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Our Brothers and Sisters in France

Our friend Paula, who lives in a houseboat in Amsterdam, once said to us that France was “the California of Europe.” There do seem to be many French people who share the concepts in our books (which I believe reflect the California lifestyle) in building, gardening, and the spectrum of DIY. The French translation of our book Home Work sold over 10,000 copies.

Our French friend and carpenter Yogan and his creations have appeared in a number of our books. He was hiking in the Pyrenees recently and came across this beautiful little home. He recognized it from Home Work, where it was featured in a section on countercultural builders in France, and shot this photo. It was built by Jeanne-Marie; she based the design on the old stone barns of the region, but used wood rather than stone. It’s one of my favorite little homes.

(Home Work, published in 2004, is the sequel to Shelter. Many of the homes in Home Work were inspired by the builders and buildings in Shelter.)

Epiphyllum Oxipetalum, Queen of the Night Cactus

The flowers bloom only at night. This one is in our greenhouse. Lesley has been checking it every night and last night, voila! In India, it’s called Brahma Kamalam, named after the Hindu god of creation. In Japan, it is called “Beauty under the Moon.” It is very fragrant, may bloom once a year. And then — in exquisite restraint — for only one night.

On the Road

We’re starting to gather material for another book on rolling homes. A lot has happened since 2014, when our book Tiny Homes on the Move was published. For one thing, there’s been an explosive interest in vans, as evidenced by Foster Huntington’s Van Life: Your Home on the Road, which has sold 75,000 copies. People are taking off for vacations in vans, and as well, some people who have been laid off and can’t pay their rent due to the coronavirus, are looking at nomadic living as an option.

We’re looking for the new generation of road homes, circa 2020 and beyond — different from the vehicles (or trailers) shown in present books. What’s new out there?

If you know of any unique units, please contact me:
Send Submission Email.

Charlie Winton, Musician

Those of you who know Charlie from the publishing world (founder of Publishers Group West, the Avalon Publishing Group, and Counterpoint LLC); well, surprise! When he retired from publishing, he picked up his guitar and started writing songs. He’s just come out with his first album — Hold On Tight — and it’s great — rock and roll!

• On YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCdadRInKxmvJm9Itzl_rh6A
• To buy: www.holdontightalbum.com Read More …

I have just discovered the magnification functions of my iPhone 11 Pro Max. How about this for a flower’s invitation to honeybees? Beauty leads to nectar.

We’re going to start doing short videos of things from The Half-Acre Homestead.

Note: We offer a 30% discount on 2 or more books, with free shipping in the USA.

From @lloyd.kahn’s Instagram

We are a carpenter/gardener couple who have been restoring our 1860s Greek Revival farmhouse for the last 30+ years. One of our goals has been to live self-sufficiently and conscientiously, and we believe our home and gardens uniquely reflect this.

The house includes three bedrooms, a large beautiful kitchen, dining room, living room, library/office, studio, pantry, mudroom, two full bathrooms, and an airy, screened and glassed-in sunporch. Connected to the house by a long porch, is a 25′×36′ two-story shop/studio, and a woodshed and storage area.

Behind the house are established organic vegetable, and perennial flower gardens, fruit trees, and blueberry and raspberry bushes. A Nearing style 10′×20′ stone, glass and wood greenhouse extends the gardening season at both ends, and provides a lovely refuge on sunny, cold winter days.

Hard as it is for us to leave this, our children are grown and we no longer need this much space and the large gardens. We hope a younger family looking for a similar lifestyle will get as much joy from it as we have.

–Joe Stanley

House and 12.5 acres – $325,000: richmondmainefarmhouse.com/house | woodtools@yahoo.com

Yesterday I read in the paper that sales of children’s books are booming, due to schools being closed. This brought to mind our one and only children’s book, Wonderful Houses Around the World, by photographer Yoshio Komatsu and artist Akira Nishiyama.

There are 10 photographs by Yoshio of homes in different parts of the world. All the homes are built of natural materials — earth, wood, thatch, sod, bamboo, and stone.

Each photo is followed by a watercolor drawing of the inside of that home, showing the children and their parents going about their everyday activities: food gathering and processing, cooking, sleeping, working and playing.

The book is timely in this day and age: it shows what people do in their homes. Timely also because it’s great educational material for kids being home-schooled: look at what what kids your age are doing in other parts of the planet.

Yoshio is my favorite photographer of homes in the world. Not only are the homes invariably soulful, but his composition and lighting are perfect — and he has a knack for making people feel comfortable, so that the homeowners look natural, often laughing.

The book is $12.95 and you can order it through your independent bookstore, or from:

• Us here: www.shelterpub.com/building/wonderful-houses
• Bookshop.org: www.bookshop.org/books/wonderful-houses-around-the-world

Note: We have a money-back guarantee on all of our books (no matter where you buy them). If for any reason you are dissatisfied, call us and we’ll return the full purchase price plus shipping. No need to return the book.