Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live with Less [Hardcover]

Michelle Kodis (Author), Scott Lindenau (Illustrator), Jamie Padgett (Photographer), Claudio Santini (Photographer), Patrick Sudmeier (Photographer), Jeffrey Jacobs (Photographer), Gus Gusciora (Photographer), Stephen Cieciuch (Photographer), Sam Mitchell (Photographer), Wayne Thom (Photographer), Ross Chapin (Photographer), Edward Caldwell (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2003

When it comes to deciding on the size of a home or living space, one question must be asked: How much space is enough? Americans often relate "enough" space to dimensions, rather than to how a space will really be enjoyed. In Blueprint Small, Michelle Kodis examines small spaces (each 1500 square feet or less) from a wide spectrum of locations, budgets, and individual styles-each chosen because they illustrate that scaling back in size doesn't have to mean scaling back in comfort, spaciousness, or beauty.

From a sleek urban apartment to a funky mountain home to a renovated beach house, Blueprint Small reveals how smaller homes invite rather than overwhelm, comfort rather than alienate. The projects offered here represent a variety of functions, locations and environments, combining the technical aspects of building and using small spaces with the stories of the people who live in them. Blueprint Small invites you to explore inspiring and imaginative ways to inhabit smaller spaces, and still live large.

Michelle Kodis is a freelance writer and editor based in Telluride, Colorado. She is the author of Love Scents and The Telluride Cookbook; she has also written for The San Francisco Examiner, The Oregonian, and Backpacker magazine.

(20030705)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A smartly designed volume, thick with striking photos of cozy quarters, Blueprint Small walks readers through the homes visually while telling the stories behind them. Extensive design plans are included, along with details on the architects and designers responsible. (Jay Dedrick Rocky Mountain News )

...a well-focused look at a variety of stylishly modern living environments.. (Metropolitan Home )

Blueprint Small ... is a small book that asks a big question: If American families are getting smaller, why are we building bigger homes? Author Michelle Kodis traveled the country to find homes of 1,500 square feet or less that prove scaling back in size doesn't mean scaling back in comfort or beauty. The featured homes cover a range of styles and budgets, including a home in Aspen you have to see to believe. The book also provides easy-to-read blueprints of the homes. (Better Homes & Gardens )

From the Inside Flap

Small can be beautiful--and the proof is in the spectrum of thoughtfully designed, scaled-back spaces featured in these pages. From a sleek city apartment to a funky mountain home, the structures in Blueprint Small are inspiring and workable examples of functionality, artistry, and innovative techniques for enhancing even the most minimal floor plans.

Blueprint Small is an easy-to-navigate blueprint for architecturally distinct small spaces that appear far more spacious than their square footage would indicate. With spectacular color photographs, accompanied by stories about the buildings and the people behind their creation, Blueprint Small is a how-to book that points the way toward a fresh way of living and offers practical, real-life solutions for anyone interested in building or renovating a small home, office, or retreat space, whether it is 240 or 2,400 square feet.

(20030701)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 2 edition (March 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586851756
• ISBN-13: 978-1586851750
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #974,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unrealistic, May 23, 2003

By 

Michael Noel (Saint Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live with Less (Hardcover)

The review for the book gave me the impression that it would deal with the experiences of people who live in small spaces, and give ideas of how to deal realistically with a small space. The book does not seem to deal with the reality that the vast majority of people who live in small homes are on a more conservative budget, and can not afford to do most of the decorating that is done in this book. I will agree that most of the spaces shown were small, but most of the decorations, and the remodelling that have been done, are not within the reach of most people who own small homes. In my opinion, this book is written for people who can afford a very large home, but choose, for whatever reasons, to live in a smaller home. I live very comfortably and have been able to restore my home in stages, but the things that are shown in this book are things that I could only do if I had large amounts of money to spend, or if I worked as a carpenter(and had large amounts of money to spend).

The book is well written, adn the pictures are presented in an appealing way, but I would only recommend this book for a someone who has the means to live in a larger house but chooses to renovate a smaller one.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Designs, Wonderful Presentation, August 29, 2003

By 

Clayton C. Johanson (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live with Less (Hardcover)

I'd be lying if I said that most of the designs in "Blueprint Small" are my cup of tea (with the notable exception being the apartment in the Chicago highrise -- amazing!)... I'm more of a "white walls and clean, modern design" sort of person. However, this book does a very good job of showing a variety of innovative and imaginative designs, in a format that shows them from all sorts of angles. It also explains the reasons for decisions made by the architects and homeowners, which is something you don't often hear. Complaints that most people can't afford to do the things shown in this book are somewhat beside the point; if that were the case, "Architectural Digest" magazine wouldn't be as well known as it is. "Blueprint Small" exists in that same realm, where good design is appreciated for what it is. This book is a very good source for ideas for improving your own space; you don't have to hire an architect or an interior designer to appreciate what it has to offer.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Small Additions" would be a better title, July 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live with Less (Hardcover)

Very few of the spaces shown incorporate the entire area the owners live in. Instead, some of these "small" spaces are 500-square-foot additions to much larger homes. It's not much of a challenge to make that work!

This is a hodge-podge of designs with little theme, and Kodis' writing is some of the clunkiest in the home design field. Try any Taunton book, instead, such as one of the books in Sarah Susanka's excellent Not-So-Big House series.