The Not So Big House Collection [Paperback]

Sarah Susanka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Available for the first time, Sarah Susanka's best-selling books in one handsome slipcase set.
-- Great gift package
-- Offers all of Sarah Susanka's trendsetting architectural ideas in one set

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561586277
• ISBN-13: 978-1561586271
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #562,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big" message has become a launch pad for a new dimension of understanding--not just about how we inhabit our homes, but also about how we inhabit our planet and even our day-to-day lives. As a cultural visionary with an incredible ability to understand the underlying structure of the American lifestyle, Susanka is providing the language and tools that are redefining how we live.

Thought leader, inspirational keynote speaker and acclaimed architect, Susanka is the author of nine books that collectively weave together home and life design, revealing that a "Not So Big" attitude serves not only architectural aims, but life goals as well. Her books have sold well over 1.5 million copies. Susanka's most recent book, More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, was released in February 2010.

Through her Not So Big House presentations and book series, Susanka has helped readers understand that the sense of "home" they're seeking has almost nothing to do with quantity and everything to do with quality. She points out that we feel "at home" in our houses when where we live reflects who we are in our hearts.

In her book and presentations about The Not So Big Life, she uses this same set of notions to explain that we can feel "at home" in our lives only when what we do reflects who we truly are. Susanka unveils a process for changing the way we live by fully inhabiting each moment of our lives and by showing up completely in whatever it is we are doing.

Susanka's inspiring "Not So Big" keynotes and presentations have been sought out by renowned conferences such as West Coast Green, the Housing Leadership Summit and PCBC. Major corporations including Johnson & Johnson, Lowe's, Target, Best Buy and Herman Miller as well as key government and civic organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Association of Homebuilders, The American Institute of Architects and The National Trust for Historic Preservation regularly invite Susanka to address their conferences. Universities, art museums, leadership conferences, health care groups and wellness centers seek her "Not So Big Life" lectures and workshops.

Susanka is regularly called upon for her insights as a social commentator and trend-spotter by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times; magazines such as Newsweek, Better Homes & Gardens, Reader's Digest and AARP; and television programming such as "Oprah," "Good Morning America," "Charlie Rose," CNN, HGTV and "This Old House."

Fast Company named Susanka to their debut list of "Fast 50" innovators whose achievements have helped to change society, Newsweek magazine selected her as a "top newsmaker" for 2000, and U.S. News and World Report dubbed her an "innovator in American culture" in 1998. Susanka was presented with the 2007 Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award by the Lindbergh Foundation for outstanding individual achievement in making positive contributions to our world.

Susanka is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. She was born in Kent, England, and travels from Raleigh, North Carolina. Join her online community at www.NotSoBig.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but uneven: first book 4.5 stars; second one 3 stars, June 5, 2003

By 

Henry Perkins (Santa Clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Not So Big House Collection (Paperback)

[This review of the 2-book collection is a shorter summary of my two longer reviews of each book. For more detail, look at each book review separately. The collection is a good buy, at only about 1/3 more than the "Not So Big House" book alone.]

"The Not So Big House" is an excellent book on efficient use of
space and attention to detail to achieve comfort from a house design. The graphics, layout, and text are all uniformly excellent. The book only disappoints at the end, where Susanka throws together too-brief treatments on solar design, environmental concerns, and ways you might save money on your "Not So Big House". You'll notice a pronounced emphasis on Craftsman-type design in the houses depicted -- lots of natural, exposed wood. There are lots of very useful ideas (including double-duty spaces, built-in storage near the point of use, an "away room", and acoustical privacy) that most architectural books present poorly or not at all.

"Creating the Not So Big House" is a good book, but in comparison to the first book it's rather a let-down. In the first book most photos were much larger and clearer; in this book some are too small to be very useful. Also, Susanka is not a professional writer, and could have used help here like she got from Kira Obolensky in "The Not So Big House". More architectural styles are represented in this book than in the original, but there aren't many new architectural ideas if you've read the first book (although spatial layering, and themes and variations are both new and useful concepts from this book).

Summary: This is a pretty good collection at a decent price. The first book is clearly superior to the second; however, the collection price makes it a reasonable bargain. Get this if you're planning a new house design AND you can afford more attention to detail than standard builder options allow. You'll end up with a personalized, comfortable, Not So Big house with a Not So Small pricetag.

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These books will NOT save you money., July 8, 2005

By 

K. P. Fisher (Gastonia, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Not So Big House Collection (Paperback)

It's not about that. If you're looking for information on building a smaller, lower cost home, these books won't help much. In general, the author's message is to spend MORE per square foot, and learning to get more use out of a smaller space. On the other hand, if you like your neighborhood, but feel you need a bigger house, these books may give you some ideas on remodeling (instead of moving) - which could save you a lot of money by not buying a bigger home that you hate just as much as your old one.

I think these are fantastic books. Excellent photos and floor plans illustrate each point in a crystal clear fashion. The author starts with a few basic concepts and shows their execution in various ways in different houses. A great tool for anyone planning to buy, build or remodel.

In the editions I received, both books have 10" x 10" pages. Excluding the Introductions, Afterward, etc... First book: 187 pages; probably more photos than text; medium-large, easy-to-read print. This covers the basic concepts with dozens of examples. Second book: 250 pages; probably more photos than text; medium print (a bit smaller than the first book, but still easy to read). This book focuses on 25 different homes, highlighting the key features of each.

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Using this book if you're on a budget, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Not So Big House Collection (Paperback)

I agree that this book isn't as useful as I'd like for those of us who are on a budget when building a house -- we're limited to off-the-rack home designs, and can't afford to have a builder put in all the options available to those who can afford to hire an architect. However, since my spouse and I are pretty handy when it comes to woodworking etc., we will be putting some of the book's principles to use when it comes to building our next house. We've also put some of its ideas into action in our present house, putting in built-ins and other storage spaces that allow us to use the space we have more efficiently. Builders are often happy to make small changes, like moving a wall to enlarge a pantry, at little or no cost. Knowing to look for those sorts of solutions and ask for them have really made our home more user friendly.

The houses on either side of ours are the stereotypical "McMansions" that the book is aimed at counteracting, and I see more of them going into developments every day. I never see my neighbors in their three-story great rooms (which have so many windows it's practically a goldfish bowl). The neighbors love our house, which we chose specifically because it had a big kitchen which looks directly onto the living room -- the space is warm, inviting, and definitely used. If more people read and absorbed Sarah Susanka's ideas, they could make informed choices when shopping for a new home, and maybe we'd see fewer of these huge, unfriendly mini-mansions being built.