Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect: Second Edition

Now, William Hirsch's Award-Winning Amazon #1 Bestseller, Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect, is in its 2nd Edition. The timeless and essential advice in this reader favorite guidebook will guide you as you are designing your dream home, having your dream home designed for you, or remodeling your house to be your dream house. No matter who designs a house, you want it to be the best house it can be. The advice and guidance in this book will show you how to design a home that is uniquely Yours and at the same time, it will absolutely save you a lot of money and help you avoid the pitfalls that are all too common in new home design and construction.One reader sums it up this way. "I cannot say enough about this book. It is the bargain of the century. Not only is it well-written, pleasant to read, and well-organized, it is a treasure chest of massively important information. It is worth so much more than the price you will pay."Please read the many wonderful reader reviews to see how valuable this book has been for so many. The advice in this book applies to ALL homes. Whether you are designing a large house or a small house, and especially if you are remodeling your current house, the advice in this book will help you make your house become Your Perfect House.Master architect Hirsch draws on decades of experience and uses his enjoyable, easy to read writing style to convey sage advice guaranteed to help you design or remodel the perfect house for you, while controlling the process and saving money along the way.Presented in twelve understandable "lessons," this book explains in everyday language architectural concepts and design secrets that are essential to designing a dream home uniquely and perfectly your own. Beginning with an exploration of design philosophy, the grammar of architecture, concepts of spaces, and discussions of how to make spaces be appropriate and gratifying for the people living in them, these "lessons" explore issues of scale, daylight, making a house feel like a home, unifying a design, flow, and proportions. All concepts that are too often overlooked in today's homebuilding."A great house doesn't have to cost more.' Hirsch says, "It just needs to be thought through properly." In this book, he shows you how to do it. And now this Bestseller is better than ever with an all new Bonus Lesson, Building Green, Naturally.Hirsch answers questions like: How do I get started? How do I select a building site? What kind of house can I afford within my budget? How do I make my dream house just right for me? Other topics include: house site analysis and selection, programming, schematic house design, style, room relationships, house-building construction budget, working with architects and house designers, selecting a homebuilder, methods of contracting, and more. Numerous beautiful color photos and drawings illustrate the book's major points.This book will pay for itself many, many times over. Read more