Part II: Great Post & Beam and Barn Home Photo Books by E. Ashley Rooney

Regular followers of PostandBeamLiving.com may recall that our own “Beambabe” did a post back in February called 6 Great Photo Books for Post & Beam Homes.   This is somewhat of a Part 2 to that post.

Regular PostandBeamLiving.com followers may also recall that  Beambabe is co-authoring a book about post and beam / timber frame home design with her husband and me (her daughter), which Schiffer Publishing will put out in the spring of 2011.  Right now, Beambabe and my other co-author are vacationing in Bermuda while I sit here writing our book.  I am taking a break and my brain hurts, probably due to the heroic amounts of caffeine I’ve ingested to meet our quickly-approaching deadline.

So as I sit here with writing/caffeine-induced brain ache, I decided that today’s post should be in honor of one the most prolific authors of the extended Schiffer Publishing family: E. Ashley Rooney.  Squinting at the glaring screen of my word processor willing the words to just leap out of my brain onto the screen, I enviously eye the towering stack of books on my bookshelf across the room.  Each book is awesome.  And each was authored by E. Ashley Rooney.   This woman, whom by-the-way I have never met, puts out multiple books each year – all of which are amazing.  Well worthy of a shout-out on PostandBeamLiving.com.

Although she writes on a wide range of topics, it is Rooney’s books on architecture that have given me so much inspiration at my day job designing post and beam homes for the clients at Yankee Barn Homes.  I thought it would be nice if I shared four of my favorite books by E. Ashley Rooney with you.  If you love looking at pretty pictures of amazing houses, you will not be disappointed with these books.

“Barn Again“.  E. Ashely Rooney. 176 pages.  Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (April 28, 2010)

If you love barn homes, this is an amazing book that you NEED to check out. This book features old barns that have been converted into homes. You will not be disappointed. It features a wide variety of architectural styles. You’re sure to find at least one barn home that you absolutely love.

2. “Asian Influenced Architecture & Design“.  E. Ashley Rooney.  144 pages.  Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (April 28, 2010)

Never has it been so obvious that Asian influenced architecture is so synonymous with post and beam construction as it is in this book. With beautiful photographs and layout spreads, this book shows how asian influences have crept like silent ninjas into all sorts of architecture and interior design styles.

3. “Shingle Style Houses: Past and Present”. E. Ashley Rooney. 255 pages. Schiffer Publishing (January 2007).

It is difficult to think of an architectural style whose epoch was so short-lived but had such a lasting effect on the designs of today’s new homes. More than 50 shingle style homes are featured in this book, including the iconic Naumkeag and The Folly. After reading this book, you will desire to be amongst the shingle style “cottage” (i.e. huge mansion) owners who “summer” (i.e. vacation on the water’s edge while wearing a pair of Nantucket Reds sipping on a gin & tonic following a friendly match of tennis) in the height of style and comfort. Just as I desire to be as prolific an author as E. Ashley Rooney. 

4.  “Old Barns – New Homes: A Showcase of Architectural Conversions”. E. Ashley Rooney.  175 pages. Schiffer Publishing (December 4, 2004)

Some of the images in this book are a bit grainy, but you will be so taken by the beautiful barn home architecture you are looking at that you will barely notice. Clients at Yankee Barn Homes have referred to this book over and over again when looking for design inspirations for their own barn homes. After reading this book, your toughest decision won’t be whether a barn-style home is your dream home. It will be “which barn style home is my dream home”?