House Plans

The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live

When describing a favorite room in the house, do you find yourself using terms such as "expansive," "formal," and "spacious"--a marble foyer or a formal dining room perhaps? Or do the words "cozy," "intimate," and "warm" come to mind--a cheery little breakfast nook or a window seat complete with plenty of pillows and a breathtaking view? More than likely, you--like thousands of other homeowners--are drawn to the more personal spaces in your home, where comfort, beauty, and efficiency meet. In The Not So Big House, respected architect Sarah Susanka and coauthor Kira Obolensky address our affinity for the "smaller, more personal spaces" and propose "clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements." The heart of the not-so-big house--which is not "just a small house ... [but] a smaller house," that uses "less space to give greater quality of life," and is designed to not only "accommodate the lifestyles of its occupants" but also to express "our values and our personalities," is discussed in chapter 1, entitled "Bigger Isn't Better." Susanka's urging for homeowners to get creative with their space as well as loads of ideas to encourage that creativity are covered in "Rethinking the House" and "Making Not So Big Work." Discussions of specific needs, such as a home for one and designing for kids, can be found in "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous," while "Dreams, Details, and Dollars" gets down to the nuts and bolts of the operation, looking at quality versus quantity, budgeting, and what "low end," "middle ground," and "high end" really mean in home design and construction. Lastly, the authors look at the home of the future, which involves simplifying, recycling, reducing waste, and using energy-efficient construction. With more than 200 color photographs, as well as floor plans and Susanka and Obolensky's intelligent and lively dialogue, The Not So Big House is perfect for homeowners ready to rethink their space. --Stefanie Hargreaves

This best-seller was met with an extraordinary response when it was published in 1998. In it, visionary architect Sarah Susanka embraced the notion of smaller, simpler shelters that better meet the needs of the way we live today. The book created a groundswell of interest among homeowners, architects, and builders. More than 200 photographs bring the spirit of the "Not So Big" house alive.

Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid

The Big Book of Small House Designs: 75 Award-Winning Plans for Your Dream House, All 1,250 Square Feet or Less

The Big Book of Small House Designs is a collection of more than 500 drawings illustrating all aspects of 75 small homes of various styles, from a New England farmhouse to a sophisticated steel frame to a Santa Fe ranch. Each design includes detailed floor plans, section drawings, elevations, and perspectives, as well as a description of the materials used and landscaping around the home. Keeping in mind that a chief priority for a small home is often energy efficiency, most of the plans incorporate some energy-efficient element. There are dozens of plans suitable for every environment and climate in the country. The designs are all a direct result of several international competitions that solicited from architects the best homes of 1,250 square feet or less. Contact information for the architects is provided in the back of the book.

Tuscan & Andalusian Reflections

Within the pages of this dazzling book, readers will find 20 of the most significant new homes designed by Bassenian/Lagoni Architects of Newport Beach, California. Inspired by the architecture of Southern Europe, yet totally new, these graceful, time-tempered homes display up-to-date floor planning, the finest amenities and picturesque landscaping. Built in the canyons and along the coasts of California, as well as in the deserts of Nevada, theses homes echo the architectural forms, textures and motifs of structures built in the hill towns of Tuscany and the plains of Andalusia. The homes range from stunning Tuscan courtyard homes in Rancho Santa Fe to a trio of walled and tiled Spanish/Andalusian designs in Irvine to an amazingly versatile family-recreation hacienda in Las Vegas. Each home is depicted by glorious color photographs, both inside and out, as well as a detailed site plan and colored floor plan with furniture in place. A special section for each major project entitled “It’s In The Details” gives readers a close-up view of the architectural design and building details that make these homes extraordinary. A very helpful Annotated Projects List at the back of the book provides a complete listing of the builders, structural engineers, landscape architects and interior designers who contributed to each project. Also included in the book is a Forward by A. David Kovach, a distinguished housing marketer and design commentator, as well as an Introduction by Aram Bassenian, AIA and Carl Lagoni, AIA, Chairman/CEO and President, respectively, of Bassenian/Lagoni Architects. For consumers, this inspiring and well-crafted collection will serve as a valuable resource of ideas for design, landscaping and interiors created in the Old World style, but with a fresh California twist. For professionals and students, this remarkable book will provide examples of innovative floor planning, adept use of forms and materials and execution of a comprehensive design vision that has become the hallmark of Bassenian/Lagoni Architects.

