@Alexandra316 There is also a super interesting book that was written in the seventies by a group of young architects from Berkeley. They spent years studying what makes homes and communities "livable", gleaning information from around the world, from mud hut villages to world class cities. What they put together is a very unusual book- it has really short, sometimes half-page information. Every page has a numbered heading, and at the bottom of the page are links to other numbers of pages that talk more about similar things. So there is a page on balconies- it states that balconies that are less than 6' wide seldom get used. It will talk a bit more about this, then link to other pages that talk about balconies and terraces, maybe seating areas.
There's things there that seem counterintuitive- like they spoke about windows and said that when you have a stunning view, that it's actually better to put in various interestingly shaped windows on that wall, at varying heights, rather than a huge picture window. That the view will be much more interesting seen from different angles and different heights, and that one big window tends to be something people get used to and don't even pay attention to the view anymore. And that if you want to "bring the outside in", that is better achieved with long windows which start 12 inches off the floor, rather than a big horizontal window at eye height.
I used that book a lot for ideas when I was designing my house here in Mexico.
It's called "A Pattern Language". Don't know if still in print, but you could probably order from the library or find on Amazon.
