"The Not So Big House"

If you are thinking about building a new home or remodeling an existing home, you need to read "The Not So Big House". Sarah Susanka has written a few more books on the subject but this first one will get you started. When we started talking about building a new home last year, (you know me!) I went straight to the library and checked out every book they had on home design and building. Susanka's were my favorites. She talks about how homes are getting bigger and bigger and looking cheaper and cheaper. People spend all their money on square footage and don't give any thought to the details that really make a house a home. I won't give a full book report here. Just read the book!

Here are some of the ideas I have come with for our own "Not So Big House".

Get rid of the formal dining room and while you're at it toss out the kitchen table as well. We do not eat at the table. We eat at the kitchen counter. The only thing we use the table for is our school work. Even that could be done at the kitchen counter but we use the table just because it's there. "What about guests and dinner parties", you ask? I don't believe in serving seven course, sit down meals. I like to mingle. When we invite people over we always do it buffet style. So my plan for our new house is to design a very large island that will serve as a dining table, craft table and school desk. If I had tried this in my past life we wouldn't have had anywhere to eat because the counter would have been piled with school books and craft projects.

I am going to have very few, if any, kitchen cupboards. I'll store our dishes on open shelving right next to the dishwasher and I'll have a large walk through pantry for all our food. My baking/mixing supplies will be kept on a rolling unit that I'll store in the pantry and roll out for cooking. We'll have access to the pantry from the kitchen and the garage so we can bring the groceries in and directly put them away.

Right now I have an entire room for my sewing and crafts. Our new house will have one closet, adjacent to the kitchen island, to hold my sewing machines and craft supplies.

Now we have an office. Our new house will have a computer closet at one end of the main living area. It's going to have a door with a window so we can shut ourselves inside for important telephone conversations and still be able to keep an eye on the kids. This will also allow us to watch them like a hawk when they're older and using the internet.

I will only allow two bathrooms in our new house. One in the bedroom area and one in the living area. Besides the expense of putting in extra bathrooms, I'm not willing to clean them. Two is my limit.

Our laundry machines will be in the master bedroom's closet. Why should I haul laundry across the house when 70% of it is generated in our closet? I'm not worried about the noise since my husband seems to be able to sleep through anything. We slept downstairs directly under the laundry room for a time and I used to put in a load of laundry right before bed every night. The sound always lulled me to sleep.

Susanka says, why have a beautiful foyer for guests when the family has to enter into an unsightly service entrance. In our new home, visitors and family will enter into the same inviting foyer. Guests will enter from the front porch and we'll enter from the garage. There will be a place to sit down and plenty of built-in cupboards and drawers for coats, shoes and bags.

We are going to have very tiny bedrooms with walk-in closets. We only need room for our beds and night stands. The kids will have a playroom in a loft for all their toys.

Most of our square footage is going to be in the main living area where we need it. We're going to have an open floor plan that includes the kitchen and family room. My kids always end up in whatever room I'm in, so why not make it easier for all of us and have all our activities in the same room? I'll be able to help them with their school work whether I'm cooking, sewing or working on the computer. The kids can do their paper crafts and puzzles while we're watching a movie.

I have many more ideas for my "Not So Big House". Some of them will work out and some of them may not. I've been designing a floor plan on the computer that I'll post when I get it nearer to completion. Please give me any ideas you might have for your own "Not So Big House". I would love to hear them!