Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect

by William J. Hirsch Jr.

Book Overview

Now, William Hirsch's Amazon #1 Bestseller, Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect, is in its 2nd Edition. The timeless advice in this essential guidebook for navigating the often... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0979882036
• ISBN13: 9780979882036
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Dalsimer Press
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 2.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 9.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Must Have for First-Time Home Designers!

I LOVED this book! It is smart, accessible, and just plain lovely. I am in the process of designing my dream home and was about to make a lot of decisions I would have regretted if I did not read this book before finalizing my floor plans. I am on a limited budget and was letting finances make a lot of my design decisions, such as cutting hallways to save on square footage and not considering how things flow together. I was just trying to get the most in the smallest space so I could spend money on some luxury items I want. I am somebody who can appreciate when a house "feels right," but really didn't understand why. After reading Designing Your Perfect House, I feel better able to understand what will contribute to making my dream house "feel right." Finances will still be a part of my decision making process, but so will the feel of the house. And I now know where a little money might go a long way - like in soundproofing and using another shade of wood in doorways to mark transitions in a classy way! Those luxury items I'm going to have would have made little difference if my house felt wrong. I feel like I now have the information I need to help me prioritize my decision making and create the home I imagine. In addition, when I finished reading this book, I was so excited and felt like I knew the author and liked him. I felt so comfortable, in fact, that I emailed him with a question I had about where to put my laundry room. I've never emailed an author in my life. To my amazement and delight, he emailed me back that same day and answered my question. This book is the best investment I've made in my dream home so far!!!

Highly recommended, even if you aren't building a house!

As other reviewers have noted, this is a great book to help someone walk through designing their own home. I found myself in a position where I had to come up with potential floor plans for an awkwardly-shaped lot, and this book was the best resource I found. However, this book could also be titled "How to come up with and/or appreciate good floor plans." Hirsch presents a pretty simple process, but I hadn't seen it described anywhere this clearly, and it helps you evaluate any floor plan or design you encounter, not just new ones! He presents a good framework for how to come up with usable spaces, and make the most of your design/building dollars. And another note: this is also a good Kindle title. That is, the book reads well on a Kindle, even with some of the larger photos and floor plans.

Perfect For Anyone Thinking of Building a Home

The value of this book is found in its practicality, its convenience and its charm. "Designing Your Perfect House" is a really helpful tool for a current or soon-to-be homeowner who wants to build. When deciding on a book to read, I always want to read reviews that tell me some specifics about the book so I know if it relates. I hope to give you just that. I'm actually a custom homebuilding consultant. I advise people on picking their contractors, architects, designers, materials and more. It really bothers me when people don't do their homework before deciding to design a home or have one designed for them. After reading this book I feel confident in telling you to start right here! The author takes you through your emotional, thought, and preparation processes that are so necessary when designing your home. He pretty much just covers everything you need to know and it really jibes with my belief that preparation is paramount. He explains how important it is to pick a good architect (as well as HOW to do it) and that everything flows from good design, and that so many mistakes and heartaches can be avoided by taking the time at the early stages. William J. Hirsch knows his stuff. 30 years of experience allows him to lead you through the steps you need, to make the right decisions and design a home that is perfect for you. From style, to size, to interior spaces, to orientation on the lot, to home value, to priorities, to weather, and so many other important factors, the author has an answer and presents it in a down to earth, easy to understand fashion. If I were you, wouldn't hesitate to invest money in this book. It's worth every cent and I'm very glad I did. It is very well laid out, full of beautiful pictures, and even helps you choose a good builder. Even if ... well, especially if you're not quite ready to build, buy it now! You'll learn a lot and just as importantly, you'll really enjoy reading it more than once!

Perfect for creating a perfect house!

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (11/08) Needless to say I was thrilled to receive this book for review. I have helped my husband, who is a home builder, design many homes and am always looking for the newest ideas and trends in the industry. I'm also looking for ways to make the house a home and create the "wow" factor for the prospective buyer. William Hirsch's book is certainly helping me take my designing to the next level. I like the first sentence of the Preface. Hirsch says "The book is for people who care enough to create a house that is uniquely their own." The important words are "care" and "uniquely their own" and throughout the book he focuses on ways for the homeowner to do just that - create a home that not only suits their lifestyle but one that is magical, yet comfortable and livable. Hirsch divides his book into lessons; the first lesson being "Beginning the Journey." Here he explains about the architectural components and how to start. The lessons are in a step-by-step concept, and address things like: Unifying the Design, Choosing a Perfect Site, Putting Pencil to Paper, and The Budget. Although every lesson is very important, I believe lesson eleven is one that needs the most energy and time dedicated to it. It is titled "Thinking Through the Places Where You Live." Referred to as "the heart of the home," the kitchen is a place where most families spend a lot of time in. Combing the kitchen, family room and the breakfast room together creates this heart, making it an important room in the home. Hirsch gives a series of questions to ask oneself while planning the kitchen area. There are also a series of important questions to ask oneself when planning areas such as the bathrooms. Hirsch also covers rules on door swings and placements, lighting, closets, and sleeping areas. He gives the prospective homeowner the tools to create "your" perfect house. This is such a good book! I've seen many while trying to create homes for prospects but not one as detailed and user-friendly as "Designing Your Perfect House." Hirsch certainly is providing a guide on creating a house that becomes a home.

Perfectly Designed

Sometimes the hardest part of any project is deciding where to start first. "Designing Your Perfect House" not only shows you how to find the beginning, but also gives you an advance preview of what the ending will look like. We have been building high-end custom homes for over thirty years and this is the first time we have seen the designing process so throughly explained and easily understood for prospective homeowners (as well as builders). Bill Hirsch's liberal use of illustrations, check lists and photographs aid in refining the reader's ideas and organizing the design process. But the author is careful not to over-simplify a complex task. He cautions the reader to take the time to think things out, warning about: proper site planning, sizing spaces to create the best "people" effect and checking out prospective builders. But lest you think this is a dull "text" book, "Designing Your Perfect Home" includes plenty of good humor and outright fun. It starts with an optical illusion: A Rorschach test of a man playing a saxaphone vs. a woman's face, to illustrate how we can achieve the "Aha" effect. Later we meet; "Just Say No to Avocado", "Why Did They Ever Call it a Living Room?" and my all time favorite; "Windows Are the Eyes and a Door is the Mouth of the building". When I got to the end of this very readable book I kept hoping that this would be the beginning of a series: "Designing your Perfect Home Remodeling Project....?"