Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect Book

Architect Hirsch has written a handy guidebook for designing a house that will fit your needs, both now and in the future. Of course, being an architect, he strongly advises hiring one to do the actual design work. But he admits that today the majority of houses are built without an architect, and that makes the book even more valuable than if you had one. He points out the things to be considered, from the feel of a home to energy efficiency to the long term savings that can be had by spending more at building stage.

He goes over the psychology of architecture- how if a room is too large, people don't want to sit and talk in it unless you make tight groupings of furniture, how the position of the driveway affects if you feel like you've arrived at a home, why high ceilings can be a waste of materials (and energy to heat it) because people always end up trying to make them look lower anyway. He goes over balance and symmetry, and why the home owner shouldn't tell the subcontractors to do things (because you should go through the general contractor, as one change can affect the whole project and end up costing you a fortune). He tells you to decide how you want to use the house before you ever put a line on paper. What is important to you in the house? Being green? Having a lot of family space? Having spaces to be alone? Entertaining? Hobbies? Decide those things first. He gives hints on site selection. There is a section of what needs to be designed in to make a house accessible if one needs a wheelchair.

It's a very thorough book, and includes a lot of things that most people just wouldn't think of on their own. It encourages the owner to ask questions of the architect and/or builder rather than just being led- not just design questions, either, but ones about prices, insurance and subcontractors. This would be a good book for anyone building a house, even if you're starting with off-the-rack plans.