One should not be allowed to design a house unless one actually understands how homes are used.

Space is such an interesting concept. Take our house: it has lots of space. A British architect would crap her pants in delight on the possibilities, no longer forced to make odd decisions due to some Victorian's bizarre placement of structural support (and no vision for indoor plumbing.) Yet, the person who designed this house had one objective, and one objective only: to make the house look good. The catch is, we actually try to use it. Take our kitchen. Our kitchen should be a baker's dream. You want counter space - ta-da! – counter space. It looks sooooooooo lovely....