House Thinking

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“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 magazineIKEA, 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.

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.

“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.” “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.” “’Stylish. . . Winifred Gallagher approaches the idea of personal environment more like Margaret Mead than Martha Stewart, and her deconstruction of domesticity is captivating.” “An engaging book. . . enlightening and helpful.” “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. ” “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.” 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. “An intriguing examination of an elusive topic, with a depth and range that go beyond predictable terrain.” “Enlightening.”

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