House Design Books

Reviews of Home Design Books for Inspiring Home Design Ideas

As you are going through the Design Your Own House tutorial and designing your home, house design books and magazines will be helpful for providing inspirational home design ideas. On this page you'll find reviews of some of the books that we found the most useful while we were designing our home.

A Pattern Language - Towns, Buildings, Construction
Alexander, Christopher. Ishikawa, Sara. Silverstein, Murray.
Oxford University Press.
1977.

This is a book I will never part with. Not just a home design book but also a commentary on who we are as people and what our souls need to feel comfortable in a home, town, public square or nestled into a window seat.

A Pattern Language is a rather esoteric read that came out of Berkley, California in the late 1970s. The book consists of a series of interlinked patterns that describe principles for design concepts as diverse as Mosaic of Subcultures, Intimacy Gradient, Common Areas at the Heart, Windows Overlooking Life and Bed Alcove.

Purchase A Pattern Language from Amazon.

The Not So Big House
Susanka, Sarah. Obolensky, Kira.
Taunton Press.
1997.

This house design book is full of excellent ideas. The basic premise of the book is to put your house design energy (and money) into the quality of the home and finishing details rather than the quantity (square footage).

To be fair, most of the homes featured in this book are not what I would consider small. Many of the homes are probably in the 3000 square foot range. But for someone designing a home of any size, there are many ideas for creating a custom home design that reflects the way you truly live.

Purchase The Not So Big House from Amazon.

Home By Design
Susanka, Sarah.
Taunton Press.
2004.

House as a Mirror of Self - Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home.
Marcus, Clare Cooper.
Conari Press.
1995.

House Thinking - A Room by Room Look at How We Live.
Gallagher, Winifred.
Harper Perennial.
2006.

Inside the Not So Big House
Susanka, Sarah. Vassallo, Marc.
Taunton Press.
2005.