Overview
For dreamers of escaping to a cozy cabin in the great outdoors, Your Cabin in the Woods is a classic work that not only makes this a reality, but also imparts a deeper appreciation of nature and homebuilding.
Author Conrad E. Meinecke has been writing about living the simply life in the wilderness for over 70 years with Your Cabin in the Woods and Cabin Craft and Outdoor Living. For the first time, these books are combined into a deluxe two-color vintage package. In prose both practical and inspirational, Meinecke details how to turn your cabin dream into a reality, such as choosing land, using tools, and the basics of construction. He provides hand-drawn floor plans for a variety of cabins, from a simple two-room to a more complex long house; the best way to build fireplaces, both indoors and out; and instructions for basic furniture, lighting, and other touches that make a cabin feel like home. Throughout are Meinecke's thoughts on ways to enjoy your new-found space, from hearty fireplace recipes to the types of wood for a perfect fire and the beauty found in birdsong. Instructional as it may be, the book's enduring appeal owes in large part to its warmly engaging tone and firm belief in the restorative power of nature and the satisfaction of hard work. He writes, "Take full enjoyment in the building. Take time out to rest. Most city folks seem always to rush things through. Why? Lay off until tomorrow. Take an afternoon nap. Stop the clock for the weekend. Get off to an early start in the cool of tomorrow morning. You may be crowded in your work in town, but this should be your rest cure, your recreating."Customers Also Bought
Details
- ISBN-13: 9780316395502
- ISBN-10: 0316395501
- Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
- Publish Date: September 2016
- Dimensions: 11 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
- Page Count: 288
Related Categories
Lifestyles: Gifts for artistic types
Foraged Flora is a moody feast for floral designers or anyone who wishes to fall under the spell of evocatively lit blossoms and leaves, stems and branches. Laurie Frankel, who shot the breathtaking photographs within, deserves a nod for her talent and keen eye. Moving chronologically through the year, each chapter offers large and small arrangements featuring seasonally available blooms. The dreamy visions displayed here may spur creative journeys, or at least open your eyes to a newly beloved flower.
MODERN QUILTING
“It’s a guide of rustic sewing ideas for modern pioneers,” writes David Butler in Parson Gray Trade Quilts, a collection of quilt patterns that “celebrates reckless artistic abandon, for those of us not seeking perfection, but empowering curiosity.” The husband of designer Amy Butler, David specializes in “gritty techniques” such as staining, fading, dyeing and sandpapering the heck out of his materials to pleasing, distressed effect.
CABIN FEVER
Seldom does the saying “Everything old is new again” apply to books. A notable exception can be found in Your Cabin in the Woods, by Conrad E. Meinecke. First published in 1947 as Cabin Craft and Outdoor Living, Meinecke’s guide to creating the ideal rustic domicile is written for “the novice who wants to play a big part in building his own cabin—who wants to be resourceful.” With its original retro illustrations and pages designed to appear aged, the book feels precisely matched to certain other recent old-is-new-again lifestyle trends. In other words, cozy up under a Pendleton blanket, spark some Paine’s balsam incense and enjoy this earnest paean to the great outdoors, which, in addition to cabin-building advice, contains tips for landscaping a wooded area, creating rustic furniture and cooking in the great outdoors.
TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES
Though the subject matter isn’t identical, I can’t help but think of comedian, woodworker and guy-who-played-Ron-Swanson Nick Offerman’s newest book—following the successful Paddle Your Own Canoe and Gumption—as the modern-day corollary to Your Cabin in the Woods, at least while I’ve got them side by side. Both books advocate a close relationship with wood; both stretch from there to explore the accouterments of such a life; both sparkle—in a manly fashion—with the charm of their author’s personalities. Upon opening Good Clean Fun to a random page, I found a tongue-in-cheek Beard Length Virility Chart. That might tell you everything you need to know. If not? Here’s where you learn how to make whisky coasters, a “scrappy birdhouse,” a “slumber jack bed” and even a kazoo. These and other projects are contributed by Offerman’s woodshop buddies and family members, packaged up with much mirth, fun collage illustrations and what Offerman calls “wood porn.” Woodworking craftmanship cannot get more fun than this.
This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.
Lifestyles: Gifts for artistic types
Foraged Flora is a moody feast for floral designers or anyone who wishes to fall under the spell of evocatively lit blossoms and leaves, stems and branches. Laurie Frankel, who shot the breathtaking photographs within, deserves a nod for her talent and keen eye. Moving chronologically through the year, each chapter offers large and small arrangements featuring seasonally available blooms. The dreamy visions displayed here may spur creative journeys, or at least open your eyes to a newly beloved flower.
MODERN QUILTING
“It’s a guide of rustic sewing ideas for modern pioneers,” writes David Butler in Parson Gray Trade Quilts, a collection of quilt patterns that “celebrates reckless artistic abandon, for those of us not seeking perfection, but empowering curiosity.” The husband of designer Amy Butler, David specializes in “gritty techniques” such as staining, fading, dyeing and sandpapering the heck out of his materials to pleasing, distressed effect.
CABIN FEVER
Seldom does the saying “Everything old is new again” apply to books. A notable exception can be found in Your Cabin in the Woods, by Conrad E. Meinecke. First published in 1947 as Cabin Craft and Outdoor Living, Meinecke’s guide to creating the ideal rustic domicile is written for “the novice who wants to play a big part in building his own cabin—who wants to be resourceful.” With its original retro illustrations and pages designed to appear aged, the book feels precisely matched to certain other recent old-is-new-again lifestyle trends. In other words, cozy up under a Pendleton blanket, spark some Paine’s balsam incense and enjoy this earnest paean to the great outdoors, which, in addition to cabin-building advice, contains tips for landscaping a wooded area, creating rustic furniture and cooking in the great outdoors.
TOP PICK IN LIFESTYLES
Though the subject matter isn’t identical, I can’t help but think of comedian, woodworker and guy-who-played-Ron-Swanson Nick Offerman’s newest book—following the successful Paddle Your Own Canoe and Gumption—as the modern-day corollary to Your Cabin in the Woods, at least while I’ve got them side by side. Both books advocate a close relationship with wood; both stretch from there to explore the accouterments of such a life; both sparkle—in a manly fashion—with the charm of their author’s personalities. Upon opening Good Clean Fun to a random page, I found a tongue-in-cheek Beard Length Virility Chart. That might tell you everything you need to know. If not? Here’s where you learn how to make whisky coasters, a “scrappy birdhouse,” a “slumber jack bed” and even a kazoo. These and other projects are contributed by Offerman’s woodshop buddies and family members, packaged up with much mirth, fun collage illustrations and what Offerman calls “wood porn.” Woodworking craftmanship cannot get more fun than this.
This article was originally published in the December 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.