Italian Rustic: How to Bring Tuscan Charm into Your Home

Italian Rustic: How to Bring Tuscan Charm into Your Home Review

A celebration of Tuscan farmhouse style, with practical advice on how to bring the look home.

For anyone who has ever dreamed of living under the Tuscan sun, Italian Rustic is the next best thing—a step-by-step guide to recreating the romance and appeal of the weathered Italian farmhouse. This nuts-and-bolts guide to building Italian-style walks the reader through all the elements that make the rustic Italian home so unique, from the hand-laid stone walls to the artisanal stucco wall finishes.

Author Elizabeth Minchilli, an American design writer based in Rome and Tuscany, received dozens of questions from readers after publishing her last book, Artisan's Restoring a Home in Italy. The queries went beyond the usual searches for fabric and couches. "People were hungry to know how terra-cotta tiles were laid, or how fireplaces were built," she says. Italian Rustic, researched with the help of her Italian architect husband, is the user-friendly result: a book that explains, in clear text accompanied by photographs and drawings, how to lay a tile floor a la Italiana, or add a Tuscan-style pergola to any garden.

With more than 300 stunning photographs shot on location in Tuscany and Umbria, the book contains profiles of local artisans, engaging text on how the farmhouse style evolved, and targeted advice on how Americans can find Italian-style building materials and craftsmen close to home. This essential sourcebook will appeal to anyone building an addition or an entire house from scratch, or for homeowners who want to add just a touch of Italian style to their houses.

Good Green Kitchens

Good Green Kitchens Review

With more than 150 color photographs, comprehensive text, and extensive resource lists of recommended products, manufacturers, and retailers, Good Green Kitchens is a must-have-whether taking small steps to a green kitchen, or planning a thorough remodel. This newest book from green living advocate, Jennifer Roberts, is loaded with inspiration and information for creating a dream green kitchen. What makes a kitchen green? Good Green Kitchens shows that eco-friendly design is a continuum that's shaded from light to dark green. At the light green end are easy-to-do steps such as choosing less polluting paints or selecting energy-efficient appliances. At the darker green end are strategies like using certified or reclaimed wood, consciously choosing to simplify or downsize, or using the kitchen project as a launching point for greening the whole house. Good Green Kitchens gives the low-down on what's green and what's not when it comes to kitchen design. It includes: up-close profiles of beautiful, green kitchens and the people who created them; tips for environmentally responsible redecorating, remodeling, and building from the ground up; in-depth chapters on greener alternatives for floors, cabinets, countertops, and appliances; strategies for greening the whole house; tips for keeping costs in check; and much more.

The Desert Home

The Desert Home Review

Western art and architecture idea book featuring upscale southwest homes

The Weekend Woodworker: Projects for the Home Craftsman : Cabinets and Chests, Tables and Chairs, Kitchen Projects, Accents, Outdoor Projects, Toys

The Weekend Woodworker: Projects for the Home Craftsman : Cabinets and Chests, Tables and Chairs, Kitchen Projects, Accents, Outdoor Projects, Toys Review

A woodworker's sourcebook features forty complete projects--cabinets, chests, tables, chairs, toys, and more--and working drawings, dimensions, details, and specifications. Original.

Storage: All About Your House: Seeking Out the Storage Possibilities, Planning Rooms to Maximize Storage, Storage Building Basics, All About Shelves, Kitchen-Bath Storage, Outfitting Closets, Specialty Storage, Outdoor Storage - 1984 Edition

Storage: All About Your House: Seeking Out the Storage Possibilities, Planning Rooms to Maximize Storage, Storage Building Basics, All About Shelves, Kitchen-Bath Storage, Outfitting Closets, Specialty Storage, Outdoor Storage - 1984 Edition Review

Hardcover

John Deere 52 Backyard Landscaping Projects: Designing, Planting, and Building the Yard of Your Dreams One Weekend at a Time

John Deere 52 Backyard Landscaping Projects: Designing, Planting, and Building the Yard of Your Dreams One Weekend at a Time Review

The second in a series of John Deere books published by Quayside, John Deere 52 Backyard Landscaping Projects is the perfect companion and follow-up to John Deere Landscaping and Lawn Care. Once homeowners have a handle on what they need to do to their yard and when the need to do it in order to keep their lawn and landscape green and healthy, they will want to learn how to improve upon it. John Deere 52 Backyard Landscaping Projects provides simple projects that are relevant to today's homeowners. While most books cover, design, building, planting with an extensive gardening section devoted to plant care, types, etc. this book is unique in that it offers simple weekend landscaping projects and it carried the John Deere stamp of approval.

