Library Mama

More Not-So-Big Solutions for Your Home by Sarah Susanka My love and I have been fans of Susanka ever since her first book, The Not-So-Big House. This was a library present from him. The original book was all about designing new houses to be beautiful and cozy by putting money into details rather than size. Subsequent books have looked at remodeling and various other aspects short of designing a new house from scratch. I must admit that even working with an architect at all seems out of reach right now, but I still found this collection of articles from Fine Homebuilding magazine inspiring. The articles are split up by topic – things like kitchens, curb appeal, or trying to make a McMansion feel not-so-big. She talks about things like designing a welcoming entry way or a breakfast nook that is just right to be used. She is not vague, either – she gives specific dimensions along the lines of “This will feel too narrow to be comfortable, this will be too far away to be useful, and this range is just right.” She talks about which ways of making a space work better for you will help in resale (most, if well thought out) and which might not (usually homeowners being so desperate to have something close to better that they don’t consider best.) Even if I can’t hire her, I still came away with plenty of small ideas to improve our own space now and I enjoy making mental lists of the most important projects to tackle if we ever can afford remodeling. And I love that there are people thinking so hard about making everyday life simply beautiful.

Originally posted at http://library-mama.dreamwidth.org .