The Natural House Book by David Pearson

The Natural House Book Reviews

• 
  Lloyd Downey

  A slightly strange book...peerhaps because it's a little dated but also because whilst, on the one hand drawing attention to real dangers in the environment (like Radon gas) it also promulgates ideas a bout getting better sleep with crystals. (Which i find hard to accept). As the title says it's about a more natural way of living. And by "natural" they really mean more primitive ...or going back to the old ways of doing things. So they are against composite board (because it's usually glued together with formaldehyde glues) and they are against plastics in the home be due of the volatile organic gases that they can give off. Well there is some truth in all of this though in reading the book and reading about all the cancer causing compounds we surround ourselves with ....I find it remarkable that life expectancy has grown in caps and bounds over the last 50 years in the developed world .....especially in my own country, Australia. If we are poisoning ourselves by living in dangerous houses...then it's not yet showing up in the death statistics.
  There is a lot in here that is really good but just the smattering of "new-age" ideas (like aromatherapy .....with its emphasis on essential oils ....which cn trigger off significant allergies in some people) to make me a little cautious in recommending it. Also it suffered from now being a bit dated. Solar energy and wind energy have advanced in a major way since this book was written...and this shows. Another thing that rather struck me was the cold climate bias throughout the book, despite having an Australian consultant involved. Yes there is a bit there on outdoor rooms and outdoor bathing etc but I was struck by a heavy emphasis on heating and the hearth....which I guess, reflects the background of the author (and probably his main audience). But a lot of sound and timeless architectural advice throughout. I rather liked the book overall. So three stars from me.
• 
  Rebecca

  Bought at a used book store decades ago; I found this in my mom's books. It's OK...there's lots of things to think about, but some of it is dated (it's pre-internet) and some of it is over-the-top. It does make me wonder if we can legally install a graywater tank separate from our septic system though.
• 
  Kimberley

  This is one of my favorite design books. I devoured it when I was working on my Master's Thesis. Every page if full of underlines with notes and stars in the margins. It's so rich and full of a variety of possibilities, photos and useful ideas and information.