November 28, 2007

Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with Paint

Your Home A Living Canvas: Create Stunning Faux Finishes & Murals with PaintUncover the glory in your home! Use paint to create inspired living spaces that reflect your style and your home’s character.

Once upon a time, there was a sad little Victorian house on the corner, abandoned by its previous owners and abused by time. Your Home, A Living Canvas is the Cinderella story of that house and its transformation into a charming, historic home, thanks to the loving care of acclaimed decorative artisan, Curtis L. Heuser.

From the grand staircase to the cozy third-floor master suite, this book takes you along on the complete floor-to-ceiling, room-by-room makeover. You’ll learn about the design concepts and inspirations for each space, along with real-world how-to’s behind the wall treatments, ceiling features, architectural highlights, and other exquisite details.

  • A series of 25+ step-by-step demonstrations show how Heuser used murals, trompe l’oeil and faux finishes to blend old with new, reclaiming the spirit of the house’s former glory, while incorporating unique personal touches.
  • Covers a range of decorative styles, from the exotic crackle-finish bookcases in the study, to the Italian country villa-inspired kitchen, to a sophisticated dining room that embodies the Old World ambiance of classic European interiors.
  • Offers a wealth of expert decorating advice on using color to evoke mood, displaying your collections, mixing and matching eclectic furnishings, and more.

Whether you’re interested in a simple faux finish technique or are dedicated to preserving the architecture and charm of your own historic dwelling, this book will help you create a living environment rich in color, texture and atmosphere … a place called “home.”

Author: Curtis L. Heuser
Hardcover:  144 pages
Company: North Light Books  (2007-10-24)
ISBN: 158180783X
List Price: $29.99
Amazon Price: $17.95
Used Price: $16.50

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November 26, 2007

The Magic of Fire: Hearth Cooking: One Hundred Recipes for the Fireplace or Campfire

The Magic of Fire: Hearth Cooking: One Hundred Recipes for the Fireplace or Campfire Why cook by the hearth when our modern stoves offer such convenience? William Rubel’s remarkable The Magic of Fire provides unexpected answers to the question, not immediately apparent to those interested in pursuing live-fire cooking and the intense flavors it produces. To be sure, the book is definitive in its exploration of open-hearth technique; readers learn everything they need to know about equipment, methods (including ash baking, ember roasting, and hearthside grilling, among others), and even about fire itself (it has various life stages, each best for a particular cooking task). Rubel also provides 100 delicious hearthside recipes for fundamental foods like roasted red peppers, ember-baked fish, pot roasts, and desserts, including bread pudding and baked apples–formulas he conscientiously walks us through.

But the book’s greatest–and most exciting–virtue lies in its presentation of fire cooking not merely as a “hobbyist” project but as a means for understanding cooking itself. It does this by revealing the relationship of fire to the things it cooks; in learning, for example, that a hearthside frittata requires “a moderately mature fire with gentle to moderate flames” to cook while simple toast needs “a new to moderately mature fire with moderate to high flames,” we begin to see just how cooking works. For anyone interested in this everyday but still magical feat, this is thrilling stuff. With over 100 color illustrations of the required fires (whose preparation is thoroughly detailed); a discussion of alternative cooking “venues,” including campsites; and a useful food glossary, this guide, both practical and illuminating, is an unexpected treasure. –Arthur Boehm

Author: William Rubel
Hardcover:  296 pages
Company: Ten Speed Press  (2002-09)
ISBN: 1580084532
List Price: $40.00
Amazon Price: $25.95
Used Price: $19.26

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November 24, 2007

Backyard Idea Book: Outdoor Kitchens Fireplaces Sheds & Storage Play Spaces Pools & Spa (Idea Books)

Backyard Idea Book: Outdoor Kitchens Fireplaces Sheds & Storage Play Spaces Pools & Spa (Idea Books) Much more than just lawns, the backyards of today make full use of this area’s unlimited possibilities for lounging, dining, playing, and communing with nature. Outdoor kitchens make cooking a treat for the senses while backyard fireplaces create a natural gathering place for friends and family. Decks, patios and porches can be transformed into fully furnished outdoor rooms with floors, walls and ceilings. Backyard Idea Book helps readers unlock the extraordinary possibilities of this incredibly flexible area, and showcases a huge array of cutting-edge ideas for turning backyards into personal, satisfying spaces. New twists on old themes are offered, as well as some of the freshest ideas from the brightest talent in landscape design. An effective combination of stylistic concepts and hands-on advice helps readers select specific projects, while hundreds of color photos serve to inspire and delight.

Author: Lee Anne White
Paperback:  176 pages
Company: Taunton  (2004-12-01) (2004-12-01)
ISBN: 1561586676
List Price: $19.95
Amazon Price: $3.91
Used Price: $3.25

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