Get great ideas and expert advice on the design and construction of beautiful backyard structures, from arbors and playhouses to guest rooms and home studios.

The setting might be a sparkling lakefront, a cool clearing in the woods, a breathtaking mountaintop, or an expansive beach, but the dream of a modest retreat from everyday life often includes a simple little cabin. In cabin getaways of the imagination, the cares of the world recede, time slows down, and the day’s pace is set by leisure and quiet activities. Compact Cabins presents 62 design interpretations of the getaway dream, with something to...

"Adie Lou Kruger's ex never understood her affection for what her parents called their Cozy Cottage, the charming, ramshackle summer home--complete with its own set of rules for relaxing--that she's inherited on Lake Michigan. But despite the fact she's facing a broken marriage and empty nest, and middle age is looming in the distance, memories of happy childhoods on the beach give her reason for hope. She's determined not to let her husband's affair...

Returning from college one Christmas, Thomas Kinkade finds his mother is ready to lose the family cottage to foreclosure. He is inspired to paint a mural of his hometown, which launches his career and helps the town rediscover their Christmas spirit.

Chelsea Enright never expected to inherit her grandmother's lakeside cottage deep in the Adirondacks -- a serene getaway that had been mysteriously closed up decades ago. This is no simple bequest, however, because when Chelsea finds her grandmother's World War II diaries, she's stunned to discover that they hold secrets she never suspected -- and they have the power to turn her own life upside down. Even more surprising is the compelling presence...