Marianne Cusato is a designer, author and lecturer in the fields of real estate trends and housing. Her messages speak to the ever-changing needs of homeowners striving to balance the practical requirements of economy and durability with the desire to love where we live.

Ranked the No. 4 most influential person in the home building industry by Builder Magazine, Cusato is well-known for her work on the Katrina Cottages. In 2006, her 308 s.f. cottage design won the Smithsonian Institute’s Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum’s “People’s Design Award.” That same year, Congress appropriated $400 million for an alternative emergency housing program, based on Cusato’s designs. In 2012, Cusato was voted one of the 30 Most Influential Women in the Housing Economy by HousingWire Magazine.

She and her work are featured often in the media including The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Forbes, Time magazine, The Week, InStyle Home, Fitness Magazine, Builder magazine, Architectural Record, ABC News, CNN, CNBC and NPR.

Cusato is the author of two books: The Just Right Home: Buying, Renting, Moving...or Just Dreaming--Finding Your Perfect Match! (April 2013, Workman Publishing) and Get Your House Right, Architectural Elements to Use and Avoid, with Ben Pentreath, Richard Sammons and Leon Krier, foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales (January 2008, Sterling Publishing).

She is currently developing a new series of designs with Clayton Homes, a Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway company. She’s been a visiting professor at both The University of Notre Dame and The University of Miami and is a blogger for Huffington Post. Cusato is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. She lives at Icon Brickell, in Miami, FL.

Show full bio

Hide full bio