Customer Reviews

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways: Big Ideas for Small Backyard Destinations

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For anyone who wants to build or create a cool garden shed, art studio, playhouse, writer's retreat, greenhouse dining room.........this is THE book for them! If your style is cozy, crafty, rustic, or contemporary, there is a shed or hideaway, in this book, which will inspire you to start building. I have been saving old windows for years, and now I have the impetus to start to create my own special space using a combination of elements from several of the buildings featured in this book. The photos are wonderful. The writing is approachable and totally inspiring.

Debra Prinzing's newest book is a wonderful collaboration with William Wright, as photographer. Together, they documented fantastic outbuildings across the United States. These artist's retreats, decorator paradises, and architectural jewelry for the main house can sometimes scarcely be called sheds, but Ms. Prinzing makes all of us feel like friends who have dropped over for a glass of iced tea on a sunny afternoon.

I knew I was in for quality enjoyment when I opened the book, and the first line paraphrased Virginia Woolf's "room of one's own." Hasn't every writer or artist longed for such a place? I know I have, and now I have several templates from which to choose.

I'm one of the lucky shed owners in this book Stylish Sheds and
Elegant Hideaways. And I'm a lover of modern design. When looking through books and magazines I'm always flipping quickly trying to find the "good stuff". Debra Prinzing found the good stuff for her latest book.

This book has several contemporary designs, but I found the other sheds just as beautiful and interesting. I guess that's the style and elegance. Perfect title for the book.

William Wright's photos are gorgeous. He captures the sheds in their surroundings which makes this book a good tool for designing your own backyard oasis.

I want to use many of the great ideas I got from this book. In the chapter Poetic License the Italian tile is installed upside down and the Nordic pavilion in San Francisco has a grass roof. The glass block ceiling in the Manhattan shed makes a great sky light.
Plenty of planting arrangement ideas in every chapter. I go on garden tours to get ideas. With this book I can visit 28 gardens and their sheds from my easy chair.

I don't think I'm biased because I'm in this book. Just Lucky.

Full Disclosure Statement: My partner (who has also left a review) and I are featured in the book. That said, I have to say that I'm very impressed with what Debra Prinzing and Bill Wright have produced. The wide variety of styles - from sleek to whimsical to elegant - provides eye candy for every taste. Moreover, the sheds are not unattainable "follies" of the wealthy. They are realistically attainable garden structures that have been re-imagined in ways that truly enhance the quality of life. The book's "Resources" section, brings the idea of having a shed that much closer to reality. And by including information about the owners and how they use their sheds, you begin to understand how a shed can serve a purpose unlike any other room in your home. It can be an art studio, a retreat, an entertaining destination an extension of the garden, or anything else you can dream up. I have to admit that after first reading the chapter on our shed, I spent the next several evenings reading the rest of the book in detail. I found myself lusting after the Greenwich Village shed, and loving the architecture of the Zen-style teahouse in Texas. This is much more than a coffeetable book. It is a book of ideas, inspirations, resources and engaging personal stories. I'm very proud to be a part of it.

OK, first, full disclosure: My partner and I are featured in this book. Nevertheless, I'm compelled to throw my two cents out here in the comments section. Debra Prinzing has compiled an impressive collection of sheds, garden houses, and garden retreats that you will likely revisit again and again. Ours was one of the first garden houses to be photographed, so we weren't sure what the final product would look like. Now that this book has come together and we've been able to flip through it on our sofa, I'm extremely impressed by the wide array of styles featured in the book. If you're looking for traditional, it's here. Contemporary, it's here. Zen, yes. Whether you're looking to decorate a garden pavillion that seats 12, or simply a potting shed with a small bistro table, you'll find plenty of inspiration here. The book is engaging, inspiring, stylish, and, most of all, so beautiful you'll want to display it on your coffee table -- or maybe in a garden retreat of your own.

I originally put this text in the comments section by Dennis' review but figured no one would see it there because of his negative attitude.

I beg to differ with Dennis. I am the creator of the "Mod Pod". I was flattered and eager to help contribute to Debra's book. This is not a how-to-build-a-shed book. I have been planning a shed of my own in my very modest East Austin home. Even being the creative person that I am, I took inspiration from several projects presented in this book. I intend to build ponds similar to those in "Texas Tea House" chapter, create an elevated structure as in the same chapter, create a wall similar to the roof in the Manhatten chapter, and create a sun screen like the Soji-like panels located in the San Fransisco chapter. (Sorry Debra, I don't have the book in front of me as I write this, so I don't remember the actual chapter titles.) My point is that I found the book to be exactly what the author intended it to be.

Wikipedia defines a book of this nature as follows:

A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for portability. Subject matter is generally confined to non-fiction, and is usually visually-oriented. Pages consist mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, as opposed to long prose. Since they are aimed at anyone who might pick the book up for a light read, the analysis inside is often more basic and with less jargon than other books on the subject. Because of this, the term 'coffee table book' can be used pejoratively to indicate a superficial approach to the subject.

Dennis, I suggest you sell your used copy (here on Amazon.com) to someone who will enjoy it.

Harrison Bates

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways is full of innovative and creative ideas that I would love to use to liven up my own bland, suburban back garden and create a private space just for me! The book gave me many ideas of using sheds and elegant hideaways for more than just storing garden hoses, pots and a wheel barrow.

Bravo to the home owners for their wonderful "shed" visions and to Debra and William for capturing the essence of these great spaces through the book's words and photos. Each chapter is full of enticing images and words that capture the personality of the shed owners. There isn't a boring picture in the entire book.

I am inspired to even start collecting antique garden tools, bird houses or watering cans to duplicate the decorative displays in some of the garden shed pictures.

Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideways is a classy book that I am sure everyone will find inspiring, no matter how big or small their yard or budget.

This book is a disappointment. I was looking for ideas on how creatively to use an outbuilding's interior space. What I got was countless arty photos of knick-knacks contained within the featured buildings. So many of the photos are close-ups of decorating details that it's often impossible to get a sense of the overall space. Too much fluff, not enough real content. This one goes on ebay today.

Oh! I didn't even know I WANTED a garden shed until I saw this book. I have a small back yard, filled with trees and a pond, no room at all for a structure. I briefly contemplated pulling out the trees in exchange for a romantic shed (no, not really, but I DID long for more room so I could have a garden structure). This is a beautiful book, gorgeous pictures, delightfully written, and a must have for gardeners everywhere. While the sheds themselves are beyond the average budget, the ideas they inspire to do on your own budget are infinite. Get this book, and do like I did...sit with a few other gardeners and browse through the pages together. You'll ooh and aah and make other unseemly noises while lifting your wineglass. A must have for making your garden wish list during the heat of summer or cold of winter when we gardeners turn to books and planning since we can't be outdoors.

Just as each house has a style of its own, so do these sweet "sheds" display individual personalities. There are ideas for every taste and budget. I particularly enjoyed the Norwegian-style "stabbur" (since I'm half Norwegian!) but the takeaway idea is to have a roof over your head (grass optional) with an outdoor rug and a table. Great potential for those with a walkout basement: "Sweet Retreat" with a 10x10 walkout room as a portal to a patio. Both the room and the patio rely on cozy furniture to invite conversation and conviviality. From country to zen, from desert to England, the atmospheres shown and described so well in this book provide creative fodder for a special hideaway, using what you have or designing something new.