If you're thought about living in a smaller house, but you're worried that you'll have to sacrifice comfort and design, this book will put your mind at ease and show you why "small" is the best way to live! Paul Perlman, P.E., is a retired structural engineer who spent most of his career as a consulting engineer for the brick industry. However, from the time he designed and built his first home-a tree house wired for electricity-at age twelve, Paul has been passionate about architecture. Paul designed and built his second home (for grown ups!) in 1976 and has been studying all aspects of residential architecture, particularly green design, ever since. With his understanding of engineering and construction and his passion for good design, he has singlehandedly redesigned, remodeled and built more than two dozen homes. Throughout his life, he has continued to explore the intersection of psychology, design, and sustainability. The question that has driven him to keep exploring and trying new things is: how can physical design foster a sense of emotional well-being? When he discovered the book "A Pattern Language" by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein, he found his answers. Perlman believes that our future homes will, by necessity, be small. This book illustrates eight small homes and tiny cottages that incorporate his design ideas based on "A Pattern Language." Unlike most "small home" designs, these designs incorporate the surrounding environment and are unrestricted by architectural norms. His hope is that other people will come to appreciate the joy of living in a home that is both well designed and ecologically efficient. In this book, Perlman discusses: - the most valuable design features that give our home a sense of emotional comfort and well-being - how to have a home that feels more spacious with less square footage - how to make high-density neighborhoods feel more inviting