I saw this book over on House in Progress and had to have it - it was published by Taunton in 1997 but I hadn't seen it at Builder's Booksource and had no idea it existed. Tolpin's excellent idea book on built-ins of all types covers period and modern creations, and addresses both the planning and building of new built-ins in existing and new spaces, and the restoration of older woodwork.

As our friends at HiP noted in Tolpin's text,

The Bungalow Philosophy emphasized creating a space that was easier to clean and keep organized. Built-in furniture played a large part in accomplishing these goals.

It's an excellent reference & the wonderful illustrations should be helpful to anyone wanting to insert this kind of detail into a new project, or to restore older built-ins to their original glory. I'm hoping to use Tolpin's advice in the planning of my new kitchen, the execution of which will be detailed here on Hewn & Hammered.

I need a good, solid Craftsman bedroom dresser. Wide and not too tall, maybe a 8 drawer (4 and 4) or 9 drawer (3/3/3) design, without a lot of decoration. Any suggestions for a well-made piece for under $1500?

When we moved into our home in 1998, we decided to furnish our main floor with Arts & Crafts furniture. We saw Tom Stangeland's Greene & Greene dining room table (modeled on one in the Blacker House in Pasadena) at NW Fine Woodworking here in Seattle and this was (to quote Casablanca) the "beginning of a beautiful [creative] friendship."

Looking for authentic antique Prairie, Craftsman or A&C furniture, accessories or artwork? Check out the unsold lots at Treadway/Toomey Galleries. A resource to keep an eye on.

Lowell Prescott has a few very nice large images of Frank Lloyd Wright's designs for his Imperial Hotel in Tokyo (built 1915, demolished in the '60s) at this page.

When it comes to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture nothing takes the place of visiting in person and experiencing his environments first hand. I will never forget the first time I visited Fallingwater after years of studying photos and models. It's the scale of the buildings that is most striking. I maintain that any Wright building you have seen in pictures is about 60% the size you think it is.

Archive Designs create original designs in copper & iron "in the spirit of the Arts & Crafts ... Rustic and Mid-Century" movements. From farmhouse sinks, fireplace hoods and surrounds, wrought-iron gates and rails, a wide variety of light fixtures, to metal tiles and mailboxes, principal Joseph Mross' work is detailed and beautiful. Mross is also an architectural designer, and images of his work in this discipline are also available on the Archive Designs site.

When I lived in Berkeley, there was a big storm one night. The next day I noticed that a huge branch had fallen off one of my favorite oak trees in a place called Live Oak Park. City workers were cutting up the beautiful piece of wood, which was at least 5 feet in diameter at the widest point, into cross sections using a chainsaw. It seemed a waste of such a great piece of wood. I asked them if I could have a few sections, they said sure, so I loaded a few chunks into my truck.

We have noted the passing of E. Fay Jones last week at age 83. I was deeply saddened by the news  and full of memory of my one brief encounter with him (read on below).

Designs in Tile of Mt. Shasta, California, creates and sells tiles for historic, period-styled installations in a variety of Aesthetic-influenced styles. Their Hispano-Moresque tiles are especially gorgeous, and some of their colorful and ultra-detailed installations have to be seen to be believed. They specialize in Majolica wainscoting with decorative friezes and cornices; all sorts of period floor designs and mosaics in commercial and residential settings; fireplaces both simple and very complex and all sorts of muralwork.

See more in our ceramics photo album.

The Roycroft Campus & the Chautauqua Institution are jointly hosting a conference on the historic turn-of-the-century "Arts & Crafts Trail" of Western New York on September 24 - 26, 2004. The conference will take place at the Athenaeum Hotel in Chautauqua, New York and will feature a wide range of local & international speakers, including Kitty Turgeon, Howard Hull (Executive Director of Brantwood, John Ruskin's historic home), Jack Quinan and many others. Registration for the 3-day conference is quite affordable and includes meals, all lectures, a craftsperson's / artisian's market and demonstrations, an architectural tour of the Chautauqua Institution and an appraisal fair.

E. Fay Jones, FAIA died yesterday at his home in Fayetteville, Arkansas at age 83.

Born in 1921, Euine Fay Jones studied architecture at the University of Arkansas and at the University of Houston. He apprenticed under Frank Llloyd Wright in the Taliesin fellowship before starting his own Fayetteville practice. He was the recipient of the AIA Gold Medal in 1990. Jones was probably best known for his elevating chapels assembled out of numerous thin pieces of wood, such as the Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and the Pinecote Pavilion at the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, Mississippi.

A good biography with links to books and other sites is available in his Wikipedia entry.

This is awfully pretty - Douglas Keister and Paul Duchscherer (the pair responsible for many books on the subject) have collaborated on a 2005 calendar full of photographs of great American bungalows.