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

The Not So Big House

by Sarah Susanka. Taunton Press, Newtown, Connecticut, 1998. Hardcover, 200 pages, $30

The Not So Big House is a gorgeous book, full of inspiring photographs and imaginative floor plans, that conveys both the how’s and the why’s of designing smaller, more compact houses. Author Sarah Susanka is principal of a 35-person architecture firm in Minneapolis and Stillwater, Minnesota that handles only residential design—a rarity in the architectural field today. She is also a columnist for

Fine Homebuilding magazine. Her practice and this book focus on residential design that addresses the way people really live, rather than our outmoded, formal image of house design that is left over from an earlier day and age.

The book very clearly addresses why bigger houses are not better, starting out with a wonderful example of a couple that came to her in desperation after having a $500,000 house built for them that they just couldn’t relate to. Full of big, unfriendly, and virtually unusable spaces, this was (and is) typical of much of the suburban custom home building going on today at the upper end of the housing market. Through numerous examples, she demonstrates a far better approach to residential design, emphasizing quality of space, comfort, resource efficiency, and durability.

Susanka describes numerous strategies for creating spaces that will truly be lived in: from public kitchens to combined dining-living areas to cozy “away rooms” that permit homeowners to retreat into privacy. Tips for making compact interiors feel spacious and compact exteriors appear grand will help residential designers and builders reduce wasted space while

increasing the satisfaction of their clients. The details needed to make compact design really work—from carefully planned natural and artificial lighting to efficient use of storage space and practical alcoves for home office needs are clearly presented. Especially useful are a few more-developed examples of how the needs and wishes of several families, retired couples, and individuals were satisfied through the home design process. Another chapter addresses budget, drawing from examples across the economic spectrum. Excellent tips are included for reducing cost with only minimal impact on quality.

While the benefits of resource savings and energy efficiency are implicit throughout the book, the final chapter, “The House of the Future,” addresses these environmental issues more directly. While this material is fairly cursory, we are introduced to construction waste reduction, panelized building systems, sustainable wood, a few recycled-content building materials, and air-to-air heat exchangers.

The Not So Big House is a must-read for any residential designer or builder, as well as for those contemplating the building of their own house.