Something about Japanese architecture intrigued me in my early twenties. I'm not an architect (just your average engineer), and my only real exposure to the culture at the time was taking classes in aikido (a "non-violent" martial art).
I found this book - don't even remember how - and have carried it around with me ever since:
On the Western front, I was drawn to the "Arts and Crafts" style, Frank Lloyd Wright, and another book I remember being particularly influenced by is this one:
Fast forward to the end of 2010, when Yumi and I purchased our little farmhouse. It wasn't in terrible shape, mostly dated. Built in 1887, a simple rectangle - facing the right direction (south), about 1,600 square feet (148 sq. meters). The first step was using an approximation of the tatami mat as the unit of scale - 3 feet, or about 90 centimeters, was close enough to "han-jou", or one half of one mat (the mats we eventually used were 88 centimeters square). The house is about 18 feet wide, so the math worked nicely!
This hand-drawn plan, plus a few section drawings for more major changes, got us a building permit to begin reforming the house, in early 2012.
We looked at a LOT of pictures - in books, magazines and online. To boil it down, though, here's a list of the most important ideas that went into our plans for the inn:
Use of natural materials
Consistent use of color, materials from room to room
Low windows, with purpose
Raised/varied ceiling heights
Built-ins
We'll explore these in more detail in a subsequent post - stay tuned!