The key to creating a house that is memorable, satisfying, and enduring is to apply a group of design concepts--or patterns--that focus on the experience of being in a home. In this groundbreaking work, internationally respected architects Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow present the ten essential patterns that shape and define a well-crafted home. Patterns explore the presence of light, the relationship between indoors and out, the flow through rooms, and the feel of one space as you are sitting in another. Clearly written and profusely illustrated with houses from all over the country, Patterns of Home, brings the timeless lessons of residential design to anyone seeking inspiration and direction in the design or remodel of a home. The patterns described in the book can make the difference between a home that satisfies only the material needs of the owners and one that captures the essence of home.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
An interesting and well documented approach:
This book is clearly affiliated to Alexander's "A pattern language".
What is positive is the focalisation on house building : easier to keep in mind 10 patterns compared to 253 (some of these not so useful in this case, as concerning region, city or neighbourhood).
For each pattern, a general explanation of the concept is followed by a description of 2/3 houses particularly embodying it.
Beautiful pictures, intesresting and informative comentaries, clear layout.
What is lacking is... more info
Great Patterns that Fit with Subjective Experience of Home:
I first got this book when checking out a bunch of books on home design from the library. This one really spoke to me and stood out from the crowd. I ended up buying one copy for friends who are building a house and one for me... because SOMEDAY I am going to build my house... and just has good ways to think about what I want to do with the house I'm in and what I'd look for both as existing features and potential features of a new home. Concrete ways to think about how to create a home that feels like... more info
it's just for rich people:
I loved the original, but this one is lame. One star for pretty pictures. In a nutshell, here are the 10 patterns in this book.
1. Be rich.
2. Own a very large piece of beautiful property.
3. Preferably in an environmentally sensitive area like a wetland.
4. Or own a house in a historical neighborhood.
5. Be very rich.
6. Build a small house, say 4000-5000 square feet.
7. Make sure your house is perfectly new and perfectly clean, but with mature landscaping.
more info
disappointing:
There may be a few good principles here but they were lost on me, amidst the overwhelming ostentatiousness of the houses. Do they think the only people who read design books are multi-millionaires? The houses lacked the very thing they were going for - a sense of home-iness.
