You mention some architectural influences, including Bruce Goff, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s disciples. But the movement might owe something to Wright himself, who built relatively modest, one-of-a-kind houses with rich materiality and expressive ornament, and who advocated “building into the hill.” Can you see Wright’s influence in the movement?

Frank Lloyd Wright definitely is a part of this discussion. His use of native stone, his exposed-structure wood interiors, and his way of marrying site and structure are an undeniable influence. Unlike Bruce Goff, Wright didn’t so much care for reclaimed wood and other architectural salvage, however. Wright was focused on progression.

In the book’s preface you mention that you have woodworking skills and that you’ve built pieces of furniture for yourself. Do you live in a handmade house? Would your dream house be a hand-made house?

With my Norwegian grandfather and great-grandfather both master carpenters, I grew up around design and construction. They could build anything, and usually I watched. I live in a 1910’s craftsman cottage in Venice Beach, California. I’m still working toward my own handmade house. The materials I’d want can be obtained but the task of finding the right site isn’t what it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s. But I’m not giving up. The contentment I saw in the homeowners that I feature in the book is entirely worth pursuing.