When the book was first published in 1998 Susanka was on the forefront of the movement away from McMansions and large houses (a movement that, in my opinion, is only just now really hitting the mainstream). I had avoided reading the book because of Susanka's popularity, but the book contains quality content. This book belongs on the 'to read' list of anyone buying or building a home. Whether you seek comfort and calm or activity and energy at home, The Not So Big House offers a place for every mood. Consider which rooms in your house you use and enjoy most, and you have a sense of the essential principles of The Not So Big House. In 1999, Sarah Susanka was then architect and principal with Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners, the firm selected to design the 1999 Life Dream House brought Frank Lloyd Wright's same common-sense, human-scale design principles to our generation. Why are we drawn more to smaller, more personal spaces than to larger, more expansive ones? Why do we spend more time in the kitchen than we do in the formal dining room? The Not So Big House proposes clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements, whether for a couple with no children, a family, empty nesters, or one person alone. Architects and builders around the country report clients showing up with dog-eared copies of The Not So Big House, pages marked to a favorite section. And the people responsible for building our homes have also gotten the message. Since then, the book's simple message - that quality should come before quantity - has started a movement in home design. Nearly a quarter-million people bought this ground-breaking book when it was published in Fall 1998.

Now, the book that celebrated that bold declaration is back in this special 10th anniversary edition featuring a new introduction and 16 additional pages that explore three new homes. Ten years ago, Sarah Susanka started a revolution in home design with a deceptively simple message: quality should always come before quantity.

The not so big house collection