Includes bibliographical references (pages 291-310) and index.

Why there's no place like home -- Home: when we see it, we know what we like -- The entry and plan: who you are is where you're at -- The living room: decoro ergo sum -- The kitchen: woman's work is never done? -- The dining room: status and stuff -- The great room: same time, same place -- The bedroom: behind closed doors -- The bathroom: mirror, mirror on the wall -- The child's room: a place to call one's own -- The basement: doing it yourself -- The office: home work -- The garden: outside or in -- The second home: domesticity to go -- The neighborhood: no home is an island -- Suggested reading -- Web resources --Acknowledgments -- Index -- P.S. Insights, interviews & more.

From the Publisher: 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.

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