Customer Reviews

Good House Parts: Creating a Great Home Piece by Piece

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I always think about those spaces that I want in a house that makes it me. Like a mudroom with panache. A breakfast nook that makes you want to leave your PJ's on. But what about that home builder who just puts regular wood floors or places windows where there is no view. These are the details or 'pieces' that make a house your home.
I see all these details in Dennis Wedlick's book. All those details that we want to include or that would make our house and, so, our lives more functional.

Doorways, windows, roof styles, beams that frame and add style to the structure.
Those places for things and everything in its place. Like built-ins, cubbies, shelves and rooms for particular functions like a laundry room, a hobby room and a pantry.
Places in those larger basic rooms like an island in the kitchen, a fireplace or a windows seat that make a living room cozy.
How about ramping up a room or making an unused room more integrated into the home? The idea of an addition or a wing giving the house even more character.
This book takes you outside so you can enjoy the outdoors within a patio, terrace, deck, balcony or dock but blending it with the house and the surroundings.
As for flooring, to me, these are the shoes of the house that transport you through the spaces. The impact of this feature is discussed as well as the walls and the ceilings to help you pull together your surroundings. Then, the book brings in the trim, doors and hardware.
If you are thinking about building a home or addition or even house hunting this book is a detail-lovers dream and a Chinese-menu of what you can do to make your home complete.

We are in the midst of planning a major renovation of an antique Texas farmhouse. Through beautiful and engaging photography and prose, this architectural masterpiece has given us the insight into how best to preserve the 'good house parts' while adding the essential modern 'good house parts' seamlessly. We own all the other books of this genre; this by far is our favorite and best.

The concept of this book is a great one: thinking about how the right doors, windows, porch, etc. all fit together to form a quality house. However, I feel Wedlick missed the mark slightly. There were several inspiring photos and I did come away with a few ideas for my home design. But too many of the featured houses were not well-balanced, attractive homes to my sense of style. And I felt the text didn't go far enough in explaining his points. I find Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" series of books better resources for this concept.

This is a book that tells you about the nice parts but don't hope to get information on putting the ideas together. It is was the title says, I guess.

Beautifully photographed with some real interesting and original ideas to add to your dream home.

I enjoy looking at the photos of the "house parts", when I am stuck on a design-looking through this book helps me to break out. I think it is critical for a home to have quality spaces throughout. A window seat, a punched roofline and careful use of interesting materials and details. This is helpful to have in my library.