A Pattern Language

If you buy only one book on architecture and design, this is the one to get. This book will change the way you look at house design. It will enable any person to design a house by using a series of "patterns" to solve design problems. These sequentially numbered patterns simply state the concept, such as where to place windows, and then explain the resolution in a few paragraphs. A Pattern Language is elegantly simple in its language and approach, yet endlessly flexible. The book goes beyond just house design and includes the layout of gardens, neighborhoods, and communities. This is a "must have" for anyone interested in the design of structures. The home featured on this web site was aesthetically derived from the patterns in this book.

The Timeless Way of Building

This introductory volume to Alexander's other works, A Pattern of Language and The Oregon Experiment, explains concepts fundamental to his original approaches to the theory and application of architecture.

The Not So Big House Collection: The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House 

Sarah Susanka's best-selling books, The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House, are available for the first time in one slipcase set. When describing a favorite room in the house, do you find yourself using terms such as "expansive," "formal," and "spacious"--a marble foyer or a formal dining room perhaps? Or do the words "cozy," "intimate," and "warm" come to mind--a cheery little breakfast nook or a window seat complete with plenty of pillows and a breathtaking view? More than likely, you--like thousands of other homeowners--are drawn to the more personal spaces in your home, where comfort, beauty, and efficiency meet. In The Not So Big House, respected architect Sarah Susanka and coauthor Kira Obolensky address our affinity for the "smaller, more personal spaces" and propose "clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements.

Tiny Tiny Houses

Lester Walker's new book contains more than 40 invitations to explore--and maybe build--some of the most charming, eccentric, and livable tiny houses ever built or conceived in America. Size D. 1000 black-and-white drawings. 100 black-and-white photographs.

The New Cottage Home

Jim Tolpin's The New Cottage Home represents a return to a previous school of thought about living space: that it should be no larger than is needed, conservative of resources, rich in detail-- in short, that it should pay homage to honest architecture and fine craftsmanship, not to conspicuous consumption. The 30 cottage homes pictured, all recently built, have the slightly unfair advantage of almost magically beautiful locations, but each has a unique character and many cottage-style nooks and crannies: the converted island pump house with sod roof, the 600-square-foot woodland temple, the salvage-built house on the Kansas prairie, the off-the-grid shingled hilltop house built to take advantage of natural light.

 500 Small Houses of the Twenties

Reprinted from a major 1923 architectural publication: perspective drawings, floor plans and descriptions of the principal features of outstanding 1920’s small homes, many by leading architects of the period, most inspired by colonial architecture and the bungalow concept

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The Timeless Way of Building

This introductory volume to Alexander's other works, A Pattern of Language and The Oregon Experiment, explains concepts fundamental to his original approaches to the theory and application of architecture.

The New Cottage Home

Jim Tolpin's The New Cottage Home represents a return to a previous school of thought about living space: that it should be no larger than is needed, conservative of resources, rich in detail-- in short, that it should pay homage to honest architecture and fine craftsmanship, not to conspicuous consumption. The 30 cottage homes pictured, all recently built, have the slightly unfair advantage of almost magically beautiful locations, but each has a unique character and many cottage-style nooks and crannies: the converted island pump house with sod roof, the 600-square-foot woodland temple, the salvage-built house on the Kansas prairie, the off-the-grid shingled hilltop house built to take advantage of natural light.

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