Each time we create a new home for ourselves we are driven by the echoes of previous homes and our vision of what a real home could be. Consciously or not,we try to realize a particular set of ideals. And as Goerge Sand wrote, people either dream of living in a palace or in a cottage.

Look at the homes pictured and imagine what it would be like to live in each one. Which of them exerts the greatest pull on your imagination? When you are fed up with your own home, what sort of building do you wish you could live in? With all the money and opportunity i the world, what sort of home would you buy or build for yourself? From the homes pictured,choose the one that comes closest to tour own dream home.

Now think of up to three key words to describe what attracts you to the home you have chosen, or use the sample words appearing alongside the captions on the left-hand page. Write down your choice, along with your key words. (If you are drawn to two homes equally, then include both)

You may also have a spectfic dream home in mind that none of the pictures approximates to .Write this down too, along with the words to describe it.lf you cannot get a clear picture, consider house that you have visited or images that you have seen and felt drawn to. These could be homes you lived in as a child, or somewhere you stayed while on holiday. Maybe it`s a Mediterranean villa, a teepee, a Georgian town house, an eco-lodge, dacha, yacht, Moorish palace, log cabin, Gothic folly or even a monastery.

You should now have an idea of waht elements are most important to you in a home. Look objectively at your current home. Does it have any of the qualities of your dream home? What are they?And what is missing? Note down the qualities and features that come to mind. These will be explored in later exercises.

A useful exercise is to visualize your ideal home. Shut your eyes and see what it looks like from the outside. How many levels is it on? What style is it built in? Where is the front door? When you enter, what is the first thing that you see? Which are the first rooms that you go into? What are they like? Explore in your mind, nothing elements and atmosphere. Thing of three key words to describe it.