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The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)

The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)Authors: Sarah Nettleton, Frank Edgerton Martin
Creator: Randy O'Rourke
Publisher: Taunton Press
Category: Book

List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $9.91
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Seller: horizonbb
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars 14 reviews
Sales Rank: 167,310

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 249
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 9.3 x 1.2

ISBN: 1561588318
Dewey Decimal Number: 728.0973
EAN: 9781561588312
ASIN: 1561588318

Publication Date: February 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:
  • ISBN13: 9781561588312
  • Condition: USED - Very Good
  • Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
For everyone who craves a simpler lifestyle, not only in how they live but also where they live, The Simple Home features 21 houses and presents six different approaches to creating a home that realizes its full potential both simply and elegantly.
We are living in complex times, in a commodified, virtual, and overstimulated culture. One response to high levels of complexity and overstimulation is to look for yet another gadget or closet organizer to simplify our lives. But the answer lies somewhere else. The road to a simpler more satisfying life begins with a clear-eyed examination of the choices we are making for our time--and that includes choices about where we want to live.
The Simple Home presents six paths to simplicity, each illustrated by human-scaled, unadorned homes with straightforward floor plans and forms. These are open, light-filled homes (with rooms or spaces that are often multipurpose) that express their beauty in their utility and practicality. Simple homes are low maintenance and often green, designed for homeowners who wish to embody a different set of values in their housing choices than the run-of-the-mill starter castles littering the landscape.
The 6 Paths to Simplicity:
1. Simple is Enough
2. Simple is Thrifty
3. Simple is Flexible
4. Simple is Timeless
5. Simple is Sustainable
6. Simple is Refined



Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 14



5 out of 5 stars Towards a new lifestyle   February 27, 2007
John Matlock (Winnemucca, NV)
53 out of 60 found this review helpful

To me, the essence of this book is beautifully summarized in the photograph on the back cover. It shows a plain and simple room, tan/biege colored walls, a couple of windows, a painting on one wall and the only furniture is an easy chair, a small table beside it and a stack of books on the table.

Like most of you, I suppose, I've lived in a bunch of houses and apartments. I finally decided to move to a small town in Nevada. I bought a tiny house, less than a thousand square feet. It's old, I don't know how old, but at least a hundred years. As Ms. Nettleton says in one of her chapters, Simple is Timeless. It was cheap, $30,000 (plus another $12 for remodelling), As Ms. Nettleton says, Simple is Thrifty. And as she also says, 'Simple is: Enouth, Flexible, Sustainable, Resolved Complexity. As she quotes Albert Einstein (who wasn't talking about houses, but it's a very good quote) 'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.'

Ms. Nettleton has grasped the essence of living a much simpler life. The homes presented here might not fit your ideal, but the ideas she presents are exactly what I wanted when I moved here from the East Coast. Beautiful book.



5 out of 5 stars A surprising book   April 20, 2007
Centime Picot (Keene, NY)
24 out of 27 found this review helpful

I bought this book because I liked the pictures, but what turned out to be the best thing about it is the philosophy behind it. I've been trying to streamline my life and reduce clutter, but I haven't been able to strip things down as far as I'd like. This book makes bold suggestions about how much we really need to live comfortably while doing as little damage as possible to our surroundings, and suggests specific ways to do it. It made me look at our house in a whole new way. This book is a great model for anyone trying to simplify their living space. It's also imaginative--one house has a ceiling like an overturned boat because the people who live there love the water. I like it so much I bought two more copies for gifts.


5 out of 5 stars Houses that live large for their owners   August 17, 2007
JJ (CA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Wonderful case studies about 20 homes with good explanations about material choices, site considerations, and the people who own them. It's a Taunton Press book, so the photos are great, of course. I especially like the floor plan illustrations that support the photos and give a sense of flow through the houses.


5 out of 5 stars Defines the concept of a 'simple home'   July 8, 2007
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Sarah Nettleton's THE SIMPLE HOME: THE LUXURY OF ENOUGH defines the concept of a 'simple home' and offers interior design tips to achieving satisfaction from a basic home design. This involves eliminating non-essentials and practicing restraint: six avenues to achieving a 'greener' lifestyle from this approach blends full-page color photos with comments on designs which refine and simplify the home - perfect for new students of interior design and homeowners contemplating reconstruction.


5 out of 5 stars Great book to read before building your "simple" home!   March 9, 2008
C. Callahan (Mpls, MN)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Great book to help you get focused on the necessities of your house. It makes you think what is necessary and what really is not. Do you really need two ovens...etc. After reading or more realistically paging through several other books I found myself jotting down notes made from this book that really hit home. Our lives are fast paced and complicated enough, so it was wonderful to hear the great thoughts of Sarah Nettleton. I recommend this book along with The Farmhouse by Jean Rehkamp Larson and the New Old House by Russell Versaci. Great Job Sarah Nettleton!

Showing reviews 1-5 of 14



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