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Summary: The blueprint for our new house...
Review: We are on the last stages of building our first(last?) house, and this book showed us the way. Most homes built today try to stretch square footage at the expense of quality ("starter castles" is the term the author uses). We've all been in these big, soulless homes:a marble foyer that feels like a mausoleum, rooms that reach to the roof and waste all the space overhead; and usually in a few years the cracks are beginning to show in the drywall seams, floors are squeaking, and there are still a few rooms that don't have any furniture in them yet...or people. The author makes a great argument for building a smaller home that is higher in quality and more space efficient. Better to fill a smaller space with things of quality and beauty than build big and empty places. We read this book, threw out our floor plans, and started over with a new philosophy. In one month we'll be moving into a better, more energy and space efficient home for having done this--at about $90/SQFT.Read this book before you build. (You can also read the author's columns in Fine Homebuilding magazine; many are also on the FH website. The column on "designing an entryway" is a logical place to start!)
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Summary: BIG IS NOT BETTER
Review: The concept behind this book matches my thoughts exactly. I do agree with the reviewers comments that the interiors look dated, (most architects are not interior designers) but those reviewers are being to literal. The interior (and exterior) can be in any style that appeals to your taste. What is important is applying the elements and principals of design, not just blindly following the latest trend. Just because it might cost the same; big is not better. Most people wrongly assume that working with an architect and interior designer is only for the wealthy, but these trained and experienced professionals can guide you to the best possible result, whatever your financial resources.
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Summary: the title should be "more expensive house"
Review: Basically, the idears were not new at all. My 14 years olddaughter had the same idea couple years ago while we were househunting. Plus, it will cost 2 to 3 times than everage to detail this kind of house. People seeking small and nice houses are those on a budget. Thanks for printing those nice photos.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for Home Builders
Review: After reading this book, I would have to disagree with those who don't think it's a good book for someone building a house on a budget. Although that's not the point of Susanka's work, she wants her reader to change the way they think about homes, and to review their choices in a custom home. Trading square footage for higher quality craftsmanship is the way to go--but you can also cut out the excess square feet and use standard materials and labor and cut your cost. It's up to the builder--that's the beauty of it. She shows you how to choose and some of the possibilities, whether you're on a tight budget or have half a million to spend. I learned a lot from this book, and would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of building a home, or takes a fancy to architecture. There are wonderful pictures in here, many of which have given me ideas for my own home. Definitely worth the cost.
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Summary: Interesting, if not especially original concept
Review: The Not So Big House forces one to reevaluate what is truly a"dream home." Is it a house with empty square footage or onewith charm and character? I agree with many of the reviewers that the book features only one home style--the quasi Frank Lloyd Wright style obviously favored by Ms. Susanka. I like the Prairie Style, but it is certainly not appropriate for most regions of the United States. I would appreciate seeing examples of Colonial, Farmhouse, and Victorian styled Not So Big Houses. While I enjoy the blond trim and floors and white walls of the featured homes, that monotonous interior style is certainly not for everyone. It would help if dimensions for each of the featured rooms and houses were given. Many look large, but I'm not sure if that is due to the photography, the architecture, or just the room dimensions. This would help people see how much square footage is required to achieve the effects illustrated by the book. Additionally, Ms. Susanka refers to a special quality associated with these houses, but she seems to have trouble articulating exactly what that quality is. The Not So Big concept is not really all that innovative. These houses are rearranged, upscaled, and two-storied ranch houses popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of these ranches did not have "formal" dining rooms and had fairly open living areas. Like these ranch houses, Not So Big simply eliminates the dining room and reorganizes the living room under the moniker of "Away Room." Eliminating only the dining room does not reduce square footage by much. I would not want to throw away the dining room for one very important reason: cleanliness. The family dining area collects school papers, magazines, notices, newspapers, bills, etc (which are conspicuously absent in the photographs in the book). If the dining room is gone, suprise guests (which are fairly frequent at our house) would be forced to dine in the clutter of the kitchen. The dining room provides a quick, clutter free place to dine with guests, even if it is just an informal meal of sandwiches. Otherwise, the homes and concepts illustrated are attractive and fairly practical, if expensive. While these are out of the range of the typical home owner, who must settle for paint-grade finish trim, flat, textured drywall ceilings, and fiberboard doors, they do give one ideas for future upgrades and projects. Overall, an attractive book that wins the reader over to small homes.
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Summary: You'll enjoy it, even if you can't afford to hire her
Review: There's a healthy amount of evidence that even those with unlimited budgets and the ability to live anywhere they wish get a raw deal from current real estate development practice. This book is about thinking out of the box - out of spending money on making your house beautiful instead of simply massive. I've checked out a lot of open houses and seen more than a few of the homes she criticises in her book - and she's dead to rights in saying modern architectural practice is too big, too overwhelming, too sterile. Frankly, in my case, I don't care about sustainability or environmentalism or any of that stuff -- the big houses just feel chilly-cold. If you want to learn how to build a warm house at about the same price as a cold and impersonal one, well, this is a fabulous book. This book has been criticised for concentrating too much on high-end homes. I don't think this is fair, because she does an exceptionally clear job in her section explaining why some homes are expensive to build while others aren't. She walks us through three homes, low, mid-range and expensive, explaining how the detail quality changes. Now, admittedly, she obviously loves the really expensive, high-end, $ 175-500 a square foot masterpieces she profiles. But she has empathy for those of us at the low end, and I think most readers will walk away from that section enlightened, if a little wistful. I'm afraid I'm one of those hapless low budget folks, but I still loved her book. It has great ideas for any budget. But, in the final analysis, remember this: 'tis better to build at $ 50 a square foot, then not to build at all - as long as you're not kidding yourself about feasibility.
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Summary: Blue prints needed
Review: Loved book. many interesting ideas. Photo Great. Would be an asset to include floor plans, and blue prints with sq footage. Especially page 22 and 77, and 166, assuming all 3 pictuers are of the same house.
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Summary: Big Ideas in a Not So Big Book
Review: This beautiful book does not promise building on a tight budget and anyone disappointed by the expense of some of the designs in reading it didn't bother with the dustcover. Regardless, building the Not So Big House is about a home for how we live, nuturing the spirit and fully utilizing the space you have. The possibility of upper-end design cost does not negate the point of building small. If you had the money to build bigger, you would - don't bother with the book, you've already missed the point. The techniques to determine where space is most valuable to you and your family, to determine how you live are very valuable in creating your space. For someone conscious of the ever shrinking earth and greenspace, but desirous of a beautiful home to express yourself and soothe your spirit, this book is a great place to start.
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Summary: Opens one's eyes to other possibilities!
Review: After reading this book from the library, I had to have a copy for myself. It makes one look at not only housing but other concepts in life with a different eye. If you are building a new home there are many concepts to consider in here as worthy additions. While some ideas can be quite costly, there is excellent advise for just about anyone with a little imagination. A great book to help you look at your housing needs in a different way.
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Summary: Made me rethink the home design process
Review: I never picked up this book with the expectation that it would show me how to design a cheap or inexpensive house. To me the book doesn't promise inexpensive, it promises insight into designing a personal home, whatever the budget. Although I can't currently afford many of the homes shown in the book, the value of the Not So Big House is in the ideas expressed in the homes. If all you want is inexpensive design tricks, by all means look somewhere else. But if you want help rethinking the way a home is designed and used, get this book.
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