Cottages by the Sea, The Handmade Homes of Carmel, America's First Artist Community (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Carmel, California, has always been a community of artists, writers, and freethinkers. During the early part of its rich history, the area was home to Robinson Jeffers, Mary Austin, Ansel Adams, Charles Greene, Jack London, George Sterling, Upton Sinclair, and Henry Miller, among other great artists of the twentieth century. During the late 1980s, actor Clint Eastwood, a longtime resident, served as mayor.

While much about Carmel has changed since the days when Robinson Jeffers could be seen strolling the beach, the area remains one of America's most beautiful. It is also home to many of America's most charming but rarely seen cottages. In Carmel's residential district-- a very private, heavily wooded area surrounding the shops and tourist attractions of the town's often busy main street-- there are no sidewalks or streetlights. The U.S. Postal Service does not offer mail delivery. Homes have no addresses; they are simply known by name. Here, it is not uncommon for tourists, so intrigued by the uniqueness of the local architecture, to climb the fences of private homes in order to get a closer look or snapshot of the house on the other side. Now, for the first time, 34 of these homes can be seen more advantageously, in more than 270 specially commissioned and archival exterior and interior photographs.

About the Author

Linda Leigh Paul is a writer and media relations consultant who specializes in architecture and design. She is coauthor of Rizzoli's Tile and Stone.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Universe; First Edition edition (November 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789304953
• ISBN-13: 978-0789304957
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > International > United States
  #20 in	Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Architectural
  #70 in	Books > Home & Garden > Home Design > Design & Construction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Available on Carmel Cottages, August 20, 2001

By	Richard Steres (Pacific Grove, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am an architect. I live near Carmel and have a special fascination for these houses. Applause to the author. There are lots of beautiful photographs and the history is facinating. I would always like to see more diagrams, interesting details and floor plans, especially for the house called "Hansel". However, this is an excellent book, the best one available on the subject.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A glimpse of things unseen, March 13, 2001

By	j. j. molloy "oreganus" (Bloomington, Indiana) - See all my reviews

My wife and I traveled to beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea in October. It was our first visit to that part of the US. I must say that we found all of the surrounding seashore from Big Sur to Monterey spectacular and unique.

During our all-too-brief stay in Carmel, we walked the tree-shaded streets and explored the white sand beach. We could see houses and cottages half-hidden behind spectacular foliage and vine-covered walls. They looked lived in and inviting. Of course, we strolled more or less randomly, following Carmel's narrow lanes where they would lead us.

At a local bookshop we purchased a copy of Cottages by the Sea. This excellent volume showed us what no uninvited guests could view on their own. We dreamed of being able to enter the gates that its author and her photographer did, and to view the warm interiors of the cottages whose exteriors we glimpsed. We were heartened by the author's quiet but firm thoughts about preserving Carmel, and villages like it from development and unplanned `progress.'

We had not known about Carmel's `artistic' past, and this book led us not only to Tor House, but to the poems of Robinson Jeffers, a volume of which we found in another shop. The illustrations in this book are wonderful. The text provides a brief history of a place that I can assume is like no other in America-or in the world.

We have one complaint. Some of the reproductions of documents and plans were too small to be legible. Perhaps they could be enlarged in a later edition? But all in all, this book added much to our experience of Carmel, and we highly recommend it to anyone who loves this type of modest domestic architecture. We have bought copies for our friends in the UK who plan to visit the US. And because of it, we hope to return to Carmel.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly lovey!, June 7, 2001

By	"lolalu" (Springfield, IL USA) - See all my reviews

I opened this book as one would a box of expensive hand-crafted Belgian chocolates and savored each page. The photos are luscious, the text tart and logical. Interior and exterior views of cottages and Jeffer's stone tower remind one of European villages.

Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" and "Creating the Not So Big House" are both good, yes, but nothing in them sets off the same resonate sensation as seeing "Cottages by the Sea." This is what real homes can be: shelters for the mind, body and spirit, places of rest, security and inspiration.

I'd write more, but excuse me---I'm booking a trip to Carmel.