House Thinking: A Room-by-Room Look at How We Live [Paperback]

Ethan Allen and HGTV may have plenty to say about making a home look right, but what makes a home feel right? InHouse Thinking, journalist and cultural critic Winifred Gallagher takes the reader on a psychological tour of the American home. By drawing on the latest research in behavioral science, an overview of cultural history, and interviews with leading architects and designers, she shows us not only how our homes reflect who we are but also how they influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

How does your entryway prime you for experiencing your home? What makes a bedroom a sensual oasis? How can your bathroom exacerbate your worst fears?House Thinkingaddresses provocative questions like these, enabling us to understand the homes we've made for ourselves in a unique and powerful new way. It is an eye-opening look at how we live . . . and how wecouldlive.

An engaging book&enlightening and helpful.Gallagher is...a cultural collector, serving up tasty morsels of research and history...about our homes.Gallagher writes fresh and nuanced interpretations of the subtler aspects of life.[Gallagher] conducts a tour like no other of the American house, excavating its fascinating history and covert psychological influences.An intriguing examination of an elusive topic, with a depth and range that go beyond predictable terrain.This rich and intelligent book...leads us on an intimate and revealing pilgrimage into Americas restless soul.The books strength lies in the authors intuitions...a small book with many valuable insights.Enlightening.