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How to Make a Home: An Ancient Guide to Style and Comfort
An entertaining and enlightening collection of ancient Roman writings about home design and decoration
The idea that our homes can communicate professional as well as personal identities may seem as new as the work-from-home revolution. But it was second nature to the ancient Romans, for whom the home was in many ways the center of public and private life. Roman authors saw infinite practical and symbolic value in houses, and they have much to say about them. How to Make a Home presents some of the best Roman writings on houses—from buying and selling to designing and decorating.
Edited and elegantly translated by Marden Fitzpatrick Nichols, How to Make a Home gathers selections by Cicero, Vitruvius, Seneca, and others, with the original Latin or Greek on facing pages. These writings reveal the pleasures and pitfalls of the Roman practice of making one’s home a cornerstone of self-expression. While the ideal home enshrined Roman virtues and could make a career, lavish building projects could lead to financial ruin and moral condemnation. These authors memorably describe such travails as deceptive staging, decorators run amok, know-it-all owners, unsupervised contractors, and buyer’s remorse. Along the way, they also explain why simplicity is bliss, privacy is for nobodies, a neglected house is a sign of a neglected soul, and much more.
A unique and charming introduction to Roman domestic architecture and its cultural significance, How to Make a Home reveals that the obsession with house and home has a long and fascinating history.
The idea that our homes can communicate professional as well as personal identities may seem as new as the work-from-home revolution. But it was second nature to the ancient Romans, for whom the home was in many ways the center of public and private life. Roman authors saw infinite practical and symbolic value in houses, and they have much to say about them. How to Make a Home presents some of the best Roman writings on houses—from buying and selling to designing and decorating.
Edited and elegantly translated by Marden Fitzpatrick Nichols, How to Make a Home gathers selections by Cicero, Vitruvius, Seneca, and others, with the original Latin or Greek on facing pages. These writings reveal the pleasures and pitfalls of the Roman practice of making one’s home a cornerstone of self-expression. While the ideal home enshrined Roman virtues and could make a career, lavish building projects could lead to financial ruin and moral condemnation. These authors memorably describe such travails as deceptive staging, decorators run amok, know-it-all owners, unsupervised contractors, and buyer’s remorse. Along the way, they also explain why simplicity is bliss, privacy is for nobodies, a neglected house is a sign of a neglected soul, and much more.
A unique and charming introduction to Roman domestic architecture and its cultural significance, How to Make a Home reveals that the obsession with house and home has a long and fascinating history.
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 12, 2025
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22 people want to read
About the author
Vitruvius
210 books76 followersMarcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. 80–70 BC, died after c. 15 BC) was a Roman military engineer under Julius Ceasar, generally attributed to be the sole author of the only extant major work from classical antiquity on architecture, De architectura, better known in English as The Ten Books on Architecture.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 24, 2025
What an unexpected treat this was to read! I loved having the original Greek and Latin passages presented alongside their English translations; the translation work is excellent.
Varro’s idea that a house should be more than just a roof over our heads and that it should be a place where we can enjoy life’s treasures. It’s such a timeless concept and one I hope to practice as my own home continues to evolve.
The collection of essays together tells a complete story of what “home” meant in the ancient world from its origins to the grand villas of Rome. I was amused to read about buyer’s remorse, sellers hiding information, and the social pressure to have a home as grand as one’s status.
The final entry from Pliny the Younger was a perfect way to end. It genuinely made me smile. I’d read The Wolf Den before, so I was already familiar with Pliny and his villa, but hearing about it in his own words was even better.
Varro’s idea that a house should be more than just a roof over our heads and that it should be a place where we can enjoy life’s treasures. It’s such a timeless concept and one I hope to practice as my own home continues to evolve.
The collection of essays together tells a complete story of what “home” meant in the ancient world from its origins to the grand villas of Rome. I was amused to read about buyer’s remorse, sellers hiding information, and the social pressure to have a home as grand as one’s status.
The final entry from Pliny the Younger was a perfect way to end. It genuinely made me smile. I’d read The Wolf Den before, so I was already familiar with Pliny and his villa, but hearing about it in his own words was even better.
August 26, 2025
It's so nice to have something Classical in the original languages (with English crib) for casual reading at the end of a busy day in the "modern" world. These selections of contemporary descriptions of ancient homes and homeownership remind us how little of the quotidian has changed in two thousand years. Very entertaining and refreshing.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews