Mini House

Rating:
Summary: Smaller is Better
Review: A great book that flys in the face of the American "bigger-is-better" model. This is a fascinating book on the creative use of small space - where often less is more. For those of us who yearn for more intimate and affordable spaces this will give you lots of good ideas and inspiration for using any small plot of land or city building lot. I read this book after reading "Prefab" - both books go together well.

Rating:
Summary: Small and beautiful
Review: Here is a showcase of more than 24 small living spaces designed by famous internationally-known architects. The structures featured range from 344 to 1300 square feet. Like the construction of a ship, these houses demonstrate countless solutions for maximum use in a minimum of space: folding tables, hanging beds, efficient storage areas, ingenious bathrooms. Filled with nearly 500 color photos and 60 detailed plans, this book is an essential tool for homeowners looking for solutions for use of very limited space.

Rating:
Summary: This book is an excellent source for inspiration
Review: I am in the planning phase of my new home building project. This book has served as an excellent tool for me during the phase of my project. I loved the sheer creativity of the architects and amazing photography. I highly recommend this book for folks who are looking for small home design options.

Rating:
Summary: This book is an excellent source for inspiration
Review: I am in the planning phase of my new home building project. This book has served as an excellent tool for me during the phase of my project. I loved the sheer creativity of the architects and amazing photography. I highly recommend this book for folks who are looking for small home design options.

Rating:
Summary: Some Mini, Some Not!
Review: I bought this book to help give me some better ideas on how to build a small as house as possible, while still keeping it livable. This book does show some good examples for small houses. It also adds in houses that are up to 1,291 sq/ft, which for most people is not a mini house, in fact it would be classed as a normal size house. As I said it did give a few examples that I could imagine living in, but lots of the homes pictured, look cold and lifeless.

Also, there are not enough photos of each house to give you an idea what it would feel like to be in. And lots of the photos show the interiors as completely barren looking, as if no one actually lived in them!

Get it from your library first before you decide to buy. I won't be adding this book to my listmania list.

Rating:
Summary: Nice concept but meant only for the 'appreciative'
Review: If I could have 'looked inside' this book before I ordered it, I probably wouldn't have bought it. Some of the houses are interesting, but there were a couple of things I didn't like about the book. In general the book is well designed and the photographs are handled well, but the text and plan graphics are small and difficult to read (elegant, but irritating). The plans are especially hard to understand at such a small scale since the rooms are not labeled (no doubt a nod to the minimalist style that the author seems to favor). I also personally got a little weary of the 'house as capsule' concept (monotonous, windowless, impersonal facades). But again, some of the house are interesting, and if you're into the mininalist style or the current trends in 'moderne architecture' you'll probably enjoy the book.

Rating:
Summary: Nice concept but for a select audience
Review: If I could have looked inside this book before I ordered it, I probably wouldn't have bought it. While many of the houses are interesting, the style of most of them is 'European modern' or even experimental (that's not meant as a criticism in itself). In the author's introduction the sub-heading is "...producing small architectural objects..." -- that's a good description, the houses are more architectural objects than anything else. So, if you're interested in modern trends in residential architecture, this is a great book; if you interested in modest, economical homes of a more traditional nature, this definitely isn't the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Half & Half
Review: Indeed, this is no lifestyle book, but an architectural piece, one that gives some real inspiration and wonderful examples of living large in small spaces.
Inconsistently though, some houses are only shown in exterior photos and one longs to see what's inside, such as the gorgeously crafted NSW Tree House. A number of the house interiors are empty or nearly so, and any house looks spacious when it's completely unfurnished! The fortress-like Ithaca House in New York State gets 8 pages of coverage: the somber exterior is shot from every conceivable angle, but only the only interior room shown is the kitchen. The starkly simple but deceptively ingenious House In Zachary stars on the cover and gets 10 pages inside. 12 photos are devoted to its exterior, but only two to the interior, and those are more or less just vignettes.
Bottom line, people need to LIVE in these small houses and we need to see what the interiors look like. A small house is only successful if the interior works as a home. This book left me impressed but feeling very unsatisfied. Larger, better-labeled floor plans would have been welcome as well.

Rating:
Summary: useful resource
Review: when decided to look for my first residence i had in mind something small, modern and affordable. this book gave me the ideas and inspiration to get what i needed. excelent photography, understandable drawing plans.