4 comments about New Kitchen Idea Book (Idea Books).

1. We bought this when we started thinking about a new kitchen and dining addition. It really was a big help to narrow down our choices. THere's nothing worse than feeling as if you know what you want but you can't explain it or you haven't seen a picture of it anywhere. This book has many photos of lots of different types of kitchens, not just one style or size. It isn't arranged kitchen by kitchen, and there aren't any floor plans. PHotos are shown part by part, cabinets, sinks, pantries, etc, so its handy to see all the sinks together. We have not started work on the kitchen yet but I can't wait!!



2. I borrowed this from the public library then decided to purchase my own copy. I have a tiny kitchen to update and this book was the most useful I found. It has separate chapters on cabinetry, counterops and sinks, appliances, floors and lighting. In countertops there are descriptions of the different materials and illustrations of various edge treatments. Lots of color photographs, great storage ideas.



3. Terrific book for someone at the beginning of the planning/design process. Gives alternatives for all design elements that must be taken into account. For example, the cabinet section looks at alternatives for: doors and drawers, finishes for tops and bottoms, materials and finishes, hardware and accessories.



4. This is a phenomenal book full of great ideas for a kitchen project from the very simple and low cost to a total overhaul. I've referenced this book several times and own several of the Idea Books. It's a great series for anyone considering decorating and/or remodeling.

5 comments about Smart Business for Contractors: A Guide to Money and the Law (For Pros by Pros).

1. Good solid information on the accounting, legal and business details of a construction company.



2. For beginners only. Written as if you don't know anything about the business, so if you don't then buy it. It will not open your eyes to anything new if you're in the business.



3. This book covers everything you need to know as a self-employed contractor through hiring your first employee.
   
   The straightforward language of this book explains the business side of being a professional tradesperson, and shows the benefits of doing things properly. It is backed by many examples of what has worked and not worked for others.
   
   The book also shows how to plan for your retirement and balance your business and personal life.
   
   Whether you are just thinking about going out on your own, or you've been running things by the seat of your pants, this book will help.



4. 
   This was an interesting book. I kind of liked it. It was certainly clear and straightforward. And I think it probably can be helpful to some contractors who are clueless as to how to run a business. There is a lot of practical advice provided here. The funny thing, at least to me, is that it comes across as preaching the same fluff that bar associations sell in the form of CLE booklets for young lawyers to buy who want to start there own law practice. Not much original content is included in this book.
   
   Those CLE booklets all talk about the billable hour and how it is how to price your services. While I agree that all business people should price their company's goods and services so the owner has a certain amount of taxable income at year-end, it is very short sighted to worry about profit margins on each hour worked PER PROJECT. You will want to factor minimum hourly rates for time into your bid, but you should ALWAYS quote what the market will bear. And this amount is higher than what this book tells you to charge.
   
   The biggest problem I had with this book is that it fails to talk about the importance of having a written business plan. A sound 25-35-page business plan would be the contractor's roadmap to success. And it covers all the things mentioned in this book and more. It would include financial reports, i.e., balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. And if the contractor fails to do business the way the plan dictates, then the contractor could evaluate why his company is coming up short and take corrective action.
   
   Besides a chapter on why a business plan should be researched and written, I think the book should have had a nuts and bolts chapter on how to put a business plan together. And I didn't particularly like the outline of this book. I would have liked it lots better if it had been broken into four parts as follows:
   
   I. Choice of Entity
   6. Sizing up your options: Corporations, Partnerships, Employees
   
   II. Financial
   4. Managing the paper chase
   5. Drawing the line: Business vs personal finances
   7. Taxes: Plain and simple
   
   III. Operations and Marketing
   1. Money matters: Pricing, billing and collecting
   2. Contracts and beyond: Protecting your business
   12. Your first year in business
   3. Running and growing a business
   
   IV. Risk Management
   8. Insurance: Money well spent
   9. Medical insurance: How to live with it
   10. Disability: Anticipating the solution
   11. Retirement planning: Never too early
   
   Ideally the first part of the book would be retitled "Business Plans" and Chapter 6A (Why You Need a Business Plan) and Chapter 6B (How to Write a Business Plan) would be added. I think Chapter 5 should have made some mention of QuickBooks Pro bookkeeping software. And I think Chapter 7 should have made some mention of TurboTax software. More could have been written about rainmaking (growing the business) in Chapter 3. My favorite chapter in the book was Chapter 2. I just think the author did a very nice job with it.
   
   I think the chapters I label as risk management above were a little too involved for a general business book for contractors. There was so much more that could have been covered in parts 1 through 3 that I felt as though Part 4 was just too thorough. As a result, the book did not have an "even" feel to it for me. There are books that talk just about risk management and retirement planning. Why not just refer the reader to some of those books? 3 stars!



5. I'm giving this book 3 stars because its cover is misleading. The majority of the book is about starting a business - any business. It also fails to adequately address law. For example, non payment is prevalent in contracting. But the book doesn't mention bond agents, licenses, waivers, releases, etc.
   
   If you are looking to tighten your operation, learn more about a specific topic or ensure collection, this is not the right book.

2 comments about Purcell & Elmslie.

1. Purcell & Elmslie Prarie: Progressive Architects is a superb collaboration by Patricia Gebhard compiling her deceased husband, David Gebhard's notes and information. The book gives a different slant on the Prarie style architecture that is generally associated with Frank Lloyd Wright. I personally feel that Purcell & Elmslie were much more aware than Wright that human beings had to live in and utilize their architecture. The book is profusely illustrated with many color and black and white photographs.



2. Too little has been written about the members of the Prairie School other than Frank Lloyd Wright, Walter Griffin, Marion Mahoney, John van Bergen and the subjects of this book, Purcell and Elmslie. This book remedies that by providing a history of their brief but productive joint practice. While, like most of the Prairie School, they were predominantly residential architects, this volume also deals with their commercial work, in particular the many small town banks that they designed. It does an admirable job of detailing the interplay between the two men, the sum of whose work together was so much greater than their solo work. In the ten or twelve years they worked together they produced some of the finest interiors of the Prairie School, and this book is an important contribution in keeping their work from being forgotten.
   
   The text is accompanied by many high quality photos. One minor quibble is that they are not more closely tied to the text. In a number of cases the text refers to details of a design that just begs for an illustration, but none is presented. Still, this is a minor flaw in a book that provides so much information.

1 comments about Bathroom Design and Planning 1-2-3: Create Your Blueprint for a Perfect Bathroom (Home Depot ... 1-2-3).

1. I am building a new home and wanted to make sure I was providing enough room to be comfortable. This book is very easy to understand and has great pitures. I found an earlier version at the libray and liked it more-- but could not buy it. This one works great too espacially if you need to know and understand the basics of bathroom design. I just wished it had more information on trends. For example it talks about two person showers, but do not give device on designs or size. The same situation for walk-in showers.

1 comments about Great Pools, Spas & Outdoor Living Collection.

1. Being a landscape designer I'm always looking for resources and design details that can help me expand my own repertoire. Great Pools and Spas is well shot and has 'great' upscale landscapes to ponder and examine. My copy is teaming with post-its, and that's a good thing.

No comments about Living Outside Inside.

2 comments about Complete Bathroom Design: 30 Floor Plans, Plus Fixtures, Surfaces, and Storage Ideas.

1. This books offers a number of well thought out bathrooms, mostly modern in design, accompanied with beautiful photographs. The styles tend towards the minimal so don't consider this book if ou are more traditional in sensibility./
   
   Alan Safani



2. This is an unusually well organized book. It is packed with current resources which are listed right below the images. The designs are crisp, contemporary and overall very well done ie. I am an award winning and published residential architect and have a 1000 book library on houses and design. This book won't top my list as a seminal work, but it definately is a solid source for instant inspiration! Well done

No comments about Affordable Houses: 300 Modest Plans for Savvy Homebuyers.

No comments about Principles and Practices of Construction Law.

4 comments about The Art of Kitchen Design.

1. Nephew of Elizabeth David (the doyenne of English Food writing), and an architect by trade, Grey writes lucidly and cogently about all aspects of kitchen design. The first section of the book is a history of kitchen design through the ages with a good critique of the good and bad aspects of such kitchens. He includes lots of pictures of kitchens he has designed for various types of houses - including those for Elizabeth David (a winter kitchen and a summer kitchen no less) and for these insights alone the book is worth the price. Grey is scathing about built-in kitchens as he feels that, although they help avoid clutter, they are also devoid of humanity and warmth. Grey's kitchen's focus on the Kitchen as the centre of any house - as a place for cooking, entertaining, homework, socialising and generally enjoying your home. Kitchens should for example have lots of places to perch to encourage conversation to develop. The book contains lots of diagrams and pictures as well as some architectural style drawings to illustrate the points made in the text. Most everything you would like to know about kitchens is contained in this book which is well designed and presented. Highly recommended for foodies and home owners everywhere.



2. I am remodeling a kitchen and have bought almost every book I can lay my hands on. This book, which I had so looked forward to (on the basis, I might add, of the review posted above) is really not very good at all. The author is the nephew of Elizabeth David, England's most famous cook, a name he drops on every other page. David's kitchens, however, like many cooks of her generation, were very simple, very battered and cluttered, and not terribly inspiring (or even, from the pictures) well designed. Gray's own kitchens were designed for Smallbone, the most expensive manufacturer of bespoke kitchens. His own preference is for free standing, hand-made, beautifully constructed and unique pieces rather than for the kind of cabinetry that is semi-custom and custom fitted (typical of kitchens in the US). That preference is fine, as far as it goes, but he seems always to be dealing with extremely idiosyncratic spaces (he despises small kitchens, and almost refuses to have anything to do with them) but what looks good in a former Abbey turned private home will scarcely work in a modern American home, or even an old American home. In addition, since his focus is all on the type of wood used, the freestanding piece, etc...he has very little of use to say about the ergonomics of kitchen design. At any rate, in comparison to other books also available on Amazon, this book is a complete waste of money. The pictures, after a while, are very much of a muchness. The workmanship involved either unavailable in this country, or prohibitively expensive. The opinions expressed: either overdrawn or not that useful ("arms reach" as a measure is the single exception I can think of). If you are building or remodeling a kitchen in the US I would reccomend The Kitchen Idea book for excellent pictures and "How to renovate, remodel etc... without losing your mind" although i can't remember the author's name, off hand. Sorry for the typos, I'm using a new keyboard.--Aimai



3. This book is full of the most practical yet beautiful small to large kitchens you can imagine. All the history of kitchens is covered with photo's of old paintings to illustrate them. Tons of colour photos, and for only [money] he will build you your own kitchen! This is the best kitchen book I have found. A good addition to it is, "Dream Kitchens: Recipes And Ideas For Modern Kitchens" ISBN: 1571458492



4. I am confronted with the remodeling of my kitchen (status post water leak and Great Dane deconstruction project!) so I am casting about for ideas with which to plan my project. I've already enrolled in a cabinet making course-a two year project in itself-so I'm in a position to get really creative with my endeavor. I've prospected for a variety of design books, finding Johnny Grey's The Art of Kitchen Design among them. The photos are wonderful, especially of the historic kitchens and of the Dutch and other classic paintings depicting kitchens. I found the history of the kitchen and it's evolution from integrated activity room to the modern concept of separate functional space an interesting one, but I found most of the author's own designs somewhat cluttered and old fashioned. Since the author evinces a certain disdain for the streamlined, convenient kitchen that arose with the advent of technology applied to the home, I suspect we would disagree over our mutual sense of design anyway. As an ICU nurse, I don't like clutter and things in the way. I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place. Kitchens (and bathrooms) are dangerous places, I see no reason to accentuate the problem. I did like the author's gothic look, primarily because it's rather novel in a kitchen, but my husband vetoed it because it looks too "churchy (he's a "devout" atheist).

   While the book is an attractive and informative one, I found most of the ideas required far more space than I have in my kitchen or a major remodeling of the space I do have to achieve anything like the ambiance presented in the book.