Rustic Retreats: A Build-It-Yourself Guide

by David Stiles and Jeanie Stiles

Build the woodland hideaway of your dreams From an elegant gazebo on the water to a rustic log cabin, this practical guide provides complete plans and illustrated step-by-step instructions for constructing more than 20 low-cost, sturdy, and beautiful outdoor structures. With expert advice on basic building techniques, necessary tools, and safety considerations, David and Jeanie Stiles show you everything you need to know to create your own dazzling garden pavilion, tree house, sauna hut, and more.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580170358
• ISBN13: 9781580170352
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Storey Publishing
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

The perfect builders' guide

Straightforward instructions and beautiful, informative drawings will help you build dozens of great back-country shelters. Designs include sheds, arbors, lean-tos, huts, cabins, tree houses and even a design for a floating cabin.

Rustic Retreats

We have enjoyed all the Stileses garden house/project books and consulted "Sheds" when we were planning our own shed. We especially appreciated the step by step instructions and clear drawings. We were still deliberating over plans when we saw "Rustic Retreats" in a book club ad and we ran all over greater Seattle looking for it. We must have bought the first copy in Washington. We proceeded to build the cover garden house in the fall of '98, finishing the shingles this summer. It was originally intended to be a storage shed but was so wonderful that we added chairs and a bed. It was our first building project and what a treat!

the one book to inspire you

the drawings in this text are very detailed yet artful. the prose is kept simple without much extra unnecessary information. the authors leave ample room to improvise on your own, but you could certainly follow the instructions to the letter and finish up with just what is described. the designs in this book are so varied you will very likely find a structure that appeals to you. apart from the designs, the building techniques and materials described are so varied, that many can be interchanged for most of the structures described. i found myself flipping back and forth and was inspired to use elements of multiple designs in just one structure. a very well done and handsome book!

We built a weekend retreat with a minimal budget!

We used this book as a guide and built ourselves a terrific weekend getaway. We would recommend it to almost anyone who had an interest in building and who wanted an inexpensive weekend retreat.

Very clear and helpful

Perfect for my husband and I to build together. We really enjoyed building projects out of this book, I have no carpentry experience prior to this book, and my husband limited, and I am proud to say, this took us right through it, step by step.