Try these home tomes

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - A good coffee-table book is easy to find. Browse the home-and-garden section of a bookstore and you'll find plenty of bonbons featuring luxurious homes and lush landscapes.

More challenging is uncovering home-reference books that are helpful, instructive tools.

A favorite source among remodelers and designers is "The Not So Big House" by architect Sarah Susanka (Taunton, $32). First published 10 years ago, the 228-page hardcover book is a "build better, not bigger" reaction to soulless McMansions. The book focuses on using architectural details to create a cozy home, whether it's building a new house or renovating the one in which you live. Think ceiling beams and built-ins.

As big of a hit as "The Not So Big House" is, it's too small to be your only home reference. Because "home" includes so many categories _ decorating, entertaining and landscaping, to name a few _ we've asked professionals for their favorite one-stop books, their home tomes, and added one of our own.

MAINTENANCE

BOOK: "Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide to Caring for Everything in Your Home" (Clarkson Potter, $45)

RECOMMENDED BY: Stacy Downs, House + Home reporter for The Kansas City Star

The 744-page book is reminiscent of the household handbooks from generations ago with detailed instructions on cleaning every type of household material from A to Z. But Martha being Martha ups the ante and discusses how to organize a home room by room and how to make repairs. For example, the chapter on the kitchen includes guidelines on choosing cabinetry and appliances; the pros and cons of countertop materials; checklists with pictures of essential tools for baking, cooking and dishwashing; a primer on sharpening knives; and step-by-step directives on clearing a clogged garbage disposer.

Exhaustive and exhausting? Yes. But it's such an encyclopedic work of art that it makes you feel empowered by just having it around. I've put it to use many times, including removing spilled candle wax from a tablecloth and cleaning my computer. Each time I've turned to it, the answer to my question is in the book. Just for geeky fun, I looked to see if the book included what home-reference books should be in a home. Sure enough, a Martha-style checklist was included.

DECORATING

BOOK: "Kelly Hoppen Style: The Golden Rules of Design" by Kelly Hoppen (Bulfinch Press, $40)

RECOMMENDED BY: Tim Butt, owner of Black Bamboo home furnishings store in Kansas City, Mo.

Butt loves each book by British designer Kelly Hoppen.

"Her work is my porn," said Butt, whose background is in residential and commercial interior design. "I can't stop looking at it."

In this 176-page book with 300 color photographs, Hoppen deconstructs how to create beautiful rooms through mood, scale and symmetry. The chapter on displaying vases, framed pictures and fresh flowers is especially useful. Her chapter on decorating with neutral color palettes is humorously instructive with lists such as "taupe loves ..., taupe hates ..."

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Hoppen's aesthetic may be minimalist and modern, but anyone can appreciate her advice.

DESIGN

BOOK: "The Essential House Book: Getting Back to Basics" by Terence Conran (Three Rivers Press, $25)

RECOMMENDED BY: Dan Maginn, architect with El Dorado Inc. in Kansas City

Conran is world-renowned as a designer, retailer and chairman of Conran & Partners, an architecture and design firm in London. Maginn often looks at this book by Conran, one of many by the designer.

Each section includes information on spatial arrangement, color, furnishings and construction with helpful diagrams and lots of photos. It's written in terms that a designer and a homeowner can understand.

"Before it gets into any solutions, it starts with an understanding of the different functions of a house and an understanding of the way that we live," Maginn said.

The 256-page book, published in 1994, doesn't feel dated, says Maginn, because the common problems and solutions haven't changed.

ENTERTAINING

BOOK: "Barefoot Contessa Parties!" by Ina Garten (Clarkson Potter, $32.50)

RECOMMENDED BY: Jenny Steffens of Fairway, Kan., an event planner who owns Occasions Kansas City and Bliss List, a site with descriptions of wedding vendors (www.blisslistkc.com )

Steffens considers this book her home-entertaining bible.

"It has it all," Steffens said, "from recipes, to party ideas, to how to set the table. She even talks about her mistakes."

The 264-page book is organized by party ideas for the four seasons. The book is iconic Garten, host of her own Food Network series and author of other cookbooks. Her philosophy is keeping an event simple but elegant, making for a happier host and a more memorable party.

"I can't say enough about assembling food rather than cooking," Garten wrote. "I keep telling myself that my friends won't have more fun if I spend two days making a dacquoise for dessert than if I find a delicious pound cake at a bakery and serve it with store-bought lemon curd and fresh raspberries."

GARDENING/LANDSCAPING

BOOK: "The Perennial Gardener's Design Primer" by Stephanie Cohen and Nancy J. Ondra (Storey Publishing, $25)

RECOMMENDED BY: Ricki Creamer, owner of Red Cedar Gardens in Stilwell, Kan.

This is the go-to book for beginners and experts, says Creamer, who teaches gardening classes.

"It's well-written with a good sense of humor," Creamer said. "I like and appreciate how it is relevant to the Midwest."

Cohen is well-respected among garden designers nationwide; Ondra operated a rare-plant nursery and has authored numerous gardening books.

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The 310-page book details how to design and plant gardens for the front yard, side yard and, of course, back yard. There are dozens of checklists and advice for growing more than 475 perennials.

GREEN

BOOK: "Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living" by Graham Hill and Meaghan O'Neill (Villard, $15)

RECOMMENDED BY: Courtney Fuchs, owner of It's Only Natural, an eco-friendly clothing and home store in Kansas City

In the recent deluge of green living books, Fuchs thinks this 226-page guide stands out. It contains tips on saving money, healthier cleaning products and how to properly insulate a house, among many other things.

"It's comprehensive, but it doesn't take itself too seriously," said Fuchs, who had been living green a decade before the term became popular. "Going green is important and addresses serious issues, but switching buying practices and adopting green practices do not have to be stressful or about sacrifice."

The paperback guide is by the folks at Treehugger.com, a popular eco-friendly resource; Hill launched the site, and O'Neill writes for it. On the back cover, the two point out that the book is recyclable.

VALUE

BOOK: "Good House Cheap House: Adventures in Creating an Extraordinary Home at an Everyday Price" by Kira Obolensky (Taunton, $25)

RECOMMENDED BY: Ryan Townsend, architect with Gastinger Walker Harden in Kansas City

During this shaky economy, Townsend finds this book especially relevant. Obolensky co-authored "The Not So Big House" with Susanka.

"The houses are all shown in a livable way, with too many pillows and cluttered shelves that are more real than most architecture books would dare to publish," Townsend said. "It also does a great job of breaking down the materials and products used in the houses, like explaining plywood as a finish material and recycled chalkboards that become very cool kitchen wall tile."

The best part, says Townsend, is that the finished price of each home is published.

For example, the 192-page book features the house and studio of artist Roger Shimomura. Architect and University of Kansas professor Dan Rockhill designed and built the 5,000-square-foot residence for $250,000.

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© 2009, The Kansas City Star.