Say good-bye to backaches and weed problems!  Lee Reich’s organic Weedless Gardening eschews the traditional yearly digging up and working over of the soil. It’s is an easy-to-follow, low-impact approach to planting and maintaining a flower garden, a vegetable patch, trees, and shrubs naturally. "If you love to knock yourself out digging beds, buy a better shovel. If you're looking for a no-nonsense alternative, buy this book!" -Ketzel Levine, National Public Radio's Doyenne of Dirt)"Thoroughly practical, easy-to-follow guide to good gardening Lee Reich make it sound simple, and if you follow his methods and philosophy, it is." -Dora Galitzki, Gardening Columnist, The New York Times, and Author of The Gardener's Essential Companion"Finally, a book filled with science-based information that insures success and frees us from busywork in the garden." - Dr. H. March Cathey, President Emeritus, American Horticultural Society

    Charles Faudree's Country French Living features his newest room designs. From the entryway to the dressing room to walls, dining rooms, and outdoor spaces, Charles teaches principles of design that make a house a Country French home:The importance of the bedroom and how to make it a soothing sanctuary, deserving as much attention to beauty and detail as the rest of the home.How to identify a pivotal fabric, a dominant color, or one magnificent antique that will dictate the style and design for a whole room.How books can create an inviting atmosphere and add a warmth all their own.How a valance is the ultimate decorating deceit, and how window treatments express the personality of a room and add a proper finish.How to use walls as they are meant--as a stage on which to display one's favorite collections.How to use symmetrical groupings that provide a sense if balance and order in a roomCharles Faudree's Country French Living also shows how to make the most of accessories like lamps, pillows, baskets, paintings, and more to finish a room and provide the charm and character so important in a well-designed French Country setting. Country French Living reveals that the true test of a beautiful room is in the details.Charles Faudree's clients are found throughout America as well as in Spain and Jamaica. Five individual homes designed by Charles, including his own, have been featured on HGTV. During his twenty-five-year career as an interior designer, his work has appeared in many design magazines and decorating books. Six of his own homes have been featured in Traditional Home magazine, where he was a Design Award Winner in 1995. He has also been featured in Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications, Renovation Style, Veranda, Southern Accents, and House Beautiful. In 2002 he was named one of America's top 100 interior designers.

    According to Amy Sedaris, it's often been said that ugly people craft and attractive people have sex. In her new book, Simple Times, she sets the record straight. Demonstrating that crafting is one of life's more pleasurable and constructive leisure activities, Sedaris shows that anyone with a couple of hours to kill and access to pipe cleaners can join the elite society of crafters. You will discover how to make popular crafts, such as: crab-claw roach clips, tinfoil balls, and crepe-paper moccasins, and learn how to: get inspired (Spend time at a Renaissance Fair; Buy fruit, let it get old, and see what shapes it turns into); remember which kind of glue to use with which material (Tacky with Furry, Gummy with Gritty, Paste with Prickly, and always Gloppy with Sandy); create your own craft room and avoid the most common crafting accidents (sawdust fires, feather asphyxia, pine cone lodged in throat); and cook your own edible crafts, from a Crafty Candle Salad to Sugar Skulls, and many more recipes. PLUS whole chapters full of more crafting ideas (Pompom Ringworms! Seashell Toilet Seat Covers!) that will inspire you to create your own hastily constructed obscure d'arts; and much, much more!

    That's a fact of life that the Junkmarket gals know only too well. Through their annual Minneapolis fleamarket, The Junk Bonanza, web site junkmarketstyle.com, and tireless touring, Sue Whitney and Ki Nassauer have helped countless devotees transform junk into one-of-a-kind furnishings and accessories. Working their magic on every room of the house--from kitchen to home office--they present conversational case studies that introduce the clients and explore their needs. With characteristic humor in tow, they take readers through each renovation adventure, from shopping for recycled materials to the actual construction projects. The gals also include complete materials lists, plus paint chips and fabric swatches, so that everything can be recreated down to the last delicious detail.

