Ideas for Great Backyard Cottages

I'm planning a small cottage/guest house/art studio and needed help with design and interior. The book was exactly what I needed and is a big help with making decisions that will help me be able to use the building for all three things. It has a lot of pictures with landscaping ideas, thoughts on using space well, and very nice exterior design ideas.

Actually, I liked this book. It has fantastic color photos of various cottages, cabanas, potting sheds, sleeping/dining sheds, greenhouses, trellises, etc.. If you are just skimming for visual ideas for what to build in somebody's back yard or vacation property, this book is "tops". Unfortunately there were no sketches or plans accompanying the pictures. So the reader is left unsure of how to reproduce what he sees. Also, the plans available for sale in the rear of the book are fine as far as they go -- but they don't have anything available if you want a cabana, trellis, or outdoor kitchen.

This book is just a delight to sit and page thru for dreaming up ideas of your own. Page after page of beautiful cottages, quaint little retreats, and even custom doghouses. I have my own "carriage house" converted into an artist studio and just love it. There is really nothing more relaxing then building, decorating, then enjoying your own backyard cottage. If you have the yard space put the effort into building one; then get this book. Even if you don't have a backyard cottage you will enjoy the book. Hope the author will consider publishing Edition II.

This is one of my favorite cottage books. I would love to someday own a vacation cottage. But since that's not an option now, this book has given me great ideas and inspiration for creating my own backyard cottage - can't wait to get started! The pictures are beautiful. Easy and fun to read.

Photos of lots of neat backyard "cottages" (actually small backyard buildings of all kinds -- sheds, screen rooms, guest rooms, follies, etc). Includes a short discussion of materials and techniques at the end, but the photos are the real value here. Fun and inspiring.