• Easy to follow step-by-step instructions
• All projects can be completed in a weekend's time

1001 Ideas for Outdoor Spaces: The Ultimate Sourcebook: Decking, Paving, Designs & Accessories

1001 Ideas for Outdoor Spaces: The Ultimate Sourcebook: Decking, Paving, Designs & Accessories Review

Inspiration for Serious Outside Spaces

1001 Ideas for Outdoor Spaces will inspire readers to upgrade their outdoor living areas. Whether budget allows for a few added accessories and plants or a full landscaping project complete with a deck or patio, this book will offer readers the many options they have to get the perfect outdoor space. With homeowners spending considerable time transforming outdoor spaces into practical and elegant additions to the home, selecting the right flooring, overheads, and accessories for outdoor rooms are now all essential steps in the design process. Along with hundreds of photos, this book walks the reader through the design process, material selection, safety concerns, basic building techniques, and the latest information on materials-including new recycled and composite materials-to set the perfect foundation for the dream outdoor space.

Kitchens: Plan, Remodel, Build

Kitchens: Plan, Remodel, Build Review

Kitchens: Plan, Remodel, Build Feature

• Creative Homeowner Press #277071 Kitchen Plan/Build Book
• CREATIVE HOMEOWNER PRESS

Kitchens: Plan, Remodel, Build offers a complete package of information to homeowners who want to improve or update their kitchen. The first part of the book deals with the basics of design, giving readers the latest information on remodeling trends and product developments. The four basic kitchen layouts are shown in beautiful renderings, along with a number of variations of each and many problem-solving floor plans. Every aspect of kitchen design is touched on in text and photos. The second section provides step-by-step instructions on completing a variety of kitchen-related improvements, from walls to floors to cabinets and everything in between. Readers can start from scratch designing and building a completely new kitchen or choose to improve specific areas.

Water Garden Idea Book (Taunton Home Idea Books)

Water Garden Idea Book (Taunton Home Idea Books) Review

Water Garden Idea Book (Taunton Home Idea Books) Feature

• ISBN13: 9781561588770
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Water gardening is making a big splash in today's landscapes. Called the fastest-growing part of the landscape industry today, the installation of water features in the landscape is a multi-billion dollar market. It's easy to see why. Splashing fountains make hot days seem a bit cooler. Basins of water reflect the blue sky, puffy clouds, and colorful fall leaves. Naturalistic ponds and waterfalls attract birds and butterflies to backyards. And tiny tabletop fountains offer soothing sounds that drown out neighborhood noise.
Water Garden Idea Book brings these ideas to life, providing more than 300 photos of all types of water features--with tips for design and placement so that they become striking focal points or soothing and subtle additions for any setting. From ponds and streams to pools and water stairs, fountains, containers, and bubbling urns, Water Garden Idea Book has it all. Special emphasis is given to siting all types of water features and how to install a water feature yourself. Extensive resource list is included.

House Beautiful Kitchens: Creating a Beautiful Kitchen of Your Own

House Beautiful Kitchens: Creating a Beautiful Kitchen of Your Own Review

A beautiful, large-format follow-up to House Beautiful's Home Book.

 

Kitchens big and small, old fashioned and coolly modern, stylish and inviting: House Beautiful presents the ultimate designs for the most loved and used room in the house. Some of the country's finest designers usher you through the kitchens they created--often their own--explaining how they arrived at their decorating choices and showcasing eye-catching options. The styles range from “Farm Nouveau” to quintessential Scandinavian to a bold, bright “Rhapsody in Blue.” “Stalking the Look” sections help you source everything from lamps to unique appliances, and breakout sessions focus on special issues, such as planning, color consults, and energy efficiency.

 

Includes kitchens designed for Jonathan Adler; Jeff Lewis (star of Bravo's Flipping Out); Carole Lalli, designer and former editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine; James Radin, who consulted on Diane Keaton's envy-inducing kitchen in the film Something's Gotta Give; and Food Network host and “The Barefoot Contessa” cookbook author Ina Garten.

