Woodworker Havens

"In essence, The Workshop is an intimate tribute to art and artisan in the space where an idea is formed into something beautiful and tangible," says Gibson, a former editor of Taunton's Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking magazines.

A classy workshop, according to Gibson, says as much about self-expression as about efficiency and convenience -- and not simply for the backyard woodworker, either. Though Gibson peeks into the small spaces of solitary decoy carvers and canoe builders off rural dirt roads, the chapter featuring Boston's North Bennet Street School is among his most memorable.

Gibson's New England tour includes 15 more stops, from Alan Bradstreet's Pownal, Maine, workshop, where bits of scrap cherry are transformed into thousands of custom bookmarks for L. L. Bean, to Canterbury, New Hampshire, where Tom McLaughlin creates furniture masterpieces in authentic 18th-century style.

Though Gibson's introduction boldly affirms that "there is no perfect workshop," his book nonetheless demonstrates that perfection is found in that personal alchemy of utility and purpose so evident in each of his destinations.

-- John Budris

Kitchen Success

Joan Kohn, the host, writer, and associate producer of HGTV's Kitchen Design show, has never lived in a house with a kitchen that she didn't love. Kohn confesses that she was even smitten with the tiny galley kitchen in a trailer her family lived in while her father was in the Navy. "There's always been a way to make each kitchen, whatever its limitations, work successfully," she writes. This philosophy is the basis of her new book, Joan Kohn's It's Your Kitchen: Over 100 Inspirational Kitchens (Bulfinch Press, $40).

Anyone contemplating a kitchen renovation would surely benefit from Kohn's sage advice. Part 1, "Design Essentials," offers practical information that will help readers understand the basic elements of kitchen design, assess their existing kitchen, budget their resources, choose their design style, and assemble and work with a design team. Part 2, "The Five Building Blocks of Kitchen Design," outlines the critical elements needed for an attractive and workable kitchen. These include design, function, space, floor plan, and style, which when used together will enable the reader to turn the fantasy kitchen into a reality.

-- Janice Byrd

Old-Style Inspiration

Styles in interior design tend to be cyclical, and decorators who create stylish modern interiors are often inspired by past periods. In Judith Miller's latest book (her 81st), Influential Styles: From Baroque to Bauhaus -- Inspiration for Today's Interiors (Watson-Guptill, $35), she focuses on several tried-and-true styles and illustrates how they have been adapted for today.

Miller has divided her dazzling book into four sections: Neo-Classical, Decorative, Country, and Modern. She analyzes each style in terms of characteristic architectural elements, materials, colors and patterns, furniture, and artifacts.

Miller's book is a useful reference tool for those interested in incorporating in their own home a period style that is not frozen in time.

-- Janice Byrd