The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects


Spike Carlsen - 2014
    From plant supports and clotheslines to a chicken coop, a greenhouse, and a root cellar with storage bins, most of the projects are suitable for complete novices, and all use just basic tools and easy-to-find materials. You’ll find techniques to build whatever your outdoor world is missing, with additional tips to live sustainably, happily, and independently.  Also available in this series: The Backyard Homestead, The Backyard Homestead Seasonal Planner, The Backyard Homestead Guide to Raising Farm Animals, and The Backyard Homestead Book of Kitchen Know-How.

The New Plant Parent: Develop Your Green Thumb and Care for Your House-Plant Family


Darryl Cheng - 2019
    He teaches the art of understanding a plant’s needs and giving it a home with the right balance of light, water, and nutrients. After reading Cheng, the indoor gardener will be far less the passive follower of rules for the care of each species and much more the confident, active grower, relying on observation and insight. And in the process, the plant owner becomes a plant lover, bonded to these beautiful living things by a simple love and appreciation of nature. The New Plant Parent covers all of the basics of growing house plants, from finding the right light, to everyday care like watering and fertilizing, to containers, to recommended species. Cheng’s friendly tone, personal stories, and accessible photographs fill his book with the same generous spirit that has made @houseplantjournal, his Instagram account, a popular source of advice and inspiration for thousands of indoor gardeners.

Maryjane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook: For the Farmgirl in All of Us


MaryJane Butters - 2005
    She wants nothing less than to reconnect us all with the food we eat and the heritage of farming that belongs to all of us, and nothing more than to empower and encourage rural women everywhere ... she is cultivating not just a farm but a philosophy of living. " -- Body & Soul "Carpenter, waitress, janitor, upholsterer, secretary, milkmaid, wilderness ranger, environmental activist, entrepreneur-the founder of "MaryJanesFarm" has worn many hats in her day, but none more proudly than that of modern-day farmgirl. Speaking to the farmgirl in all of us, MaryJane Butters offers a captivating introduction to the organic lifestyle, resurrects forgotten domestic arts, and shares lessons gleaned from her diverse background and two decades of life as an Idaho farmer. Whether you simply need encouragement to embrace a more authentic, wholesome lifestyle or you're looking for guidance on building a greenhouse, chopping firewood, hosting a town event, caring for a flock of chickens, making your own butter, growing a winter salad, or choosing a water filter, "MaryJane's Ideabook, Cookbook, Lifebook" is both an inspiration and a practical road map for farmgirls of all stripes." "Dreams are MaryJane Butters' business, and she has always pursued them without pausing to consult conventional wisdom. "-- House & Garden "MaryJane Butters, a natural teacher, has a gift for simplification, and makes it seem that everything she does is easy and attainable. "-- The New Yorker"

The Straw Bale House


David A. Bainbridge - 1994
    Welcome to the straw bale house! Whether you build an entire house or something more modest-a home office or studio, a retreat cabin or guest cottage-plastered straw bale construction is an exceptionally durable and inexpensive option. What's more, it's fun, because the technique is easy to learn and easy to do yourself. And the resulting living spaces are unusually quiet and comfortable.The Straw Bale Housedescribes the many benefits of building with straw bales:super insulation, with R-values as high as R-50 good indoor air quality and noise reduction a speedy construction process construction costs as low as $10-per-square-foot use of natural and abundant renewable resources a better solution than burning agricultural waste straw, which creates tons of air pollutants

Marrakesh by Design


Maryam Montague - 2012
    For anyone who wants to add Morocco's spicy design mix into their own home, Maryam Montague, the personality behind the award-winning blog My Marrakesh, explains how to do so with the building blocks of Moroccan design—from the colors, patterns, and textiles to the archways, fountains, gardens, and so much more. With illustrative text and gorgeous photographs, Maryam shows how Moroccan design comes to life in real villas and riads and in her own magnificent home and guesthouse. Eager DIYers will love the ideas presented in sidebars and in how-to projects that can be applied to homes anywhere. Filled with all the richness of Morocco,Marrakesh by Design will transport readers straight to the souks and salons of this exotic city while showing them the multitude of ways to live with the enticing elements of Moroccan design.

Tiny Houses


Mimi Zeiger - 2009
    Focusing on dwelling spaces all under 1,000 square feet, TINY HOUSES (Rizzoli, April 2009) by Mimi Zeiger aims to challenge readers to take a look at their own homes and consider how much space they actively use. Ranging from tree houses to floating houses, TINY HOUSES features an international collection of over thirty modular and prefab homes, each one embodying “microgreen living”, defined as the creation of tiny homes where people challenge themselves to live “greener” lives. By using a thoughtful application of green living principles, renewable resources for construction, and clever ingenuity, these homes exemplify sustainable living at its best.

The Image of the City


Kevin Lynch - 1960
    Lynch, supported by studies of Los Angeles, Boston, and Jersey City, formulates a new criterion -- imageability -- and shows its potential value as a guide for the building and rebuilding of cities. The wide scope of this study leads to an original and vital method for the evaluation of city form. The architect, the planner, and certainly the city dweller will all want to read this book.

Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using 47 Extraordinary Garden Plants


Stefani Bittner - 2017
    Make anise hyssop into a refreshing iced tea and turn apricots into a facial mask. Crabapple branches can be used to create stunning floral arrangements, oregano flowers to infuse vinegar, and edible chrysanthemum to liven up a salad. With the remarkable, multi-purpose plants in Harvest, there is always something for gardeners to harvest from one growing season to the next.

The New Terrarium: Creating Beautiful Displays for Plants and Nature


Tovah Martin - 2009
    . . If you call the countryside home but have no time to step outside . . .If you are confined to an office fifty hours a week . . . If your home needs the soothing touch of the natural world . . . In The New Terrarium, Tovah Martin, one of America’s favorite gardeners, introduces you to the whimsical yet practical world of gardens under glass—a no-fuss way to bring snippets of nature indoors. Wherever you are, in whatever little time you have, terrariums are the perfect tool for nature lovers and gardeners everywhere.With gorgeous photography, The New Terrarium reveals how this classic garden tool has been reimagined in a modern way. When encased in glass, plants thrive with almost no help from outside their little enclosed world, so you can host a plant almost anywhere—in your apartment where the air is dry or in your cubicle where there’s little natural light. Tucked inside something crystal and contained, the bounty of the forest or treasures from the beach or the meadow can merge seamlessly into your home or office environment. It’s amazing how some frothy fern fronds or colorful blossoms can transform a room by giving it a burst of vibrant green life.With clear, simple step-by-step instructions and photographs to inspire and guide you along the way, Martin shares her years of experience growing and tending terrariums and shows how terrariums can enrich your life, including: • different venues for cultivating your terrarium• plants that flourish in these gardens under glass• ideas and designs for creating your first terrarium • how to care for and maintain the environment you’ve made Martin has designed a unique range of imaginative terrarium projects, including ones that are suitable for children, enliven the seasons, incorporate plant propagation, and show off a nature collection. Whether you are a gardener or city-dwelling nature lover, The New Terrarium is the perfect way to spark your creativity, while helping you to bring your favorite plants into your home and giving them a place to thrive.When nature is out of arm’s reach and you crave a little greenery, The New Terrarium can show you how to bring all the benefits of the outdoors close to you.

Home Maintenance for Dummies?


Morris Carey - 2000
    But thanks to timesaving, trouble-preventing strategies from these nationally recognized experts, now anyone can keep his or her palace in regal repair and have plenty of time left over for the fox hunts. This friendly book covers everything from plumbing to painting, with handy calendars to ensure nothing falls through the cracks -- including the cracks!

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.

Live Beautiful


Athena Calderone - 2020
    In Live Beautiful, the highly anticipated design book by Athena Calderone, the EyeSwoon creator taps into her international network of interior decorators, fashion designers, and tastemakers to reveal how carefully crafted interiors come together. She also opens the doors to two of her own residences.   With each homeowner, Calderone explores the initial spark of inspiration that incited their design journey. She then breaks down the details of the rooms—like layered textures and patterns, collected pieces, and customized vignettes—and offers helpful tips on how to bring these elevated elements into your own space. Filled with gorgeous photography by Nicole Franzen, Live Beautiful is both a showpiece of exquisite design and a guide to creating a home that’s thoughtfully put together.

Flea Market Chic


Liz Bauwens - 2012
    And in traditional decorating schemes, fleamarket chic is a key part of the mix: faded textiles, weathered furniture, mis-matched china, and the occasional flamboyant lamp or work of art are all part of the charm. Of course, Fleamarket Chic is about saving you money, along with recycling, upcycling, and repurposing. But it’s also about a sense of history and place, about individuality, and creating a home that reflects your life and personality. Every piece in a Fleamarket Chic interior has a story: the colorful pitcher you found at a garage sale, the vintage telephone you reclaimed when a favorite aunt finally bought a modern handset, the little chair you found in a county junk store, or the old trash cans that have been converted into fashionable zinc planters. In Fleamarket Chic, we’ll show you how to spot the clever find in a pile of junk, where to look and how to negotiate, how to smarten up (and when not to smarten up) second-hand items, and how to re-discover and re-use things you or your family already have.

Down to Earth: Laid-back Interiors for Modern Living


Lauren Liess - 2019
    While Habitat walked readers through the decorating process step-by-step, Liess’s latest title takes a step beyond the basics and invites readers to incorporate the main components of her familiar design aesthetic: nature, easy living, and approachability. With evocative photos and substantive design advice, Down to Earth focuses on creating a lifestyle that inspires creativity and functionality.  Throughout the book, Liess shows readers how to incorporate six guiding principles in six unique homes: a new farmhouse, a classic American historical home, a lakeside contemporary house, a modern villa, a turn- of-the-century American Foursquare, and a cedar and glass house on a bluff. While each home has a different architectural style, fingerprints of Liess’s down-to-earth style are evident throughout.

How to Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Backcountry Getaway


J. Wayne Fears - 2002
    With photos, blueprints, and diagrams, Fears thoroughly covers the process of constructing the cabin you’ve always wanted. From buying land, construction materials, deciding on lighting, the water system, and on-site constructions—such as shooting ranges, an outhouse, or an outside fire ring—this is a book filled with nuggets of wisdom from a specialist in the field: J. Wayne Fears is a wildlife biologist by training who has organized big-game hunting camps, guided canoe trips, and run commercial getaway operations. He built his own log cabin in the early 1990s and has been enjoying it ever since. Now you can build and enjoy the cabin you've always dreamed of, too.