 

 

 

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from Our Italian Kitchen Review

“Tuscan food tastes like itself. Ingredients are left to shine. . . . So, if on your visit, I hand you an apron, your work will be easy. We’ll start with primo ingredients, a little flurry of activity, perhaps a glass of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and soon we’ll be carrying platters out the door. We’ll have as much fun setting the table as we have in the kitchen. Four double doors along the front of the house open to the outside—so handy for serving at a long table under the stars (or for cooling a scorched pan on the stone wall). Italian Philosophy 101: la casa aperta, the open house.”
—from the Introduction
 
In all of Frances Mayes’s bestselling memoirs about Tuscany, food plays a starring role. This cuisine transports, comforts, entices, and speaks to the friendly, genuine, and improvisational spirit of Tuscan life. Both cooking and eating in Tuscany are natural pleasures. In her first-ever cookbook, Frances and her husband, Ed, share recipes that they have enjoyed over the years as honorary Tuscans: dishes prepared in a simple, traditional kitchen using robust, honest ingredients.
           
A toast to the experiences they’ve had over two decades at Bramasole, their home in Cortona, Italy, this cookbook evokes days spent roaming the countryside for chestnuts, green almonds, blackberries, and porcini; dinner parties stretching into the wee hours,  and garden baskets tumbling over with bright red tomatoes.
           
Lose yourself in the transporting photography of the food, the people, and the place, as Frances’s lyrical introductions and headnotes put you by her side in the kitchen and raising a glass at the table. From Antipasti (starters) to Dolci (desserts), this cookbook is organized like a traditional Italian dinner.
           
The more than 150 tempting recipes include:
·         Fried Zucchini Flowers
·         Red Peppers Melted with Balsamic Vinegar
·         Potato Ravioli with Zucchini, Speck, and Pecorino
·         Risotto Primavera
·         Pizza with Caramelized Onions and Sausage
·         Cannellini Bean Soup with Pancetta
·         Little Veal Meatballs with Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes
·         Chicken Under a Brick
·         Short Ribs, Tuscan-Style
·         Domenica’s Rosemary Potatoes
·         Folded Fruit Tart with Mascarpone
·         Strawberry Semifreddo
·         Steamed Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Sauce
 
Frances and Ed also share their tips on stocking your pantry, pairing wines with dishes, and choosing the best olive oil. Learn their time-tested methods for hand rolling pasta and techniques for coaxing the best out of seasonal ingredients with little effort.
           
Throw on another handful of pasta, pull up a chair, and languish in the rustic Italian way of life. 

How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques

How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques Review

Without a doubt the most interesting, comprehensive, and well-thought-out book on grilling ever and it's destined to be in the kitchens and backyards of both professionals and home cooks. Every detail is made clear and easy in a concise and inspirational way. Spark it up! (Mario Batali, Molto Mario (The Food Network), Mario Batali's Simple Italian Food)

The definitive how-to guide for anyone passionate about grilling, from the newest beginner to the most sophisticated chef. (Tom Colicchio, Think like a Chef)

Master the techniques that make barbecue great with this indispensable show-and-tell by Steven Raichlen. Using more than 1,000 full-color, step-by-step photographs, How to Grill covers it all, from how to build an ingenious three-zone fire to the secrets of grilling a porterhouse, prime rib, fish steak, kebab, or chicken breast. Plus the perfect burger. Includes 100 recipes - one to illustrate each technique - with memorably delicious results!

Little House on a Small Planet, 2nd: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities

Little House on a Small Planet, 2nd: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities Review

A guidebook to planning, building, renovating, and inhabiting an eco-friendly small house.

to get more information on how to live simply visit: www.littlehouseonasmallplanet.com

Grow Vegetables: Gardens - Yards - Balconies - Roof Terraces

Grow Vegetables: Gardens - Yards - Balconies - Roof Terraces Review

Home-grown vegetables are fresh, healthy, and inexpensive. Here is the manual for growing your own, whether on your balcony, in your apartment, or in a garden, large or small. Even if you have only a few hours a week, Grow Vegetables teaches you the tools and methods you need to produce your own vegetables.