The Not So Big House

The Not So Big House book series by Sarah Susanka brings to light a new way of thinking about what makes a place feel like home - characteristics many people desire in their homes and their lives, but haven't known how to verbalize. How big is Not So Big? Not So Big doesn't necessarily mean small. It means not as big as you thought you needed, but designed and built to perfectly suit the way you live.

In the very first chapter Sarah says “What…I suggest is that when building a new home or remodeling an existing one, you evaluate what really makes you feel at home.  In other words, concentrate on, and put more of your money toward, what you like rather than settling for sheer size and volume.”  This sums up for me what is at the heart of this book and the lesson it tries to impart on current and future homeowners.

Throughout the book Sarah takes us on a journey from one beautifully designed home to another explaining all along the way that our idea of the “modern home” is essentially a den of wasted and unused spaces that were never meant for modern living or entertaining.  She offers us an alternative that is the Not So Big House ideal of homes designed with purpose, designed for THE homeowner not A homeowner.  Again, Sarah says it best: “The Not So Big House offers a way to bring the soul back into our homes, out communities, and our society’s fabric.  The house of the future will be Not So Big – and an expression of who we are and the way we really live.