House & Home

A Guide to Being Sustainable at Home and in Life

“Gittemarie is creator that not only provides helpful tips on living a zero-waste and vegan lifestyle, but also articulates it in way that is approachable.” —Jhánneu Roberts (@Jhanneu)

#1 New Release in Upcycling & Repurposing

Reshape your conventional habits, purchases, and recipes with these simple yet effective zero-waste alternatives!

Eco-friendly living made simple. As a lifestyle guide and an introduction to sustainable living, Sustainable Badass shows you why and how to minimize your consumption while effortlessly making your habits greener. Each page has practical tips, tools and important facts about plastic pollution, overconsumption, and the climate crisis. From small changes such as pre-cycling and purchasing items with minimum to no packaging, to eliminating plastic entirely; this book empowers you to be a sustainable badass by making effortless planet-positive choices in your everyday life.

Know the cause, be the change. Gittemarie Johansen, sustainability blogger and speaker, teaches you the way to a greener, more simple and happier life by implementing self sustainable living principles, all while putting the power into your hands as the consumer to speak up and demand change for our planet.

Be sustainable at home.Sustainable Badass encourages you with some effortless principles on the best sustainable home goods. Enjoy this holistic and accessible approach to creating a self sustainable home and lifestyle, that is easy to implement, and fundamental to saving our planet.

Inside, you’ll find:

• A guide to being intentionally sustainable at home 
• Effortless and intentional steps to withdraw from consumerism
• All the knowledge you need to live a sustainable life at home and with others

If you liked Simply Living Well, Live Green, or Attainable Sustainable, you’ll love Sustainable Badass.

• History: The Development of Wabi Sabi
• Culture: Wabi Sabi and the Japanese Character
• Art: Defining Aesthetics
• Design: Creating Expressions with Wabi Sabi Materials
• Spirit: The Universal Spirit of Wabi Sabi

• Back to the Future
• New Creativity
• Urban Innovation
• Elemental Appeal
• City Glamour

• A few simple rules of interior design

• Room-by-room style guides
• How to integrate nature into your space
• The art of arranging objects and laying a table

Find your style and design a space that is meaningful to you. Less noise, more Earth. Less house, more home.

• Properly sharpen all types of kitchen knives
• Sharpen scissors, secateurs, spades and more
• Use a whetstone and ditch ineffective home sharpeners
• Treat wooden chopping boards and season cast-iron pans

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, and what to do if things go wrong. Written by Lloyd Kahn, with illustrations by Peter Aschwanden, this is your straightforward, easy-to-understand guide to small-scale residential wastewater disposal.

The Septic System Owner’s Manual is perfect for the average homeowner, based on conventional systems, providing practical advice on how to keep these systems up (or should we say down?) and running. You’ll also appreciate information on the evolution in composting toilet systems, designs for simple graywater systems, and some typical alternatives to the standard, gravity-fed septic system. There’s a chapter with advice to any community that’s faced with town-wide septic upgrades and a chapter on the history of waterborne waste disposal.

Homeowners will especially find this book useful in terms of the following:

• Working systems: By understanding septic system principles, you will know how to maximize its useful life.
• Partially failing systems: You may be able to nurse along an ailing system or even bring it back to life.
• Failing systems: You are given a discovery process to search for the problem.
• Alternative systems: You will understand how they work and what purposes they serve.

Get this comprehensive book, and get to know the ins and outs of your septic system. It could save you countless repair bills and countless headaches!

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 most definitive titles on owner building, such as Shelter and Tiny Homes. Lloyd has showcased hundreds of builders in his books. Now, for the first time ever, he spotlights the work of himself and his wife, Lesley Creed.

Starting with a vacant half-acre piece of land, back in the 1970s, the couple built their own home, created a garden with vegetables and fruit, and began raising chickens, bees, and goats. This book presents every aspect of their homestead, from the kitchen and dining area to the shed and workshop. It also introduces several fascinating aspects of their lifestyle, such as crafting and small-scale farming. It goes on to cover cooking, foraging, fishing, birds, butterflies, and tools.

Book Features

• Detailed look at a homestead built entirely by hand
• More than 500 full-color photos, illustrating every facet of home life
• Tips about building skylights, greenhouses, living roofs, and more
• Section on unique kitchen tools, as well as useful tools for construction

Lloyd and Lesley have never paid rent and never had a mortgage. This coffee-table book is their story of building and maintaining their own home, over a 46-year period, on a small piece of land in Northern California.

If there’s not a nomadic revolution going on today, there’s certainly a nomadic movement. In the last few years, either for reasons of practicality (high costs of rent or mortgages), change in lifestyle, or the search for adventure, people are customizing all sorts of vehicles for travel.

If you search for “van” on Instagram, you find scores of accounts such as #projectvanlife, with 1.2 million followers; #vanlifecamper; 472,000 followers, or #fosterhunting, 930,000 followers.

This book focuses on DIY vehicles, with most of the 80 or so shown here fitted out for the road by their owners, similar to the way that the homes in all of Shelter’s building books were built by hand, by the owners. There are vans, sedans, trucks, buses, and trailers with a wide array of designs and styles. A number of the units are 4-wheel drive for off-road travel.

The book is not only fun to browse through, but is full of practical information (such as stoves, heaters, battery charging, solar power, refrigerators, and kitchens designed for the road) — for anyone wanting to create their own movable home. These owner builders describe their homes, provide photos and share their secrets. There are dozens of floor plans, all sorts of sleeping arrangements, and some unique “stealth vehicles” — designed to be under the radar, so that passers-by have no idea that someone is sleeping in a parked vehicle.

There is a European minivan outfitted by a young German woman who just graduated from architectural school and took a sabbatical to go surfing. There are a number of camper truck shells, all completely different. There’s a converted school bus that is used in both cold weather for skiing, and in warm climates (such as Baja California) for surfing. A $200,000 Land Rover and a $300 pickup truck camper shell. There’s a converted horse trailer furnished with Victorian antiques that is used at Burning Man. A tiny Geo Metro (3-cylinder sedan) that is ingeniously designed for sleeping, cooking, and eating in the stealth mode.

This is the the latest addition to The Shelter Library of Building Books, which started with Shelter in 1973 and includes Home Work, Builders of the Pacific Coast, Tiny Homes, and more.

This book couldn’t be more timely.

Find inspiration from DIY owner-builders who constructed their own small homes in this coffee-table book filled with photography.

Are tiny homes too little for you? Well, small is bigger than tiny! The average American home is 2,500 square feet—that’s too big. The tiny home averages 200–300 square feet—that’s too little. The small homes featured here are 400–1,200 square feet—just right! American homes are getting bigger and bigger, but small homes are less expensive, use fewer resources, are more efficient to heat and cool, and are less costly to maintain and repair. They are desirable for those who want to avoid a bank mortgage or high rents yet need more room than a tiny house can offer.

