If you follow design blogs you may know that Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, the blogger behind the Apartment Therapy network of sites, is now the author of a second book on design; Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Hundreds of Design Solutions. A natural progression from his first book The Eight-Step Home Cure, a guide to de-cluttering your home and life, Design Solutions shows how real people have found solutions for their homes. 40 very personal, very real homes to be precise, from a South Beach Florida studio to an East Village walk up in New York City. Says Maxwell, "Nothing you do for your home is wasted. More than just a physical shelter, the home is both a second skin that protects us from the world outside and an emotional center that nourishes us and supports our innermost dreams.". Search Inside at Amazon to see more. Hardcover, 264 pages, more than 400 color images, $18.15 at Amazon.

+ Design Solutions at Amazon

We often get books by mail at MoCo Loco, but today we got one via email, the "First Paperless Architecture Book EVER: Piel". Piel.Skin is the culmination of two years of architectural research into dynamic facades, ventilated, high-tech or traditional composites with new features. "This book shows that currently new skins not only act as an isolating element, besides interact with the environment, optimizing energy exchange with the outside. From Germany to Australia or Korea to Colombia, there are many examples that readers can visit with this publication.". Most of the architecture is public or commercial but there are three notable residential projects including Blank Studio's Xeros Residence in Phoenix (above). Aimed at architecture students, the book is a virtual tour for google-earth travelers; "By means of clicking on the coordinates of each project begins a journey where you can jump directly to each site and visualize the project within its environment.". All of the texts are in English and Spanish.

+ skinarchitecture.com

Resort Houses = country houses on this side of the Atlantic. A collection from from fave publisher Links International featuring 13 holiday homes from both sides of the Atlantic. Includes houses by Strindberg Arkitekter AB, JAHN Associates, Bellemo & Cat, Pierre Thibault and others. Thirteen isn't many homes for a book this size, but each is particularly well chosen and well covered. You can see for yourself with Amazon's Search Inside. Softcover, 165 pages, well illustrated, from $18.88 at Amazon.

+ Resort Houses at Amazon

Who's Your City: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life is Richard Florida's latest book. He's the one who wrote The Rise of the Creative Class which examined creativity and its effects on economic development. In Who's Your City he posits that where we live matters more than we may think, or want to admit. Whereas The Rise was about social and economic factors, Who's Your City is about the role of psychology. Central to this theory are 40 global Mega-regions, each with it's own personality. "For each of us as individuals, the key is to find the right fit – to think strategically in order to identify our priorities and choose the place that best fits us.". A bit dry, but an interesting read especially if your thinking of putting down roots somewhere. Check out the website and personality trait maps. Hardcover, 374 pages, $17.79 at Amazon.

+ Who's Your City at Amazon

It's snowing here again, in April!, and frankly I'd rather be somewhere warmer, somewhere like say, Silver Lake, CA (aka Willamsburg West). Bohemian Modern is the illustrated guide to Silver Lake, a creative enclave in the midst of Los Angeles and the birthplace of BoMo. As a guide, it touches on the community spirit there and walks the reader through town with stops at restaurants and various other hipster merchants. Silver Lake is also well known as the home to a variety of iconic Modern-era houses by the likes of Neutra and Lautner (a Neutra house is featured in the book), but also includes more contemporary houses including the Lexton MacCarthy House, an early design by Lorcan O'Herlihy. Warning: even though it's penned by an architect, don't expect much Silver Lake architecture in this book, it's more of a city guide. More images from the book at Amazon. Hardcover, 272 pages, well illustrated, $23.07 at Amazon.

+ Bohemian Modern at Amazon

Spotted this one over at Cool Hunting where reviewer Doug Black says it best, "There hasn't been a period of such a fervent excitement about Brooklyn homes since the advent of the brownstone more than 150 years ago.". Brooklyn Modern looks at 18 recent renovations and all-new homes in this NYC borough increasingly well known for it's thriving art and design community. Of note, essays by Brooklyn design bloggers Grace Bonney of design*sponge and Jonathan Butler of Brownstoner, who "give perspective on new ways of living as aesthetics and landscape change". Hardcover, 226 pages, well illustrated, due in April, $29.70 at Amazon.

+ Brooklyn Modern at Amazon