The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka

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." The heart of the not-so-big house--which is not "just a small house ... [but] a smaller house," that uses "less space to give greater quality of life," and is designed to not only "accommodate the lifestyles of its occupants" but also to express "our values and our personalities,"

Houses: Inside and Out by Mariette Himes Gomez

The award-winning designer and author of Rooms showcases inspiring opportunities for the exteriors, interiors, and details of houses in this lavishly photographed book.
Celebrated designer Mariette Himes Gomez believes that a house becomes a home only when it is infused with personal touches, when its individual parts flow together logically, and when it assumes a warm and welcoming character. In Houses, Gomez begins by inviting readers to consider the many elements that unify a house. She reveals how each detail—from the doors, fireplaces, and staircase, to the more conceptual elements of balance, color, and movement—contribute to the home's overall aesthetic, and how each can be combined to create a certain effect. She provides practical guidelines for building, buying, or renovating to create the perfect home, while illustrating how to instill flow and harmony in your overall design. Subscribing to the philosophy that less is more, Gomez reveals how to create homes of unparalleled beauty and grace.
Complementing Gomez's invaluable advice are stunning photographs of the interiors, exteriors, and details of breathtaking houses in a variety of gorgeous settings. An inspirational guide for every design-minded home buyer, builder, or renovator, Houses illuminates the world of possibility that opens up when you create your own home.

Villa by John Saladino

John Saladino's powerful new book is nothing less than a master class in interior and garden design. Villa focuses on the stone ruin in Southern California that Saladino painstakingly refashioned into his dream house, and it shows how his principles and passions guided him through the five-year process of reconstruction, restoration, and decoration. With the aid of plans and drawings, as well as numerous photographs of the house — how it looked in the 1920s, shots of when he bought it, and snaps taken during reconstruction — Saladino traces the architectural work involved. Then, in a superbly illustrated tour of the house and grounds, he proves that he practices what he’s preached for more than 30 years. Juxtaposing light and dark, old and new, classical and modern, monumental and miniscule, hard and soft, Saladino creates the serenely timeless interiors and gardens that are his hallmark.