“Patterns of Home”, by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow

Jacobson, Max, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow. Patterns of Home: the Ten Essentials of Enduring Design. Newtown, CT: Taunton, 2002. Print.

I read Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language (but not the first or third books in the series) many years ago, before I was seriously interested in houses and building.  It came up, interestingly, in the context of programming, which was my career at the time, because of the interest in patterns.

This book is written by some of the original contributors, and is intended to provide a more accessible look at the most important patterns.  Instead of 250, there are only 10, and they are heavily illustrated with gorgeous full-page pictures, as you would expect from the Taunton press.  (In contract, I recall A Pattern Language having only a few small diagrams).  I didn’t initially think it would be very useful to me, but the more I read, the more it made sense.  The pattern of “Creating Rooms” is more than putting up four walls; “Sheltering Roof” made me realize why some places seem so home-like to me.

This is a great book for anyone is thinking of building anything new, whether it’s a house or just a patio or outbuilding.  I will definitely revisit it in the future.