When there is work to be done in America, people head to the garage. Witness the vast number of ventures born in the garage: the Hewlett-Packard company, the Apple computer, the rock band Nirvana.

In the first book to honor the garage as a unique place of creation and ingenuity (and much more than just a place for cars), Kira Obolensky explores the many uses for this ubiquitous space. She takes you on a journey from the hand-carved garage doors of New Hampshire to a whimsical museum a midwestern milkman put in his garage, to the birthplace of the computer industry on the West Coast.

Along the way, you'll learn how to create a garage space that is efficient and stylish: whether it's a studio, greenhouse, library, museum, soundstage or playroom.

• includes more than 200 color photos of over 50 garages
• shows how to create a garage "room" that meets your specific needs
• provides options for using existing space and floor plans for new structures

"All this wonderful, malleable space invites increasingly creative uses...if something is worth doing, it's worth doing in the garage. So let the car weather the elements. The garage is prime real estate, too valuable by far to house mere machinery."

-- USA Today Weekend Magazine

"What a great book! The garage is truly the most versatile room. And this becomes especially important when your wife throws you out of the house. Much better than sleeping in the back yard."

-- Tom Magliozzi, co-host, NPR's "Car Talk"

At Hillwood, her grand residence in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Post displayed her Russian acquisitions in the context of her French decorative art. In this groundbreaking publicaiton, Russian objects have been placed in their European context, allowing for the unique opportunity to rediscover the interaction of creative design between Russian and western Europe.

A Taste for Splendor is filled with color plates and fascinating commentary on more than 250 objects of superb craftsmanship and beauty from the Hillwood museum. Four essays provide historical, social and artistic context for these objects and Mrs. Post's collecting activities.
Price: $45.00

Hillwood was the Washington residence of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), cereal heiress, collector and philanthropist. Her mansion and auxiliary buildings are set amid lovely gardens on a twenty-five acre estate. Mrs. Post collected art throughout her life, emphasizing only the finest French and Russian objects. Today, the collection of fine and decorative arts includes many exemplary pieces by some of Europe's most renowneed artists, cabinetmakers and goldsmiths. Of particular note are dinner plates commissioned by Catherine the Great, Easter eggs by Carl Faberge and chalices and icons that evoke the splendor of imperial Russia, as well as 18th century French tapestries, furniture and Sevre porcelain. the quality and quantity of the Russian art at Hillwood is unparalleled outside Russia.
Price: $15.95