Designing Your Perfect House [Hardcover]

William J. Hirsch Jr. AIA (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

Winner of the 2008 National Best Books Award in the Home: Reference Category

Your Architect in a Book

If you ve ever considered building your dream home, here is a step-by-step guidebook that will take you through the design process. Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect concerns the thought process of planning and creating a house, the methodology of the design, and how to get everything right.

Reading this book, you will gain insights about how to:

     Gain control of the design and building process

     Choose a perfect site for your house

     Avoid costly mistakes

     Unify an architectural design

     Not just design a house, but how to design a home

     Budget in a realistic manner

The basic premise of the book is that there is no such thing as the perfect house; there is only your perfect house. An architect s task is to help you achieve that dream. The experience of home design and construction should be controllable, gratifying, and enjoyable. With the valuable advice that Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect provides, it can be.



Reviews

This book is an excellent guide for anyone wanting to design the house of their dreams. Designing Your Perfect House contains a wealth of information and know-how from an architect who has been working with residential clients for three decades. It s the kind of wisdom that only comes with practice and is of immense value to anyone wanting an inspiring new home. Herein you ll find everything you need to know about the process of working with an architect, as well as what homework to do before you begin.
Sarah Susanka, FAIA, architect and author of The Not So Big Houseseries, Home by Design, and The Not So Big Life

Take a journey into an architect s mind and see your new house through his eyes.
Catherine Collin, Editor, Loft Publications

This book is a must-have for everyone who plans to build a home. We were lucky enough to have Bill Hirsch as the architect on our project, and he is a trusted and knowledgeable source who led us through the complex and overwhelming process of building a home. Now everyone can benefit from his experience. His book is an invaluable tool to guide the way.

Tracy Gibson

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William J. Hirsch, Jr. AIA, NCARB, is a Registered Architect with thirty years of experience. He has extensive experience in custom residential design, as well as in the design of commercial, office, religious, recreational, and industrial buildings. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and past president of the Delaware Society of Architects. He received his Master of Architecture from the University of Virginia. Hirsch believes residential design is a very personal and emotional process that has to express the personality and needs of the owner, not the architect.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Dalsimer Press, Inc; 1st edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979882036
• ISBN-13: 978-0979882036
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Design > House Plans
  • #10 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Design > Design & Construction
  • #15 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Do-It-Yourself

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect For Anyone Thinking of Building a Home, February 24, 2009

By 

Mel B. Inglima "Homebuilding Mentor" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Designing Your Perfect House (Hardcover)

The value of this book is found in its practicality, its convenience and its charm. "Designing Your Perfect House" is a really helpful tool for a current or soon-to-be homeowner who wants to build. When deciding on a book to read, I always want to read reviews that tell me some specifics about the book so I know if it relates. I hope to give you just that.

I'm actually a custom homebuilding consultant. I advise people on picking their contractors, architects, designers, materials and more. It really bothers me when people don't do their homework before deciding to design a home or have one designed for them. After reading this book I feel confident in telling you to start right here! The author takes you through your emotional, thought, and preparation processes that are so necessary when designing your home. He pretty much just covers everything you need to know and it really jibes with my belief that preparation is paramount. He explains how important it is to pick a good architect (as well as HOW to do it) and that everything flows from good design, and that so many mistakes and heartaches can be avoided by taking the time at the early stages.

William J. Hirsch knows his stuff. 30 years of experience allows him to lead you through the steps you need, to make the right decisions and design a home that is perfect for you. From style, to size, to interior spaces, to orientation on the lot, to home value, to priorities, to weather, and so many other important factors, the author has an answer and presents it in a down to earth, easy to understand fashion. If I were you, wouldn't hesitate to invest money in this book. It's worth every cent and I'm very glad I did.

It is very well laid out, full of beautiful pictures, and even helps you choose a good builder. Even if ... well, especially if you're not quite ready to build, buy it now! You'll learn a lot and just as importantly, you'll really enjoy reading it more than once!

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly Designed, October 13, 2008

By 

Judith Malloy (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Designing Your Perfect House (Hardcover)

Sometimes the hardest part of any project is deciding where to start first. "Designing Your Perfect House" not only shows you how to find the beginning, but also gives you an advance preview of what the ending will look like. We have been building high-end custom homes for over thirty years and this is the first time we have seen the designing process so throughly explained and easily understood for prospective homeowners (as well as builders). Bill Hirsch's liberal use of illustrations, check lists and photographs aid in refining the reader's ideas and organizing the design process. But the author is careful not to over-simplify a complex task. He cautions the reader to take the time to think things out, warning about: proper site planning, sizing spaces to create the best "people" effect and checking out prospective builders. But lest you think this is a dull "text" book, "Designing Your Perfect Home" includes plenty of good humor and outright fun. It starts with an optical illusion: A Rorschach test of a man playing a saxaphone vs. a woman's face, to illustrate how we can achieve the "Aha" effect. Later we meet; "Just Say No to Avocado", "Why Did They Ever Call it a Living Room?" and my all time favorite; "Windows Are the Eyes and a Door is the Mouth of the building". When I got to the end of this very readable book I kept hoping that this would be the beginning of a series: "Designing your Perfect Home Remodeling Project....?"

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, even if you aren't building a house!, August 1, 2009

By 

Thomas Vaughan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Designing Your Perfect House (Kindle Edition)

As other reviewers have noted, this is a great book to help someone walk through designing their own home. I found myself in a position where I had to come up with potential floor plans for an awkwardly-shaped lot, and this book was the best resource I found.

However, this book could also be titled "How to come up with and/or appreciate good floor plans." Hirsch presents a pretty simple process, but I hadn't seen it described anywhere this clearly, and it helps you evaluate any floor plan or design you encounter, not just new ones! He presents a good framework for how to come up with usable spaces, and make the most of your design/building dollars.

And another note: this is also a good Kindle title. That is, the book reads well on a Kindle, even with some of the larger photos and floor plans.