Too many people live in badly designed houses and we want to change that.
Too many houses have rooms that don’t get used, kitchens that are hard to work in, living rooms that are difficult to furnish, and front entry spaces with no closets. There are supersized houses and those that, in spite of their actual size, feel too small and cramped.
What’s Wrong With This House? is a practical guide to avoiding these problems. Based on the Slow Home design philosophy, it offers practical, down-to-earth design advice that focuses on the substance of the way a house works rather than on its superficial appearance. Using example projects from their many years of architectural practice, John Brown and Matthew North show you how to evaluate the design quality of your home and make it simple to live in and light on the environment.
Essentially a very high-end pamphlet for HouseBrand builders and their philosophies on home design, but still one of the clearest and most interesting books on home design, layout and home buying I've ever read. Most of the information is conveyed through fictionalized conversations with potential home-buyers, making this the Celestine Prophecy of residential architecture, I guess. (really guessing since I've never read the Celestine Prophecy)
This is definitely a book I will have alongside A Pattern Language to help me 'read' houses and layouts in the future.
This is a great primer on the slow home concept. It contains three “case studies” that introduce the principles and show how they are applied in particular instances to create more livable spaces.
My only complaint is that I wish there was a follow on book that went deeper (like a textbook) on how to apply these principles yourself in more circumstances.
Having just bought my first house, the advice from this book was indispensable to me. I'm glad I started reading it while I was looking around, it helped me learn the language of home design and gave me a sense of what to look for when evaluating a house.