How many really sensible home designs are there?

In one of my earlier blogs I asked “What’s your most annoying mistake in home design?” There was one answer, a list from Kristal Kraft. I was wondering how many comments there would be from men but I guess it’s too early to tell.

Nobody has taught me more about home design than my wife and my mother-in-law. Prior to coming to the US I lived in Germany and that meant living in apartments. To be sure, there were some beautiful homes, my favorite being the farmers’ houses of the Blackforest where I grew up. Built against the slopes, the higher back of the home is where the hay wagon enters. Right below are the cattle and further to the front live the farmer and his family. Everything makes sense.

The same can be said for the home of my parents-in-law, where exactly 30 year ago today, my wife and I danced at our wedding reception. The Ohio home was a two-story Georgian style home with a spacious center hall entry, living room to the right and dining room to the left. The hallway led to the enclosed back porch passing the kitchen on the left and the library on the right. All four bedrooms and a small study were upstairs. The master bedroom shared a wall with the study as did the guestroom. None of the bedrooms had adjoining walls, the bathrooms or study separated them. How sensible.

When my father-in-law retired he and his wife built another home, this time bordering a salt marsh in South Carolina. Again the layout of the home made sense and the knowledge of style was apparent everywhere. The dining room was still to the left but to the right was a large library. The living room was straight ahead with the open kitchen and family room to the left and the master bedroom to the right. All these rooms were facing the marsh. So did the two guest bedroom suites upstairs.

A sensible layout has nothing to do with size or finishes. Many homes I show these days make little sense. Come to think of it, all four “production architects” featured in The Wall Street Journal article I mentioned in an earlier blog were male. That could explain something.

© 2006, Gerhard N. Ade