Curb Appeal: Exciting Ways to Enhance the Appearance of Your Home Paperback – November 1, 2004

This books uses before and after photos to show what improvements were made and why they were made. The homes appear to be moderate-sized homes mostly built 1920-1940. It shows how to add character. It will give you ideas that you can try a project here and another later, if your budget doesn't allow a full-scale project now. Many styles of homes are featured in the book. I found this book better than Megan Connelly's book: Design Ideas for Curb Appeal by Creative Homeowner, in which the homes featured don't show before and after photos. Instead most of the houses Ms. Connelly featured had to be 6,000 sq feet or larger. Many were newly-built obviously by people who had a lot of money. The sunset book, on the other hand, illustrates ideas on a less expensive scale. I watch all of the HGTV design shows, including Curb Appeal. But prior to this Sunset book, I wasn't sure where to start. I now have the confidence to take on Curb Appeal because "I get it".

Un volume che definirei "simpatico" più che altro. Contiene molte informazioni pratiche, ma nulla che non si trovi su altri libri (ad es. posizionare un pavé, un opus incertum, ecc.). La cosa più interessante sono le foto, grandi e molto ben fatte, su cui il volume è basato. Ci sono tantissime fantasiose, bizzarre, ma anche classiche e romantiche idee per rendere la facciata dell'edificio più gradevole. Ma attenzione! parliamo di edifici neo-georgiani o neo-vittoriani, mica le nostre case fatte di volumi scatolari! Per quelle non c'è soluzione se non abbatterle al suolo. In complesso un buon libro (più che altro una grossa rivistona, come quelle che in Italia fa la di Baio, ma più grande), vale quello che costa. Uno sfizio per chi ha già tutto.

I think it's always best not to make preconceived notions of what you'll find in a book. Just let it surprise you. I also am a student of photos. I don't need a huge amount of detail in the text as I'm smart enough to look at what works in the photos and make applications for my own usage. Publishing a book in full color is difficult enough. Kudos! This book did not disappoint me. The photos are outstanding and each one brings something to the discussion that the others have not. A wide assortment of homes were selected as well and the presentations were just as wide and varied, so there is something there for everyone to appreciate and relate to. At the end are some "how to" projects, which was unexpected. Excellent book if you want ideas on how you can make your home more appealing from the curb.

I'm glad I bought this used..This is a very limited picture book with lots of completely worthless wording. It says virtually nothing on how to add curb appeal to your home. There are only a small handful of "projects" with do it yourself instructions; but those instructions are too brief to be of any use. Also, there are absolutely no sources of products or references on where to buy things you may want to use to add curb appeal. The ENTIRE book is full of common sense statements like:"An entry is at its best when it is designed to reflect your home's architectural style" (without suggesting how to build an entryway for different types of home styles);"Siding comes in a wide array of styles and materials. The type that is right for you depends on your home's architecture, your budget, and the amount of maintenance you are willing to do" (without suggesting how a homeowner might use certain siding to enhance a house), and"Major grading and construction - or any jobs requiring heavy equipment - are best left in the hands of professionals"Really, I need a book to tell me this common sense garbage?

I was left wanting more how-to and less 'here are some pictures'. What I really want is a book that illustrates an idea, and then gives you details about the hardscape, construction, plant species, etc. to execute that landscape project. This book is about 80% pictures and ideas, 20% improvement how-tos that don't really seem to have anything to do with the first 4/5s of the book and look like they were cut out of sections of three other books and pasted into this one. For a relatively inexpensive book that might give you some ideas, it is okay, but if you get ideas from this book, you are on your own to figure out how to actually execute them.

I was so excited when I flipped through this book that I bought 4 for gifts. Generally I only browse through magazines, where I can clip great ideas and toss the rest. Most books on this topic have a few good ideas and the rest is noninspirational.Page after page. I was inspired and excited. I almost wanted to go buy a fixer-upper so I could utilize some of the fantastic ideas. This book is a keeper for sure.

I was looking for a book with lots of before and after photos to give me ideas on changing the façade and landscaping of different types of houses. While this is a beautifully photographed book, it wasn't what I was looking for. I found better material in the Sunset book.

The book has some very good ideas. Hope I can get to implement some of them.

Jolies maisons mais le sujet n'est traité qu'en surface

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