Virginia Woolf was right. Women–and men, it turns out–yearnfor a room of their own. But instead of a little nook beneath the eaves, that room is nowa shed. Today’s sheds, however, are not dusty shelters for plantsand tools. Lace curtains have replaced cobwebs, charming antiquesstand where shovels and rakes once rusted, and instead ofcorrugated walls, you will find cedar shingles and window boxes.Sheds are stylish and elegant and offer a hassle-free andaffordable way to create more space without undergoing a majorrenovation. They function as artists’ studios, writers’ retreats,yoga dens, entertaining pavilions, children’s playhouses, gardenrooms, or serene hideaways for any personal pursuit. In Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways, Debra Prinzing andWilliam Wright showcase twenty-eight innovative and beautifullyimagined spaces from New York City to East Hampton, from Seattle toSan Diego, and from Atlanta to Austin to Santa Cruz. Some areelaborate and luxurious; others are delightf

The companion volume to the twelve-hour PBS series from theacclaimed filmmaker behind The Civil War, Baseball, and TheWar America’s national parks spring from an idea as radical as theDeclaration of Independence: that the nation’s most magnificent andsacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, butfor everyone. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative,Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the parkidea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valleythat would become Yosemite and the creation of the world’s firstnational park at Yellowstone in 1872, through the most recentadditions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundredsites and 84 million acres. The authors recount the adventures, mythmaking, and intensepolitical battles behind the evolution of the park system, and theenduring ideals that fostered its growth. They capture theimportance and splendors of the individual parks: from Haleakala inHawaii to Acadia in Maine, from Denali

This book guides you systematically through the whole processof designing and building your own house. It offers practicalassistance from the moment you begin thinking about the kind ofhouse you want. It helps you focus your ideas and translate theminto working plans. It shows you how to estimate costs. Then, stepby step, it shows you how to construct the house -- explaining andillustrating every step systematically so that you can proceedconfidently from beginning to end. Here are complete, clear instructions on everything you need toknow, including: -- How to decide what you want the house to be like -- inside andoutside, and in relation to the environment and neighborhood -- How to translate your ideas and decisions into workingdrawings -- How to deal with all the components of a house: structural(roof, floor, walls, columns, foundations), mechanical (plumbingand heating), electrical, interior and exterior finishingmaterials -- How to establish the exact dimensions of e