Two of our favorite resources—Fine Homebuilding magazine and architect/author Sarah Susanka, AIA—have teamed up to produce Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (Taunton Press, 2002), a compendium of ideas to help clients define exactly what they want in a dwelling unit. Although this handsome, 8x8-inch paperback won't offer profound design revelations to most architects, if offers perhaps a far greater service via clients, as this review in the St. Petersburg Times suggests: "Read [Susanka's] words carefully, because she teaches how to think about what you really want in a home, the difference between wishes and needs, and how to articulate what you want when talking to architects."

The concept behind Not So Big Solutions is simple: Susanka, whose "Drawing Board" column has appeared regularly in Fine Homebuilding for the past five years, rounded up 30 of her best articles into a neatly packaged book. She hand-draws her own beautifully earth-toned illustrations and—dispelling the most unfounded of architect myths—she can write! In his foreword, Fine Homebuilding Editor in Chief Kevin Ireton puts it this way: "What makes Sarah special, besides her missionary zeal, is that she can write about residential design without referring to halls and stairs as 'horizontal and vertical circulation corridors.' But she does more than translate architectural jargon into plain English. She can explain why it's uncomfortable to be alone in a big room with tall ceilings, and why you're drawn to a cozy, light-filled window seat."

The big idea
Not So Big Solutions shares the hallmarks of success borne by Susanka's two previous books, The Not So Big House, and Creating the Not So Big House (which together have sold half a million copies): they center on "a big idea." In all three, Susanka puts forth a notion right in this time and place of coming down from the false economic high of the 1990s: that maybe a house that comfortably serves our needs and our true heart's desire is just "not so big," not so "on," not so much—not so. The notion has earned her kudos far beyond the profession, including being recognized as one of 50 Champions of Innovation by Fast Company, one of 18 Innovators in American Culture by U.S. News and World Report, and one of 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow by Newsweek.

"I firmly believe that if we can simply explain to each other what we really want in and from our dwellings, we'll find answers that are less resource consumptive and far more satisfying to the soul," Susanka writes. "Our homes will reveal the secret to their metamorphis, but we will have to learn how to pay attention and listen. Read on, and find out how to listen to your own dwelling place and how to transform it, regardless of its size, shape, or character, into the home of your dreams."

From site selection to remodeling
The book's good ideas run the gamut from site to renovation, and are organized into six logical chapters:
• The House on Its Site
• Rethinking Living Spaces
• New Places for Not So New Things
• Attention to Detail
• Lighting that Works
• Remodeling and Adding On.

A favorite, from the "Rethinking Living Spaces" chapter, is "Putting the TV in Its Place(s)," which talks about the enormous impact the placement of television(s) has in a home. "It is common for husbands and wives to disagree on where TVs should go and how much TV they want to watch," Susanka writes. "These patterns are seldom discussed, but they are of enormous importance in a home." (One wonders how many domestic wars have evolved—and how far they have escalated—because of TVs.) She explains—using an example of family made up of a father, mother, and twin six-year-old sons—how the place to start was with a survey of family viewing habits: where are the TVs now, who watches and at what locations, and what are the positives and negatives of each location.

The solution involved a separate "away" room for the main TV and a new location for the the kitchen TV (see drawings). "The more thoughtfully we consider the integration of television into our lives, the less likely it is that is will become a source of irritation, Susanka writes. "It can be a powerful tool, both for education and for entertainment, but it can also become a home wrecker and a blight on family interaction if not thought about."

Another neat example is "Simple Floor-Plan Changes Can Revitalize an Older Home," in the "Remodeling" section. Susanka discusses how a well-working home of today eliminates the formal "dinosaur" spaces—formal dining and living rooms that don't get used much anymore—and concentrates on the informal gathering areas, such as the kitchen, that serve as centers of congregation. Many of the suggestions in this chapter deal with making the kitchen visible and accessible to other parts of the home. "Typically, if you can't see a space from the main congregating space, you are much less likely to use it," Susanka says. "So the first order of business is to open views from the kitchen to the other two living areas [dining room and living room]."

Many of the concepts are of the forehead-smacking, "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" brand of simplicity. That is what makes them so beautiful. The bottom line is: If you do residential, read Not So Big Solutions for Your Home. Your clients will. Together you might get some great ideas; at very least, it will give you something fun to talk about.

You can order Not So Big Solutions for Your Home from the AIA Bookstore, $20 AIA members/$22.95 retail (plus $6 shipping per order). To order: phone 800-242-3837 option #4; fax 202-626-7519; or send an email.

Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.