Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live [Hardcover]

Sarah Susanka (Author), Marc Vassallo (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

For more than a decade, [Susanka] has urged people to build better, not bigger. Now, as the U.S. economy struggles to climb out of a tailspin and environmental concerns rise, her message has gone mainstream. New homes, after doubling in size since 1960, are shrinking. Last year, for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show. The new motto: living well with less. --USA Today March 17, 2009

Latest book from 'Not So Big' priestess lays out steps to take the expense, disruption out of remodeling. Soft-spoken Sarah Susanka wouldn't seem to be the "I told you so" type, but ... well, she told you so. For more than a decade, the architect has campaigned for houses to be built smaller but better. Her basic message: Figure out how big a house you need, and then subtract about a third of the square footage. Good design will make up the difference. Her eighth book, "Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live" (Taunton Press, 330 pages, $32), co-written with architect Marc Vassallo. It aims, she says, to help homeowners make smaller remodeling gestures, or, in her parlance, "Not So Big moves." Susanka's buffet of remodeling solutions leans toward less expense and less disruption of daily life. She places them in three Not So Big categories: working within the existing footprint; creating room "bumpouts" that extend the space by a couple of feet; and smallish, cost-effective room additions. --Chicago Tribune

About 10 years ago, architect Sarah Susanka released a book that became a marker for the housing industry's turn toward "building better, not bigger." Her new book, out this month, has the potential to do the same for the remodeling world. In "Not So Big Remodeling" ($32, Taunton Press, Susanka and Marc Vassallo apply the same concepts to existing homes, and offer room-by-room considerations to help homeowners determine what they really need, and how to more efficiently use the spaces they have. --Cincinnati Enquirer

Review

Talk about timing. Although it was conceived in 2004, "Not So Big Remodeling" arrives right on cue. Where once we bought houses as savings plans, collecting a tidy profit upon their sale and rolling it over to the next house, we now wonder how to make do. Here is salve for our recession depression. Like the other books in the "Not So Big" series, the quest is to live responsibly, sustainably and meaningfully; make every dollar count. The point to taking this new look at your old house is the possibility of making a big impact with relatively inexpensive changes. Not just a book of ideas, this "Not So" helps readers think like an architect along a room-by-room journey of examination and evaluation. Who couldn't use a little more comfortable, functional and sustainable nest right about now? Besides, you might be reading this in the house of your dreams. You just don't know it yet.

Sarah Susanka changed the way we think about home building with her landmark book, The Not So Big House. But not everyone, of course, has the luxury of starting from scratch. So now Susanka and co-author Marc Vassallo are addressing existing homes with Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live. The book furthers Susanka's mission of encouraging people to add character to their homes while getting maximum livability from the square footage.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 330 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (February 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156158827X
• ISBN-13: 978-1561588275
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #31,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #17 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Remodeling & Renovation
  #27 in	Books > Home & Garden > How-to & Home Improvements > Home Design > Design & Construction
  #4 in	Books > Home & Garden > Small Homes & Cottages

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great GREEN Remodeling Book Too!, March 9, 2009

By	L. Stukel (Oak Park IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live (Hardcover)

It's almost a good thing Remodeling the Not So Big House wasn't out during my remodeling project. I think I would have slept with it under my pillow! I got so much out of a different book in the series that I had to run out and get Remodeling even though my remodeling is done!

It is as well-written, organized and photographed as the other books in the series. I am an EcoBroker Certified real estate agent so I was eager to review the green chapter. I agree with Susanka that, really, the whole book is a green book. The concepts go hand in hand...less space is more green, getting more out of every inch is green, making something beautiful so it lasts is green.

The concepts from the other books carry over. The Not So Big House made such a difference in the plans for our remodel. We were feeling really stuck because the idea of the 5th bedroom that our builder and architect suggested felt so wrong to us. We learned is that if you ask someone like that how to solve a problem they will solve it with a bigger blueprint or a bigger hammer. Not So Big Hosue gives a voice and confidence to the resisting going bigger to solve problems.

There were two outcomes in our design that I directly credit to inspiration from the books. First, we have this fantastic closet that solved our problem of creating a master bedroom in about 1/3 of the space. The bonus was that it also gave us the opportunity to do a facelift on the front exterior. Second, we were trying to maximize the kitchen space. One of the options to get an island in there was to close off the entry between the kitchen and the dining room. After reading the book I realized we would essentially be cutting off 400 square feet of space as we'd never have reason to use the dining room or the living room. Instead we decided to _open_ a doorway between the dining room and the hallway and remove sliding doors between the dining room and the living room. Finally we opted for a peninsula that forces flow between the dining room and the kitchen. Wow! The dining room is now this central gathering and landing space. And, it elevated the living room to more of the grown up family room. The end result is that we use the entire first floor all day long and will probably never have to finish our basement. And all you need is two preschoolers to tell you the flow works. They zoom around as if there are two connecting figure eights in the house...the dining room/kitchen/family room loop and the dining room/living room loop. Such great energy in the house. It's amazing how the whole thing fits together, yet gives us space when we need it. And now that we are done I realize it is the soffits that make the spaces work. We didn't consciously plan them but now that things are painted and assembled so we have rooms again I can really see it in action.

We are so grateful for the insights and inspiration we were hunting for! I'm sure you will find great inspiration in Remodeling the Not So Big House as well.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sustainable remodeling, April 21, 2009

By	modernemama (Huntington, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live (Hardcover)

With Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live Sarah Susanka and co-author Marc Vassallo employ the mantra "build better, not bigger" to present a go-to resource book on sustainable design for homeowners and architects alike.
Using her own classic Cape style house as an example Susanka offers three options for efficient remodeling: work within the existing footprint; consider a small bump-out and lastly build an appropriate addition. Often minor changes are all that are needed to fix an awkward layout or improve flow within the house and the authors always emphasize integrating the old with the new so the house is cohesive and aesthetically pleasing.
The reader is challenged to really consider the way they live within their homes and although most of the book is dedicated to making small spaces more useful Susanka also tackles large houses that are out of proportion to the human scale and offers smart solutions to make them more comfortable.
Not So Big Remodeling is glossy enough to keep on the coffee table yet packed full of plans and blueprints and I would be happy to own it for the photography alone. Many of the houses featured have beautiful natural wood trim and doors with a Craftsman feel that is immediately appealing. But there's so much more to this book than obvious visual appeal, it contains tips and ideas on every page that can be incorporated into any remodeling project - large or small - including the updating of my house.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not So Big for the rest of us!, September 15, 2009

By	Flourish Designs "Erin" (Randallstown, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live (Hardcover)

Finally, a Not So Big optimized for those not stick-building their own home. Not only is revamping an existing home a greener option than building new (no matter how sustainable), it's often more financially feasible. Great overall update ideas as well as practical approaches to usability and beauty.