Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age

by Brent Hull

Author, master craftsman, and hands-on preservationist, Brent Hull—a Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalist for architectural non-fiction—challenges us to consider the impact our decisions will have when building a house. What do our homes say about us? What stories are they telling? Are they declarations of integrity, beauty, and heritage? Or do they suggest we have lost our sense of value, craft, and harmony? Kirkus Reviews calls Building a Timeless House in an Instant Age “Part call to action, part exploration of technique, the result is a persuasive and enjoyable reminder that our homes are reflections of ourselves.” Nationally recognized as an authority on historic design, architecturally correct moldings, and millwork, Hull is uniquely qualified to speak to the craft of building and art of design. In an age of ''instant'' homes, how do we build something timeless that weaves a tale of character, values, history, and heart? The decisions we make for our homes are not inconsequential. What we build defines us. In fact, the contrast between the way we build today and how structures used to be built has become only more vivid. What happened to craft? What happened to the art of building? Our values and what we believe about life have changed as well. We have come to see houses as a tradable commodity. We live in a time that is obsessed with ''what's next?'' We need to be careful of fooling ourselves into thinking that a bottom-line mentality is the best way to approach building a home. Now is the time to examine ourselves, our motives, and our hearts.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Design

136 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2014

Reviews

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much, and learned quite a bit from it. I had previously read The Old Way of Seeing, which was similar, and am fascinated at what makes so many modern residential homes so mud fence ugly. Reading this book together with Old Way will go a long way to answering those questions. A lot of great detail in here.

I do have one minor criticism, and this comes up whenever our culture is being compared to previous generations. All our crappy stuff gets compared to all the timeless stuff that is still standing from the olden days. But what about all their crappy stuff, as in the stuff that didn't make it down to our time in order to be compared to anything? An ancient Roman insula, a tenement house, had to be horrendous compared to a modern trailer park. But it is easy for us to sniff at the trailer park, imagining that the ancients had togas that were automatically bleached clean and white so that they could all appear mysteriously at the Coliseum before they disappear again, out of our imaginations. In other words, while I agreed with much of what Hull says here about production houses, and how they could be a lot better, I never want to forget that we are taking good care of a lot of people in architectural ways that previous generations never dreamed of. In other words, what are we comparing "this" to, and why?

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son Nigel wanted to read this book after he heard Ken Myers interview Hull on "Mars Hill". I am always interested in what interests Nigel, so I picked this up to read--it's not a very long book. Hull is concerned with the lack of craftsmanship in modern home construction, and he touches on some interesting concepts in here. There's a chapter about Levittown and the influence of low prices on homebuilding. He then goes on to talk about how postmodern thinking has "replaced faith with nothing. Naturally this view of life influences architecture and our buildings. If there is no absolute beauty or absolute truth, then anything is true or beautiful as long as I believe it. In this view, there needs to be no verification beyond what I say and believe to be true." (86)

Nigel is about to move into his first house, and he is thinking carefully about how to make it a beautiful, timeless place. I'm looking around at my house and wondering about how to make it more lovely. Hull was very convicting: "Our chase for the cheap has grown out of balance. Instead of chasing price, we should chase quality. When we do, we stand to gain a great deal. A house built with quality products will be enduring, sustainable, and reflectve of the owner's pride. We will find that this timeless approach to building has a positive impact on the character of our families, neighborhoods, and communities. It allows us to communicate the values that we want to pass on to our children: honesty, integrity, strength, and wisdom."

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, a rant mostly

Rather than leading you through making good decisions about building the author rants against modern home building throughout all except the last two chapters. Sure we can appreciate his ire for its the reason we bought the book in the first place. I wish for solutions not a mind numbing reiteration of the problem. Tell us how to solve the problem.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the idea of this.... maybe I would like it more if I had oodles of money to spend on a home. Not realistic ideas for most people.

[Shelby Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A timeless house conveys a well-told story. The better you tell your story, the better your house will be.”
An easy to digest book at only 131 pages and full of historical details and examples of timeless beauty in the building process. Convicting in the best way to see where society as a whole has cheapened this whole process. “Our chase for the cheap has grown out of balance. Instead of chasing price, we should chase quality. When we do, we stand to gain a great deal. A house built with quality products will be enduring, sustainable, and reflective of the owner’s pride. We will find this timeless approach to building has a positive impact on the character of our families, neighborhoods, and communities. It allows us to communicate the values we want to pass onto our children: honesty, integrity, strength, and wisdom.”

[Ryan Boomershine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"What do our homes say about us? What stories are they telling? A scandal? Perhaps a gossip column crossed with reality TV? Or a declaration of integrity, beauty and heritage? This discussion important because these are the same values we are communicating to our children and the next generation. These are the values we communicate to other countries, reflecting the true nature of our hearts.

"We've lost sight of our homes as architecture that has intrinsic value and meaning. The decisions we make for our home are not inconsequential. They weave a tale of our characters, values, histories and hearts. As we cheapen the products of our lives through improved efficiency, we become a culture that has no ability to gauge beauty or value--costing us our very souls. Though we have 'improved' the construction of a door, moldings or walls, we are not improved.

"What we build defines us."

This book is way outside my normal reading zone, but it was excellent...even for educators who will struggle to live up to the ideals it contains.

[Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly general, big-picture philosophical musings about house-building, rather than what the title might suggest, specifics about how to build timelessly. The author surveys some of the recent history of home-building that has resulted in mostly disposable houses being built in the last seventy years or so.

[Carin Meerdink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent principles. Makes a good case. Could have used a better editor to eliminate redundancies. I would have liked more pictures and specific examples—both good and bad. It definitely has influenced my thinking to value quality and timeliness over cheapness, convenience, or speed in many areas, not just building.

[Martha Madigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book in this genre I've read so the material was new to me. I enjoyed learning how architecture evolved and influenced people over the years. I will definitely go back and read the last few chapters prior to building/buying a future house. I do wish he had more case examples of the process. I enjoyed that part the most. More picture examples of what he was talking about would have been nice as well.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of historical info on architecture; repetitive and clunky writing. Summary: finding a mission statement for your home and having a clear vision are important as is craftsmanship.

[Mark Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this because my wife and I are about to buy our third house and I wanted wisdom. Our second house, it turns out, was very well made in 1948. We already miss it and we haven't yet left it. I wanted to know what made me like this house. Hull helped. He told me about a classical tradition of home construction that, he says, has been nearly lost in America. He told me to build a house (if I ever get to do such a thing) to tell a story about my family and my beliefs. He told me to build a timeless house by going back in time for wisdom.

Some better editing would have helped, and not just the typos. But Hull loses a star mainly because I felt he didn't really connect theory and praxis as much as I hoped he would, and because I felt he had so little to say to someone who will be in the lower middle class for the foreseeable future. I may not be able to buy a house meeting his criteria. But I'm glad I've got them in mind.