Customer Reviews

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed Sarah Susanka's other books for their beautiful pictures, hopeful text, and "its so easy, it just takes thinking out of the box" attitude. I was hopeful that this book was aimed more for people like me - a simple homeowner looking for some tips (as opposed to an architect or person designing their own home). While there are some "not so big" solutions for everyday living, such as thinking about your recycling area and making use of space under the stairs, there really isn't anything new or awe-inspiring in this book. Much of the book still has to do with initial design of the space, and other big money expenditures. I still rated this book 4 stars as it is a beautiful, eye-catching read, but the information can also be found on HGTV.

Once again, Sarah Susanka has taken some pretty basic conceptual problems in home design and explained various solutions to them that are eye-opening to say the least. While this book is a compendium of her "Drawing Board" articles out of Fine Homebuilding Magaine, it gives the reader a real sense of what they can do either through new construction or remodeling to improve their lifestyles as well as their homes.
Bravo, keep on writing Sarah.

Within a very short time, Sarah Susanka has had a profound impact on the way families approach the design of their home.

Eschewing the "bigger is better" model that drives the profits of developers and mass production builders, Sarah Susanka has introduced a new vocablary of user-centered design that focuses on the details that make for a pleaant living experience.

Her "smaller is better" philosophy is based on often overlooked details like window size, providing built-in spaces for daily activities, creating "comfort zones" by varying ceiling heights and room lighting, and a myriad of other simple-in-themselves, but major-in-their-impact details.

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home should be considered required reading for you if you're remodeling or building a house you want to be comfortable in.

Our guiding philosophy and inspiration. An engaging and intelligent defense of building (and renovating) smarter, not bigger. Sarah Susanke has made a career of promoting traditional design principles in a way that speaks to modern situations (many of us can't afford new, huge houses) and responds to the "McMansions" craze that continues to sweep the US. She has a wonderful sense of how to maximize space for personal use. She advocates for built-in furniture, design built around daily activities, and open light-filled design. She had us at "Most architects are afraid to say...'You don't need an addition, you need a cleaning service." She doesn't want to clean out your bank account. She wants you to make the most of what you have...and if you follow her ideas, you will.

If you liked Sarah Susanka's other books, you will love this one. It has specific ideas on designing rooms for the way people live, such as placement of TVs in a home and setting up a place to sort mail. For everyone who has always wanted a window seat, the book addresses design considerations. I will definitely read through this book a couple more times before my house is built.

While reading this book I kept expecting and hoping for practical information on solutions for spaces in my current home. I checked this book out of the library based solely on the title. It was a very interesting book. Many of the solutions would mean reconstruction or a considerable outlay of money. If you are in the process of building or remodeling, this is a very informative book that provides practical and efficient ideas for using and designing your space and I give it a 5-star rating.

If you are looking for lots of design ideas for problem areas, you may find a few relevant tips, but not enough to warrant purchasing of this book, so I would give it a 3-star rating.

I am giving this book a 4 star because it really does not cover "Not so Big Solutions for your Home". It should have been called Solutions and Practical Ideas for Constructing your Home. That title would have earned a 5 star.

This book is best read *before* one even selects the lot for their home, but it does contain a few good ideas for those who want to remodel.

In the beginning, she talks about site selection and designing the house to take advantage of and to fit in with the site. She also talks about window placement and roof lines to make sure the outside of the house looks "right."

The bulk of the book talks about things such as designing a mudroom, a mail-sorting place, where to place a tv - in other words, how to design real-life living spaces for real-life tasks and habits.

The book also includes thoughts about details, both aesthetic and practical - varying ceiling heights, skylight considerations, where to place outlets and light switches, and window placement.

The last part of the book talks about simple floor plan changes to existing homes, how to make an addition blend seamlessly into the exisiting struction, a smart solution on how to add a window seat, etc.

Where the Not So Big House dealt with the concept of smart design, this book give more specific applications of smart design. If you're in the planning stages of home-building, I highly recommend this book.

I found this book to be very insightful for me as a new homebuilder. While the book is a collection of magazine articles that Susanka has written in the past, they contain ideas that are refreshing and useful. I have a new direction in the way I think about the design of my house, and I can appreciate the value of maximising space, as well as building the house to suit my particular lifestyle. i would recommend this for any potential homebuilder, or renovator.

Nice book of concepts. Albeit incomplete and some what frustrating.

The Author presents concepts in text, images, sketches and floor plans.
Problem is the floor plans and text lack any measurements to put the
plans in perspective. There are no size minimums or guide lines.

Great book on arranging floor plans, lighting, etc. For those about to build or renovate learn how to get what you want while staying in your budget.