So... You Want To Build a House

Build your dream house without getting a headache!

From selecting the property and meeting with an architect through resale considerations and construction, So You Want to Build a House walks you through every step of the building process painlessly, on-time, and on-budget.

Working with Concrete

- Over 1.2 million copies sold in Taunton's For Pros/By Pros series

Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (Susanka)

"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

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. 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.
-- Makes architecture and design accessible to people who are not trained in the field
-- Provides a wide variety of practical, accessible, everyday solutions

Habitat for Humanity: How to Build a House

The world-famous volunteer organization Habitat for Humanity now offers its best nuts-and-bolts expertise in an easy-to-follow home construction handbook. Whether the reader contemplates building his or her own house or plans on volunteering to build for others, Habitat for Humanity: How to Build a House delivers on the promise of its title. Step-by-step instructions by author and veteran crew supervisor Larry Haun are provided in plain, simple English, with lots of encouragement and no condescension to beginners. Practically every page contains an extra "helping hand" tip on materials, tools, building codes, or safety precautions. In hundreds of color photographs and black-and-white line drawings, the book follows the construction of a single house--from choosing its location to the final step of installing its exterior door locks. Reassuring personal stories from Habitat volunteers are scattered throughout, along with confidence-inspiring promises from the author such as "building a simple house is not a mystery."

Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat, has written a foreword to this book, and a percentage of the book's proceeds will be donated to the organization to help build more homes. Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1976, has built more than 100,000 affordable houses throughout the world. --Judy Fireman

Available for the first time, Habitat for Humanity How to Build a House is a complete, step-by-step guide to building a house from the world's leading authority on community home building. Presented documentary-style, each process is illustrated with full-color photos shot exclusively for this book and accompanied by clear, authoritative and friendly text. An ideal book for beginners as well as more experienced builders, Habitat for Humanity How to Build a House covers everything you need to know about building an efficient, affordable, quality house.
-- Habitat for Humanity has built more than 100,000 houses, through 1500 affiliates worldwide
-- Includes information on building codes, building inspections, energy efficiency, professional building techniques and tools and materials

Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh from the Factory

This is the only book that gives homeowners who are dreaming about building or planning to build a new home the good and the bad on all types of prefabricated houses. Shows that prefabricated can be mainstream traditional design and does not have to look like a mobile home or a modular "Dwell" box.

Prefabulous describes the many systems available for prefabricating all or parts of a new home, including timber frame and log, as well as modular, panelized, structural insulated panels, steel framing and concrete systems, which are relatively new. Prefabulous describes these systems, compares their advantages and disadvantages, and shows beautiful examples of houses built using these techniques. Although all of these "prefabricated" houses look very different, all of them were manufactured partially or almost completely in a controlled factory environment and transported to the home site to be erected. As a group these systems offer a faster, more energy-efficient, and sometimes more cost-efficient method of building.

Includes a foreword by Not So Big House author Sarah Susanka, who writes: "For homeowners who want to know the options, the advantages and disadvantages of those options, and to see how those prefabricated parts come together into a good, attractive home, read this book."

Building the Timber Frame House: The Revival of a Forgotten Art

For centuries, post-and-beam construction has proved to be one of the most durable building techniques. It is being enthusiastically revived today not only for its sturdiness but because it can be easily insulated, it is attractive, and it offers the builder the unique satisfaction of working with timbers. Building the Timber Frame House is the most comprehensive manual available on the technique. In it you will find a short history, of timber framing and a fully illustrated discussion of the different kinds of joinery, assembly of timbers, and raising of the frame. There are also detailed sections on present-day design and materials, house plans, site development, foundation laying, insulation, tools, and methods.