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Book Covers Home is where the bookstore is

'Not So Big House' leads big fall book market

By CNN Interactive Writer
Jamie Allen

ATLANTA (CNN) -- It seems one can't flip through the channels or browse through a bookstore these days without being bombarded by advice on homes. Programs, books and magazines tell how to decorate and design them, how to fix them, how to build them.

In particular, the home-themed book market is becoming increasingly competitive. This fall, hardcovers ranging in theme from dream cottages to Feng Shui are lining bookshelves.

One of the most anticipated releases, "The Not So Big House" (Taunton Press), has a unique and prestigious selling point: Frank Lloyd Wright. The book, by Sarah Susanka, with Kira Obolensky, is a follow-up to the 1938 project when Wright was commissioned by Life magazine to design the perfect dream home.

This time out, Susanka's firm Mulfinker, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, has been picked to design the 1999 Life Dream House. The result, as seen in the pages of the book, mixes Wright's practical beauty while scaling down the suburban push for larger homes.

As Susanka says, bigger isn't always better.

"So many homes today are the developers vision of what we should need in terms of square footage and rooms and adjacencies," Susanka says. "'The Not So Big House' is about how to introduce spirit and personality into our homes. The book is also about giving up the spaces we don't really use and end up making a house feel soulless."

Taking influence from Wright's Usonian homes, Susanka's style incorporates expression of the homeowner through use of space.

"In the same way that music inspires us to certain feelings, space can do the same thing," Susanka says.

Decorating 'isn't nuclear physics'

Of course, home is where the heart is, but it is also a way for the dweller to show off his or her taste. And there are plenty of book choices for plenty of tastes.

Decorating a home might sound like fun to many people, but it's an encompassing project that requires planning and an artistic flair. "A Home for All Seasons" (Abrams) by Meg and Steven Roberts, gives readers plenty of ideas for the four seasons.

"Decorating, creating 'interior sensations,'" the book reads, "isn't nuclear physics. It's a form of thinking, even dreaming out loud."

Filled with Martha Stewart-esque photos (the photographer, Maura McEvoy, in fact has had her work featured in the magazine "Martha Stewart"), "A Home for All Seasons" plants the seeds for ideas in every home.

"Rustic Style" (Abrams), meanwhile, focuses on one theme. Author Ralph Kylloe is a renowned expert on rustic furniture and decorative accessories. In his sixth book on the subject, Kylloe offers 175 photos of rustic settings in the home.

Kylloe is also quick the point out that his collection includes not only antique furniture from last century, but contemporary furniture that is designed with quality while staying true to the form.

Feng Shui, and more

For those seeking something more from decorating than compliments from friends -- "The Modern Book of Feng Shui" (Dell) is a recent effort explaining the ancient Chinese art of placement. The book informs readers on how to rearrange the decor in their home to enrich life and achieve tranquility.

Steven Post has been a Feng Shui practitioner for more than 25 years and he was the first Geomancy/Feng Shui teacher in the United States. His advice is given in easy-to-follow instructions, accompanied by photos.

For some, the house is decorated, except for one small room that seems to defy pragmatic usage. "Small Spaces" (Heart Books) is a niche book that targets this problem by providing creative solutions to that wasted real estate.

Written by Christine Pittel, who is a contributing editor to "House Beautiful," "Small Spaces" teaches readers how to use various design techniques, from wall colors and patterns to the art of arranging clutter, to expand that nook off the living room, or at least make it look nice.

For all those traditionalists who find home decor a bore, or worse, variations of the same eyesore, the book "Your World ... and Welcome to It" (Simon and Schuster) provides a scathing look at decorating fads that have swept the country.

From minimalism to disco chic to loft living, nothing is sacred in this satire on the way we alter our surroundings to the hippest trends.

The cottage industry

Of course, there are some people who are completely happy with the look of their home, but still suffer from the American dream of wanting to get away from it all.

For that, author Jim Tolpin brings us "The New Cottage Home" (Taunton Press), a tour of the popular house form as seen at several home sites across the country. Tolpin investigates 30 designs, from a Pacific Northwest cottage to a Nantucket "beach box," each dedicated to the art of living a simpler life away from the hustle and bustle of civilization.

"The New Cottage Home" contains over 300 photos and illustrations.

Along the same theme, "Cabin Fever" (Simon and Schuster) takes homeowners to the rugged edge.

"Who doesn't long for a piece of the wilderness to call one's own?" author Rachel Carley asks. The book gives readers that piece, and perhaps the desire to own it.

Taking into account the spirit of wealthy American families like the Vanderbilts and Guggenheims, who often headed off to family cabins to find seclusion, "Cabin Fever" presents a collection of photos and descriptions of some of the nation's best old lodges and private cabins.

For homeowners lucky enough to own a piece of history, "Caring For Your Historic House" (Abrams) tells them how to keep it in good shape. The book is a collection of advice from 22 leading preservationists, covering everything from roofs and window care, to fire protection and landscaping.

And finally, for those interested in the big picture on home design (what led us to "The Not So Big House" and beyond), the illustrated book "House" (Abrams) provides background on how humans have lived through history.

Author and illustrator Albert Lorenz offers forty examples of human shelters, from ancient times to present day.



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