Review of The Art of Renovation: How to Turn Your House into Your Contemporary Dream Home Room by Room (Paperback)

Oh my Gawwwdd! I'm so excited today since seeing this book featured in the summer/fall edition of Florida Design's, Miami Home and Decor. I had to order it right away. I LOVE!!!! Barry Sugerman designs and, even though I don't live in Florida, I am a jealous wreck that the previous reviewer actually had him design her home. I have already adapted the Sugerman style in my home remodel and look forward to receiving this book to learn more about "how to turn my house into a comtemporary dream home" Sugerman style. I'll give an update after I devour this book. Yeahhhh!

Product Description
This book explores the current trend of remodeling, redesigning, and upgrading existing homes, and raises it to an art form by profiling the projects of award-winning architect Barry Sugerman.

Often the most desirable building sites, such as those with water access or mountain views, have already been built on, and just as often, there are existing municipal codes that prohibit tear-downs or expansions by restricting renovations to existing setbacks, footprints, or height restrictions. Sugerman's designs show how he seamlessly integrates existing structures into striking remodels, and how he surpasses the problems of dated houses to combine luxurious living and contemporary, cutting edge architectural designs into redesigns that fit with their existing neighborhoods.

The Art of Renovation is not your father's remodel. This book breaks new ground by stimulating readers to create visually inspiring residential remodels featuring light-filled spaces, expansive views, and the most luxury that contemporary design can offer. Even houses with a modest square footage appear open, spacious and welcoming after a Sugerman-designed remodel.

About the Author
Barry Sugerman P.A., A.I.A., is an established residential and commercial architect who is known for numerous award-winning renovations of luxury homes. He resides in Miami, Florida.

Shannon Howard is a regular contributor to Country Almanac, Country Decorating Ideas, Paint D�cor, Quick & Easy Decorating, and Creative Home. She spent several years living in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she quickly became enamored with Southern folklore. She now lives in Missouri.

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Review of Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction (Builder's Guide) (Paperback)

Too many contractors operate on a "if it ain't broken don't fix it" and "I have been successfully doing things (the old way) for 25 years." It is difficult to get the average contractor to think and act green. Johnston & Gibson lay out and walk through the key ideas . . . in plain English with lots of excellent photographs. Every architect, county planning department, planning inspectors and utility district should have this close at hand. This provides the average person what realtors and homes for sale newspaper features don't know and don't get.

Because there is so much hyperbole, many do not know what to accept, reject, believe or move forward with. How do you speak intelligently with an architect for schools, homes, churches and business and clearly communicate what makes up a functional, sustainable, energy conserving and site appropriate structure?

Planning and Design is a whole system, not a one shot effort. This includes siting, aspect, elevation, lighting, landscaping, plumbing, materials, construction techniques, heating and cooling, interior and exterior finishes, decking, roofs and attics and basements."Form follows function," taught in design schools, but too often ignored, permeates every thought. Collective wisdom reaches back to the Anasazi in the Southwest. This explains why you insulate under a foundation, how fly ash makes concrete stronger and takes care of an otherwise waste product requiring less Portland cement for walls and floors. Advanced framing techniques or use of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), alternatives to wood steel studs reduce waste and cost and increases thermal efficiency. Tubular sunpipes are shown illuminating interior space (a much superior alternative to leaky skylights).

Whether you are thinking of new construction or a retrofit, this is a key guide. As we enter "Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines (Heinberg, 2007)," this is a guide to quality, high expectations and cost effectiveness with emphasis on sustainability and durability. When I look at a building, these are the critical thinking thoughts and questions in my head. This should be close at hand in every home construction and hardware supply store. Superbly written, well laid out, easy to find information.



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Review of The Home Concepts Book UK: Inspiring Designs for Contemporary Houses (Paperback)

An interesting book that features the work of five British architects.It's really an inspirational idea because the houses only exist in digital form.The sixty-one homes each get a spread with two digital pictures, three-quarters front and back and the bit that intrigued me, two digital illustrations presented as three-dimensional floor plans.So each room has generic but realistic items of furniture, carpets and cars in the garage.It all looks amazingly convincing.

The houses are all set in a solitary rustic environment so that the landscape or other structures don't visually get in the way of the property.The sizes vary from 6500 down to just over 1200 square feet.Dimensions are given for all the rooms. Apart from the house spreads there are very generalized chapters about selecting a site, building regulations, sustainable homes, landscape design and a selection of books and websites.

Included with the book is a DVD that features an external virtual tour around each home and what caught my eye here was the attention to detail especially the trees and greenery reflected in all the windows.The larger properties have up-market cars in the drive.

Bear in mind that the houses and related chapters reflect British contemporary house design and regulations but maybe you want to be the first on your block living in something rather different.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.


Product Description
This title comes as a set of Book & DVD. This book is designed for self-builders who are looking for a variety of ideas, designs and information on how to do it right, with style and in keeping with planning regulations. The book features over 60 designs from five home designers (based in London, Inverness, Shrewsbury, Blackpool and Devon) all presented as high quality images, 3D floor plans and 360 animations on the accompanying DVD. Both inspiring and motivational, the "Home Concepts Book UK" also offers practical advice with sections on selecting a site, house design, landscape design and eco-technologies, and is a great guide at any stage of a self-build.

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