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

by Sarah Susanka, Kira Obolensky, Susanka Studios

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600851506
Publisher:	Taunton Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	09/15/2009
Edition description:	Expanded ed.
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	412,422
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Sarah Susanka is one of the leading residential architects in the United States. Her first book, "The Not So Big House," topped best-seller charts in Home & Garden categories in its first year of publication. Susanka has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Charlie Rose Show, and NPR's Diane Rehm Show. She is a former principal and founding partner of Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, Inc., the firm chosen by LIFE magazine to design its 1999 Dream House.

Kira Obolensky has written for print, film, and stage. She co-authored Sarah Susanka's national bestseller, "The Not So Big House. Kira's book, "Garage, was published in 2001. She has received a number of writing awards and fellowships, including the Kesselring Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship. She lives in Minneapolis.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition

Introduction

Bigger Isn't Better

Rethinking the House

Making Not So Big Work

Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous

Dreams, Details, and Dollars

The House of the Future

The Not So Big House: 10 Years On

Afterword
Bibliography
Credits
Index