Kindle Price: $11.99

Save $6.00 (33%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Marianne Cusato
Follow
Ben Pentreath
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid Kindle Edition

by Marianne Cusato (Author), Ben Pentreath (Author), Richard Sammons (Author), Format: Kindle Edition
See all formats and editions
“[A] much needed book both for homeowners who want a beautiful and well proportioned house and for the professionals who help them to realize that dream.” —Sarah Susanka, FAIA, architect and author of The Not So Big series and Home by Design

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 dos 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.

“This ‘Rosetta stone’ of design will guarantee Cusato a place in the history of twenty-first century American architecture.” —The Philadelphia Inquirer

“[Cusato] provides a vision of how we live together and build on our planet, and points out the consequences of flawed building practices not only to our environment, but to our spirit and our soul.” —Michael Lykoudis, Dean, University of Notre Dame School of Architecture
Previous page
  1. Print length
    569 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Union Square & Co.
  5. Publication date
    August 9, 2011
  6. File size
    10903 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Get Your House Right:
“[A]n important and much needed book.”--Sarah Susanka, FAIA, architect and author of The Not So Big series and Home by Design
“Marianne Cusato translates architectural language into the vernacular and, by doing so, into the reach of the average consumer, where such knowledge is guaranteed to do the most good….this 'Rosetta stone' of design will guarantee Cusato a place in the history of twenty-first century American architecture.”-- The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[Cusato] provides a vision of how we live together and build on our planet, and points out the consequences of flawed building practices not only to our environment, but to our spirit and our soul.”--Michael Lykoudis, Dean, University of Notre Dame School of Architecture


Praise for Get Your House Right:
“[A]n important and much needed book.”--Sarah Susanka, FAIA, architect and author of The Not So Big series and Home by Design
“Marianne Cusato translates architectural language into the vernacular and, by doing so, into the reach of the average consumer, where such knowledge is guaranteed to do the most good….this Rosetta stone of design will guarantee Cusato a place in the history of twenty-first century American architecture.”-- The Philadelphia Inquirer
“[Cusato] provides a vision of how we live together and build on our planet, and points out the consequences of flawed building practices not only to our environment, but to our spirit and our soul.”--Michael Lykoudis, Dean, University of Notre Dame School of Architecture

About the Author

Marianne Cusato has received international attention for her design of the Katrina Cottages: affordable, durable home kits created as an alternative to FEMA trailer housing to help the Gulf Coast rebuild. The cottage won the Cooper-Hewitt Peoples Design Award and has been written up in magazines and newspapers across the country, from Architectural Record and Cottage Living to Time and Forbes. She is the principal of Cusato Cottages, LLC, a New York-based firm specializing in traditional architectural design.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0751H8T9Z
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Union Square & Co. (August 9, 2011)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 9, 2011
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 10903 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 569 pages
  • Customer Reviews:

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Marianne Cusato

    Marianne Cusato

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Marianne Cusato is a designer, author and lecturer in the fields of real estate trends and housing. Her messages speak to the ever-changing needs of homeowners striving to balance the practical requirements of economy and durability with the desire to love where we live.

    Cusato is the author of two books: The Just Right Home: Buying, Renting, Moving...or Just Dreaming--Finding Your Perfect Match! (April 2013, Workman Publishing) and Get Your House Right, Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid, with Ben Pentreath, Richard Sammons and Leon Krier, foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales (January 2008, Sterling Publishing).

    She is currently developing a new series of designs with Clayton Homes, a Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway company. She’s been a visiting professor at both The University of Notre Dame and The University of Miami and is a blogger for Huffington Post.

    Cusato is well-known for her work on the Katrina Cottages. In 2006, her 308 s.f. cottage design won the Smithsonian Institute’s Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum’s “People’s Design Award.” That same year, Congress appropriated $400 million for an alternative emergency housing program, based on Cusato’s designs. In 2006, she was ranked the No. 4 most influential person in the home building industry by Builder Magazine. In 2012, Cusato was voted one of the 30 Most Influential Women in the Housing Economy by HousingWire Magazine.

    She and her work are featured often in the media including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Forbes, Time magazine, The Week, InStyle Home, Fitness Magazine, Builder magazine, Architectural Record, ABC News, CNN, CNBC and NPR.

    Cusato is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture and is based in Miami, FL.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Ben Pentreath

    Ben Pentreath

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Ben Pentreath’s architectural and interior design studio has established a powerful reputation across a variety of disciplines from master-planning and urban development, to private houses and playful interiors.

    Ben’s background is in Art History, which he studied at the University of Edinburgh before attending the Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture.

    He worked for five years in New York and then with the Prince’s Foundation, before starting his own practice in 2004.

    In 2008, Ben opened a tiny eponymous design store in Bloomsbury which has become one of the most influential small shops in London. 

     

    Ben's aesthetic is inspired by tradition and a respect for carefully detailed, authentic materials and design, but combined with a love of contemporary culture, which means that life is never dull.

    He writes regularly for the Financial Times, and his weekly blog, Inspiration, is followed by many thousands of readers in the UK, America and around the world.

    His book, English Decoration was published in 2011 and his sequel interiors book, English Houses launches in September 2016.

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
610 global ratings
Arrived with some damage
2 Stars
Arrived with some damage
I paid for a new book and it came ripped and damaged.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

T.R. James
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is awesome
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
I am completely gutting and restoring/remodeling a house from 1871 and this book is helping me make smart decisions that I never would have made otherwise. I would have continued doing the things that everyone does nowadays that we think is normal, but is actually wrong, and I would have ended up with another bland house that lacks real character.

The key to this book is the large amount of illustrations that show what you shouldn't do, and then more illustrations of what you should do. Its awesome. There are words, and you should read them, but the illustrations are what make this book special.

From chimneys to casing to porches, windows, and doors, this books covers all the major exterior and a few of the interior elements of a house, and the proper way they should be designed and executed.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Justin the Chef
5.0 out of 5 stars Get your COLONIAL House Right
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2015
Verified Purchase
Phenomenal book that talks about the historically correct way to style an Adam, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, or Neo-Colonial style house. Also quite useful for Victorian style homes, but less authoritative. Once you get into Craftsman-style homes (turn of the 20th century) and later there really isn't anything of value in this book. There's absolutely nothing on mid-century modern. Lots of information about proportion and the Greek/Roman orders of architecture. Great reference if you want to create a historically accurate home from one of the specifically mentioned styles, or need to do historic restoration without butchering its character. The book mostly focuses on the exterior, admitting that interior was beyond the scope of the book. There is one short but useful chapter on the interior, however. For historically-correct interiors I really liked  Traditional American Rooms (Winterthur Style Sourcebook): Celebrating Style, Craftsmanship, and Historic Woodwork , which covers the traditional woodwork of homes from the same era, with examples from 12 of the original 13 colonies. Also worthy of note are pattern books from those eras, many of which are still in print, such as the works of Asher Benjamin.

The strength of this book is that it explicitly shows common mistakes and explains why they look odd, whereas most historic references (like "The American Vignola") often skip details, or are harder to follow. If you're interested in a more detailed understanding of the classical orders, Robert Chitham's "The Classical Orders of Architecture" has this book beat in its sheer depth, although that book is geared toward architects, not homeowners. Still, this is a great addition to the library and one I find myself referencing more.
118 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
CreativeXianMan
5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, exactly as billed, with a spark of genius
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2008
Verified Purchase
I bought this book about a month or so ago. I have read through it once. While I will skim it again, from time to time, I'll be keeping it as an irreplaceable reference manual for home design or purchase.

The illustrations are gorgeous and pure genius. Most of them are NOT CAD drawings, but honest-to-goodness pencil illustrations, which all have a definite artistic flair to them.

