Amazon.com
When describing a favorite room in the house, do you find yourself using terms such as "expansive," "formal," and "spacious"--a marble foyer or a formal dining room perhaps? Or do the words "cozy," "intimate," and "warm" come to mind--a cheery little breakfast nook or a window seat complete with plenty of pillows and a breathtaking view? More than likely, you--like thousands of other homeowners--are drawn to the more personal spaces in your home, where comfort, beauty, and efficiency meet. In The Not So Big House, respected architect Sarah Susanka and coauthor Kira Obolensky address our affinity for the "smaller, more personal spaces" and propose "clear, workable guidelines for creating homes that serve both our spiritual needs and our material requirements." The heart of the not-so-big house--which is not "just a small house ... [but] a smaller house," that uses "less space to give greater quality of life," and is designed to not only "accommodate the lifestyles of its occupants" but also to express "our values and our personalities," is discussed in chapter 1, entitled "Bigger Isn't Better." Susanka's urging for homeowners to get creative with their space as well as loads of ideas to encourage that creativity are covered in "Rethinking the House" and "Making Not So Big Work." Discussions of specific needs, such as a home for one and designing for kids, can be found in "Lifestyles of the Not So Rich and Famous," while "Dreams, Details, and Dollars" gets down to the nuts and bolts of the operation, looking at quality versus quantity, budgeting, and what "low end," "middle ground," and "high end" really mean in home design and construction. Lastly, the authors look at the home of the future, which involves simplifying, recycling, reducing waste, and using energy-efficient construction. With more than 200 color photographs, as well as floor plans and Susanka and Obolensky's intelligent and lively dialogue, The Not So Big House is perfect for homeowners ready to rethink their space. --Stefanie Hargreaves
Book Description
Sarah Susanka contends that people are naturally drawn to intimate spaces. Large structures inspired by outdated patterns tend to result in houses that just don't work. In The Not So Big House, she proposes clear guidelines for creating homes that serve spiritual needs as well as material requirements. Topics covered include designing for specific lifestyles, budgeting, building a home from scratch, and using energy-efficient construction. With more than 200 color photographs as well as floor plans, the book is perfect for homeowners ready to rethink their space. Susanka says to evaluate what makes you feel at home and let your activities define your rooms. San Francisco Chronicle
Customer Reviews:
Great concepts, middling design.......2007-09-25
I've found this book to be an invaluable resource and appreciate the philosophy and information contained within it. I also found the numerous photos and illustrations to be helpful to convey Susanka's ideas.
The only problem is that I found the actual design and decor of the homes in the book somehow dated and uninspiring. This is definitely a personal reaction, and I'm sure others would disagree. Despite my issues with the actual look of the homes, I'd recommend this as an essential resource along with John Wheatman's books (whose design does resonate for me).
Inspiration & ideas for rethinking your living space.......2007-09-02
The ideas in this book encourage you to think about how you would like use your home space and how to accomplish this marriage of functionality with comfort and aesthetics. Almost every photo has some new little idea to think about. It gives me hope that I'll finally be able to create a comfortable home that integrates everyone's interests & needs. It's inspirational for those of us who have to adapt living spaces to growing families & to those like me who are now empty nesters (but who still need bed space for visiting family members).
A must Have If You Plan To Build.......2007-06-27
Useful, practical, creative. Anyone can gain something from this book even if you aren't building.
Reviewed by Amy Lignor.......2007-06-21
Have you ever found yourself asking, "Is this all there is to life?" We are running in a world of cell phone and blackberry technology, where life is so fast that we never have time to do what we truly want: sit back and enjoy our lives while we have one. This author, with a background in architecture, has put together a fantastic psychological blueprint, if you will, to make changes that will offer you a more rewarding life. This is not like the usual "schlock" that says close your eyes and all good things will come. No, this author takes the time to reveal that things like form and function are not only useful in building a house, they can be translated into building a better life. In a house, you can tear down interior walls to make more space and bring in more light; in your life, you can tear down your fears and open new possibilities.
This is a lovely read filled with wise advice. The author has successfully interwoven her extensive architectural background into well-compiled thoughts on how each and every one of us can make small changes in our lives that will allow us to treasure the time we have.
My advice? If you wish to begin taking time out to enjoy your life - begin by reading this book.
Insightful book with great ideas.......2007-05-26
I was starting to think I was crazy for wanting to build a small house, but this book perfectly articulates the thoughts I was having so much conveying. It is a wonderful basis for discussion and offers many practical, well thought out ideas for implementation.
