logo by The New York TimesHave you been following the Living Rooms series which The New York Times launched in June? It explores my favorite topic -- home: how it reflects who we were, are, and aspire to become. 

Most recently, author Elizabeth Hawes wrote in “Our Buildings, Ourselves” about her lifestyle change when she moved from an elegant Upper West Side c. 1908 apartment house to an expansive Tribeca loft, built a couple of decades earlier. In her tale of a well-heeled life, home is an opportunity to sample an alternative identity. The same could be said for another post “How the West Won Me” by author, New Yorker Winifred Gallagher about her vacation home in Dubois, Wyoming. 

In “Home for Life” author Allison Arieff writes about the impact of the recession on our perceptions of home as a place to live among a community, rather than as a real-estate investment. Her choice of home, like those of Hawes and Gallagher, offers insight into her priorities, and, ultimately, who she is too.

Sometimes the best way to get to know folks is to visit their homes. Short of that opportunity, their descriptions of their homes may be the next best thing (especially if they're authors).

Read my review of Winifred Gallagher’s House Thinking here and catch my thoughts on my home here.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast