The Half-Acre Homestead: 46 Years of Building and Gardening

Discover the benefits and joys of simple living in this coffee-table book that presents the homestead of Lloyd Khan and Lesley Creed.

If you’ve ever researched a DIY home-building project, then you’ve probably come across the books of Lloyd Kahn. If you’ve ever been curious about self-sufficient living, The Half-Acre Homestead is for you. Lloyd, the former shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, has published several books--including some of the most definitive titles on owner building, such as Shelter and Tiny Homes. Lloyd has showcased hundreds of builders in his books. Now, for the first time ever, he spotlights the work of himself and his wife, Lesley Creed.

Starting with a vacant half-acre piece of land, back in the 1970s, the couple built their own home, created a garden with vegetables and fruit, and began raising chickens, bees, and goats. This book presents every aspect of their homestead, from the kitchen and dining area to the shed and workshop. It also introduces several fascinating aspects of their lifestyle, such as crafting and small-scale farming. It goes on to cover cooking, foraging, fishing, birds, butterflies, and tools.

Book Features

• Detailed look at a homestead built entirely by hand


• More than 500 full-color photos, illustrating every facet of home life


• Tips about building skylights, greenhouses, living roofs, and more


• Section on unique kitchen tools, as well as useful tools for construction

Lloyd and Lesley have never paid rent and never had a mortgage. This coffee-table book is their story of building and maintaining their own home, over a 46-year period, on a small piece of land in Northern California.

Lloyd Kahn started building his own home in the early ’60s and went on to publish books showing homeowners how they could build their own homes with their own hands.

He got his start in publishing by working as the shelter editor of the Whole Earth Catalog with Stewart Brand in the late ’60s. He has since authored six highly-graphic books on homemade building, all of which are interrelated. The books, ＂The Shelter Library Of Building Books,＂ include Shelter, Shelter II (1978), Home Work (2004), Builders of the Pacific Coast (2008), Tiny Homes (2012), and Tiny Homes on the Move (2014).

Lloyd operates from Northern California studio built of recycled lumber, set in the midst of a vegetable garden, and hooked into the world via five Mac computers.

You can check out videos (one with over 450,000 views) on Lloyd by doing a search on YouTube: http: //www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lloyd+kahn>