Wednesday Book Review / Promotion

Get Your House Right: 
Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid

by Marianne Cusato and Ben Pentreath

 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 definitive guide to what makes houses look and feel right—to the eye and to the soul. She teaches us the language and grammar of classical architecture, revealing how balance, harmony, and detail all contribute to creating a home that will be loved rather than tolerated. And she takes us through the do’s and don’ts of every element of home design, from dormers to doorways to columns. Integral to the book are its hundreds of elegant line drawings—clearly rendering the varieties of lintels and cornices, arches and eaves, and displaying “avoid” and “use” versions of the same elements side by side.

 

About the Author

Acclaimed designer Marianne Cusato has received international media attention for her work on the Katrina Cottages. Leading in 2006 to being named by Builder Magazine as No.4 on their list of the 50 most influential people in the home building industry. Her first cottage, Katrina Cottage 1 — waterproof, panelized home presented as a sustainable, emergency housing alternative to trailers, was the recipient of the first annual People's Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the National Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institute.

Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato and Ben Pentreath 

Published by Sterling, January 1, 2008

Retail: $29.95 Amazon: $19.77 

See what FANTASTIC work Marianne Cusato is doing in New Orleans!!