A lot of times people say, “I want that,” but offer an alternative, toward something ‘like that’, only better.

Yet I think you can get even more drama in thoughtful design, in which less is more. I remember one who visited a friend’s house with a two-story gaudy foyer. I try to strike a balance with my clients. When we reach that point, it’s a lot easier to follow the old adage: “ Form follows function.” Castle #1Īdults and children alike want their own castle. To avoid this mistake, you can harness your relationship with the space.Ĭonsider your lifestyle, the possible layered spaces that can build an experience. Awkward ‘solutions’ are common as are wasted space and contrived pathways. If you choose, on the other hand, to try and fit the spaces you need into a plain box of a building, you’re hamstrung, forcing an unnatural relationship. You should be able to take an exterior photo any home and understand how those forms work together. Spaces can be designed and reconfigured to fit that function.

I keep that in the background, but remind them that function drives aesthetic. Approaching the spaces thoughtfully, we make it simple and beautiful.Ĭlients tend to come prepared with pictures of homes that they find appealing. The conversation with my clients starts: Let’s figure out what your anticipated use of the space may be … and design enough of it, not too much, not too little. In any event, if you have any interest in home architecture, this is well worth your time.I’m a believer in architect Sarah Susanka’s “Not So Big” philosophy. (She specifically says at one point that architects need to sometimes tell clients 'you don't need an addition, you need a cleaning service' when people are trying to find more space.) At the end of the day her ideas are about taking mid 20th century size/style homes and making them more useful via minor architectural changes - overbig homes are going to be too big, and while much of this is useful for the tiny house movement it's not aimed for it. Like all of Susanka's work, this collection of essays will make you wander around your house and wonder what furniture you can move, colors you can change and other minor adjustments to make your home more livable. The idea that we should be building our houses to model how we live in and use spaces is obvious, but listening to the contractors we're talking to about the remodel still isn't fully absorbed in the trade -things that Susanka comments on such as ceiling heights influencing how we feel in a space (obvious when you think about it) are dismissed because 'soffits are out of fashion'. Susanka's prose is clear and inviting, her ideas are well fleshed out and, just as importantly, humane. This is my 3rd or 4th read of this volume, pulled off the shelf as we contemplate a kitchen remodel.

Susanka not so big house