Read the definitive, complete guide to shelters—more than 300,000 copies sold!Shelter is so amazing, so revolutionary, that the best way to describe it is with one word: everything! It’s a history of architecture, a do-it-yourself (DIY) guide, a scrapbook, and a collection of essays and stories. If you’ve ever wondered about any aspect of houses, homes, or other simple structures in which people have lived, this is the book for you.First published ...

Meet the DIY builders of the Pacific Coast, whose homes are practical, imaginative, and environmentally friendly.If you’re fascinated by homes and architecture or if you’re seeking inspiration for your own DIY building project, then you have something in common with Lloyd Kahn. In 2004, he discovered a group of unique carpenters along the Pacific Coast of North America. Over a two-year period, he made multiple trips up the coast, shooting photographs and interviewi...

Master builder Louie Frazier's Japanese-style pole house in Northern California, reachable on a 500-foot cable across a riverIan MacLeod's handbuilt stone house in South Africa, where baboons jump on the roof at nightMa Page's bottle house in the Nevada desertArtist Michael Kahn's semi-subterranean sculptural village in ArizonaBill and Athena Steen's strawbale housesIanto Evans' cob houses in OregonThe Archlibre group of cou...

Learn all about household septic systems—including how to maintain and repair them—whether you’re planning to build or already own a home.More than 28 million households have septic systems, yet few homeowners know how they operate or how to maintain them. The Septic System Owner’s Manual describes the conventional gravity-fed septic system, how it works, how it should be treated (what should and should not go down the drain), how it should be maintained, ...

Appreciate the artistic beauty of driftwood shacks and other beachcombing wonders with this unique hardcover book of photography.Beach life is amazing, and perhaps nothing captures the quirky nature of those drawn to a place where ocean meets sand like driftwood shacks. The unique and whimsical structures are constructed by anonymous builders. They’re shaped by whatever materials are lying nearby and are ephemeral—short-lived victims of wind, waves, and high tides....

Discover the benefits and joys of simple living in this coffee-table book that presents the homestead of Lloyd Khan and Lesley Creed.If you’ve ever researched a DIY home-building project, then you’ve probably come across the books of Lloyd Kahn. If you’ve ever been curious about self-sufficient living, The Half-Acre Homestead is for you. Lloyd, the former shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, has published several books—including some of the ...

Are you yearning for a simpler existence? Find the rural escape of your dreams in this beautiful book from the creators of the wildly popular tumblr Cabin Porn.Created by a group of friends who preserve 55 acres of hidden forest in Upstate New York, Cabin Porn began as a scrapbook to collect inspiration for their building projects. As the collection grew, the site attracted a following, which is now a huge and obsessive audience.The site features photos of ...

Featured artist Jerry Stitt contemplates that ''A painting is good not because it looks like something, but because it feels like something.'' The difference is passion '' the kind of energy, excitement and pure joy that pulses through every page of this book.A brilliant collection of the best watercolors being created today, Splash 10 explores "passion" through the work and words of 100 top contemporary painters. With each modern-day masterpiece, insightful firsthand comm...

Awe-inspiring works by contemporary masters, along with the secrets behind its creation.Drawing is the most intimate and immediate form of self-expression, fundamental to every artist's ability to communicate with a viewer. The sense of energy and expression that can be captured in mere strokes of charcoal, ink, pastel, marker or any of the other modest mediums proudly represented in this book is astounding.A glowing celebration of the art of drawing, S...

Learn to make your own quiet place somewhere with this inspiring journey inside tranquil cabins and handmade homes, from the creators of the wildly popular Cabin Porn phenomenon.Cabin Porn began as an online project created by a group of friends to inspire their own homebuilding. It has grown into a global phenomenon, attracting thousands of submissions from fellow cabin builders and a passionate audience of millions interested in simple, efficient homes and the be...

A lush, photographic guide to unconventional homes around the world and the free spirits who live and work in themA reclusive designer living in a custom tiny house in the middle of the Montana wilderness. A couple who traded their expensive Bay Area apartment for a slip at a nearby marina, where they live on a docked sailboat. A family of five who decided to simplify their lives by moving into a school bus, selling most of their possessions in the process. Nom...

A guide from the premier treehouse designer: "Stunning photos of fanciful houses . . . To browse through Nelson's book is to fantasize about life in midair." — The Washington Post Book WorldThe host of Animal Planet's Treehouse Masters and the world's best-known treehouse designer and builder, Pete Nelsonwants to put you in a tree. His motto: "Get 'er done, so you can BE in a TREE." With this book he provides a comprehensive source of inspiration a...