Small Homes Of Architectural Distinction

Many homes across America have designs based on plans taken from pattern books or mail-order catalogs. In Houses from Books, Daniel D. Reiff traces the history of published plans and offers the first comprehensive survey of their influence on the structure and the style of American houses from 1738 to 1950. Houses from Books shows that architectural publications, from Palladio&’s I Quattro Libri to Aladdin's Readi-Cut Homes, played a decisive role in every aspect of American domestic building. Reiff discusses the people and the firms who produced the books as well as the ways in which builders and architects adapted the designs in communities throughout the country. His book also offers a wide-ranging analysis of the economic and social conditions shaping American building practices. As architectural publication developed and grew more sophisticated, it played an increasingly prominent part in the design and the construction of domestic buildings. In villages and small towns, which often did not have professional architects, the publications became basic resources for carpenters and builders at all levels of expertise. Through the use of published designs, they were able to choose among a variety of plans, styles, and individual motifs and engage in a fruitful dialogue with past and present architects. Houses from Books reconstructs this dialogue by examining the links between the published designs and the houses themselves. Reiff&’s book will be indispensable to architectural historians, architects, preservationists, and regional historians. Realtors and homeowners will also find it of great interest. A catalog at the end of the book can function as a guide for those attempting to locate a model and a date for a particular design. Houses from Books contains a wealth of photographs, many by the author, that enhance its importance as a history and guide.

Modestly priced, richly illustrated reprint of rare guidebook published in 1920s by Architects' Small House Service Bureau. Designs, floor plans, construction materials, prices for wide variety of small homes. Over 800 line drawings and photographs of models ranging from charming five-room English cottages to attractive, two-story, shingled Colonials.

Perspective drawings, floor plans, and descriptions of principal features of outstanding '20s designs, many by leading architects of the period. 1,135 black-and-white line illustrations, 262 black-and-white photographs and tone drawings.

In 1927, the Chicago Tribune sponsored a competition for "trained men of talent, incorporating into the small home ideas of real worth, types of rare charm, and the best possible plans for comfort and convenience." This collection spotlights the challenge’s top results, presenting the nineteen prize-winning designs for five- and six-room houses, plus eighty additional sets of the best architectural plans. A new introduction by Daniel D. Reiff, Ph.D., adds interesting detail about the competition and the competitors. These fascinating snapshots of American domestic architecture of the 1920s include glimpses of New England and Southern colonials, Normandy cottages, stately Italianate dwellings, and other styles. Each of the designs features a floor plan and exterior views of the house. Architects, architecture buffs, and historians will prize these authentic renderings of the leading designs in American architecture of nearly a century ago.

A celebrated New York architect and designer of the city's fabled Singer Building, Ernest Flagg (1857-1947) was most famous for his skyscrapers. But Flagg was also an ardent proponent of the well-designed single-family dwelling. As this classic treatise illustrates, he devised a variety of structural economies and ingenious innovations. Filled with 526 blueprints, photographs, and other illustrations, Flagg's Small Houses embraces modular designs, the use of ridge-dormers, and saving space, materials, and costs. Flagg offers advice on every corner of the home, from the practicalities of plumbing and heating to the aesthetics of color choices and landscaping designs. Modern designers, both professional and amateur, will find this book a timeless source of advice and inspiration.