Lloyd Kahn has been a leader in the green-building movement for over 40 years. In Small Homes, he presents 120 small homes via more than 1,000 full-color photographs. The homes vary from unique and artistic to simple and low-cost. Some are ordinary buildings that provide shelter at a reasonable cost, and some are inspiring examples of design, carpentry, craftsmanship, imagination, creativity, and homemaking. Some are built with natural materials, such as cob or straw, and some with recycled wood or lumber milled on-site. Some are old homes that have been remodeled, while many were designed and built from scratch. Many are in the country, some in small towns, and some in large cities. Dozens of builders share their knowledge of building and design, with artistic, practical, and/or economical homes in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Lithuania.

Inside you’ll find

• 120 homes in the range of 400–1,200 square feet
• Owner-builder techniques
• Variety of construction methods
• Inspiration from owner-builders
• Small homes in both rural and urban areas

The underlying theme with Shelter’s books, which span more than 40 years, is that you can create your own home with your own hands, using mostly natural materials. A computer can’t build your home for you. You still need a hammer (or nail gun), a saw—and human hands.

In einer Zeit, in der der Fußabdrücke und Klimawandel allgegenwärtig diskutiert werden, fehlt es oft an strukturierten, unabhängigen Informationen über Grundlagen, gesetzlichen Rahmenbedingungen und wissenschaftlichem Hintergrund zum nachhaltigen Handeln im Alltag, denn Ratschläge und Berechnungen verfolgen oft verborgene kommerzielle oder ideologisch geprägte Interessen.

Dieses Buch widmet sich neben einem erklärenden Teil der Frage, wie Privatpersonen und Haushalte konkret nachhaltiger agieren und leben können. Mit vielen detaillierten Informationen aber auch Überblicken bietet es ein ganzheitliches Verständnis von Nachhaltigkeit und zeigt auf, wie relevante Nachhaltigkeitsparameter im beruflichen und privaten erkannt und bewertet werden können. Die Inhalte werden durch umfangreiche Literaturangaben ergänzt so, dass ein Weiterlesen möglich ist.

Das Buch ist sowohl ein Nachschlagewerk zu wesentlichen Informationen und Publikationen als auch ein Leitfaden für alle, die sich einerseits weiterbilden und andererseits jenseits von Trends und Ideologien einen echten Beitrag zu einer nachhaltigeren Welt leisten möchten.　

Woodworking Joinery by Hand is a ground-breaking woodworking book that introduces a new twist on the traditional hand-cut methods of joint making. With Sugita’s unique method of guiding and controlling the saw blade using jigs and magnetic sheets, even a complete beginner can learn advanced joint-making techniques with hand tools alone. Making it easy to produce straight and square cuts, this pioneering technique is a game-changer for producing high-precision, beautifully made wooden joints.

Wood Joints By Machine & Hand is an indispensable reference book and instructional guide to creating the most common joints in woodworking.

Joinery is a fundamental element of woodworking, and mastering the basic joints is an essential part of becoming a skilled woodworker. But not all wood joints are created equal, so knowing how and when to use them is important. This book provides an overview of how to create and when to use the most common joints in woodworking.

Each joint is accompanied by detailed step-by-step instructions and illustrated with full-color photographs. Methods are shown for creating joints using both hand tools and power tools, and alternative techniques are given, allowing the reader to experiment and decide on their preferred process. There is information on the basic tools needed to construct each joint and how to choose the right joint for every job.

Readers will also learn about factors that contribute to a strong wood joint, including how to read the wood grain, to ensure they achieve success every time. An indispensable joinery reference book, Wood Joints by Machine & by Hand provides the perfect introduction for novices and an ideal companion for more accomplished woodworkers looking to brush up on their skills.

Includes: Butt Joint, Miter Joint, Dowel Joint, Mortise and Tenon Joint, Box Joint and Through Dovetail Joint.

How to make something from nothing, well, almost nothing! If, like most of us, you have a pile of leftover wood scraps stashed away in your shop, you'll rejoice over Derek Jones' book, Woodworking from Offcuts. Now, at long last, a book packed with great ideas for turning that trash heap into treasure!

20 useful projects made from odds and ends. These made-from-scrap projects will not only clean up your shop, but provide satisfying work that results in useful items for your home, office, garden—or as nicely made gifts. Projects include: wooden salad serving forks, serving platter, and meat tenderizer that would cost a pretty penny in a specialty shop, along with a letter rack, tool caddy, cute bird house, and more.

Show and tell instructions, tips for all skill levels. Each clever project is explained in clear, straightforward terms, with step-by-step photos that “show and tell" exactly what to do. And, whatever your abilities, there are plenty of projects for you— and opportunities to turn little bits and pieces into beautiful accessories like those in high-end shops.

Super Simple Outdoor Woodworking  is an imaginative collection of 15 projects for the garden, patio or deck that are easy to make.

There are projects designed for both those just starting out and those that would be fun for even the most experienced woodworker to create. All of the projects include clear guidance on how best to approach the construction of each piece and they can be made with standard-sized wood from the DIY store. There are also a number of projects include helpful hints and tips to achieving perfect results. The projects include helpful step-by-step instructions with clear photography and detailed diagrams.

While the debate over our changing environment rages on, one thing remains clear: being green is a hot topic—socially, politically, and economically. Whether you’ve “been green” from birth or don’t even know what the three “Rs” stand for, 48 Things To Know About Sustainable Living can help you make small, affordable (or free!) changes that will have a major impact on the environment and simplify your everyday life. Chock-full of tips and useful Web sites, 48 Things will show you how to easily become planet-friendly by: 

• Discovering eco-friendly substitutions for everything from food and clothing to appliances, cleaning products, office supplies, and transportation
• Reducing waste and electricity, saving you time and money
• Taking advantage of both modern green technology and renewable natural resources

How the mindset of traditional Japanese society can guide our own efforts to lead a green lifestyle today.

If we want to live sustainably, how should we feel about nature? About waste? About our forests and rivers? About food? Just Enough is a book of stories and sketches that give valuable insight into what it is like to live in a sustainable society by describing life in Japan some two hundred years ago, during the late Edo period, when cities and villages faced many of the same environmental challenges we do today and met them beautifully and inventively.

The best person to design the property of your dreams is you. This book gives you the tools to succeed.

Building Your Permaculture Property offers a revolutionary holistic method to overcome overwhelm in the complex process of resilient land design. It distills the authors' decades of experience as engineers, farmers, educators, and consultants into a five-step process complete with principles, practices, templates, and workflow tools to help you:

• Clarify your vision, values, and resources
• Diagnose your land and resources for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Design your land and resources to meet your vision and values
• Implement the right design to enhance your strengths and improve your weakest resource
• Establish benchmarks to monitor the sustainability and success of your development.

When designing a regenerative permaculture property, too many land stewards suffer from option paralysis, a lack of integrated holistic design, fruitless trial-and-error attempts, wasted money, and the frustration that results from too much information and no context.

Building Your Permaculture Property is the essential guide for everyone looking to cut through the noise and establish an ecologically regenerative, financially sustainable, enjoyable, and thriving permaculture property, anywhere in the world.

