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Title: The Not So Big House Collection: The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka ISBN: 1-56158-627-7 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: 10 September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (9 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Using this book if you're on a budget
Comment: I agree that this book isn't as useful as I'd like for those of us who are on a budget when building a house -- we're limited to off-the-rack home designs, and can't afford to have a builder put in all the options available to those who can afford to hire an architect. However, since my spouse and I are pretty handy when it comes to woodworking etc., we will be putting some of the book's principles to use when it comes to building our next house. We've also put some of its ideas into action in our present house, putting in built-ins and other storage spaces that allow us to use the space we have more efficiently. Builders are often happy to make small changes, like moving a wall to enlarge a pantry, at little or no cost. Knowing to look for those sorts of solutions and ask for them have really made our home more user friendly.
The houses on either side of ours are the stereotypical "McMansions" that the book is aimed at counteracting, and I see more of them going into developments every day. I never see my neighbors in their three-story great rooms (which have so many windows it's practically a goldfish bowl). The neighbors love our house, which we chose specifically because it had a big kitchen which looks directly onto the living room -- the space is warm, inviting, and definitely used. If more people read and absorbed Sarah Susanka's ideas, they could make informed choices when shopping for a new home, and maybe we'd see fewer of these huge, unfriendly mini-mansions being built.
Rating: 5
Summary: Grewat idea, even better pictures
Comment: This book has given us many ideas for our own home, and although I don't agree with the author's espousal of the wonders of a 'great room' (which I find an expensive trend that really only counts when you live in a one room cottage) I like her ideas about sightlines, storage spaces and the fact that people don't really need as much space as they think they do. The pictures give concrete examples of Susanka's principles, and the book is organized with nice flow.
Rating: 5
Summary: GREAT FOR BUDGET and IDEALISTIC MINDED! yes, both.
Comment: Building a home: GET ALL YOUR DETAILS IN THE CONTRACT PRIOR TO STARTING, (INCLUDING PRICING OUT YOUR ALLOWANCES TO ENSURE THE BUILDER HAS PUT ENOUGH ALLOWANCE IN CONTRACT), MAKE A BUDGET-Detailed, and get these books: These books have been the cornerstone of our building project. True, she has advice that is for both large and small budgets (some of the details are pricey) BUT..the point of the book is spend same money on smaller scale and you will be happier. If you are building a 5,000+ sqft house, you will find these books amusing. But if you want to build a more reasonable size home, these books are great. We built a 4,000 sqft home (includes basement and above garage) and used several tips (lighting, mail area, etc.).
My advice:
1. Use a builder with design services (our architects were living too large for our budget and they build homes that are not pratical (waste material in sizing).
2. GET EVERY LITTLE DETAIL UP FRONT IN CONTRACT. This was painful for the builder--he did not want to do it. But we are only 1% over budget and only overbudget b/c we could not nail him down on kitchen allowance and he underestimated our taste.
3. Make lists/clip pictures/and dream everyday.
4. Build for expansion...maybe you cannot afford to get it all now. Set it up for easy adding later.
Good Luck!
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Title: Not So Big Solutions for Your Home by Sarah Susanka ISBN: 1561586137 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home by Sarah Susanka ISBN: 1561586188 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka, Kira Obolensky ISBN: 1561583766 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: 31 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, Barbara Winslow ISBN: 1561585335 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Creating the Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home by Sarah Susanka, Grey Crawford ISBN: 1561586056 Publisher: Taunton Press Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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