House to Home: Designing Your Space for the Way You Live

by Devi Dutta-Choudhury

Have you been thinking about how to make your house into a true home? Or are you buying a house that needs the same attention? Where do you begin? This book will get you started, see you through it, and make home design doable rather than daunting.

Charming and accessible, House to Home is a beginner-friendly guidebook for creating a home that supports your life the way you live it. With practical, hard-earned wisdom, architect Devi Dutta-Choudhury guides you through the process from the foundation up.

Dive into home design with charts, questionnaires, and sketch pages that help you confidently approach and define your renovation. With Dutta-Choudhury’s relatable expertise, you’ll begin to think more like an architect. From understanding the site, working with architects, and being your own contractor to deciding when to redesign and when to leave alone, this book teaches core concepts about privacy, use of space, lighting, access, and more. Whether it’s just one room or your whole house, House to Home is here to help.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

Published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many home design and decorating books struggle to find the balance between "here's what I do" and "here's what you can do." Dutta-Choudhury uses her own home renovation, both the ups and downs, as a case study for architectural process. To my delight, there is none of the catty declarations ("Grey is so boring!" "This archway makes me want to throw up!") that tend to age like milk. Instead, Dutta-Choudhury talks you through making the space where you live fit how you live, especially as Americans become relatively less mobile, getting locked into "house" instead of shifting between starter house, peak family house, and empty nest. There certainly are plenty of tips and tricks, even with her focus on "what works for you."

Some of my favorites include

- If you hate the exterior of your house, but can't do much about it, consider your front fence and landscaping as a way to create a facade-- a modern fence with horizontal slats can camoflauge a McMansion exterior, for example.

-Pinterest and magazine spreads are all well and good, but TV and movies give you a three-dimensional model. Maybe you love the elecetic look of Central Perk's couches or the two-tone kitchen in Mrs. Maisel or that staircase in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air or the wallpaper in The Queen's Gambit. Pay attention to the sets of shows to see how light moves across them and how characters move around them.

- Accommodate the activities you do most often. Sure, we can't renovate for each of our hobbies, but the idea of building an outdoor shower for an avid surfer to not track sand through the house can make the whole experience of the house better.

-Keep your neighbors in the loop. In some extreme cases, this could look like removing backyard fences to combine small spaces into harder communal ones, but also there will be disruptions from construction, so be considerate- you have to live here after the trucks are gone.

-There are a LOT of decisions to make in the bathroom and kitchen, while bedrooms and living rooms are relatively more simple. Instead of planning out all the details of your dream house years and years in advance, since trends or attitudes may change, develop some North Stars, like "I like clean, clear, functional design," or "Comfort" or whatever. This can be as detailed as you like, but it eases some decision fatigue.


Would definitely re-read for a move or change in life stage remodeling.

[Emma Zucati · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't get a grasp on the audience here. The amount of background knowledge you need to actually take advice from this book is so dense that the book will become unhelpful. Like I'm sure someone who just finished remodeling their house will have thoughts on the book but I couldn't wrap my head around any of it because all of the content was so new to me. Also, there were no pictures!!
And honestly, if you have enough money to be doing any of these projects in your house, odds are you have the money to pay someone to tell you all of this information so the book medium didn't make a whole ton of sense to me.

I'm sure someone in the throes of remodeling could get something out of this, but the barrier of entry felt steeper than advertised. The word "designing" in the title made me inclined to believe that this book would give me ideas for decorating a space in both a home I own and a home I rent and that was very far from reality.

[Jemma Z · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot of high level things about considerations for home renovation from this book, but was pretty shocked that there are no pictures almost at all. There are a lot of visual concepts discussed but they’ll have to be left up to your imagination. I feel like I know a lot more about the process of selecting an architect or general contractor, which is important, but if I didn’t read a lot of design books already I don’t think I would have gained as much.

[Bee Ostrowsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

House to Home is both the story of how the author reshaped her own home and a guide to how you can think like an architect while reshaping your home. She points out things most people overlook: for example, that accessibility is essential for any home, since most currently able-bodied people plan to get old, and most of us won’t be able to handle stairs with quite the same agility as we age.

Interstitial pages between chapters offer you a place to make notes and sketches, if you’ve bought a copy in print. (You mustn’t do that to a library copy, and good luck doing that to an e-book.)

Whether you’re planning to build or remodel a house, or you’re just curious what goes on behind the scenes on HGTV projects, House to Home will give you the insights you need.

I am grateful to NetGalley for a free review copy.

[JCS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide is a great starting point for anyone planning to adapt their house to the needs of the family, or considering choosing a new home with a view to redesigning it to better suit their lifestyle. It is a short but very useful guide. There are six chapters starting with how to select a house with the potential to improve it to create your home, The following chapters include guidance on preparing your project, where to find inspiration, matching your design to your lifestyle, the importance of attention to detail and, finally, what to expect during the construction process. There are grid pages at the end of each chapter for notes, ideas and sketches. I enjoyed the conciseness of this guide. Thank you to Devi Dutta-Choudrey, Net Galley and Roost Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly checked this book out from the library without really knowing what it would cover. It turned out to be a very interesting high-level overview about how to think about home renovations and design. I think it's more difficult than people realize to write interesting beginners guides that doesn't talk down to your audience and Dutta-Choudhury's friendly thoughtful voice was both informative and engaging. Can she design my house please? I'm only like 10 states away.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the things you need to think of when renovating or building new to make sure your home design fits your needs. I’m not currently doing either but this was a quick read and gave some good thinking points. Definitely not exhaustive but is an excellent introduction and is written in very clear language.

[Maddy Barnard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very architectural and impractical

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is ideal for those who have bought a home - especially if it’s a fixer upper. It focuses a lot of understanding local codes for renovation and other topics that aren’t as relevant for renters or city dwellers.