Great Houses on a Budget

David Giffels

All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House

As wry as Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself, as insightful as Tracy Kidder's House, here is smart, engaging tale of one man's stuggle to restore his family's new home--a decrepit old mansion--and discover himself With his pregnant wife and their 18-month-old son in tow, David Giffels scoured the environs of Akron, OH, in search of the perfect house. But nothing seemed right . . . until he spotted the beautiful, decaying Guilded Era mansion. A former rubber robber baron's domain, the once grand house does need some repair . . . okay it's a dump. So what if, there's “nothing holding this place up but memory,”--the assessment of his father, a structural engineer? It wouldn't be perfect if it were easy, and Giffels relishes the challenge. He's a committed do it yourselfer who fears a life without struggle--and Home Depot. All the Way Home follows Giffels's funny and sometimes frustrating journey as he and his young family turns a decrepit money pit into the the home of their dreams. From outwitting squatters (both four- and two-legged) to rebuilding termite ridden walls, battling wisteria vines and finding $14,000 in Depression-era cash hidden in a bathroom wall, ...

Tristram Hunt, W. Ben Hunt

How to Build and Furnish a Log Cabin: The Easy, Natural Way Using Only Hand Tools and the Woods Around You

W. Ben Hunt's classic has earned a reputation as the" authentic handbook since it was first published in 1939. Updated in 1974, it remains the only step-by-step guide to building log cabins and log furniture -- pioneer style."

Kelly Wearstler

Modern Glamour: The Art of Unexpected Style

In this lavishly illustrated book, Hollywood's hottest new interior designer shows readers how mixing and matching designs from different eras and adding an element of the unexpected can redefine any room-residential or commercial. With a painter's eye for colour, unwavering esteem for the historic, and a finely tuned sense of detail, Kelly Wearstler, one of Hollywood's most talked about young interior designers, has led her Los Angeles-based interior design firm, kwid (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design), to national prominence with an array of noted residential and commercial projects. Now, she shares her famous design philosophies and secrets, and inspires readers to create unexpected style in their own homes. Through full-colour photographs and sketches and informative text, Kelly explains the elements of unexpected style: inspiration, shapes and forms, graphics, texture and colour, masculine vs. feminine, and unusual details. Kelly takes readers through the creative process and shows how a Franco-Chinese piece of vintage wallpaper led her to a shopping spree in Paris and inspired the layered, classic look of the hotel Maison 140 in Beverly Hills. She explains the need for ...