Design Tips

Most houses are just lived in; they do become home in their inhabitant's minds, sort of, by tacking one's stuff to the walls and by long association. But the sad truth is, most people have never really seen a house designed, not as a box to inhabit, but as everything inside the pregnant word, "home."

Yes I know, "housebox" is not a word, at least it's not in the dictionary.But I feel so strongly about the difference between a home and a housebox, that maybe I'll coin the word right here.

So what is the difference between a home and a housebox?Here is an important one.

The Center

Many house designs are simply a string of semi-disconnected rooms.But I have learned that having the main family interest at the center of your home works like the heart. What passes through the heart goes all through the system.

My family loves books.We have bookshelves in every room.However, as I remodeled our home, in a fluke of design, I found that the best place for the library was at the very center.To go from the living room to the kitchen, you must pass through the library.Walk from the dining room to the bedrooms, or use the bathroom - you travel through the library.The library sits as the central thoroughfare of our home. (And this in a house under 2000 sq. ft.)I love it.

In the past, I would have designed a library off to the side in my dream home.No more.From now on, in any future home I might build for my family, the library remains the heart.

The central room through which most traffic passes should be the heart of your home.For some families, a music room makes them sing; for others, the family room defines their life together.Some devote themselves to entertaining guests, making the kitchen/dining guest entertainment area their center.For others, a central outside court filled with flowers or exotic plants, viewed by the periphery rooms around, would serve as the main gathering place and thoroughfare. But more than a thoroughfare, the heart of the house gives meaning to all the rest of the design.As I said, in our home, bookshelves stand in almost every room, besides the central library.The central theme of our home repeats in differing ways throughout the rest.

I would love to hear from you on what elements of design make your house your home. Please go to http://www.yguide.org click on "The Healthy Home," and take a survey. I also have a newsletter devoted to four questions in house design: what parts of house design make a home, how to build a healthy home, long-term cost effectiveness in designing and building a home, and how, in fact, to profit from one's home. To access the newsletter go to http://www.yguide.org/newsletters.html

Copyright 2008 by YGuide. Freely use without changes, including links.

// posted by gng @ 10:27 PM 0 comments