10 BEAUTIFUL NEW BOOKS ON BEAUTIFUL SHELTERS
This week, as winter chill blows closer, we are thinking more about beautiful shelter. We start, today, with a curated selection of 10 gorgeous new books about Beautiful Shelter, happening right now. Check them out below.
1. SUPERLIGHT: RETHINKING HOW OUR HOMES IMPACT THE EARTH
“Superlight: Rethinking How Our Homes Impact the Earth,” by Phyllis Richardson promotes architect Glenn Murcutt’s design philosophy: Touch the earth lightly.
The projects featured in the book showcase buildings that weigh less and have minimal impact on their environments.
They are beautiful in their lightness -- visual, material, and ecological. Some are rather ethereal looking. Some float. Many use local materials. Some are inflatable. Some are hyper-intelligent houses.
There are 41 examples in all, in a range of settings, from a desert landscape in Arizona to the urban jungle of Tokyo, from rural China to mountainous Chile.
Even the book itself is light, with its unique translucent corrugated plastic covers.
Metropolis Books (2014)
2. TREE HOUSES
“Tree Houses
Beautifully illustrated, with inspiring photographs and drawings, it’s easy to see each of the 50 treehouse designs. From luxury retreats to simple play forts, from classic to bizarre, you have a lot to stimulate your imagination as you dream about your own tree house.
Skyhorse Publishing (2015)
3. HISTORIC HOUSES OF THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY
"Historic Houses of the Hudson River Valley
The houses show the region’s beautiful architecture and how it has progressed over time. Reading this newly republished book shows why the Hudson River Valley has been such a wonderful place to live. Starting small in the seventeenth century, homes in the Hudson River Valley have progressed to beautiful mansions over time and now the valley hosts some of the finest houses in the country. The book showcases thirty three beautiful homes throughout history in the Hudson River Valley.
We welcome the republication of “Historic Houses of the Hudson River Valley,” by Gregory Long, Bret Morgan (Photographer), with a foreword by Hudson Valley resident film director James Ivory.
This new edition showcases 33 magnificent homes that span three centuries of life overlooking the Hudson River. They are each major properties, including baronial mansions, Dutch cottages, as well as Gothic, Italeanate, Georgian, Federal, and Beaux-Arts wonders.
"You don’t have to travel to Downton Abbey to discover magnificent mansions. You’ll find them much closer to home in a new edition of Historic Houses of the Hudson River Valley, in this lavishly illustrated volume." - New York Times
Rizzoli (2014)
4. YOUR CABIN IN THE WOODS
If you are contemplating designing and building your own cabin in the woods, “Your Cabin in the Woods
From a simple framed tent to a five-room family cabin, Meinecke shows you how it’s done, using building techniques based on those used by American pioneers.
Meinecke offers advice on how to site your shelter on the land parcel, how to best use building tools, how to furnish, and how to maintain it.
The book is filled with measured diagrams, floor plans, cross-sections, and detailed directions. You can do it! And how cool will that be, to be sitting inside a beautiful cabin that you built in the middle of the woods?!
Echo Point Books & Media (2013)
5. THE TROPICAL COTTAGE: AT HOME IN COCONUT GROVE
“The Tropical Cottage: At Home in Coconut Grove,” by Beth Dunlop, Claudia Uribe (Photographer) celebrates the funky chill vibe of this Miami neighborhood. These are quaint cottages -- modest and unassuming -- with their irregular terra-cotta rooflines, whitewashed walls, and palm-shaded tropical cottage gardens. Beautiful photos throughout.
Rizzoli (2013)
6. CABINS
“Cabins,” by Philip Jodidio, is another book that examines the possibilities of minimal, low-impact, and isolated living spaces.
Full of beautiful photos and contemporary illustrations, with fascinating insights, from some of the most inventive architects, with Renzo Piano, Terunobu Fujimori, Tom Kundig each weighing in on the simple shelter concept.
Taschen; Sew Edition (2014)
7. PRIVATE HOUSES OF FRANCE: LIVING WITH HISTORY
“Private Houses of France: Living with History
Revel in the various Louis periods of grand style, ogle at Hubert de Givenchy’s elegant Parisian Napoleonic townhouse. See where part of the Renaissance lived.
The photos in this book were specially commissioned to represent key periods of French design and decoration -- all with sumptuous, lavish furniture and furnishings.
Flammarion (2014)
8. HEART AND HOME: ROOMS THAT TELL STORIES
“Heart and Home: Rooms That Tell Stories
Learn what beautiful shelter means to interior designer Kelly Wearstler; architects Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown; fashion designer Wolfgang Joop; John Jay, creative director of Wieden + Kennedy; antiques dealer Ray Azoulay; glassware designer Deborah Ehrlich and wood sculptor Christopher Kurtz; architect and interior designer Lee Ledbetter; and furniture and interior designers Gene Meyer and Frank de Biasi, among others.
“In Heart and Home: Rooms That Tell Stories, innovative tastemakers from the worlds of interior design, architecture, fashion and art open their doors to show readers how to fill their homes with personal flair. The book offers a panorama of forward-looking interiors—from an eclectic, book filled New York loft in a 1920s factory building to an updated, art-filled 'Old Hollywood' estate in Beverly Hills to a supremely serene haveli in Udaipur, India."
— Editor at Large
9. DESIGN IN THE HAMPTONS
“Design in the Hamptons
It’s a celebrity designer love fest out here at the beach, with architecture, interiors, and gardens from celebrity designers including Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan, John Barman, Fox-Nahem, Thad Hayes, Tony Ingrao, Todd Merrill, Roman & Williams, and Joe d’Urso.
You’ll see beautiful spaces, ranging from charming beach cottages to a renovated 19th century barn, to eco-friendly mansions, and more.
"A refreshing, divergent look at luxurious residences that stand apart from the typical megamansions."
— Library Journal
The Monacelli Press (2014)
10. DESIGNS FOR LIVING: HOUSES BY ROBERT A. M. STERN ARCHITECTS
“Designs for Living: Houses by Robert A. M. Stern Architects
The authors, Randy M. Correll, Gary L. Brewer, Grant F. Marani, Roger H. Seifter, and Robert A. M. Stern (Foreword) are each architects in the firm’s residential practice. They each share insights into the design process.
The houses range in style, from contemporary interpretations to Mediterranean designs. They are located in beautiful settings, including in Napa, Sonoma the Hamptons, and New England.
Stern’s designs are timeless, traditional, and contemporary, all at once. And they are beautiful throughout.
The Monacelli Press (2014)
Read more about Beautiful Thanks, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact.
Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Thanks in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 12.07.2014. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!
PHOTO CREDITS:
- Photo: Courtesy of Metropolis Books. Superlight: Rethinking How Our Homes Impact The Earth.
- Photo: Courtesy of Metropolis Books. Superlight: Rethinking How Our Homes Impact the Earth.
- Photo: Courtesy of Loft Publications. Tree Houses.
- Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley.
- Photo: Courtesy of Echo Point Books & Media. Your Cabin in the Woods.
- Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli. The Tropical Cottage: At Home in Coconut Grove.
- Photo: Courtesy of Taschen. Cabins.
- Photo: Courtesy of Flammarion. Private Houses of France: Living with History.
- Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli. Heart and Home: Rooms That Tell Stories.
- Photo: Courtesy of The Monacelli Press. Design in the Hamptons.
- Photo: Courtesy of The Monacelli Press. Design for Living: Houses by Robert A. M. Stern Architects.
