Books by Sam Clark
The Inland Sea is Sam’s new novel. It is a mystery set on Lake Champlain. Click below to read more:
Remodeling a Kitchen
Taunton Press, 2003
This covers the entire process of renovating a kitchen. I think the book has a more thorough discussion of the kitchen design process than any other book. It includes discussions of the many planning issues involved in a major kitchen project, such as estimating costs, hiring people, figuring out what work to do yourself, and how to keep your dog safe during construction. There are also pictures of well-designed cabinets by a great variety of designers and cabinetmakers.
Some of the design topics include:
· making and revising design drawings
· thinking about circulation and traffic plans
· understanding light, and how to make your new kitchen brighter
· thinking about window sizes, types, and window placement
· passageways in the kitchen: how much space is needed
· geometry of kitchen seating (booths and benches).
You can find it on Amazon.
The Independent Builder
Chelsea Green Publishing, 1996
For the builder or owner builder, this is a comprehensive, 500 plus page manual on designing and building your own house. It’s a much expanded version of an earlier book “Designing and Building Your Own House Your Own Way.” It covers the broader process of design that professional designers use, but tailored to the owner builder or builder. It also covers many of the technical subjects, in a simple and usable way, and describes building methods from foundation to finish work.
The book also covers important planning topics. Most owner-builder projects, (and many professional projects) fail or struggle not because of bad design but because of poor planning. The Independent Builder aims to equip the reader to put an estimate together, hire the right people, schedule the project and otherwise manage the building process successfully.
The Independent Builder can be bought through Chelsea Green Press, Amazon, or your bookstore. See the Amazon site for reviews of the book.
Building For a Lifetime
Taunton Press, 1994
This book, written with Margaret Wylde and Adrian Barron-Robbins, is a comprehensive discussion of Universal Design, the idea that any home or space can and should be designed so that any person can live in and use it effectively, whatever their age, size, strength, or health condition.Most houses are built for fully able-bodied people. When injury, disability, or aging occur, the house becomes unlivable. People are often forced to leave their homes. With careful design, most houses can be laid out and detailed to be usable by almost anyone, now and in the future.
Building for a Lifetime covers the general subject and principles of universal design, but also goes into great detail about ramp and berm design, kitchen detailing, bathroom design, and the general rules which create “accessible routes” through and around buildings.
This book can be ordered from Taunton Press or through Amazon.
The Motion-Minded Kitchen
Houghton Mifflin Co, 1985
This is my 1985 book on kitchen design, on the history of the kitchen and of kitchen design research (motion study). It also describes the lost art of building cabinets in place, which is a traditional and quite economical way to build cabinets. The book is out of print, but copies can be found on Amazon or other used book sources.
I’d say it’s not needed for most readers, as my subsequent books cover the same design concepts. My efforts to put the kitchen research to work is more thoroughly pictured in my later books. But if you’re interested in the history, and want a more detailed look at the methods of motion study, it might be worth having. Get it from Amazon.
The book will also be essential for people who are planning to build their cabinets in place.