Book excerpt: Create your dream home with this valuable resource to inspire you and guide you through the residential design and construction process. A complete and concise resource for building a fine home, Creating Your Architectural Style presents detailed explanations of the design process, guiding readers from the initial concept to the finishing touches. Filled with beautiful photographs, this reference will enable readers to design a dream home that is an expression of their personal style as well as their lifestyle. Architect George D. Hopkins, Jr., understanding the daunting task of building a new home, walks the reader through each phase of the design and construction process. Step by step, this reference will help readers solve any number of vexing questions, from “Where do I begin?” to “What is the difference between Greek Revival and Dutch Colonial?” Hopkins teaches readers how to make decisions based on their family’s needs, explores the relationship between the architectural style and the floor plan of the home, and defines the roles and responsibilities of the architect, structural engineer, interior designer, landscape architect, and general contractor. He provides important insight into planning the principle spaces in a home and describes special architectural features from fireplaces to staircases and porticos to pools. Creating Your Architectural Style is the authoritative resource for coordinating the planning and design of fine homes. Written to eliminate the intimidating aspects of building a new home, it presents an orderly design process and addresses issues of concern to residential architectural clients. Praise for Creating Your Architectural Style “Especially helpful are his definitions of the responsibilities of the professionals involved, from architect to general contractor.” —Library Journal