books about houses: Houses as Friends - by Dorothy Pym - 08/06/09 03:48 PM
I've got an ever growing collection of books about House and Home.  Put either word in the title and I'll pull it off the shelf and consider it.
Today I popped into a bookstore - always dangerous! - and ended up in the Architecture section where I found a copy of Dorothy Pym's 1936 book Houses as Friends. Talk about an irresistible title!
In his introduction, English architect Edwin Lutyens describes the book as:
"... a story of five houses, rather than that of any of the people and the animals who lived within their walls.
Each house has a different personality, … (6 comments)

books about houses: Not So Big Houses - Smaller and Better Ways to Live - 05/14/09 01:55 PM
The Today Show had an intriguing segment this week about people opting for smaller houses.
After decades of the average American house growing ever larger, this year the size of the average American house shrunk by almost 300 square feet.
Matt Lauer's segment showed two families who chose smaller houses -  one family moved from a larger home to a significantly smaller house and another couple who designed their own modestly sized  house. They talked about the benefits of greater family togetherness, saving money on utilities and other housing costs, and more time to pursue things other than home upkeep.
The couple who designed their own small house … (40 comments)