Designing Your Perfect House - By William J. Hirsch, Jr.
Designing Your Perfect House is available from Dalsimer Press.
"Steve and I have just finished your manuscript/book and found it invaluable in thinking about the 'program' for our home. This is a definite must-read for anyone building a house. It opened up a lot of dialogue between the two of us regarding our lifestyle and how we envision the house....the flow, the individual rooms, the light/sun, the terrace and pool area....and the thousand other details mentioned in the book."
Rochelle and Steve Prystowsky
Client
Although most people assume they know what makes a good house, once they begin the process of turning their dreams into reality they quickly discover that it can be a lot more complex than they'd ever imagined...
Read more 
Sarah Susanka, FAIA - architect and bestselling author of The Not So Big House series, Home By Design, and The Not So Big Life
Register to download FREE pages from the actual book!
Go now
Read about the author of Designing Your Perfect House!
Learn more
The Book
Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect
Designing Your Perfect Home can help you understand the critical issues you will face, give you the knowledge to make good decisions, and guide you to a wonderful result.
Solid, unbiased advice that can save you thousands of dollars
Most of us do our homework before making a large purchase. For example, we learn all we can about automobiles we are considering purchasing, comparing features, costs, reliability, resale value, and such before spending thousands of dollars. Designing and building a home is a far more complicated process than buying a car and it involves a great deal more money. Yet, there are few places people can turn to find solid, unbiased advice they will need to make the many decisions they will face.
Keep a top architect at your side through the process!
The builder, the realtor, or friends who have been through the process before can be helpful, but they come with their particular point of view and will not be totally unbiased no matter how honest and well intentioned they may be. Hopefully you will have an architect to work with. But even then, you will have many, many questions and your architect's time is expensive. Wouldn't it be nice to have somewhere to turn to educate yourself and give you an understanding of what lies ahead?
Takes you from the initial idea of building your dream house through to the details of the actual design
Magazines sometimes have articles that can help and there are a few books that touch on portions of the subject. But until now, there has not been a book that takes you from the initial idea of building your dream house through to the details of the actual design. Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect is that book. It will give you the knowledge to make good decisions and answer the questions you will be asked. You will learn how to control the process, becoming proactive and not just reactive. Armed with this knowledge, you will save money, end up with a much better house, avoid costly and stressful problems, and do it all with much less anxiety.
A short, easy to follow, course in the house design and construction process
Designing Your Perfect House: Lessons from an Architect is a short course in the house design and construction process. It is not a "how to be your own contractor" book. Instead, it is an "architect in a book" type of book. It is your guide through the sometimes confusing and murky waters of the design and building process. The book consists of twelve lessons, each one designed to give you more of the knowledge and understanding you will need to ensure a great dream house for you and your family.
Click here to read The Twelve Lessons for Designing Your Perfect House