To make it plain: Use not, want not

WHAT is simplicity in a home, and how can we achieve it? It’s more spiritual than specific, these authors say. And they make some good points, in prose and pictures.

The simple house is not explained by size, they write. A simple house can be big or small. It is not defined by architectural style: A simple house can be traditional or modern. And it is not determined by the amount or vintage of its furniture.

The simple house, they explain, is devoid of phony excess, of useless spaces or adornments. It’s a home that has just enough of what you need for the kind of life you want to live, and for the way you want to live it.

Some hallmarks of a simple house, they write, are these: “Interiors are functional, human scale, uncomplicated, light-filled and open. Rooms serve more than one function. The floor plan and form are straightforward.”

Bottom line, forget the latest trends. You know the architectural style you love. You know what your and your family’s needs are.

So don’t be fooled into building or buying something with too much of what you don’t need, and too little of what you do.

-- Bettijane Levine