About Home By Design

Home by Design Showhouse at the Stardust is a model home tour previewing the principles of design in Sarah Susanka's book, Home by Design: Transforming Your House into Home. The book, published in March 2004 by The Taunton Press, offers readers a set of design principles to help their houses embody the qualities of home, including home electronics and technological solutions for everyday life.

Design meets science

A growing segment of homebuyers want affordable luxury and at the same time are concerned about the health, security and efficiency of their new home investment. In this design-meets-science collaboration, Sarah Susanka teams up with Steve Easley as well as industry, government, utility and small business sponsors to demonstrate the philosophy and science behind the achievable dream house. As a result, the Showhouse is not only an unprecedented partnering effort, but has earned the Energy Star certification for its efficiency in design and construction.

A move away from cookie-cutter housing

The sales of Ms. Susanka's home design books, and the audiences Steve Easley's building science seminars draw, show that homebuilders and their customers want better-designed houses and a move away from cookie-cutter housing. Demand is increasing for systems-focused designs, which lead to better-built environments, impacting homeowners' health, lifestyle and pocketbook.

Sarah Susanka's Home by Design thinking naturally appeals to people who are directing their lives toward less stress, more health, lower consumption, and more respect for the earth. This home buying sector challenges homebuilders to design beyond curb appeal, to view the house as a system, to use sustainable products, and to be mindful of the art and science of configuring achievable dream homes.