Designing Your Perfect House
Designing Your Perfect House
Winner of the 2008 National Best Books Award in the Home: Reference Category
Your Architect in a Book
Rating: List Price: $ 39.95 Price: $ 24.99
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If you ve ever considered building your dream home, here is a step-by-step guidebook that will take you through the design process. Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect concerns the thought process of planning and creating a house, the methodology of the design, and how to get everything right.
Reading this book, you will gain insights about how to:
(out of 18 reviews)
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Review by Mel B. Inglima for Designing Your Perfect House
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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!
Review by Reader Views for Designing Your Perfect House
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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.
Review by Judith Malloy for Designing Your Perfect House
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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….?”
Review by Thomas Vaughan for Designing Your Perfect House
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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.
Review by Gary for Designing Your Perfect House
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This book has tons of information for anyone that wants to be heavily involved in the process of designing and building a home that is just right. The pictures inside show some truly beautiful homes and the author, an actual architect, gives plenty of insight along side to help readers follow and understand the crucial steps of the design process. This book comes across as a genuine reference with a goal to save readers much hassle and confusion before starting their future projects. I only wish I had found it before building my own house!