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Dan Maginn is an architect with DRAW Architecture + Urban Design. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and son, in a cantankerous old terra-cotta-colored house.​

How to Talk to an Architect About Getting Smart Tech
We asked the principal of DRAW in Kansas City.
Reading Time: Creative Books for Kids
From picture books for pint-size readers to more involved, didactic tomes that parents can read to their kids, break out these...
Think Outside the Box
The final step in the creation of a Good Small Space involves its connection to the 2.5 zillion square feet that exist outside...
Get the Right Light
Daylight is the lifeblood of a Good Small Space.
Think Volume
Creatively separating your functional needs is a key component of Good Small Design—it’s all about overlap, nesting, and double...
Measure Your Life
With less stuff, you’ll need fewer square feet to jam it into. But how small is too small?
Edit Your Life
Good Small Spaces start with Good Small Occupants.
Let’s Get Small
A five-step program for those suffering from too much stuff and not enough space.
Modern Problems
Love superclean design but fear the building inspector? Here's our guide to skirting those modernist missteps.
Moving Violations
Can you spot the 11 infractions in this modern house?
An Introduction to Building Codes
Fuss all you like about sprinklers and guardrails, we need building codes. Here's how to get your architect to play along.
Permission Denied
Muculus Grigsby runs afoul of the permits department, costing him a chunk of change and loads of time.
Up to Code
How one homeowner chose a savvy architect, made nice with the building code, and moved in without a hitch.
Words You Should Know: Building Codes
Arm yourself with the vocabulary needed to navigate the world of building codes.
Exploded View
There is so much rolled up in a building—form, function, historical reference, materials, craftsmanship—that developing a...
Ill Communication
The Joneses went for a splashy starchitect to design their new home. Then things took a turn for the worse.
On the Level
Sadly there's no blueprint for how to best work with an architect.
Beyond Thunderdome
Ten years from now, a hundred, a thousand? Yeah, we know what architecture will look like then.
An Introduction to Architects
Aside from that mischievous caveperson in France who used a piece of charcoal to draw a line around some stick figures that...
Diary of a Compulsive Renovator
An architect explores the phenomenon he knows all too well: When your home-improvement ambitions outnumber your achievements by...
An Introduction to Contractors
An architect-author gives us the inside track on one of his favorite subjects: contractors.
Building Tomorrow
What will the future hold for contractors and builders? We asked three industry leaders for their prognostications.
In the Nick of Time
Though contractors are unusually deft with tools, accidents do happen. SawStop puts an end to that.
Why Is Joe Frowning?
So you’ve brought home a bumbling new contractor who’ll turn your Ritz into a wreck. How to avoid it? Read on.
Why Is Jane Smiling?
So you’ve brought home an ebullient new contractor to turn your wreck into the Ritz. How to do it? Read on.
At Home in the Zone
Sustainability doesn’t have to mean monasticism and darkness—with this zone-by-zone guide to the domestic world you know best,...
Ich Bin Ein Mulcher
Trees, cocktails, Borgnirne—we’re all in this together, cycling in and out of our earthly existence.
An Ode to the IKEA Cabinet
Joining the Grecian urn, the much-rhapsodized IKEA cabinet finally gets its poetic due as a heroic ode.
The Yard Zone
The space outside your walls should be as thoughtfully considered as the space within.
The Utility Zone
Your garage, laundry room, basement, and other nonglam support areas: These are the silent killers of energy-efficiency in your...
The Living Zone
Let’s talk design for a minute.
The Food Zone
Fine-tuning your cooking and dining areas pays off in more ways than just saving resources.
The Whole House Zone
By conceptually dividing your home into zones, you can analyze each of its functions in turn.