In her third book, Cocoon: Creating Homes with Heart, Ali Heath, invites the reader to create a home sanctuary that focuses on the human touch, as an antidote to our fast-paced, tech-driven modern world. This way of decorating is so much more than just a look or style - it's about taking a holistic approach that draws upon all our senses, not just the visual, and connects us more meaningfully to ourselves and our surroundings. In the past creating a sanctuary was about the decoration of a few key rooms, now it is about how the whole home makes us feel.

Cocooning is not about isolation or shutting down and does not have to mean going off-grid - it is simply about tuning back into our emotions and creativity to satisfy our need for comfort and wonder. Divided into three informative chapters: Cocooning, Feeling and Living, the book explores the homes of 13 creatives from around the world, including architects, antique dealers, furniture makers and artists in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Australia. With everything from small inner-city sanctuaries to spacious island retreats, Cocoon celebrates a design approach that speaks to the heart.

"I came to Santa Fe straight from the 1952 Roy Rogers matinee in East Hampton, Connecticut. That and a 1982 New York Times travel article about Chaco Canyon." Like Lewis and Clark with a U-Haul, Reed and Jim leave Philadelphia and head to Santa Fe, New Mexico to establish a new home. With their knack for renovating, Reed and Jim purchase an old adobe, and then face the challenges of making their dream inhabitable. Here you'll find the joys, the trials-the costs -of fixing up the old mud house, buying horses, and attempting to be good citizens. Everyday happenings, such as running for city council, tutoring ESL students, and real estate sales teach them lessons about a Santa Fe that tourists do not see. Fascinated with Santa Fe's history, the pair becomes involved in the lives of fascinating people who come to Santa Fe, and sometimes leave it, seeking the magic the old city offers. When their money runs low, they learn to survive where jobs are as scarce as desert water. Over their ten years in the Land of Enchantment, Reed and Jim find their wounds heal and their romance thrives. Immerse yourself in the adventures of strangers who come to a strange and beautiful land to renovate a dilapidated house. If you have dreamed of starting over, "Santa Fe Dreamhouse" is the unforgettable place to begin.

• How to cut heating and cooling costs, utilize solar energy, construct nonflush toilets and solar showers, collect rainwater, and apply permaculture techniques
• Hundreds of photographs and diagrams illustrate ways to use natural resources and embrace self-reliance
• Sustainable living advice from self-reliance expert Christopher Nyerges, editor of "Wilderness Way" magazine and author of "How to Survive Anywhere"

In an ever-changing economy, cutting costs and utilizing available resources is essential. From embracing solar energy and wind power to using fluorescent bulbs and growing backyard vegetable gardens, there are endless ways to live a more ecological and economical lifestyle.

Distillation is an art. And even an ancient one. It is strange to find that the history of this oldest and still most important method of producing chemically pure substances has ever been written. The reader looking at the bibliography appended to this book might object that many data existed. This may be true but the proper history of the art from the origin up to the present time was lacking.

Crafting from pregnancy to your baby's first birthday! The arrival of a new baby is not only a cause for celebration, but also the perfect opportunity to get creative. After all, what could be better to give to that special little person in your life than a handmade gift? Whether you are making a gift for your own baby, or for a friend or relative's new arrival, this book features a wide range of craft projects to suit all skill levels and covers numerous craft types, including stenciling, sewing, knitting, and crochet. There are projects for all the early stages of welcoming a baby, from pregnancy through to the first birthday, each one created exclusively for the book by a specially selected group of crafters from around the world. Beautiful watercolor illustrations accompany the projects ensuring each one is easily achievable and suitable for crafters of all levels.

A dreamer's handbook for kids--and parents--offering practical results All kids love the idea of a hideaway--a place that is theirs, no parents allowed. But how on earth can they actually build one? In "Forts for Kids," an inspirational yet practical guide, David Stiles, the most trusted authority on DIY building projects, shows them how. Assuming no previous experience from the fort builder, the book starts with the basics for kids and their parents: how to buy wood, and essential skills such as sawing and nailing. It includes a brief history of forts and more than twenty projects ranging from the simple (a blanket and umbrella fort) to the more challenging (a stockade fort). The book even includes forts made of snow, sand, or branches. An accessories section features projects that can be made in just a few hours, such as a slide, swing, catapult, periscope, cannon, and water balloon launcher.

Originally published in 1918, this is a wonderful book of things for children, young adults or 'handy' grown-ups to make, full of great project pieces. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include A Sawing Trestle A Joiner's Bench A Handy Bookstand A House Ladder A Developing Sink A Poultry House and Run A Shed for your Bicycle A Target Apparatus for Rifle Shooting Cabinet-Making Telegraphic Apparatus A Reciprocating Electric Motor An Electric Alarm Clock A Model Electric Railway A Simple Reciprocation Engine A Horizontal Slide-Value Engine Model Steam Turbines Steam Tops Model Boilers Quick-Boiling Kettles A Hot Air Engine A Water Motor Model Pumps Kites Paper Gliders A Self Launching Model Aeroplane Apparatus for Simple Scientific Experiments A Rain Gauge Wind Vanes with Dials A Strength-Testing Machine Lung-Testing Apparatus Home-Made Harmonographs A Self-Supplying Matchbox A Wooden Workbox Wrestling Puppets Double Bellows A Home-made Pantograph A Silhouette Drawing Machine A Signalling Lamp A Miniature Gasworks

Written by seasoned builders from across the country, this revised edition of Foundations & Concrete Work features 17 new articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine, all focused on helping builders form and pour the absolute highest-quality foundations. more than 375 on-the-job photos and drawings 272 pages chock-full of advice, tips, and tricks from the world's most foremost home building experts from Fine Homebuilding magazine, the most respected residential construction magazine in the country. Foundations & Concrete Work, is the only book on the subject that builders will ever need!

Enjoying the boat living lifestyle! An essential introduction to sailboat living that provides detailed information on how to successfully and happily live aboard a boat. This book is filled with a wealth of fundamental and practical advice with tips on: purchasing a boat, understanding boat systems, maintenance and boat care, projects for the do it yourselfers, cost factors, and an international recipe section. Also included are sources for boat equipment. A strong emphasis is placed on the safety issues and current laws pertaining to the operation of sailboats.