Customer Reviews

Carriage Barns: Sources of Building Plans, Kits, Products and Services to Help You Create a New Garage, Workshop, Stable, Backyard Office, Studio or Live-In with Old-Style Charm

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, the definition provided by Berg: "In certain parts of the country, the terms `carriage house' and `carriage barn' are synonymous with any building that combines a garage and an apartment." The value of this book thus becomes obvious; many of us are faced with the dilemma of which to build first, the house or storage building to shelter tools and materials. So here's the answer, build a carriage barn that serves both purposes. Later, one can build the dream house and use the previous apartment as guest quarters or writing/painting/sculpture/crafts studio. As with his other books, Berg stimulates and inspires with lots of drawings showing classic and contemporary solutions to questions of style. Drawings from previous centuries and current working architects give a panorama of choices. Whether restoring an old carriage house or building a new one, this book is a useful tool for finding ideas, plans, and salvaged or new products for authentic construction or reconstruction.

Excellent directory of hard-to-find plan catalogs, websites, products, references and materials. I found the illustrations of garages, horse barns and apartment barns to be lovely, and I liked that I could reach the architects/designers directly for more information on their designs. Many websites given here don't seem to appear on search engines, so this book will help you with your Internet search for plans. This is similar in format to Berg's "Barns and Backbuildings" and "Backroad Home" and, like those, will be a great help if you're dreaming to build.

Wow, this book is great! Terrific plans and a great resource tool. Just what I needed for inspiration. There are samples of the carriage barn, stable and garage designs on Donald Berg's website...See for yourself!

THIS IS A VERY DISAPPOINTING COMPILATION. THE INFORMATION GIVEN IS EITHER AN ADVERTISMENT TO BUY OTHER DESIGNERS' IDEAS, OR IS ALREADY READILY AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON THE INTERNET. MOST OFFENSIVE ARE THE TERRIBLE RENDERINGS; FIRSTLY, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN LIGHT GREY, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO DISCERN ANY DETAILS, AND SECONDLY, MANY OF THEM ARE NOT EVEN CORRECTLY DRAWN TO PERSPECTIVE! ANYONE CONSIDERING USING THESE RECOMMENDED DESIGNERS SHOULD HAVE THEIR HEADS - AND EYES - CAREFULLY EXAMINED.