I’m usually not one for the coffee table books, but we received The Barefoot Home for Christmas and I quite enjoyed it. It’s essentially a architecture and design book based on the author’s philosophy about design. And, you know, it helps that I share a last name with the concept.
You can read what makes a ‘barefoot home’, but I’ve extracted the gist:
- Get comfortable in your everyday home.
- Feel the warm sun on your toes, the cool tiled floor, the polished wood planks on the back deck.
- Make your windows and doors really big, with lots of glass.
- Open whole walls to the outdoors, extend the roof outward, let the floor slip seamlessly outside to become a deck.
Basically, it’s taking the aesthetic and feel of the ‘summer house’ and making it your own. The site has plenty of photos to illustrate this approach.
I haven’t been looking at a lot of house-building books and magazines, but this is the first one I’ve seen that jibes with my personal aesthetic.
I was reminded of this book because Meg was musing about design choices.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
I just about got you this book; I’m glad one made its way to you.
TTFN
Travis
Another interesting book that I really like “Creating the Not so Big House” by Sarah Susanka
(http://www.notsobighouse.com/)
Really interesting in terms of having the space you want without having a mega house. Inspiring.
Cheers,
David
David: Thanks for that. Indeed–unlike most of our friends and colleagues, it seems–we don’t want a mega house. We’re looking at around 2000 square feet.
Hi Darren,
No problem. It’s a great book with some inspiring ideas in terms maximizing space. We moved from a 800sq/ft condo at 4th and Blenheim in Vancouver, to a 2800sq house with 10 acres outside of Fredericton, NB, to a 2200 sq/ft house in Halifax, NS … and the plan is to relocate to Ottawa in the next six months and find something around 2000 sq/ft (there are four of us), and a 1/4 or so lot (or smaller).
Honestly, we live in way too much space. Watch the UK home reno shows … tiny, but efficient. Smaller homes can be spacious (if done right), but still be cozy and more efficient to run.
Good luck in Malta and building on the island.
Cheers,
David
David: Indeed. A while back I researched the average size of a Canadian house:
“I found a source from 2003 that says it’s about 1800 square feet. In case you’re wondering, according to the CMHC, the average size of a Canadian house in 1945 was just over 800 square feet (where did they put the kids?). In 1975, it was 1075 square feet.”
That kind of growth isn’t sustainable.
This book indeed makes for a good guest read! And yes, I too find it quite interesting that the book’s name and yours has something in common.
At the end of the day ‘Let your yes be your yes and your no be your noâ€. Respect is some thing that is gained via believe in and trust is built on the integrity of the writer who releases words to be read by numerous.