cover image Portable Houses

Portable Houses

Irene Rawlings, Mary Abel. Gibbs Smith Publishers, $21.95 (96pp) ISBN 978-1-58685-347-1

This attractive book is sure to awaken daydreams of leaving the settled life and going on the road, down to the sea or into the wild blue yonder. Rawlings and Abel, editors at Mountain Living and Log & Timber Style magazines, present movable homes for all tastes and income levels. Divided into sections by type--Trailers; Buses & RVs; Trains, Planes, and Boats; Tepees, Tents, & Yurts; and Sheep Wagons--the book discusses how to procure, remodel and/or build your own traveling home, with tips on what to look for and what to avoid. The first chapter specifies how to choose and remodel a trailer, down to types of floor coverings (new wood flooring or vintage linoleum), naming your trailer and painting portraits of cowgirls on the exterior. As the book progresses, however, the number of how-tos declines. The last section contains some of the most intriguing structures: a high-tech portable""ski haus,"" moved from place to place by helicopter; a 36-square-foot acrylic""home box"" designed for a Young Architects Competition; and a 3,000-square-foot house built of packing crates, shipping containers, recycled newspaper and bamboo. Frustratingly, these unusual designs receive cursory attention, often warranting only abbreviated descriptions and a single, exterior view. The Boats section is also meager, represented by a single pricey vintage yacht. Where are the houseboats? 60 color photos.