"A house is a machine for living in." I hold largely to this view, and it is reflected in the design of this house, and indeed the design of my own house. But

"A house is a machine for living in." I hold largely to this view, and it is reflected in the design of this house, and indeed the design of my own house. But it's also important to introduce some elements of style, whimsy, randomness, impracticality. Especially for an engineer, it's important to not let practicality be the sole design value. The Eames's house and Alvar Aalto's house are some guideposts I've found valuable.