Jessica Kellner's book comes to us in the nick of time. We need a new, more enlightened approach to housing and this book provides the roadmap. Housing Reclaimed could put a whole generation on the path to comfortable, secure sustainability. Jessica has written a beautiful and necessary book that everyone who lives under a roof should read. -- Bryan Welch, Publisher, Mother Earth News, Natural Home & Garden and the Utne Reader Author, Beautiful & Abundant: Creating the World We WantIn a time when so much of the news around housing is negative, Jessica Kellner offers an optimistic but practical approach to building a home--mortgage free! Jessica proves that, with a little creativity and a willingness to step outside the constructs of modern housing, anyone can build a dream house. -- Robyn Griggs Lawrence Author, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House
Jessica Kellner's book comes to us in the nick of time. We need a new, more enlightened approach to housing and this book provides the roadmap. Housing Reclaimed could put a whole generation on the path to comfortable, secure sustainability. Jessica has written a beautiful and necessary book that everyone who lives under a roof should read. -- Bryan Welch, Publisher, Mother Earth News, Natural Home & Garden and the Utne Reader Author, Beautiful & Abundant: Creating the World We Want
In a time when so much of the news around housing is negative, Jessica Kellner offers an optimistic but practical approach to building a home--mortgage free! Jessica proves that, with a little creativity and a willingness to step outside the constructs of modern housing, anyone can build a dream house. -- Robyn Griggs Lawrence Author, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House
"Jessica Kellner's book comes to us in the nick of time. We need a new, more enlightened approach to housing and this book provides the roadmap. Housing Reclaimed could put a whole generation on the path to comfortable, secure sustainability. Jessica has written a beautiful and necessary book that everyone who lives under a roof should read."
― Bryan Welch, Publisher, Mother Earth News , Natural Home & Garden and the Utne Reader , Author, Beautiful & Abundant: Creating the World We Want
"In an environment of underwater mortgages, home foreclosures, and lack of adequate housing for many Americans, Jessica Kellner's Housing Reclaimed makes a compelling case that we can more easily realize the dream of homeownership if we utilize our hands, our imaginations, and the high-quality low-cost materials available from building deconstruction. Filled with many creative and innovative examples of warm, livable and affordable homes built from found materials, this book should be in the hands of anyone who wants to build his or her own home without getting trapped by the large debt associated with conventionally marketed and financed houses."
― Bob Falk, President, Building Materials Reuse Association, Author, Unbuilding: Salvaging the Architectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses
"In a time when so much of the news around housing is negative, Jessica Kellner offers an optimistic but practical approach to building a home ― mortgage free! Jessica proves that, with a little creativity and a willingness to step outside the constructs of modern housing, anyone can build a dream house."
― Robyn Griggs Lawrence, Author, Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House
"This unique book outlines an inspiring perspective on how we can make housing more sustainable and more affordable. Kellner provides compelling examples of how we can build our own elegant, debt-free homes, and she outlines approaches to make housing sustainable by creating salvage businesses, showcasing companies that recycle entire homes and non-profits that produce sustainable low-income housing."
― Cheryl Long, Editor-in-Chief, Mother Earth News
"Jessica Kellner has managed to give us a glimpse of who we are as a species ― clever, creative and resourceful. Perhaps we can take a hint and return to primal sensibilities and first strategies, and discover who we really are. She even tells us where to go to do that. Magnificent!"
― Dan Phillips, Founder and owner, The Phoenix Commotion
"In Housing Reclaimed , Jessica Kellner ventures into terrain that remains offlimits to most: the subculture of homes made from trash, reclaimed, discarded and recycled material. In exploring case studies of people who have crafted their homes out of society's cast-offs, Kellner challenges all of us to think outside the box of residential convention and to embrace new options. Anyone interested in saving a buck, in saving the planet and in creating a magical, healthful and one-of-a-kind home should reach for this beautifully crafted, engaging and timely book."
― Wanda Urbanska, Author, The Heart of Simple Living: 7 Paths to a Better Life , Co-author, Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness
Book Description
How to build community, reduce waste, and create affordable, unique homes.
From the Back Cover
HOW TO BUILD COMMUNITY, REDUCE WASTE AND CREATE UNIQUE, AFFORDABLE HOMES
Filled with many creative and innovative examples of warm, liveable and affordable homes built from found materials, this book should be in the hands of anyone who wants to build his or her own home without getting trapped by the large debt associated with conventionally marketed and financed houses.
― Bob Falk, President, Building Materials Reuse Association, Author of Unbuilding: Salvaging the Architectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses
The economic crisis has cast a long shadow over the prospect of home ownership for many North Americans. Housing Reclaimed examines how technological advances, design evolution, and resourceful, out-of-the-box thinking can help meet the challenge of creating affordable, environmentally friendly, beautiful and unique housing. This call to arms for nonconventional home builders is packed with case studies of innovative and inspiring projects:
- Phoenix Commotion ― working together toward low-income home ownership through sweat equity and nearly 100% recycled materials
- HabeRae ― revitalizing neighborhoods by creating urban infill using modern technology and sustainable and reclaimed materials
- The Baker family's zero-debt handbuilt Alabama home ― a five-year labor of love constructed almost entirely with salvaged materials
- Builders of Hope ― rescuing and rehabilitating whole houses slated for demolition.
These ventures and others like them demonstrate that building one's own home does not have to remain an unattainable dream. This beautifully illustrated guide is a must read for anyone interested in creating quality zero or low-debt housing, reducing landfill waste and creating stronger communities. Kellner challenges all of us to think outside the box of residential convention and to embrace new options.
Anyone interested in saving a buck, in saving the planet and in creating a magical, healthful and one-of-a-kind home should reach for this beautifully crafted, engaging and timely book.
― Wanda Urbanska, Author of The Heart of Simple Living and Co-author of Less is More: Embracing Simplicity for a Healthy Planet, a Caring Economy and Lasting Happiness
Jessica Kellner is Editor of Natural Home & Garden magazine and a passionate advocate of using architectural salvage to create aesthetically beautiful, low-cost housing. To help bring you the very best inspiration and information about greener, more sustainable lifestyles, Mother Earth News is recommending select New Society Publishers books to its readers. This book is one of them.
About the Author
Jessica Kellner is Editor of Natural Home and Garden magazine (naturalhomeandgarden.com) and a passionate advocate of using architectural salvage to create aesthetically beautiful, low-cost housing.
