Home Decorating Manual: Covers All Rooms, Surfaces, Styles and Techniques - The Dyi Manual for Painting, Wallpapering and Tiling

Simon Brown, Bruce Littlefield

Airstream Living

The versatility of the sleek metallic gems of Airstream has captured the imagination of a new generation. Paris Hilton used one to tour the country in The Simple Life . Designer Ralph Lauren owns four. Airstream Living explores these vehicles' many uses, from vacation travel to permanent residence, from home office to pool house, from on-set accommodation for movie stars to businesses such as diners and stores. In its pages, profiles of real-life owners reveal how they use their trailers to enhance their lifestyle, and vacationers will find advice on how to get the most out of Airstreams. Inspirational photographs accompany advice on decorating interiors in styles that range from the simple to opulent: retro chic, Ralph Lauren's Adirondack and Western themes, a seaside look for coastal touring, and much more. Practical advice covers everything from buying your first Airstream to care and cleaning tips to solutions for storage. A directory provides a thorough listing of suppliers and websites. For anyone who owns an Airstream or is thinking about purchasing one, this book is a must-read for living life to the fullest aboard a land yacht.

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, ...

Melodie Moore

VIM & Vinegar: Moisten Cakes, Eliminate Grease, Remove Stains, Kill Weeds, Clean Pots & Pans, Soften Laundry, Unclog Drains, Control

Vinegar is inexpensive, safe and 100 percent natural, and nearly every household has a bottle tucked away somewhere, but few people ever take advantage of its full potential. Yes, it's great for dying Easter eggs and making salad dressing, but there's so much more it can do. In Vim & Vinegar, Melodie Moore tells all. Here are hundreds of tips to help readers tenderize meats, soup up soups, eradicate odor, firm fish fillets, cut grease, ease arthritis, cure cramps and more. Versatile vinegar also does wonders for flavoring food (plus, it has no fat or calories), and readers will be amazed at the range of tasty recipes, which include such treats as Vinegar Pie, Crazy Cake and Vinegar Hard Candy. For tightwads, environmental activists, health advocates and curious cooks -- in fact, anyone who appreciates good old American ingenuity -- Vim & Vinegar is the perfect book.