There seems to be some soul searching going on at H&G. Apparently readers are fed up with profiles of large homes owned by people with lots of money. So this week they went small, peeking into the tiny Pacifica home of Dirk Dieter, above. Not only that, but Lynette felt compelled to address the controversy. In Should we cover big houses, she justifies the practice of assigning articles that pay hommage to things she doesn't really believe in (in this case, big houses). Our view on this is after the jump.

Cottage industry: Susan Fornoff reports on space-saving details in a 250 square foot home. We like the small-living tips list, some of which is familiar (eliminate doors, mount furniture on casters) and some of which is new (build into the walls.)

AROUND THE HOUSE: Susan Fornoff's best find this week is the $30,000 Alba platinum bathtub from Sicis. Anyone up for a DIY version?




Rue's vivid blossoms a balm to the eyes: Demi Bowles Lathrop tells us how to grow a very useful herb, rue.

All we can say is this: San Francisco is one of the world's capitals for living well and yet we rarely see beautiful homes in the Chron. What gives? We wish Lynette would stop wringing her hands about size and pedigree and spend her energy instead on bringing more of our area's fantastically inventive residences to the Chron's pages.