89 of 96 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not for Everyone, Feb 22 2006
By Charmed Life - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details That Bring a Home to Life (Hardcover)
This book follows up on the other books by the author, The Not so Big House, and Creating the Not so Big House. When published, those books created a sort of mini-revolution in the "bigger is better approach" to homes.
This book follows up to the original idea of a not so big house by offering attractive and functional details one can add to it.
There is nothing overtly wrong with this book, it is beautifully photographed, but I did not gain a whole lot from reading it. As the title indicates, it's about detail, the stuff that is extra to an already well built house, (ie built in bookshelves, window seats, etc.). Because the possibilities with detail are nearly endless, the author chooses some of her favorites and devotes the book to exploring them. If those details are exactly what you are looking for in your plans, this book is probably worthwhile, albeit pricey, but if the details are not suited to your lifestyle or aesthetic consider skipping it.
120 of 134 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Living Well in a Little Space, Nov 7 2005
By John Matlock "Gunny" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details That Bring a Home to Life (Hardcover)
There was a time when I wanted and even could say needed a McMansion type house. At the time I had a wife and a house, a boy and a girl, a dog and a cat, a car and a pickup. But the boy and girl grew up, the dog and cat passed on, wife went away and the house wasn't where I wanted to live (or clean, or cool, or heat). So I moved to a less than 1,000 foot house whose age was listed by the tax assessor in 1942 as 'old.' And now I'm in the remodelling mode.
This book is a fairly typical architecture picture book. What makes it unique is that it is filled with houses about the size of mine. It shows the interior treatment that some 23 small house owners have used to get the most effective use out of the small space available.
What I wanted, and what I got out of the book was a lot of ideas about how to do things. I haven't decided just yet what I'm going to do, but re-doing the floor is next. Then the kitchen. I think I want to do something like page 56 of this book.
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yet Another Winner from Susanka!, Mar 1 2006
By Reed Clark - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details That Bring a Home to Life (Hardcover)
This book (as all of Susanka's books) is ideal for both the home owner as well as the house hunter.
Regardless of whether you have a large or small home or an expensive high-end or sheet rock box, this book will help you turn your house from a place where you reside into a home where you LIVE.
My only complaint about this book is the lack of floor plans. However, you can download most of the floor plans of the projects in this book by going to Susanka's web site (if you can't find it, just google "notsobighouse").