The Terrace House
Edited by Cameron Bruhn and Katelin Butler. Thames & Hudson.

Rows of Victorian and Edwardian terrace houses are an attractive, distinguishable feature of inner-city Australian suburbs. This book looks at the history of this style of home and presents several examples of terrace houses that have been renovated or redesigned to deliver daylight and to allow for modern living.

Many, such as the Jewel House in Carlton, Melbourne, appear modest from the outside, but inside is another story. The jewel to this house is a gorgeous staircase that is suspended from a metal frame attached to the ceiling.

Another fine example of a nicely redesigned terrace is the Light Cannon House in Sydney’s Annandale, which takes advantage of the angular roofline and original brick walls to bring sculptural elements into the interiors. Even though these homes are not common in New Zealand, this book is interesting for its innovative ideas for small spaces.

Urban Sketching: 100 Postcards
Published by Quarry.

This very giftable little box contains 100 postcards depicting 100 sketches from Gabriel Campanario’s The Art of Urban Sketching. The sketches were made by a roster of international artists in countries all over the world – some recognisable, some unusual.

Each has the name of the artist and the place where it was drawn on the back, making for some interesting guessing games. Some are beautiful fine line drawings and there are also many with colour washes. Aside from just depicting buildings, there is also a semblence of the character of each place – some will take you back while others will make you want to hop on a plane.

Urban Flowers: Creating Abundance in a Small City Garden
By Carolyn Dunster with photography by Jason Ingram. Published by Francis Lincoln.

Apartment and small-home dwellers rejoice – here is a book that tells how to get more greenery into your life when you don’t have space for a garden. There is a section on breaking the barriers between communal and private spaces by planting gardens on berms, in parks and in tree pits along the street.

Other ideas include attaching pots to drainage systems, which hides the pipes while adding colour. It also lists shrubs and climbers that have small footprints and describes ways to bring plants and flowers inside, including how to make an attractive bouquet.

A great book for those living in the concrete jungle.