Customer Reviews

The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The image on the cover is as "simple" as this book gets. While most of the homes in this book are beautiful, I did not find them to be particulalry simple. The image on the cover, as well as the editorial notes, conjure up notions of not only simplicity in home design, but a real departure in our thinking about the way we live. I already own several books on the subject, and was excited to learn something new - but nothing new here. While the homes generally lean towards cleaner lines and a BIT less clutter, they are quite elaborate and complex in terms of building materials, construction & application of those materials, and the costs involved. I was also disappointed that most of the homes are located in the country and with only a sparse representation of urban examples. Finally, when I looked at the list of architects and firms whose designs were featured in this book, I recognized some of the most famous names in the industry. This left me feeling somewhat mislead by chapters with titles such as "Simple is Thrifty" and "Simple is Enough" when this caliber of professionals and their respective price tags are involved.

To me, the essence of this book is beautifully summarized in the photograph on the back cover. It shows a plain and simple room, tan/biege colored walls, a couple of windows, a painting on one wall and the only furniture is an easy chair, a small table beside it and a stack of books on the table.

Like most of you, I suppose, I've lived in a bunch of houses and apartments. I finally decided to move to a small town in Nevada. I bought a tiny house, less than a thousand square feet. It's old, I don't know how old, but at least a hundred years. As Ms. Nettleton says in one of her chapters, Simple is Timeless. It was cheap, $30,000 (plus another $12 for remodelling), As Ms. Nettleton says, Simple is Thrifty. And as she also says, 'Simple is: Enouth, Flexible, Sustainable, Resolved Complexity. As she quotes Albert Einstein (who wasn't talking about houses, but it's a very good quote) 'Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.'

Ms. Nettleton has grasped the essence of living a much simpler life. The homes presented here might not fit your ideal, but the ideas she presents are exactly what I wanted when I moved here from the East Coast. Beautiful book.

I bought this book because I liked the pictures, but what turned out to be the best thing about it is the philosophy behind it. I've been trying to streamline my life and reduce clutter, but I haven't been able to strip things down as far as I'd like. This book makes bold suggestions about how much we really need to live comfortably while doing as little damage as possible to our surroundings, and suggests specific ways to do it. It made me look at our house in a whole new way. This book is a great model for anyone trying to simplify their living space. It's also imaginative--one house has a ceiling like an overturned boat because the people who live there love the water. I like it so much I bought two more copies for gifts.

This is an absurd, but very American, architecture book. Usually with this genre the glossy pictures make up for the text -- that is NOT the case here. The pictures are very average. The text is okay ... a gospel of architectural $implicity substituted for actual ... well ... simplicity.

Here's the thing: simplicity in this book is interpreted as minimalist furnishings. Well and good. But it is easy to relish the zen luxe of a room when one has the most wonderful architecture to surround that perfect, single $10K furnishing. It is easy to be "simple".... own few possessions and buy few furnishings when you can afford a house designed with built in window seats, dining nooks, stainless appliances and murphy beds.

What is really needed is a guide to designing with simplicity and sustainability in mind. That would be .... you buy some nasty tract home for $300K in Redmond Washington and want to decorate / design sustainably, simply, tastefully and, above all, peacefully.

Probably the most amusing thing about Sarah Nettleton's book is the secret glimpses into the homeowner's stuff: forests of books, cotton fields of clothes, acres of wood cabinetry, and pits of stone and concrete tile and countertops.

My hard earned ducats bought this book. Don't use yours.

While the title of the book and the book front cover may promise what I was looking for, the content certainly did not deliver. It is a beautiful coffee table book, a collection of beautiful homes and interiors, but I assume the subtitle ("The Luxury of Enough") is more appropriate for the target audience: if you have the money to live in the country side in an old farmhouse (where you don't have to find a job or commute to work), or you can afford a high-profile architect or interior designer and to live in Brooklyn in a nice area, then this book may be for you. While there are well-to-do people out there that can afford a McMansion and golden chandeliers, I applaud if they reduce and look for ways to live simpler. The featured 'simplicity' comes with a price tag and while it looks emptier in these homes, it is a certain style (shabby chic or modern minimalism) that evokes simplicity. Especially built-ins are often very expensive, and I would not call these homes necessarily simple. These are interiors that are attractive for many reasons, one of them is that the substance of the homes and settings are beautiful. With a different focus than living simple, the collection of interiors would deserve a better review, but I wish average people could afford living THAT simple. This book disappointed.

Wonderful case studies about 20 homes with good explanations about material choices, site considerations, and the people who own them. It's a Taunton Press book, so the photos are great, of course. I especially like the floor plan illustrations that support the photos and give a sense of flow through the houses.

Sarah Nettleton's THE SIMPLE HOME: THE LUXURY OF ENOUGH defines the concept of a 'simple home' and offers interior design tips to achieving satisfaction from a basic home design. This involves eliminating non-essentials and practicing restraint: six avenues to achieving a 'greener' lifestyle from this approach blends full-page color photos with comments on designs which refine and simplify the home - perfect for new students of interior design and homeowners contemplating reconstruction.

This book provides an insightful message in a clean and sophisticated manner which echoes beautifully the philosophy behind the book. I would recommend this as must reading for anyone contemplating building a house. It will help you arrange your priorities and clarify your thinking about home design issues. The stunning photographs effectively illustrate the concepts.

Great book to help you get focused on the necessities of your house. It makes you think what is necessary and what really is not. Do you really need two ovens...etc. After reading or more realistically paging through several other books I found myself jotting down notes made from this book that really hit home. Our lives are fast paced and complicated enough, so it was wonderful to hear the great thoughts of Sarah Nettleton. I recommend this book along with The Farmhouse by Jean Rehkamp Larson and the New Old House by Russell Versaci. Great Job Sarah Nettleton!

I adore this book. I am a professional organizer and it really speaks to me and my clients about downsizing and the privilege it is to have a home that is uncluttered and 'just enough'. Thank you for a wonderful book.