    For every area of your household—kitchen, cleaning, wellness, bath, and garden—Julia shows you how to eliminate wasteful packaging, harmful ingredients, and disposable items. Practical checklists outline easy swaps (instead of disposable sponges, opt for biodegradable sponges or Swedish dishcloths; choose a bamboo toothbrush over a plastic one) and sustainable upgrades for common household tools and products. Projects include scrap apple cider vinegar, wool dryer balls, kitchen bowl covers and cloth produce bags, non-toxic dryer sheets, all-purpose citrus cleaner, herbal tinctures and balms, and more, plus recipes for package-free essentials like homemade nut milk, hummus, ketchup, salad dressings, and veggie stock.

    As a result, one of the most effective ways to transform any room is by changing its color. Which colors to use is the challenge.The Color Scheme Bible is a practical, yet inspiring reference for those who want to take advantage of different colors without clashing. It contains 150 color scheme ideas for home decorators and interior designers.The book explains how to choose colors that will complement each other for a subdued effect, and which colors and combinations will energize the room.Topics covered include:How color creates ambiance and atmosphere Using color to give a small room the illusion of space and depth How to create the feeling of warmth and light with color Distinctive color schemes inspired by nature, art, travel and even a favorite possession. The book also includes a variety of color combination palettes that can be used with different materials for refreshingly original color schemes.The Color Scheme Bible is an essential handbook for home decorators and interior designers.

    But did you realize that, open or closed, books can also make your real world--your home--more fabulous? As legendary designer Billy Baldwin pointed out, they're “the best decoration,” capable of bringing incredible warmth, color, and character to a room. From grand bookcases in home libraries to casual stacks artfully arrayed on chairs, House Beautiful presents countless eye-catching ideas for displaying and arranging your hardcovers, paperbacks, encyclopedias, and even valuable first editions. Useful tips shed light on how to organize a large collection; situate bookcases in the room for the best effect; and make the most of books' appealing visual and tactile qualities. From traditional interpretations to contemporary visions--such as putting a book on a pedestal as an objet d'art--these concepts write a new page in design.

    The physical design of our homes, neighborhoods and communities shapes every aspect of our live, yet where architects are most desperately needed, they can least be afforded. Design Like You Give a Damn is a compendium of innovative projects from around the world that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives. It offers a history of the movement toward socially conscious design, and showcases more than 80 contemporary solutions to such urgent needs as basic shelter, healthcare, education and access to clean water, energy and sanitation.

       Pattern is the strongest element in any room. In Living with Pattern, Rebecca Atwood demystifies how to use that element, a design concept that often confounds and confuses, demonstrating how to seamlessly mix and layer prints throughout a house. She covers pattern usage you probably already have, such as on your duvet cover or in the living room rug, and she also reveals the unexpected places you might not have thought to add it: bathroom tiles, an arrangement of book spines in a reading nook, or windowpane gridding in your entryway. In this stunning book, beautiful photography showcases distinct uses of pattern in homes all over the country to inspire you to realize that an injection of pattern can enliven any space, helping to make it uniquely yours.

    Radical Frugality tells the story of 5 people who did it: Paul, 27, discovering how to overcome student loan debt; David and Winona, late 40's, living their retirement dream today; and Dan and Charlotte, family of 4, with an underwater mortgage. Waking up every morning debt-free with cash in your pocket helps your brain feel safe, secure, and smart. Embracing the concepts in this book frees you from the overwhelming anxiety of the consumer lifestyle by showing you how to take control. You can start today. What if you could spend 66% less money than you spend today setting yourself up to live a self-determined lifestyle doing exactly what you love to do regardless of financial compensation? Radical Frugality shows you exactly how to achieve those goals within one to five years. Using our step-by-step common sense plan, we teach you what to do (break the spell of the consumer credit con), when to do it (planning and preparation), and most importantly where to do it (discover the 5 top cities for living frugally). We'll help you evaluate your financial situation. Are you in the Yellow Zone, the Orange Zone, the Red Zone, or even the Dead Zone (paying debt with debt)? This book lays out a plan for how to pay off your debt and get into the Neutral Zone (getting back to monthly break-even), the Green Zone (debt free with $1,000 a month free cash-flow) or even the Golden Zone (living a self-determined life). Whether you are desperate right now about your financial situation, facing retirement, just starting out, or just plain tired and worn-out from struggling to pay bills, Radical Frugality can show you over 100 tips for feeling better today. Radical Frugality offers a soup to nuts plan for living a self-determined life that will leave you happier and healthier than ever before. CHAPTER ONE: IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU EARN—IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU SPEND. HOW TO TAKE CONTROL CHAPTER TWO: THE CONSUMER CREDIT CON. HOW MARKETERS PLAY TRICKS ON YOUR BRAIN CHAPTER THREE: WHY FRUGALITY? GETTING STRAIGHT ABOUT WHY YOU'RE ON THE PLANET CHAPTER FOUR: WHO ARE YOU TODAY? EVALUATE YOUR SPENDING PROFILE CHAPTER FIVE: HOW TO DO IT. YOUR STEP BY STEP PLAN TO GAIN CONTROL CHAPTER SIX: GOING GREEN AND NEVER LOOKING BACK. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON CASH CHAPTER SEVEN: WHEN WILL YOU BE READY? LEARNING TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS CHAPTER EIGHT: LIVING THE DREAM. WHERE YOU LIVE DETERMINES HOW YOU LIVE

