Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (Susanka)

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (Susanka)
Price: $22.95 USD
Sarah Susanka's Not So Big Solutions for Your Home explores practical design ideas that can transform any house into a great house that looks, works and feels right for the owner. Sarah Susanka, whose previous best-selling books showed homeowners how to appreciate and create a house that is beautiful, visually expansive and reflective of how families really live, now offers readers practical, everyday design ideas on everything from selecting a site for a new home to designing a mail-sorting space. 30 color photographs, along with over 150 drawings from Sarah Susanka's own sketchbook, illustrate practical home design ideas for everyday living. Not So Big Solutions for Your Home is a compilation of over 30 columns written by Sarah Susanka for Fine Homebuilding magazine.
"Do more with less space" is the key concept of this down-to-earth design guide for both new home builders and remodelers. Not So Big Solutions for Your Home provides simplified design principles in jargon-free language for the nonprofessional contemplating a residential building project. Architect and author Sarah Susanka, well-known for 1998's The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live, offers advice on how to redefine space to create happier living areas that function more efficiently. For example, analyzing the family's television habits and planning set placement in advance may avert future squabbles and smooth out daily living. Thinking of each exterior door as the location of a sequence of common events (such as hauling in the groceries or taking off muddy boots) will help the planner create a neater entryway adapted to the family's specific needs. Throughout, plentiful drawings and photos illustrate simple solutions to such common problems as unused living rooms, dark bedrooms, and crowded kitchens. Readers seeking to remodel on a budget will be heartened by Susanka's contention that it is often best to stay within existing walls and avoid building out. All in all, the book provides a lot of theoretical food for thought for lay people preparing to begin the daunting task of either building a new home or remodeling an old one. --Judy Fireman
Author: Sarah Susanka
Publisher: Taunton
Customer Reviews
  • My house isn't so big. Where do I put everything?
    The nice thing about this book is that it can be considered when you are thinking about building a new home, or considering remodeling your current home. And the remodel doesn't need to include a contractor. What if you have a window on a short wall, and think "Hey, I could put a bench seat there with bookshelves on either side to create a window seat!" <br /> <br />Those are the kinds of ideas I got from this book.
  • Everyone should read this book!
    I think every person who owns or is considering buying a home should read this book first. The concepts presented here will make you rethink the idea that you need more...bigger is NOT better. Utilizing space effectively and making a house your own with personalized touches are much more likely to make one more satisfied than buying bigger. While I have been investigating going smaller for a while now, this book really helped me to focus on the details of actually making that change work in real life. A must read for anyone feeling cramped in their spaces.
  • Love this concept!
    I now am a HUGE fan of Sara Susanka. I went to the library and read ALL her books. The pictures are very helpful if planning a remodel or building new. Finding an architect that is in-tune is a challenge, most are men and do not think this way.
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