200 Outstanding House Ideas (Hardcover)

A handsome and practical source of inspiration for designing, building or remodeling.

There are thousands of new styles and components in house construction. Homeowners enjoy an unprecedented number of options thanks to the availability of products originating in other modes of architecture. While these are certainly exciting, such a wide variety brings challenging choices at every step in project management.

200 Outstanding House Ideas is packed with ideas for creating the dream house. Illustrated with more than 750 color photographs and over 200 floor plans, the book is rich with examples of houses and their interiors constructed and finished with a great range of traditional and innovative materials. The houses have been chosen from a pool of the world's most interesting residential architecture. Together, they create a valuable catalog of exciting designs.

Conventional, contemporary, even otherworldly in their character, these houses are stimulating examples of residential architecture. Each house is presented over several double-page spreads that feature descriptive text, numerous color photographs and house plans, plus details on location, architect and date of construction. A directory of architects and designers, complete with websites, rounds out this comprehensive and real-life resource.

200 Outstanding House Ideas is a practical resource for those planning to build or remodel a house. For those who enjoy architecture and design, it is an ideal choice for browsing.

House Beautiful Home Design Suite

Everyone has a beautiful house in them. Discover yours with the amazing new House Beautiful Home Design Suite. Integrated design tools allow you to master a wide variety of projects from interior design to complete home remodeling, all at the click of a mouse. Envision your home in 3D with incredible tools like fly-throughs and doll-house views.

Want to remodel your kitchen or bath?
House Beautiful Home Design Suite makes it easy to transform your kitchen or bath into the room of your dreams. The Cabinet Wizard allows you to create custom cabinetry to fit any space. Drag-and-drop tools allow you to add appliances, flooring, and countertops to envision your room’s true potential. Try wall paper or paint to find a style that is uniquely yours.

Looking to give your home a face lift?
One-click decorator palettes allow you to change or update the look and feel of a room at the click of a mouse. Try new furniture, window treatments, or lighting. Add a skylight or bay window. Envision your entryway with wood floors or marble tile. The possibilities are endless.

Want to improve your curb appeal?
Curb appeal isn’t just a buzz word; it’s the key to improving your home’s value! House Beautiful Home Design Suite allows you to try new doors and windows, remodel your landscape, and change the color of your home, all without opening a can of paint. Add a new porch, patio, or deck with the incredible Deck Wizard.

Give your landscape the edge it needs by planting zone-friendly varietals. PlantFinder will help to ensure your success by letting you select growing parameters, climate, water, and soil conditions. Get the right plant height and spacing for your home using the Automatic Growth Tool, which allows you to see how your landscape will look years from now.

Looking to do a larger home-renovation project?
House Beautiful Home Design Suite has all the tools you need for room additions, roofing projects, and complete home design from scratch. Work with tools like:

* Room Wizard
* Foundation Planner
* Electrical Planner
* Plumbing Planner
* Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling Planner
* Roofing Wizard
* Topo Designer
* Floorplan Trace
* Autoframing with Framing Editor

Ready to get started with your remodel? House Beautiful Home Design Suite makes it easy to manage your remodeling projects. Home Estimator allows you to easily calculate remodeling costs and materials needed. Just enter material and labor costs for your local area and Home Estimator does the rest!

Designing Your Perfect House (Hardcover)

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


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.