Handmade Houses

An offbeat tour of the eclectic and singular homes of do-it-yourself pioneers, Handmade Houses is the first comprehensive volume of handcrafted homes and documents the original innovators, as well as the current arbiters, of the important architectural and environmental movement. It will appeal to anyone interested in architecture, green living and design, craft and DIY. The book visits major examples of the handmade house in the three principal states where it initially thrived as part of the back-to-the-land movement: New York, Vermont, and, most importantly, California. But in the process of showing its key influences and how it evolved and spread and ultimately became a design style, we also journey to thrilling examples in Illinois and North Carolina and in Canada, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Hungary and Wales. Showcasing new levels of innovation and environmental sensitivity and presenting an antidote to the mass-produced development model, most of the components used to construct these residences are reclaimed and found materials like driftwood, boulders and even old wine vats.