Rating: 
Summary: A must read for the home buyer...
Review: My wife and I just recently built our first home in Eagan, Minnesota. After going from a downtown highrise apartment to a house with too much unused space, I can totally relate to the whole concept of the not-so-big house. I only wish I had read this book before we built! It actually caused us to seriously consider selling and doing this all over again - the right way. Even if you have just built your house there are so many great pictures and ideas for decorating that might actually help bring character to today's large, cold houses. Makes a great coffee table book and conversation piece as well..
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, what I feel put into print!
Review: I live in an old farmhouse in Boulder, Colorado, and all around me soul-less, 4,000+ square foot monsters are sprouting up like mushrooms after a long rain. They are new, and fresh, and totally void of any charm. THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE explains WHY I see these houses this way. Entrances and rooms scaled to impress do not then welcome a person, and one can find nowhere to snuggle in and relax. It's such a joy to read Susanka's explanations, with pictures to illustrate her point. I agree with a previous reviewer that the book would benefit from a wider variety of examples, and hope the new book from Susanka does indeed shed light on more styles.
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Summary: Susanka's next book
Review: To the reader from the Midwest who was wishing for more variety in The Not So Big House: I hear that Susanka has a new book coming out this fall, which I understand is packed full of NotSoBig Houses from all over the country in a great variety of styles--traditional, contemporary; new houses, remodels; farmhouse, New York apartment, etc., etc. Think this one's called Creating the Not So Big House. Can't wait.
Rating: 
Summary: No variety
Review: I think I'd like this book better if it showed more variety. Many of the interiors have a dated quality. And they tend to all be neutral with lots of wood and an overriding Craftsman look. The point of the book is great, but I'd love a book that shows me small houses in a wider range of styles. How about something slick and modern? Or how about showing a traditional Cape? Or a 1958 ranch house?
Rating:
Summary: Would you rather build a house or a home?
Review: Despite additions such as "feature walls" in purple and the like, many show homes still feel more like mausoleums. If you would like to build a house that has character and yet retains all the comforts of home, then this book is for you. This book is about the way in which we live in spaces and how to make those spaces work for us.This is the first house book I have seen for a long time where even just flicking through the pictures I was saying "yes, yes, yes! That's what I want!". Even though many of the photos are of the same houses, because the flow of the houses is different, it is fascinating to look at all of the different viewpoints. This book makes an excellent companion to Use what You Have Decorating and the Healthy House books. A great springboard for ideas and a must read if you wish to create a house that you love to live in.
Rating:
Summary: This book deserves to be widely read
Review: We are just completing the construction of our new home. While this book was certainly not the only source of ideas, it was certainly critical in giving us the courage to abandon the "starter castle" mentality of soaring ceilings and the attendent wasted space. The reaction we are getting certainly bears out the strength of these design concepts. Given the content of the other reviews, I have to be clear about the intentions of this book. It is not a book about building inexpensive houses. It is written by an architect, and architects are generally not consulted when price is the ultimate consideration. It is not a book of house plans, nor a how-to book on house design. It is a book about a design philosophy which considers the house as a place to live rather than as a monument to impress ones neighbors. The philosophy is not terribly original; why does it have to be? It is a return to basic principles of good design. We began this project with a very clear idea of the style we wanted, and someone concerned with style alone might not recognize this book's influence on our home. On the other hand, anyone who compared our home to the starter castles on our block would see the difference immediately. Every room is comfortable and constructed on a human scale. I would recommend this book to anyone in the process of constructing a new home. If I had the money, I would send anonymous copies to a number of builders and designers in the area. This book deserves a wider reading.
Rating:
Summary: Not so boring
Review: This is not your typical suburb home plan book and that's why I love it. The new homes of today are all rated on size not quality of space usage. This book gives you some great ideas for open space living without giving up your needed space. I don't agree with some of the other reviewers that think the homes are boring or too open or too contemporary. This book does not show ultra contemporary, cold, white homes. Rather open spaces with the warmth of wood and practical use of space. I live in an even more contemporary home than those shown in the book (some may call it cold) but I love my open space. A bunch of little rooms adding up to a ton of square footage is not what I consider the best option. When friends see my open floor plan they marvel over the size of my home, but in seconds ask that typical question, "How many square feet is it?", and are shocked to find that it's much smaller than it feels. I think this is a perfectly timed book as many of us are thinking of sizing down rather than up. Who has time to vacuum a 2400 square foot home anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: A boring sameness of design
Review: If you love the look of Georgian, Federal, Victorian, French, or Mediterranean style this book will leave you cold. It's obvious that all the houses/rooms shown are done by the same architectural firm. After reading the entire book, you will come to see a sameness to the designs. They look to my eye to be variations on the theme of craftsman/prairie style. The openness gets boring, as does the constant use of light walls with light wood trims. There is a lack of color in these rooms that breaks my heart. You'll also notice a squareness to rooms, staircases, windows, fireplaces, kitchen islands -- everywhere you look there is a rectangle or a square. Very seldom (you can count them on one hand) will you see the use of curves or circles. And where is the practicality in having kitchens opening into family rooms, living rooms, and eating spaces? Doesn't anyone in these homes ever cook? Even with the best exhaust systems, cooking emits odors, deposits grease and oils into the air, mucks surfaces, and requires constant upkeep. That's one of the reasons kitchens used to be separated from the living spaces of the home. (OK, fire was another reason) Privacy is another issue. Loft bedrooms that open to family room spaces offer none, even though the author shows and suggests 'away spaces' where one can close a door and go to be alone and quiet. There is such a thing as too much togetherness and houses like these have few places for family members to get away from each other. As a practical person I feel the owners of these houses will constantly be cleaning because the very openness doesn't allow for clutter or a mere closing of doors (since there aren't very many!). I suppose I was expecting more of a 'how to' book. I want to know how to put storage under stairs, eke an extra few inches out of a powder room, make use every inch of space in a kitchen, design bedrooms with plenty of windows without giving up wall space. As with most things design, it's all a matter of individual taste. This style isn't mine.
Rating:
Summary: The title is misleading
Review: It would be a mistake to think that this clever title reflects an eco-sensitive philosophy. Here are key sentences that show the author's mindset: from page 15, "While you might be able to afford a 6,000-sq.-ft. house, you may find that building a 3,000-sq.-ft. house that fits your lifestyle actually gives you more space to live in"; from page 37, "Another client, living alone in a brand-new 5,000-sq.-ft. house, called me because she wanted to plan an addition. . . . Rather than add on, we reconfigured part of the existing space by opening up the maze of rooms into an open, public space"; and on page 182, "Sustainability does not mean that we should give up any of the hard-earned comforts that we have come to expect in the modern world." This is a book for the rich and the eco-insensitive. If your idea of appropriate cost size is a quarter million dollars or more, this is an idea book with seductive pictures. But if you care about the world in which your grandchildren will live, don't buy into this mindset, and don't buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: More!
Review: Quality, Functionality and Craftsmanship? Trading square footage for quality and/or detail? A WONDERFUL book full of provocative and thoughtful ideas even for those of us still "dreaming" or "making do." My college age son was amazed to see to see Mom with this book, which is all the rage at the interior design school! It all just makes SENSE and hopefully we will see more from this author as well as an appreciation for the home as a haven, an expression of family or self - and not just another version of planned obsolescence.
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