Even as oversized McMansions continue to elbow their way into tiny lots nationwide, a much different trend has taken shape. This return to traditional architectural principles venerates qualities that once were taken for granted in home design: structural common sense, aesthetics of form, appropriateness to a neighborhood, and even sustainability. Marianne Cusato, creator of the award—winning Katrina Cottages, has authored and illustrated this...

Based on personal observation of surviving examples and research into colonial records, this book includes 242 measured diagrams (windows, door frames, construction details, etc.) and 192 photographs of more than 150 homes, 1650 to 1800. Authentic and invaluable. 434 illustrations.

How does the experience of turning a door handle, opening a door from one space to lead into another, affect us? This book aims to understand how these everyday acts are influenced by architectural form, a concept that is vital for all architects to grasp if our buildings are to be anything more than a commercial or aesthetic enterprise. It considers how specific built elements and volumes can sustain or deny our powers of decision. Each chapter focuses...

An old white Colonial house in the sun was taken as a symbol of rural New England in the first volume of this series. Beyond its sunny facade, across its inviting doorstep, however, is another and more intimate symbol, the hearth. An acquaintance with the smiling externals of Colonial homes naturally leads to a curiosity about their interiors. The present volume aspires to sketch this absorbing story of early American interiors by means of the photographic...