With 470 eye-catching color photos and informative text, readers are taken on a cross-country tour of towers, turrets, cupolas, and belvederes found on homes, churches, and barns dating from the nineteenth through the early twenty-first century. Towers are often landmarks for cities. A tower or turret is particularly eye-catching on a house or business and turns them into a recognizable neighborhood landmark. Cupolas and belvederes are functional embellishments that crown the roof. They offer access to views, add dimension to the exterior, and further serve to bring in light and ventilation. Both quadrilateral and octagonal cupolas and belvederes are displayed. Added to the mix is a beautiful grouping of widow's walks and parapets. Architects and designers will find the range of shapes and adornment on these architectural features both surprising and inspiring.

Dormers bring light and air into an existing space and add character and dimension to a structure's external appearance. This invaluable book features more than 700 color pictures featuring homes and structures adorned with an awe-inspiring variety of dormer additions. The illustrations and imagery portray eve gable, double gable, hipped-roof, arched, round, oval, eyebrow, pediment, triangle, flat, turret, deck, and inset dormers, to name a few. If you are a homeowner, student, or professional involved in architecture, design, remodeling, or construction, you will find this reference an invaluable addition to your library.

Hundreds of homes are shown to illustrate an inspiring variety of shutters and awnings found throughout the United States. This unique and rich collection of color imagery provides an opportunity to compare designs and installations. Exterior shutters include traditional Colonial forms, decorative and operational shutters, and hurricane shutters. To finish off the windows, a broad selection of awnings is displayed. This book will benefit architects, designers, builders, homeowners, and craftsmen seeking to create their own architectural embellishments.