Careful attention to detail, high-tech amenities and custom features are seamlessly incorporated into the innovative designs of Dan F. Sater II, AIBD in this beautifully photographed and illustrated collection of Country Estates. These Homes combine the casual feel and comfort of country living with today's most popular amenities, including entertainment-ready kitchens, inviting morning rooms, family gathering areas, home offices and media rooms. Each home has been designed with superb indoor-outdoor relationships and many feature full-width and wraparound porches to take advantage of country vistas and inspiring lake, ocean or golf-course views. Country Estates features stunning photography, full-color front and rear renderings, landscaping and interior design ideas--plus 87 superb home plans.

Experience the craft of Dan Sater, a true master of residential home design, as you turn the pages of this stunningly beautiful book. Here you will find 32 of Dan's finest and largest luxury estate homes?most never before published?from authentically detailed and richly appointed Tuscan and Spanish masterpieces to breezy, refreshing Florida-style seaside treasures. Read a candid introduction of each project from Dan and then go on a breathtaking pictorial and narrative tour of each home. See a birds-eye view of the property on the colorful site plan and ?walk through? the house using the detailed floor plan. Glimpse some of Dan's most creative past and future projects in the ?Concepts? chapter and consult the ?Resource List? at the back for valuable information on builders, landscapers, pool contractors, interior designers, lighting engineers and photographers who have been part of the ?Sater Team.? For those who are designing, building, furnishing or just dreaming about a state-of-the-art luxury home, this inspiring book will be a fantastic wish come true. Take advantage of the rare opportunity to peek over the shoulder of one of America's acclaimed residential designers and enter some of the most enchanting and stimulating homes ever built!

Mediterranean style house plans available to order.

In every major city in the world there is a housing crisis. How did this happen and what can we do about it? Everyone needs and deserves housing. But today our homes are being transformed into commodities, making the inequalities of the city ever more acute. Profit has become more important than social need. The poor are forced to pay more for worse housing. Communities are faced with the violence of displacement and gentrification. And the benefits of decent housing are only available for those who can afford it. In Defense of Housing is the definitive statement on this crisis from leading urban planner Peter Marcuse and sociologist David Madden. They look at the causes and consequences of the housing problem and detail the need for progressive alternatives. The housing crisis cannot be solved by minor policy shifts, they argue. Rather, the housing crisis has deep political and economic roots—and therefore requires a radical response.

The Smaller Home offers interesting new ways of thinking about the home. Innovative and efficient use of space can make living easier, more economical, and more enjoyable. The Smaller Home includes the latest ideas for layout options, flow patterns, space conversions, creative storage, and putting technology to work. It is a useful and imaginative guide for making the most out of less space without compromising comfort, convenience, or style.

What is it like to be a Westerner teaching political philosophy in an officially Marxist state? Why do Chinese sex workers sing karaoke with their customers? And why do some Communist Party cadres get promoted if they care for their elderly parents? In this entertaining and illuminating book, one of the few Westerners to teach at a Chinese university draws on his personal experiences to paint an unexpected portrait of a society undergoing faster and more sweeping changes than anywhere else on earth. With a storyteller's eye for detail, Daniel Bell observes the rituals, routines, and tensions of daily life in China. China's New Confucianism makes the case that as the nation retreats from communism, it is embracing a new Confucianism that offers a compelling alternative to Western liberalism. Bell provides an insider's account of Chinese culture and, along the way, debunks a variety of stereotypes. He presents the startling argument that Confucian social hierarchy can actually contribute to economic equality in China. He covers such diverse social topics as sex, sports, and the treatment of domestic workers. He considers the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, wondering whether Chinese overcompetitiveness might be tempered by Confucian civility. And he looks at education in China, showing the ways Confucianism impacts his role as a political theorist and teacher. By examining the challenges that arise as China adapts ancient values to contemporary society, China's New Confucianism enriches the dialogue of possibilities available to this rapidly evolving nation. In a new preface, Bell discusses the challenges of promoting Confucianism in China and the West.