The premise is simple: the Greeks and Romans got it right, and modern home designers try to ape their aesthetic without doing the requisite homework make awful looking houses. Once you read this book, you'll never be able to go into a rich new suburban development without easily being able to point out the painfully obvious design gaffes that abound. That's the downside--you're an instant architectural snob after one read. But the upside is that when it is time to YOU to buy or build, you'll know precisely what to look for and what to avoid.

Marianne Cusato has proven her genius with the "Katrina Cottage" design, which will probably set her for life financially. I hope it does, so she can focus all of her energies toward the classicist movement. I'd sure love to hire her to design my next home (if I could ever afford her now).

The modern architectural ethic of the last century, emphasizing a lack of details, machinelike designs, and a material driven ethos (steel, glass, and concrete) is absolutely put to shame by the Greek and Roman orders of proportion, balance, and detail. Hopefully, Ms. Cusato and her classicist colleagues can put the last few nails in that coffin. I could live the rest of my life quite well without having to view another gawd-awful building that looks like it was designed by Fisher Price.

This book is a masterpiece.
18 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Justin
4.0 out of 5 stars Great starting point, but lacking some detail
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2013
Verified Purchase
Let me start by saying that this is a great book, every homeowner and builder who cares about home aesthetics should own this.

That said, I think it falls short on some details. The book gives great background on classic architectural orders and how they apply to modern building and trim design. What it lacks, for example, are things like how to size exterior window casings and corner boards, or what height to build wainscot, or how to design and proportion a coffered ceiling. Its also got only a single chapter on interior trim design. I suppose I can't fault the author for this as much as I can recommend that she write an entire book on interior trim design.

You should definitely buy this book, but don't expect this to be your only resource for designing a beautiful home.
7 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

MISSCDN
5.0 out of 5 stars It's All About the Details
Reviewed in Canada on September 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
I bought this in conjunction with 'A Pattern Language' for our new build. One deals with the humanity of your build, this one deals with the structural details that matter. There are so many important aesthetic aspects to building a house that don't necessarily equate to $$$. While certainly some of the details that the authors speak to would, indeed, increase the cost (in some instances significantly) there are a lot of things one can do to bring your home into harmony by just paying attention to proportion and simple design rules. An example is one of the most common we see - decorative shutters applied to the front of a house that could not possibly be functional and are often illogical. The book provides a good understanding of the original practical functionality behind a lot of building elements and how we've messed that up in a lot of mass produced homes today. Perhaps you can't implement all the best practices described (from both a budget and control perspective) but there is a lot you can do to make your home look proportional and feel like a quality build. Excellent reference material!
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read
Reviewed in India on December 26, 2018
Verified Purchase
Very good book for architecture students interested in residential design or anybody who wants to add elements of western traditional architecture to their homes.
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars renewing a house or just interested in why things look the way they do will both enjoy reading the book and find the contents ve
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
Anyone thinking of creating a home, renewing a house or just interested in why things look the way they do will both enjoy reading the book and find the contents very useful
Report
Silver breeze
5.0 out of 5 stars Exellent reference book for today's architects
Reviewed in Canada on February 10, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book for architectural related professionals. Everybody who choose architecture as profession MUST have this book! This is not about object design.It is about real architecture design technic and its coordination of building elements.
I noticed an astonishing reality that there is not much to learn in most architectural schools today,no matter a design or technical oriented school. Since most instructors do not have necessary knowledge to teach and consequently, their students do not have adequate professional training at school. A lot architects treat architectural design as object design and this is total misunderstanding of this profession. This design goal is to pursue whatever a strange form as design objective. This is very common in architecture profession everywhere on this planet. And this situation has been existing for several generations! The result is evident: how terrible are our new buildings and towns (cities).
Once I received this book and went through its index, I realized that there are some responsible and knowlegeble architects ( these people are real architects) are trying to bring back this devastating profession, architect, back to its right track. And this book is an effort to bring back the lost design tradition. The design skills shown in this book are only the beginning of any creative architectural design in future.
One person found this helpful
 Report
awm
5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2014
Verified Purchase
A hugely useful and accessible book - and a must-read for anyone interested in designing or building a beautiful and harmonious house. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Report

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report