring pests, storing nutrients, and luring beneficial insects. And finally, you—good ol' homo sapiens—are an integral part of the scene. Your garden tools are resting against a nearby tree, and have a slight patina of rust, because this garden requires so little maintenance. You recline into a hammock to admire your work. You have created a garden paradise.This is no dream, but rather an ecological garden, which takes the principles of permaculture and applies them on a home-scale. There is nothing technical, intrusive, secretive, or expensive about this form of gardening. All that is required is some botanical knowledge (which is in this book) and a mindset that defines a backyard paradise as something other than a carpet of grass fed by MiracleGro.

How to Get Dressed: A Costume Designer's Secrets for Making Your Clothes Look, Fit, and Feel Amazing


Alison Freer - 2015
    TV and film productions wait for nothing, so her solutions have to work fast. In How to Get Dressed, Alison distills her secrets into a fun, comprehensive style guide focused on rethinking your wardrobe like a fashion expert and making what’s in your closet work for you. She provides real-world advice about everything style-related, including: • Making every garment you own fit better• Mastering closet organization• The undergarments you actually need• The scoop on tailors and which alterations are worth it• Shopping thrift and vintage like a rockstarInstead of repeating boring style “rules,” Alison breaks the rules and gets real about everything from bras to how to deal with inevitable fashion disasters. Including helpful information such as how to skip ironing and the dry cleaners, remove every stain under the sun, and help clueless men get their sartorial acts together, How to Get Dressed has hundreds of insider tips from Alison’s arsenal of tools and expertise.

Compact Houses: 50 Creative Floor Plans for Well-Designed Small Homes


Gerald Rowan - 2013
    Gerald Rowan presents creative and efficient layouts that use every inch of space, with tips on fully maximizing closets, porches, bathrooms, attics, and basements. From reorganizing a small storage area to building a brand-new home, you’ll find a detailed design to fit your family’s needs.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter


Margareta Magnusson - 2017
    In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming.Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.

The Wander Society


Keri Smith - 2016
    Little did she know at the time that those simple markings would become the basis of a years-long, life-changing exploration into a mysterious group known only as The Wander Society, as well as the subject of this book.Within these pages, you’ll find the results of Smith’s research: A guide to the Wander Society, a secretive group that holds up the act of wandering, or unplanned exploring, as a way of life. You’ll learn about the group’s mysterious origins, meet fellow wanderers through time, discover how wandering feeds the creative mind, and learn how to best practice the art of wandering, should you choose to accept the mission.

Restoration House: Creating a Space That Gives Life and Connection to All Who Enter


Kennesha Buycks - 2019
    A place to gather and connect. A place of beauty. A place to restore your soul. Creating a restored home—the kind that you and your loved ones want to return to again and again—is as much about making everyone who enters feel cared for and comfortable as it is about creating a beautiful space.In Restoration House, home decor and lifestyle guide Kennesha Buycks of Restoration House blog shows you how to embrace your home and your story as you create mindful spaces that give life to you, your loved ones, and all who enter.With gorgeous photography and pages of practical tips for curating and decorating your home (even on a small budget) and welcoming others, Restoration House will help you make purposeful design decisions as you create renewing spaces for you to enjoy with family and friends.Whether you live in your dream house or you’re still dreaming about it, you can feel at home in the home you have.

Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces


Gayla Trail - 2010
    In Grow Great Grub, Gayla Trail, the founder of the leading online gardening community (YouGrowGirl.com), shows you how to grow your own delicious, affordable, organic edibles virtually anywhere.                    Grow Great Grub packs in tips and essential information about: - Choosing a location and making the most of your soil (even if it’s less than perfect)- Building a raised bed, compost bin, and self-watering container using recycled materials- Keeping pests and diseases away from your plants—the toxin-free way- Growing bountiful crops in pots and selecting the best heirloom varieties- Cultivating hundreds of plants, from blueberries to Thai basil, to the best tomatoes you’ll ever taste - Canning, and preserving to make the most of your garden’s generosity - Green-friendly, cost-saving, growing, and building projects that are smart and stylish- And much more! Whether you’re looking to eat on a budget or simply experience the pleasure of picking tonight’s meal from right outside your door, this is the must-have book for small-space gardeners—no backyard required.  GAYLA TRAIL is the creator of the acclaimed top gardening website yougrowgirl.com. Her work as a writer and photographer has appeared in publications including The New York Times, Newsweek, Budget Living, and ReadyMade. A resident of Toronto who has grown a garden on her rooftop for more than 10 years, she is the author of You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening.

The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do


Sarah Knight - 2015
    The easy-to-use, two-step NotSorry Method for mental decluttering will help you unleash the power of not giving a f*ck about: Family dramaHaving a "bikini body"IcelandCo-workers' opinions, pets, and childrenAnd other bullsh*t! And it will free you to spend your time, energy, and money on the things that really matter. So what are you waiting for? Stop giving a f*ck and start living your best life today!

The House Plant Expert


D.G. Hessayon - 1981
    Over a million copies have been sold in the U.S., and nearly 14 million worldwide. According to one reviewer - "after the Bible, the best-selling reference book of all time."In a basketful of countries it has taught people to choose and care for their indoor plants. Its style of dealing with each plant with drawings, photographs and no-nonsense text has become a legend in the publishing world. If you have house plants (and who doesn't?) you need this book.

California Native Plants for the Garden


Carol Bornstein - 2005
    Authored by three of the state's leading native-plant horticulturists and illustrated with 450 color photos, this reference book also includes chapters on landscape design, installation, and maintenance. Detailed lists of recommended native plants for a variety of situations and appendices with information on places to see native plants and where to buy them are also provided.

Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives


Evelyn J. Hadden - 2012
    From a lively prairie to a runoff-reducing rain garden, award-winning author Hadden shows readers how to convert their yards.

Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures


Lara Spencer - 2014
    She takes readers through the step-by-step process of overcoming the challenges of the room, offering helpful tips and lessons along the way. She identi­fies the design dilemma; comes up with a decorat­ing plan; makes a mood board for inspiration; compiles a shopping list; scours flea markets for furniture and accessories that fit the bill; restores, repurposes, and reinvents the pieces she finds, giving them new life; and brings all the elements together in the gorgeous, finished space. With illuminating before, during, and after photographs of her DIY projects and the room installations, Lara demystifies the decorating process and allows readers to envision endless possibilities for what they can do in their own homes.

Love Style Life


Garance Doré - 2015
      Garance Doré, the voice and vision behind her eponymous blog, has captivated millions of readers worldwide with her fresh and appealing approach to style through storytelling. This gorgeously illustrated book takes readers on a unique narrative journey that blends Garance’s inimitable photography and illustrations with the candid, hard-won wisdom drawn from her life and her travels. Infused with her Left Bank sensibility, the eclecticism of her adopted city of New York, and the wild, passionate spirit of her native Corsica, Love Style Life is a backstage pass behind fashion’s frontlines, peppered with French-girl-next-door wit and advice on everything from mixing J.Crew with Chanel, to falling in love, to pursuing a life and career that is the perfect reflection of you.  Praise for Garance Doré and Love Style Life   “The most elegant, funny, truthful book on style, love and life. Garance is an original with the cutest French accent.”—Jenna Lyons, president and creative director, J.Crew  “This charming book by fashion blogger Doré is part memoir and part style guide, gathered together in a chic, Gallic-inflected package.”—Publishers Weekly“One of blogdom’s most compelling storytellers.”—The New York Times   “Doré’s mix of portrait photography, illustrations, collages, and stream-of-consciousness writing . . . has given the fashion world en masse a girl crush.”—Interview   “Garance Doré embodies effortless French style.”—Martha Stewart Living