TECH This is a multi-book review. The titles are 'Building Your Outdoor Home: 30 Easy, Essential Landscape Projects', and 'Designing Your Outdoor Home: Landscape Planning Made Easy'. One of the best ways to improve a home's appearance and increase its value is to redesign and update its landscaping. These titles, part of Black & Decker's 'Outdoor Home' series, show homeowners of all skill levels and budgets how to update their yards in an easy step-by-step manner. Most successful projects start with a plan Designing Your Outdoor Home shows how to create the perfect design; one which is aesthetically pleasing and tailored to your own lifestyle. Dedicated spaces or 'outdoor rooms' are created with specific purposes (dining, playing, hobby and utility areas) in mind. Using a variety of design principles, readers can create a plan for their particular house. Sections covering specific materials, types of plants, and how to draw plans round out this title. Building Your Outdoor Home starts where Designing Your Outdoor Home leaves off, showing readers how to bring their designs to fruition. It covers 30 projects of varying skill levels, ranging from planting hedges to building a retaining wall. Other areas include shaping the landscape, installation of sprinklers and lighting, walkway installation, garden construction, and garden ponds. Given the broad range of subject matter, both titles cover only the basics. However, the step-by-step instructions, complemented by profuse illustrations, should be all most readers need to design and complete their landscape projects. Containing something for nearly everyone.
|