“Practical advice . . . from the farm field to foraging in the forest . . . a must-have for anyone looking to transition from homeowner to homesteader.”—Scott Mann, host of The Permaculture Podcast

Build your homesteading dreams with all the affordable DIY innovations, tips, and stories you need to successfully launch you on a path to self-sufficiency. Raise and grow your own food, connect with nature, and consume less while producing more! The Frugal Homesteader is a fun, inspirational, and educational guide filled with a lifetime of learning that comes along with becoming a homesteader. Following dozens of successful families who have been motivated to make do, make new, and make more while saving money and living off the land, this book covers such topics as:

• Outfitting your garden
• Equipping your barn and outbuildings
• Protecting and providing for your animals
• Harvesting rainwater
• Heating with wood
• Foraging
• Producing more of what you need to thrive in harder times.

Whether you’re just starting out and looking for new, sustainable, and affordable ideas, approaches, and techniques, or you’re a small-scale farmer in regenerative agriculture, The Frugal Homesteader is the DIY manual to help you succeed.

“This book is worth its weight in gold . . . an account of direct lived experience: jam-packed with tips and tricks from doing the homestead life each and every day.”—Ben Falk, homesteader and author of The Resilient Farm and Homestead

“This is a rich bounty of ideas that will be equally usefully to old hands and shiny new start-ups alike, whether on rural acreage or urban lot.”—Jenni Blackmore, author of The Food Lover’s Garden

The "look before you leap" guide to the joys and pitfalls of the rural good life.

Dreams of self-sufficiency, independence, and tranquility continue to pull in a new generation of modern homesteaders. While growing your own food and being in charge of your life is the source of much satisfaction, there are many challenges to living away from modern conveniences.

Written by an experienced modern homesteader who successfully made the leap, So You Want to Be a Modern Homesteader? offers an in-depth examination of what you need to consider before moving "back to the land." Drawing from a deep well of experience, this essential guide covers:

• Romance versus the reality of rural living
• Finding the right property
• Building versus bootstrapping
• Practical "must-have" skills
• Earning an income and farming on a budget
• Creating community
• Seasonal living
• Children and schooling
• Social media, the internet and rural life.
  

Whether you are dreaming of moving to the country for peace and an escape from the daily grind, to provide a different lifestyle for your children, or you're already long-established in the country, this complete and realistic guide is the essential resource to help you achieve success as a modern homesteader.

How to research, visit, evaluate, and join the ecovillage or sustainable community of your dreams.

Finding community is as critical as obtaining food and shelter, since the need to belong is what makes us human. The isolation and loneliness of modern life have led many people to search for deeper connection, which has resulted in a renewed interest in intentional communities. These intentional communities or ecovillages are an appealing choice for like-minded people who seek to create a family-oriented and ecologically sustainable lifestyle—a lifestyle they are unlikely to find anywhere else.

However, the notion of an intentional community can still be a tremendous leap for some—deterred perhaps by a misguided vision of eking out a hardscrabble existence with little reward. In fact, successful ecovillages thrive because of the combined skills and resources of their members.

Finding Community presents a thorough overview of ecovillages and intentional communities and offers solid advice on how to research thoroughly, visit thoughtfully, evaluate intelligently, and join gracefully. Useful considerations include:

• Important questions to ask (of members and of yourself)
• Signs of a healthy (and not-so-healthy) community
• Cost of joining (and staying)
• Common blunders to avoid

Finding Community provides intriguing possibilities to readers who are seeking a more cooperative, sustainable, and meaningful life.

Diana Leafe Christian is the author of Creating a Life Together and editor of Communities magazine. She lives at Earthhaven Ecovillage in North Carolina.

The author of Ecothrifty shows you how to life more self-sufficiently with her guide to modern homesteading―no farm required.

Food recalls, dubious health claims, scary and shocking ingredients in health and beauty products. Our increasingly industrialized supply system is becoming more difficult to navigate, more frightening, and more frustrating, leaving us feeling stuck choosing in many cases between the lesser of several evils. That's why author Deborah Niemann is here to offer healthier, more empowering choices, by showing us how to reclaim links in our food and purchasing chains, to make choices that are healthier for our families, ourselves, and our planet.

In this fully updated and revised edition of Homegrown and Handmade, Deborah shows how making things from scratch and growing some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life.

Whether your goal is increasing your self-reliance or becoming a full-fledged homesteader, this book is packed with answers and solutions to help you rediscover traditional skills, take control of your food from seed to plate, and much more. This comprehensive guide to food and fiber from scratch proves that attitude and knowledge is more important than acreage. Written from the perspective of a successful, self-taught modern homesteader, this well-illustrated, practical, and accessible manual will appeal to anyone who dreams of a more empowered life.

"Dreaming of a mindful life? Niemann's advice on gardening, cooking, orcharding, raising livestock, and much more demonstrates that it's possible to begin the journey in your own backyard." —Rebecca Martin, Managing Editor, Mother Earth News

Life on 1/10th the fossil fuels turns out to be awesome.

We all want to be happy. Yet as we consume ever more in a frantic bid for happiness, global warming worsens.

Alarmed by drastic changes now occurring in the Earth's climate systems, the author, a climate scientist and suburban father of two, embarked on a journey to change his life and the world. He began by bicycling, growing food, meditating, and making other simple, fulfilling changes. Ultimately, he slashed his climate impact to under a tenth of the US average and became happier in the process.

Being the Change explores the connections between our individual daily actions and our collective predicament. It merges science, spirituality, and practical action to develop a satisfying and appropriate response to global warming.

Part one exposes our interconnected predicament: overpopulation, global warming, industrial agriculture, growth-addicted economics, a sold-out political system, and a mindset of separation from nature. It also includes a readable but authoritative overview of climate science. Part two offers a response at once obvious and unprecedented: mindfully opting out of this broken system and aligning our daily lives with the biosphere.

The core message is deeply optimistic: living without fossil fuels is not only possible, it can be better.

AWARDS

• GOLD (tie) | 2017 IPPY Awards: Books Most Likely to Save the Planet
• SILVER | 2017 Nautilus Book Awards: Green Living / Sustainability
• BRONZE | 2017 Foreword INDIES: Ecology & Environment

How to distill your own premium alcohol safely and legally.

Many people have experienced great success making their own beer or wine at home. In recent years a number of hobbyists have become interested in making distilled spirits. However, distilled spirits are more complicated to produce, and the process presents unique safety issues. In addition, alcohol distillation without a license is illegal in most countries, including the United States and Canada.

From mashing and fermenting to building a small column still, Craft Distilling is a complete guide to creating high-quality whiskey, rum and more at home. Experienced brewer, distiller and self-reliance expert Victoria Redhed Miller shares a wealth of invaluable information including:

• Quality Spirits 101: Step-by-step recipes and techniques
• Legal Liquor: An overview of the licensing process in the U.S. and Canada
• Raising the Bar: Advocacy for fair regulations for hobby distillers.

This unique resource will show you everything you need to know to get started crafting top-quality spirits on a small scale-and do it legally. Sure to appeal to hobbyists, homesteaders, self-sufficiency enthusiasts, and anyone who cares about fine food and drink, Craft Distilling is the ideal offering for independent spirits.

Homes that contain devices that can be controlled by smart speakers, voice commands and apps are becoming a reality for an increasing number of people. What was once the stuff of science fiction is now firmly established as part of the real world and is easily accessible for anyone who wants to add an exciting new dimension to their home.

100 Top Tips – Create Your Smart Home to Stay Safe and Save Money contains tips covering all aspects of setting up and using smart home devices securely. These include:

Smart speakers are becoming more and more common in the home. These are devices that use a voice-controlled digital personal assistant to perform a range of everyday tasks. One of the most popular of these is Alexa, which operates on the Amazon Echo smart speaker.

Alexa for Seniors in easy steps shows the Senior reader how to use Alexa to help with everyday tasks, and to give you peace of mind and keep you safe, including:

• Setting reminders and alerts for:
• taking medication
• upcoming appointments
• paying bills
• daily/weekly/monthly household tasks
• calling relatives and friends
• birthdays and anniversaries – get Alexa to remind you to send cards and presents in time
• ...and anything else you need reminding about
• Making hands-free phone calls if you can't reach the phone
• Setting and controlling smart home devices like smart heating and smart lighting
• Getting the weather forecast, latest news, and sports results
• Playing music and listening to the radio
• Playing games
• Doing shopping online

And much, much more!

Alexa for Seniors in easy steps guides you through setting up your Alexa-enabled device, so you don't have to ask the kids!

Presented in larger font than our standard books, for easy reading – in the familiar In Easy Steps style.

Make your own fuel, for a fraction of what you would pay at the pump.

Small-scale home biodiesel production holds a singular attraction for the do-it-yourself enthusiast. While perhaps it can't save the world, this unique renewable fuel is economical, fun to make, better for the environment, and will help you reduce your dependence on Big Oil. And getting started is easier than you think.

Backyard Biodiesel is written by two recognized experts in the field of small-scale biofuels. This comprehensive hands-on, practical, DIY guide includes:

• The basics of small-scale brewing-recipes, strategies, and technologies
• Advanced backyard analytics and troubleshooting
• Safety considerations and regulatory issues
• Topping up the tank-how to put your biodiesel to work for you.

Making your own fuel is not only possible, it is rewarding. Designed to be accessible to everyone from readers with no prior technical expertise to alternative energy buffs, Backyard Biodiesel is a must-read for any aspiring brewer, packed with everything you need to get up and running quickly and safely.

The safe, clean, and convenient way to compost all your food scraps.

Bokashi is Japanese for "fermented organic matter." Bokashi composting is a safe, quick, and convenient way to compost in your kitchen, garage, or apartment, using a specific group of microorganisms to anaerobically ferment all food waste (including meat and dairy). Since the process takes place in a closed system, insects and smell are controlled, making it ideal for urban or business settings. The process is very fast, with compost usually ready to be integrated into your soil or garden in around two weeks.

While bokashi has enjoyed great popularity in many parts of the world, it is still relatively unknown in North America. From scraps to soil, Bokashi Composting is the complete, step-by-step, do-it-yourself guide to this amazing process, with comprehensive information covering:

• Background-the history, development and scientific basis of the technique
• Getting started-composting with commercially available products or homemade systems
• Making your own-system plans and bokashi bran recipes using common materials and locally sourced ingredients
• Growing-improving your soil with fermented compost and bokashi juice.

This essential guide is a must-read for gardeners, homeowners, apartment dwellers, traditional composters, and anyone who wants a safe, simple, and convenient way to keep kitchen waste out of the landfill.

Tested skills for thriving in the age of limits

Merlin, Gandalf, Voldemort-these well-known sorcerers from popular culture are famed for their amazing spells and spectacular magical powers. In ancient times however, a wizard was actually a freelance intellectual whose main stock in trade was good advice, supported by a thorough education in agriculture, navigation, political and military science, languages, commerce, mathematics, medicine, and the natural sciences-in essence, the true Renaissance man.

Greer proposes a modern mage for uncertain times; one who possesses a startling array of practical skills gleaned from the appropriate tech and organic gardening movements forged in the energy crisis of the 1970s. From the basic concepts of ecology to a plethora of practical techniques such as composting, green manure, low-tech food preservation and storage, small-scale chicken and rabbit raising, solar water heating, alternative energy sources, and more; Green Wizardry is a comprehensive manual for today's wizard-in-training.

Providing a solid practical introduction to the entire appropriate tech toolkit, this book is a must-read for anyone concerned about decreasing our dependence on an overloaded industrial system and, in a world of serious energy shortages and economic troubles, making life a great deal less traumatic and more livable.

Permanent agriculture - abundance by design

"The wealth of practical knowledge in The Permaculture Handbook is a welcome addition to North America's canon of books on permaculture design, and will serve other regions as well. Peter Bane's broad and well-tested experience in ecological living will guide homeowners, gardeners, and small farmers toward designing and living in lushly productive and harmonious landscapes."
― Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

The Permaculture Handbook is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money. It shows how, by mimicking the intelligence of nature and applying appropriate technologies such as solar and environmental design, permaculture can:

• Create an abundance of fresh, nourishing local produce
• Reduce dependence on expensive, polluting fossil fuels
• Drought-proof our cities and countryside
• Convert waste into wealth
  
  

Permaculture is about working with the earth and with each other to repair the damage of industrial overreach and to enrich the living world that sustains us. The Permaculture Handbook is the definitive, practical North American guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.

All those of us without traditional skills need to know to build with timber framing

Many natural building methods rely upon the use of post and beam frame structures that are then in-filled with straw, cob, cordwood, or more conventional wall materials. But traditional timber framing employs the use of finely crafted jointing and wooden pegs, requiring a high degree of craftsmanship and training, as well as much time and expense. However, there is another way...

Timber Framing for the Rest of Us describes the timber framing methods used by most contractors, farmers, and owner-builders, methods that use modern metal fasteners, special screws, and common sense building principles to accomplish the same goal in much less time. And while there are many good books on traditional timber framing, this is the first to describe in depth these more common fastening methods. The book includes everything an owner-builder needs to know about building strong and beautiful structural frames from heavy timbers, including:

• the historical background of timber framing
• crucial design and structural considerations
• procuring timbers-including different woods, and recycled materials
• foundations, roofs, and in-filling consdierations
• the common fasteners.

A detailed case study of a timber frame project from start to finish completes this practical and comprehensive guide, along with a useful appendix of span tables and a bibliography.

Highly illustrated, this book enables 'the rest of us' to build like the professionals and will appeal to owner-builders, contractors and architects alike.

Meaningful living – within your means

Wabi-sabi is about appreciating the simple and letting go of the superficial—the perfect antidote for a society in recovery from a decades-long consumerist binge. In 2004 The Wabi-Sabi House helped popularize this ancient Japanese philosophy in North America. Simply Imperfect is a fully revised and updated edition of The Wabi-Sabi House aimed at moving past our belief in life, liberty, and the pursuit of stuff to finding beauty in austerity, serenity, and authenticity.

Far more than home decor, wabi-sabi is a state of mind: living modestly in the moment, stripping away the unnecessary, and finding satisfaction in everyday things. Simply Imperfect recounts wabi-sabi's rich history, tracing it from its Zen Buddhist roots through to the present day. This beautifully-illustrated book reveals ways to introduce wabi-sabi into your home such as:

• Clearing clutter and blocking noise
• Integrating salvaged and recycled materials
• Making and growing things yourself (or supporting local artisans who do)
• Taking time and space for self-reflection

Wabi-sabi is everything that today's sleek, plastic, technology-saturated culture isn't. Simply Imperfect asks readers to see that mass-produced perfection is seductive but boring. This gentle book is for anyone who is overwhelmed by consumerism or whose focus has shifted from getting more to getting by.

Robyn Griggs Lawrence is editor-in-chief of Natural Home magazine and a prolific writer and speaker on topics ranging from green building and ecological design to organic gardening. She has been instrumental in introducing the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi to a Western audience.

The Aspiring Minimalist’s Guide to Living Consciously and Contributing to a “Greener” Tomorrow

“This is the perfect book for people that want to find a realistic roadmap to sustainable living.” ―The Holistic Millennial

Eco-minimalism is a hot-button issue right now, and for good reason. Living a life with less can be the key to saving our precious planet.

Break the consumption cycle. There’s so much to do, and way too much to buy. Whether it’s through late night TV ads, social media, or other sources of influence, we are addicted to buying and then storing things. Sometimes we consume with no regret and other times we realize that we’re doing more harm than good to our wallets and our homes. It’s a constant cycle―one that many are longing to break. Who wants their hard-earned money to go toward something that soon ends up in a landfill?

A guide to eco-minimalism with a plan that is realistic. Manufacturing "stuff" exploits Earth's precious (and finite) resources. And then there's the harsh reality of where it all goes. Our discarded possessions ultimately head to landfills and contribute to environmental pollution, releasing greenhouse gases during breakdown and decomposition. Sustainable Minimalism is the solution. Empower yourself to incrementally incorporate the tenets of sustainable minimalism into your home and life. Learn to master the easiest tasks first and build upon your successes―a practical and stress-free process. Now that’s sustainable!

A blueprint for sustainability and stress management:

• How to gain greater mental clarity and increase your free time with fewer possessions
• Environmentally friendly ways of decluttering and organizing
• Ways to improve your financial stability, while going green at the same time
• How to get organized and operate a zero-waste home

If you enjoyed books like Zero Waste Home, The Minimalist Home, or The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you’ll love Sustainable Minimalism.

Is your home a sustainable and eco-friendly environment?

Every decision you make during the day, both large and small, has an impact on the environment. Make your daily impact planet-positive.

Eco-friendly home: With the gentle guidance of eco-expert, Alice Mary Alvrez, you can start with baby steps and progress to an advanced eco-warrior! Start with these inspired ideas and the 52 simple ways to reduce your waste, eat organic, and keep toxins out of your home. Inside this helpful and hopeful guide, you'll find tips for greening up all the areas of your life. Learn surprising facts about your impact on the environment and change your habits with do-it-yourself ideas.

Help our planet: Start with small changes, like turning off the tap, and work your way up to raising chickens and composting your leftover food. Whether you want to be a green rookie or an eco-master, you can help the planet every week of the year.

Are your energy bills through the roof, and is your home still cold in the winter and hot in the summer?

That’s the reality for many homeowners in Wisconsin today, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Advances in glass technology and window construction in recent years have made old style windows obsolete. In fact, some windows now on the market are more energy efficient than the walls that surround them.

Taking into consideration the window technology available today, we are able to produce high-performance windows that keep comfort at a maximum and energy consumption at a minimum.

Read this book if you are considering replacing some or all of the windows in your home. Learn how to assess the performance metrics on window labels and choose the best product for your situation. Find out about single-, double-, and triple-glazing and how it affects conduction and air infiltration. Read about argon and krypton, and learn which more effectively slows conduction.

From the hazards of “doing it yourself,” to the pitfalls of hiring a handyman, Wisconsinite Scott “The Window Guy” Young draws from a lifetime of experience replacing windows the right way. He guides you through the basics of glass production, window styles and construction, installation, price, and long-term value.

Arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about replacing the windows in your home. Then window shop like a pro and enjoy the comfort, convenience, good looks, and energy efficiency that high-quality, properly installed windows will deliver for years to come.

Downsizing and moving to a new home is one of the most overwhelming experiences many seniors and their families will encounter. But with the right guidance, it doesn't have to be! This indispensable guide introduces readers to the Home Downsizing Concierge—a network of trusted professionals who specialize in senior downsizing and can provide customized, stress-free solutions every step of the way.

Inside, you’ll get tips from Ben Souchek’s 25+ years of expertise in real estate and downsizing to help you thoughtfully prepare for this major life transition. Learn when it may be time to downsize and how to begin the process. Meet the many specialists, from caregivers to attorneys, who handle each aspect of the move-out and move-in process. Get checklists to sort belongings, ready your home for sale, and keep your move on track from start to finish. Compare your options for selling the home, from using a real estate agent to selling to home buyers who make cash offers, and choose the best path based on your needs.

The book outlines a 6-month downsizing plan that readers can modify to fit their own timeline and circumstances. From helping you begin downsizing the right way to ensuring your house sells quickly and successfully, their goal is to make this experience as smooth as possible.

If downsizing is on your horizon, this guide will illuminate the path forward. You’ll learn how to sell your current house stress-free, transition to your ideal new home, and embark upon your next chapter with confidence.

Are you looking into buying your first home but don’t know where to start? 70 Things First-time Home Buyers Need To Know breaks down all the complicated real estate legalese and provides you with the straightforward knowledge you need to decide whether you should buy, how to locate the right home for you, and how to navigate the process from negotiation through closing, including:

• Comparing single-family and condominium ownership and benefits
• Selecting the right real estate professional for your needs
• Using the Web to search for your home
• Negotiating price and repairs
• Understanding surveys, title insurance, appraisals, and all aspects of the closing process

Essential DIY Guide to Home Décor and Home Staging

“…a must-read when selling your home. This book is a beautiful tutorial that will help you sell your home faster.”  ―Cassandra Aarssen, professional organizer and author of The Clutter Connection

#1 Best Seller in House Plans

Are you overwhelmed by the idea of home staging? Don’t know what to do or where to start? In Secrets of Home Staging, award-winning home stager, Karen Prince, guides you through the home staging process with easy home décor ideas, design tips, and advice on how to stage your home to sell.

Home staging made simple. Secrets of Home Staging isn’t just an indispensable guide for the everyday homeowner, it’s also geared to realtors and those committed to real estate investing and flipping houses. With potential home buyers pre-shopping homes online and dismissing many of them in as little as three seconds, it is essential your home is staged to look its best. Secrets of Home Staging helps you navigate the home staging process with an easy-to-follow guide.

For fans of Joanna Gaines and the real estate world. No matter what your house plan, Secrets of Home Staging offers home interior design advice and tools you need to make your home look great online and in-person. Featuring over 150 color photos, and many practical house interior design tips, Karen gives home sellers everything they need to receive more offers, faster sales, and higher selling prices.

Inside you’ll find before-and-after photos and information on easy DIY home improvements that buyers love, project management tips, and:

• The 6 steps to successful home staging
• Decluttering and decorating ideas that sell
• How to determine your “key” rooms

If you enjoy real estate books, interior design books, or home decor books─like Elements of Style, Home Body, Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Habitat, Inspire Your Home, or The Book on Flipping Houses─you’ll love Secrets of Home Staging.

The Perfect Guide to Little Space Living

#1 Best Seller in Small Homes & Cottages

"Joshua and Shelley get you thinking about what you can do to live a little simpler, even if you’re not building a tiny house."―Mario Soto, Tiny House MD. 

With this tiny homes idea book, learn how to redefine what a house is and master organization, location, and happiness to make the best of your little space. 

You’ll want to live in a mini house after reading this book. Tiny House Basics is an adventure in off-grid living. In their debut book, mini house living experts Shelley and Joshua Engberg show how you can join the revolution to downsize without giving up everything you hold dear. As avid campers and off roaders, together they help you enter the world of comfortable and entertaining small spaces. 

Learn the best tips and tricks to owning tiny homes. Whether it’s cottage-style small houses or a mini getaway house, Tiny House Basics makes tiny house plans practical and accessible. With advice easily applicable to any small home, including spaces like apartments and studios, this micro living book turns any little space into the mini house of your dreams.

Inside, find advice on small home interior design and learn:

• How to maintain a good relationship in a little space 
• The pros and cons of off-grid living and on-grid living 
• How to make your small space feel big 
• Practical storage solutions and design tips 
• Small space living with pets 

If you’re looking for ways to ramp up your little space, coffee table books for tiny homes, or small modern house gifts—like Tiny House Designing, Building, & Living; Small Space Style; or The Little Book of Living Small—then you will love Tiny House Basics.

If you drive a car then this is the book for you. Avoid serious repair bills by learning what to do when something goes wrong.
Our cars are essential to us, and we rely on them for so much that it's hard to imagine being without them.
Doing the wrong thing when your car develops problems could cost you a lot of money and be a real inconvenience – but what if your car has a water leak, or if you discover oil underneath it? What if a warning light comes on? What could be the cause? Is the car safe to drive, or do I need a breakdown service or a mechanic? How can I get it to a garage safely?
This book covers the most common problems that can occur on modern cars. It's easy to follow, written in plain English, and is full of detailed photographs. Probably the most invaluable item you can keep in your car, and you only need basic mechanical skills to get the full benefit of this book.

Gergely Bajzáth has made a good number of engine coffee tables, and constantly enjoys positive feedback and comments about his work. Now, in ‘How to Build your own Engine Coffee Table’, he has decided to share his methods and tips with you, so that you can make one of your very own!
Whether in your living room, workshop, den, man cave, or girl shed, an engine coffee table is a great talking point, and is almost guaranteed to become the main topic of conversation when friends visit.
This book shows you everything you need to know to create your very own furniture centrepiece. From the best choice of engine base, to instructions on design and fabrication for appearance and safety. Hand painted finishes are covered, and a dedicated section shows how to safely plan, prepare, and fit a glass top for a serviceable, and safe, end result.
You’ll know that you want one of these tables as soon as you see the examples in the book!

Simple Japanese Furniture presents 24 simple and stylish furniture projects for the home based on timeless Japanese designs.

Each project is presented with notes on the key design elements of each piece, the tools and techniques needed, and step-by-step instructions for completion. The designs are chosen to illustrate the structure of furniture and key principles in furniture building, and the techniques are well-suited to working with cuts of coniferous trees, especially cedar. Each project is described in a brief overview, with notes on degree of difficulty and an emphasis on key design elements.This isfollowedby a detailed descriptive sectionwithhelpfulillustrations.

Will appeal to woodworkers and hand-tool enthusiasts, the book reflects growing interest in making simple, practical furniture for the home as well as an appreciation of Japanese design.

Documents the structure of the world's greatest timber buildings, and shows how the framer's craft has evolved over the past 1,000 years.

English Historic Carpentry describes and illustrates all of the classes of structural carpentry known to the author in England, from Royal works to Vernacular buildings. Joinery techniques are illustrated as are structural devices and timber moldings. Hewett has developed and proved his theory from the 1960s regarding the identification and dating of historic buildings from their joinery techniques. This is the definitive book on the subject.

Rarely can a work on ancient methods of building construc­tion have had such a broad spectrum of interest as this magnum opus. Hewett's book is considered the seminal work on historic timber buildings and their construction. The great contribution that Cecil Hewett made to architectural history was his proof that the methods of assembling timber buildings, particularly the joints used, follow a strict historical sequence, as datable as ceramics.

The popularity of timber framed houses in the United States has been rapidly growing over the last ten years. This book will have a special appeal to all those interested in this type of construction because of the extensive joinery illustrations that Hewett has incorporated into the text. This is an in-depth discussion of timber framing and the historical progression of techniques used in the field.

Simple green roof design and installation for the do-it-yourself builder

Essential Green Roof Construction is a comprehensive, in-depth guide to building simple green roofs for houses and small buildings.

Packed with detailed photos, illustrations, case studies, and code compliance advice, it offers clear step-by-step instructions necessary to create your own living roof on a new build or as a retrofit. Coverage includes:

• The benefits of a green roof
• The basics of planning and design
• Assessing site conditions such as aspect, slope, and loads
• Navigating building codes and working with building officials
• Material options, including professional grade and economical or local alternatives
• Planting suggestions for different roof climates and conditions, including food production
• When to call on professionals to ensure safety and integrity
• Step-by-step guidance for safe roof installation and detailing
• Annual green roof maintenance.

Where common sense meets beauty — a green roof is a system of layers that work together to support plant life, insulate homes, and make the world a greener place.

Essential Green Roof Construction will give you the knowledge and confidence to install your own green roof.

Design a rainwater harvesting system for any home in any climate.

Water is a crucial resource increasingly under stress. Yet rainfall, even in arid climates, can make up a sizable portion of any home, acreage, or farm's water requirements if harvested and utilized with care. The key is appropriate planning and high-quality site- and climate-specific design.

Essential Rainwater Harvesting is a comprehensive manual for designing, building, and maintaining water harvesting systems for the warm and cold climates of the world. Presenting design considerations and approaches for the most common household rainwater supply scenarios – primary, supplemental, and off-grid supply – this step-by-step approach covers:

• Considerations for full-property water security
• Demand planning and conservation strategies
• Supply calculations and design implications for extreme rainfall and drought
• Materials selection and water quality
• System and site assessment
• Sizing and design of gutters, conveyance, tanks, and pumps
• Pre-filtration, filtration, and disinfection options
• System maintenance and upkeep

This practical resource provides DIYers, trades, and rainwater practitioners with the essential tools, methods, and technical know-how to design, build, and maintain rainwater harvesting systems anywhere.

Rob Avis, P.Eng and Michelle Avis, P.Eng own and operate Adaptive Habitat, a leading edge property design firm for resilient homes, acreages, and farms and Verge Permaculture, a globally recognized award-winning education business. They have over 20 years of combined experience in project management, ecological design, and sustainable technologies, which they share at vergepermaculture.ca from their suburban house and yard that they've transformed into a model of cold climate urban permaculture in Calgary, Alberta.

Everything you need to know to build with rammed earth in warm and cold climates.

Rammed earth - sand, gravel, and clay or lime/cement binder packed into forms - is a low-energy, high-performance building method, yielding beautiful, sustainable results. It's thermally stable and can be insulated, can actively modulate humidity, provides a healthy indoor environment, and allows site materials to be used for major structural and building envelope elements.

Essential Rammed Earth Construction covers design, building science, tools, and step-by-step building methods for any climate, with a special emphasis on building in cold climates of the northern US, Canada, and northern Europe. Coverage includes:

• Overview of earthen building
• Appropriate use of rammed earth walls
• Stabilized versus raw rammed earth
• Design considerations, including structural, insulation, and building envelope details
• Special considerations for cold and freeze-thaw climates
• Construction drawings, with step-by-step building instructions
• Tools and labor covering industrial methods, low-tech techniques, formwork options, mix design, budgets, and schedules
• Codes, inspections, and permits.

This guide is an essential resource for experienced builders, DIY home owners, designers, engineers, and architects interested in learning about rammed earth construction.

A veritable cookbook of natural plaster recipes and techniques for beautiful, durable finishes

Natural plasters made of clay, lime, and other materials mixed with sand are beautiful building finishes. Fun to work with, low-impact, and allowing infinite creativity, they are high performance and provide proven, centuries-long durability.

Yet until now there's been no resource that has pulled together the best North American plaster recipes and how-to into one place. Essential Natural Plasters covers it all:

• Sourcing and selecting materials, including site-soils
• Clay, lime, and gypsum plasters as well as fibers and amendments
• Interior and exterior use and specialty plasters such as tadelakt for bathrooms
• Preparing substrates, from straw bales and cob to lath and Sheetrock
• How to set up a safe, efficient worksite
• Mixing, testing, tinting, repairing, and applying plasters
• Coveted recipes from leading plasterers in Ontario, Vermont, New Mexico, France, and New Zealand.

Richly illustrated and deeply researched, Essential Natural Plasters is the must-have resource for owner-builders and professionals alike.

Build economical and resilient earthbag structures using simple tools and techniques.

Earthbag construction- building with polypropylene bags usually filled with earthen materials- is a versatile, easy-to-master, low-impact, and highly durable form of building, suitable for structures from houses to root cellars.

Containing over 75 photos and illustrations, Essential Earthbag Construction is a practical guide to this affordable method of building. Going well beyond the scope of other sources, this indispensable manual is packed with all the information you need to determine if it's the right choice for your project, and to start building. Distilling decades of experience, research, and best practices, it covers:

• Material specifications, performance, and when and where to use it
• Pros and cons of different fills from gravel, to earth and clay, to insulative perlite, rice hulls, and volcanic stone
• Illustrated, step-by-step guidance for efficient bag filling and installation
• Details for various designs, including domes and arches
• Foundation options and seismic and stability considerations
• Finishing and maintenance techniques
• Tools and materials
• Additional resources.

Essential Earthbag Construction presents the practical guidance and best practices for both the DIYer and professional to design and build high-quality earthbag structures.

From wastestream to mainstream, a practical guide to composting toilet systems.

Composting toilets are a key feature for local resilience, money saving, water conservation, resource recovery, septic system replacement, and an improved bathroom experience in rural and urban buildings.

Essential Composting Toilets is a streamlined manual that takes a practical, how-to approach to composting toilet system selection, design, installation, and operation, while meeting universal health and safety objectives. Drawing from existing regulations and research, this book dispels myths and provides tools to assess various systems. It includes:

• Easily-understood drawings, plans, and photos
• Coverage of all main composting toilet systems
• Selection criteria including site considerations, urine separation pros/cons, renovations/new builds, ventilation, servicing, and composting details
• Design and installation details.

Offering a professional approach accessible to DIYers, homeowners, designers, building consultants, water conservation advocates, and regulators, Essential Composting Toilets provides key information for redesigning toilet systems anywhere in the world.

Cordwood construction - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. Its durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe.

Yet until now, there has been no trusted, practical guide to cordwood construction using the material in a wide variety of construction projects.

Distilling decades of experience and best practices, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step guide to cordwood building. Ideal for the DIYer and professional designer and builder alike, it covers:

• Wood species selection, log-end length, and seasoning
• Cement, lime putty, and cob mortar options
• Wall cavity insulation options
• Budgeting and estimating
• Highly illustrated, step-by-step building techniques
• Window and door frame installation
• Pointing and chinking, finishing, and plastering
• Special designs and decorative features
• Code references, compliance, building science, and best practices
• Troubleshooting and maintenance

Dreamers, owner-builders, natural and sustainable building contractors, modern homesteaders

Cordwood construction - log-ends set in insulated mortar - is a versatile, economical, low-impact, and beautiful building method. And while cordwood construction’s durability and performance has been proven in beautiful, centuries-old buildings in North America and Europe, there has been no trusted, practical and comprehensive book on cordwood construction methods using cordwood in a wide variety of cordwood masonry construction projects.

Distilling decades of experience, best practices, and innovations in cordwood construction, Essential Cordwood Building is the first fully illustrated, step-by-step comprehensive book on cordwood construction. Ideal for the DIYer, professional designer, and builder alike, this comprehensive book on cordwood construction covers:

• Wood species selection, log-end length, and seasoning
• New mortar options such as cement, lime putty, and cob mortar
• Wall cavity insulation options
• Budgeting and estimating for your cordwood construction
• Highly illustrated, step-by-step cordwood masonry construction methods and techniques
• Window and door frame installation
• Painting and chinking, finishing, and plastering your cordwood construction
• Special designs and decorative features
• Code references, code compliance, building science, and best practices for cordwood masonry construction methods
• Troubleshooting and maintenance.

Written by the world's leading sustainable builders, designers, and engineers, these succinct, user-friendly handbooks are indispensable tools for any project where accurate and reliable information is key to success. GET THE ESSENTIALS!

Rob Roy is widely recognized as a world leading authority on cordwood masonry construction methods. Rob has authored and edited 15 books including Cordwood Building and Stoneview. He lives in West Chazy, New York.

From the author of The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy, an easy guide to solar electricity—everything you need to power your home or small business.

Written for the individual or business layman, this is the fully revised and updated guide for generating solar electricity. Practical and accessible, it provides a basic understanding of electricity, wiring, and solar energy. The book guides the reader through assessing your solar electricity site and determining the type of solar system needed for to generate solar electricity, providing you with a solid understanding of grid-tied and off-grid systems, along with important guidelines on installation.

Power from the Sun, 2nd Edition, discusses types of photovoltaic and photovoltaic solar energy systems, and includes comprehensive information on recent changes and improvements in PV modules, charge controllers, inverters, batteries, generators, and net metering policies. It offers an excellent overview of the many options available as a guide for generating solar electricity, allowing you to make the best choices for your individual situation during the design, installation, and operation of a solar energy system. This is the definitive layman’s guide for homeowners, business owners, installers, architects, and just about anyone interested in generating solar electricity to lower energy bills and achieve greater independence through solar energy.

“Dan Chiras is as reliable as a Swiss watch—once again he’s created a text that’s as accessible as it is informative.”—Ann Edminster, author of Energy Free: Homes for a Small Planet

“Chiras makes it as easy as possible for you to affect your own transition away from fossil fuel dependence.”—Bruce King, PE Director, Ecological Building Network, and author of The New Carbon Architecture

There are so many reasons to update your living space. The exciting, creative process can quickly get out of hand if you are not ready for it. The Styleprint® Design System simplifies everything and helps you each step of the way. The Styleprint brings your unique design preferences to life by evaluating your space, identifying what exactly is not working for you, and then setting goals to improve it.

With the help of the Decor&You Styleprint Design system, you can create the living space of your dreams.

Award-winning journalist, color blogger and shelfie fanatic Martha Roberts shows you how to source, sort and arrange your belongings into stylish shelfies for home and workspace.

An interesting response to the clutter-clearing movement has been 'the shelfie' as a decorating trend and social media phenomenon. What started as a label for beautiful bookshelves is now applied to artfully stylish arrangements of collectables, flowers, photos, crafting ephemera, perfume bottles - and of course books. And shelfies don't just appear on shelves but also on tabletops, fireplaces and desks. At a time when we own six times more objects than our parents did, and move house more often, decluttering, and then curating our possessions stylishly, is an important way of having a dedicated space that is a 'little bit of us', injecting stylish personality into the home and workplace. In the first book on the subject, Martha Roberts explores the art of creating great shelfies, explaining color, scale and composition then showing inspiring shelfies in every room in the house, from the kitchen to the bedroom, the home office to a hallway, allowing you to declutter your surroundings without throwing away the things you love in the ultimate form of self-expression. The book's photographer, Nick Pope, took the photographs for At Home with Plants, also published by Mitchell Beazley.

Oak-framed projects stand the test of time. The longevity of the mighty oak trees that grow for centuries is echoed in Oak-Framed Buildings – they are here to stay and so are these oak-framed buildings! Newly updated, this classic title is ideal for carpenters, builders, aspiring DIYers, and anyone who appreciates beautiful, durable, and environmentally friendly structures.

Revised and fully up-to-date. Oak-Framed Buildings has been substantially revised to bring the book completely up-to-date and in compliance with current building technology. It combines traditional building techniques with modern materials and installation methds, resulting in solid buildings with a high standard of energy efficiency. It covers all this and more:

• Practical information about the history of timber framing
• Structural qualities of oak
• How-to get started
• Techniques of timber-frame construction
• Designing frames
• Making and raising frames
• The building envelope
• Finishing details and much more

Beautifully photographed. The structural details are clearly explained through:

• 180 stunning full-color photographs of structures in various stages of construction 
• 90 three-dimensional illustrations

The best of yesterday and tomorrow.  Oak-Framed Buildingsis an amazing melding of centuries-old techniques with 21st century environmental and energy-saving standards – an essential resource for pros and non-pros alike.

“Every aspect of creating a beautiful, sensible, and healthy home is explored and demonstrated with elegance and clarity.” —Martin Hammer, architect, co-director, Builders Without Borders

An EcoNest is not just a home—it is a breathtakingly beautiful structure that nurtures health and embraces ecology. This unique approach to construction combines light straw clay, timber framing, earthen floors, natural plasters, and other natural techniques with the principles of Building Biology to create a handcrafted living sanctuary. By bringing together time-honored traditions and modern innovations, owners of EcoNests enjoy living spaces that reflect the best of both worlds.

The EcoNest Home is an in-depth exploration of the benefits of choosing this technique over conventional alternatives, combined with a complete practical guide for prospective designers and builders. Authors Paula Baker-Laporte and Robert Laporte draw on their own extensive experience to provide:

• A detailed explanation of the nature-based science behind EcoNests
• Fully-illustrated, step-by-step instructions to guide you through construction
• Dozens of inspiring photos of completed projects

The most comprehensive, North American resource on light straw clay construction, written by its leading proponents, The EcoNest Home is a must-read for anyone considering building their own healthy, affordable, environmentally friendly, natural home.

“A great new book for the ecological designer, builder and homeowner.” —Sukita Ray Crimmel, coauthor of Earthen Floors

“The EcoNest Home is made from well designed, sophisticated techniques rooted in simplicity. This book demonstrates the outstanding results that arise to their steadfast commitment to creating healthy, natural homes.” —Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce, authors of Using Natural Finishes

A comprehensive guide to building green on any budget.

According to conventional wisdom, building a green home is an expensive endeavor. The standard approach treats green as an add-on, tacking "premium" products, finishes, and equipment onto a traditional home design. As a result, many green home projects end up over budget or fail to achieve their environmental and performance goals.

Green Home Building explodes the myth that green homes have to cost more. Using proven methods based on applied building science, the authors show how to:

• Lower base construction costs to provide funding for high performance upgrades
• Achieve a net-zero energy home, including "zero-ing" water, waste, carbon, and associated costs within fifteen years
• Live affordably into the future, despite anticipated rising costs for fuel, water, materials, taxes, and health care

This comprehensive guide to building green on any budget defines the strategies that maximize the return on green investments. Written for anyone who has ever been swayed by the argument that the price tag limits how green a home can be, Green Home Building is a must-read for builders, contractors, architects, designers, and homeowners.

Miki Cook is a green building and sustainability consultant who has dedicated her career to educating contractors and the public on the strategies, methods, and benefits of green homes.

Doug Garrett has trained thousands of homebuilders, architects, and sub-contractors to build energy-efficient homes using applied building science to improve comfort, durability, and healthfulness while meeting or exceeding the energy code.

This practical guide to mural painting explains all the key techniques and design styles you need so that you can get creative in your own home and start 'unsaming' your walls.

Murals are a fantastic way to breathe new life into an interior or exterior space. Mural painting is perfect for creating a particular theme in a room, livening up a boring corner of your home and personalising a child's bedroom with their favourite characters. It can also be used to spruce up corridors, hallways and stairwells and other areas of our homes which often get forgotten about.

This practical guide to mural painting explains all the essential techniques for getting started including what kind of paints and brushes to use, how to work on various wall surfaces and how to prepare the surface area before painting in order to get the best results.

Authors Clara Wilkinson and Mary West, outline the practicalities you need to consider when you are planning a mural such as how much light the area receives and how will it fit in the desired space. They also look at where to find inspiration sources, how to use colour in your work and how different styles of painting suit certain locations.

One of the most challenging elements to creating a mural is how to transfer your ideas from paper onto a wall or ceiling and how to ‘scale up’ the design. The authors explore various techniques for transferring mural designs including the traditional grid method and their own innovative ‘doodle grid’ method.

Murals offer an exciting opportunity to try out different styles of painting: abstract graphic, painterly and linear are all styles that are looked at in this collection. These painting techniques are explored using step-by-step photography and there is advice on how to combine different techniques to create stunning results.

The authors take us on a tour of some of their most exciting wall art and murals and explain, using step-by-step instructions and photography, how you can achieve similar results by either using their design templates or learning how to create your own. Each of these projects is based on a particular theme including Chinoisserie, graphic botanical, celestial, tropical jungle, linear abstract, florals and a painterly abstract design. Just choose your favourite and get started!