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

“A fascinating book that investigates and explains the emotional impact our homes have on our lives. House Thinking . . . guides the way for us to live out our most creative selves at home.” —Wendy Goodman, interior design editor, New York magazine

IKEA, Ethan Allen and HGTV may have plenty to say about making a home look right, but what makes a home feel right? In House 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 Thinking addresses 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 we could live.

IKEA, Ethan Allen, and HGTV may have plenty to say about making a home look right, but what makes a home feel right? Is it the objects you've collected from your travels, or that armchair by the window that reminds you of your grandmother? Is it the "friendly" feeling of a classic American farmhouse, or the "prestige" of a formal Tudor mansion? These kinds of questions, which have more to do with environmental psychology than mere decorating, can give us a new way to think about the diverse spaces Americans call home.

In House Thinking, noted journalist and cultural critic Winifred Gallagher takes the reader on a psychological tour of the American home. In each room, Gallagher explores many of our deep but often unarticulated intuitions about the power of place. Drawing on the latest research in behavioral science, an overview of cultural history, and interviews with leading architects and designers, she shows us how our homes not only reflect who we are, but also influence our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Using a variety of examples -- from famous historical homes to experimental rustic pods -- Gallagher examines why traditional dining rooms and living rooms have given way to "great rooms," how the oversize suburban garage threatens civility, how kids' rooms can affect their development, and why Americans increasingly think of their homes as "sanctuaries" and "refuges."

House Thinking's unique perspective raises provocative questions: How does your entryway prime you for experiencing your home? Do you really need a mega-kitchen, or just a microwave? What makes a bedroom a sensual oasis? How can your bathroom exacerbate your worst fears?

It's simply not enough to think of our domestic spaces as design statements or as dumping grounds for our stuff. We need to approach our homes in a new way: as environments that actively affect us and our quality of life. Stressing the home's substance over its style, House Thinking is a surprising look at how we live -- and how we could.

“An intriguing examination of an elusive topic, with a depth and range that go beyond predictable terrain.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Enlightening.” - New York Times

“That rare book about homes and houses that dispenses with how houses look in favor of how houses feel—and how they make us behave. . . . What makes House Thinking a better read than other books on housing and its effects—not that there are so very many of those—is Gallagher’s reliance on research and history to buttress her arguments. . . . If our homes aren’t our castles, exactly, then House Thinking proves they can be our souls and our soul-shapers.” - Detroit Free Press

“An engaging book. . . enlightening and helpful.” - Los Angeles Times

“Winifred Gallagher has written a fascinating book that investigates and explains the emotional impact our homes have on our lives. House Thinking takes the reader on a virtual tour of Gallagher’s own family home, as well as many historic houses, and in doing so guides the way for us to live out our most creative selves at home.” - Wendy Goodman, Interior Design Editor, New York

“’Stylish. . . Winifred Gallagher approaches the idea of personal environment more like Margaret Mead than Martha Stewart, and her deconstruction of domesticity is captivating.” - Chicago Tribune

“Ms. Gallagher serv[es] up tasty morsels of research and history that ask what we think about when we think about our homes.” - New York Times

“In her engaging new book…Gallagher gives us a room-by-room architectural history—a tour that, of course, turns out to involve fascinating points of sociology, economics, culture, and politics. . . . House Thinking is a book full of tenderness and care. It’s wonderfully generous with information about everything from health to pets and plumbing. At its best, it’s enthusiastic and unpretentious. . . . Gallagher’s work is valuable because of her own thoughtfulness, imagination and insight, and for the range and quality of observation she brings to a subject that’s dear to the heart: home.” - New York Times Book Review

“Gallagher writes fresh and nuanced interpretations of the subtler aspects of life. In her latest work of creative synthesis and interpretation, she conducts a tour like no other of the American house, excavating its fascinating history and covert psychological influences. ” - Booklist, starred review

Gallagher is...a cultural collector, serving up tasty morsels of research and history...about our homes. - New York Times

Gallagher writes fresh and nuanced interpretations of the subtler aspects of life. - Book List, starred review