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Our homes are our unwritten autobiographies, the places to which we are most emotionally attached. As such, our houses should be as unique as we are, satisfying our deepest desires and enriching our lives in our specific time and place. The purpose of this essay was to determine what factors, both physical and emotional, make it possible to design such unique houses for ourselves. For an architect-designed home, what information must be discovered and revealed to the architect to achieve this goal? The author discusses the process he employed over 40 years of designing houses that their owners loved and cherished, beginning with having clients remember and analyze their favorite childhood places. He suggests that “only a detailed, intimate, and uniquely specific description will tender a unique house,” and that “the most valuable guide to what makes you comfortable” – more than photos, magazine clippings, or thousands of links to shelter websites – is the memory of that special childhood place. Determining what made that place so special, he concludes, is the beginning of our journey toward a new home that is as unique as we are.