The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

By Sarah Susanka and Kira Obolensky

Book Overview

Ten years ago, Sarah Susanka started a revolution in home design with a deceptively simple message: quality should always come before quantity. Now, the book that celebrated that bold declaration is back in this special 10th anniversary edition featuring a new introduction and 16 additional pages that explore three new homes. Nearly a quarter-million people bought this ground-breaking book when it was published in Fall 1998. Since then, the book's simple message -- that quality should come before quantity -- has started a movement in home design. Homeowners now know to expect more. And the people responsible for building our homes have also gotten the message. Architects and builders around the country report clients showing up with dog-eared copies of The Not So Big House , pages marked to a favorite section. Why are we drawn more to smaller, more personal spaces than to larger, more expansive ones? Why do we spend more time in the kitchen than we do in the formal dining room? The Not So Big House proposes clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements, whether for a couple with no children, a family, empty nesters, or one person alone. In 1999, Sarah Susanka was then architect and principal with Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, the firm selected to design the 1999 Life Dream House brought Frank Lloyd Wright's same common-sense, human-scale design principles to our generation. Consider which rooms in your house you use and enjoy most, and you have a sense of the essential principles of The Not So Big House . Whether you seek comfort and calm or activity and energy at home, The Not So Big House offers a place for every mood.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561581305
• ISBN13: 9781561581306
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Taunton Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 2.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 10.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Really good book for the average person, not those who are looking for tiny houses.

This is a great idea board to get people to rethink their space and their needs, something a tiny house person has already done. It’s not shocking to see this was made in 1998 but it’s still prevalent to this day with the increase in average house sizes

Nice photos, beautiful houses, plans are included, but not what I was looking for.

These are not macmansions, but they are all 2-story, architect designed, beautiful, expensive (I'm guessing because of the handsome details) and I was looking for smaller, simpler, and at least a few 1-storey, and more affordable for more people. This book may be just the ticket for you, but not for me.

DREAM BOOK

I LOVE THIS BOOK; DREAMY AND PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THOSE WHO WANT A QUALITY HOUSE NOT A QUANTITY MINI-MANSION.

This book deserves to be widely read

We are just completing the construction of our new home. While this book was certainly not the only source of ideas, it was certainly critical in giving us the courage to abandon the "starter castle" mentality of soaring ceilings and the attendent wasted space. The reaction we are getting certainly bears out the strength of these design concepts. Given the content of the other reviews, I have to be clear about the intentions of this book. It is not a book about building inexpensive houses. It is written by an architect, and architects are generally not consulted when price is the ultimate consideration. It is not a book of house plans, nor a how-to book on house design. It is a book about a design philosophy which considers the house as a place to live rather than as a monument to impress ones neighbors. The philosophy is not terribly original; why does it have to be? It is a return to basic principles of good design. We began this project with a very clear idea of the style we wanted, and someone concerned with style alone might not recognize this book's influence on our home. On the other hand, anyone who compared our home to the starter castles on our block would see the difference immediately. Every room is comfortable and constructed on a human scale. I would recommend this book to anyone in the process of constructing a new home. If I had the money, I would send anonymous copies to a number of builders and designers in the area. This book deserves a wider reading.

I Only Wish That The Book Had No Ending

I'm not in the market for a new home or even thinking about replacing the home we built 25 years ago. Yet I couldn't put this book down and thoroughly enjoyed the author's presentation. The text was outstanding and I was able to relate to the author's expressed viewpoints on home design through the floor plans and photographs presented (which were conveniently placed for the most part on the same page as the related text).I've always remarked that there isn't anything that I wish I had done differently in the design or construction of my home. Having read this book, I know now why I enjoy my home every day of every season.