    Presenting 48 joints, selected from among the several hundred known and used today, this visually exciting book will please anyone who has ever been moved by the sheer beauty of wood. With the clear isometric projections complementing the 64 pages of stunning photographs, even the weekend carpenter can duplicate these bequests from the traditional Japanese carpenter, which can be applied to projects as large as the buildings for which most of them were originally devised or to projects as small as a sewing box.

    In this, his first book, he teaches readers everything they need to know about the provenance and history of furniture, as well as how to restore, update, and care for their furniture—from antiques to midcentury pieces, family heirlooms or funky flea-market finds. The heart of the book is an overview of Pourny’s favorite techniques—ceruse, vernis anglais,and water gilding, among many others—with full-color step-by-step photographs to ensure that readers can easily replicate each refinishing technique at home. Pourny brings these techniques to life with a chapter devoted to real-world refinishing projects, from a veneered table to an ebonized desk, a gilt frame to a painted northern European hutch. Rounding out this comprehensive guide is care and maintenance information, including how to properly clean leather, polish hardware, fix a broken leg, and replace felt pads, as well as recipes to make your own wax, shellac, varnish, stain, and more.

    In-depth profiles highlight how many plants to grow of each crop for a year s worth of eating, and which storage methods work best for specific varieties. Author Barbara Pleasant culls tips from decades of her own gardening experience and from growers across North America to offer planting, care, and harvesting refreshers for every region and each vegetable."

    In Simply Sustainable, perfection is not required. Whether you are looking for easy changes to get you started, or more advanced, high-impact tips for your low-waste home, these simple, effective steps will forever change your relationship to disposable plastic products.Lily Cameron shows readers how to gradually transition away from plastic and curate a minimal, beautiful home in the process. Her approach teaches you how to "make plastic-free living work for you, savor your progress and celebrate that with each small change, you are making a positive impact on the environment, your health and your family's well being."Simply Sustainable proves that zero-waste living can be easy and deeply satisfying, whether shopping at the farmers market, throwing a dinner party, or packing for a getaway weekend. With practical, manageable strategies organized by room, and inspiring photographs of plastic-free homes, you can begin your journey toward intentional, low-waste living.

    Now The Complete Tightwad Gazette brings together all of her best ideas and thriftiest thinking into one volume, along with new articles never published before in book format. Dacyczyn describes this collection as "the book I wish I'd had when I began my adult life." Packed with humor, creativity, and insight, The Complete Tightwad Gazette includes hundreds of tips and topics, such as:Travel for tightwads¸ How to transform old blue jeans into potholders and quilts¸ Ten painless ways to save $100 this year¸ Picture-framing for pennies¸ A comparison of painting versus re-siding your house¸ Halloween costumes from scrounged materials¸ Thrifty window treatments¸ Ways to dry up dry-cleaning costs¸ Inexpensive gifts¸ Creative fundraisers for kids¸ Slashing your electric bill¸ Frugal fix-its¸ Cutting the cost of college¸ Moving for less¸ Saving on groceries¸ Gift-wrapping for tightwads¸ Furniture-fusion fundamentals¸ Cheap breakfast cereals¸ Avoiding credit card debt¸ Using items you were about to throw away (milk jugs, plastic meat trays, and more!)¸ Recipes galore, from penny-pinching pizza to toaster pastries¸ And much much more . . .