Rustic Retreats: A Build-It-Yourself Guide

This is a delightful book that promises to deliver loads of fantasy and fun for anyone in need of a rustic place to rest, relax, and retreat from the speed and stress of modern living. The Stiles provide more than 20 step-by-step plans for low-cost outdoor buildings, among them a grape arbor, a hillside hut, a water gazebo (floating!), a log cabin, tree houses, a wigwam, a garden pavilion, a yurt, and a river raft. A bit of individual creativity can make any of the plans described and diagrammed into unique personal statements or fantasies. Many of the plans are so simple they can be built in a few hours or in less than a day, and most do not require high levels of carpentry or building skills (though all will be useful as "learning projects" for the uninitiated). If you built forts as a kid--or wanted to--here's your chance to play at it again as an adult! --Mark A. Hetts