The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka is my go-to book as an architect and is one I often recommend my clients read before designing or remodeling their home.   I happened upon this gem while shopping at Costco over ten years ago and appreciate the way Sarah puts into words architectural principles that make sense for the way we really live.  Though the book briefly touches on the idea an individual’s own space, in later articles she writes more in depth on the subject.  Here is a brief excerpt – the full article can be viewed on my website “links” page.

“There are many places in our homes today that rarely get used, and can be disposed of or made smaller without great loss, as we strive to make them more gracefully accommodate the way we live today. But there are also places missing, the most important of which is a small “place of one’s own” for each adult. Children have their own rooms typically, but, once coupled, adults share their private space, leaving no place for what I like to term “inner listening” and self discovery. By making such places, and giving them importance in our lives, we can on an individual level give ourselves the gift of connection to the greater mystical universe, and we can learn to hear the voice of the true Self.

Joseph Campbell wrote of the need for such a place. He said, “You must have a room or a certain hour of the day or so where you do not know what is in the morning paper. A place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. At first you may think nothing’s happening. But if you have a sacred space and take advantage of it and use it everyday, something will happen”. Such a place does not need to be large. It can be an alcove off a bedroom, an unused corner of the basement, or an attic, as in my own home. Take time to make it beautiful, make it an expression of who you are, whether simple and unadorned, or filled with treasures collected over a lifetime. And make it a pattern of your daily routine to spend time there each day, in meditation, in contemplation, or in creative exploration. We are amazing creatures, every one of us, but we forget so easily, when we don’t take the time to listen to our inner being.”

To read more about this book check out www.notsobighouse.com