Book Description
Francis D. K. Ching's illustrated introduction to interior design is now completely revised and even more clear and accessible than in the previous bestselling edition. His unique approach is more useful than ever, with a reformatted, larger trim size for easy reading and an all-new full color section! The book includes new and updated material on finishes, furnishings and textiles, lighting, sustainability, acoustics, workstations, and much more. Order your copy today!
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-05-12
This book is a great book. no color pictures but only scetches. This book is about scale, orientation, symmetry, proportion, shape of objects and interiors etc etc. You get the idea. I recommend you buy this book.
Excellent illustrations.......2007-01-28
No regrets for having bought the book. Excellent illustrations, something you can refer to over and over again!
Interior Design Illustrated.......2006-03-02
I got this book earlier than i expected and it is everything i expected.
Great Resource.......2003-11-13
I am currently getting my degree in ID, and I think that this resource is invaluable. The drawings are great and they really help with perspectives and rendering.
Excellent but abit outdated.......2002-02-15
The auther is fantastic, the book is well written otherwise he wouldn't have got the 4 stars, the book covers the subject from A to Z literally speaking, a must have, BUT it is too much outdated.
Book Description
With a little imagination and creativity--and without hiring a professional--almost anyone can transform a small living space into a comfortable and stylish environment. Whether decorating a dorm room, an apartment, or a little cottage, what we strive for is a look and feel that expresses our individual personalities. Part style guide, part idea sourcebook, this handy volume--designed to meet the needs of real people with real budgets--is packed with smart ideas, basic design principles, and enough inspiration to get you off the sofa to make it happen.
In her lively, informative text, design guru Marisa Bartolucci takes readers inside 33 small homes from cities across the U.S. to reveal how a strong sense of style--rather than design know-how or unlimited resources--is the most effective tool for transforming an ordinary cramped living space into a smart yet functional private sanctuary.
Customer Reviews:
Lots of inspiration.......2007-09-22
Love the way the book shows apartments of varying small sizes and multiple solutions for small-space dilemmas (like little room for sleeping, tiny kitchens). I was able to brainstorm a solution for my own apartment after one look through this book.
My only complaint is that there are no product resources listed--just designers' names and contact information.
Fabulousity on a budget.......2007-06-01
Well, I guess I'll add my voice to the chorus of reviewers for this book:
This is a jewel of a book. Lots of fabulous examples of small spaces with a lot of character. People who love art, collect books and appreciate unexpected decorating ideas will enjoy this book."
A lovely book that could use a bit of fine-tuning to best serve its intended readership.......2007-04-06
I really liked this book, but it only gets 4 out of 5 stars because I think the definition of "small spaces" is too broad. This book would be better if it showcased twice as many spaces from 100-600sqf, rather than going all the way up to 1000. Maybe for people who don't live in cities, 1000sqf is tiny, but I think a lot of the book's target audience would find that amount of space to be truly palatial. Many of the larger spaces had yards or terraces, sometimes doubling the real amount of living space, so that feels like a "cheat" to me. I got the most ideas out of the first half of the book, and the rest of the book was enjoyable as a general interior design book rather than a "small spaces" design book. Many of the featured homes' remodels involve knocking out walls and really re-working a space, so if you're a renter looking for what you can do with a small space you don't own, you might be disappointed. All in all, a very nice book with wonderful photographs, I just wish there was a greater focus on spaces under 600sqf, and more creative rentals being showcased for readers who are renters.
Really small spaces!.......2007-03-26
A small but pretty coffee table book with great content and some good ideas for living in tiny, tiny spaces.
1) 16 of the 33 profiled spaces were 500 sq ft or less! The other 17 were 600 - 1000 sq ft in size. I haven't seen many books on small space living that focus on this size range. Most books seem to present 2000 sqft houses as tiny.
2) The owners of these spaces didn't all have an unlimited budget. Many were in rentals so gut renovations, moving walls, etc was not an option. Many did have expensive or design worthy furniture and art but quite a few were heavily furnished with IKEA and thrift store finds.
3) Most of the owners had to be very carefull with clutter and picking pieces that would work in the space and that they really loved. Some of the other Amazon reviews found this to be somewhat unrealistic but I think that when you live in such small spaces, you are going to have to keep things very neat and tidy.
4) Part of the title is "expressing personal style". There is plenty of that in the book mostly clustered around what I'll call "modern" (eams etc), "drama" (red, red everywhere), "eclectic" (high design items mixed with garage sale items) and "standard" (danish). Many of the owners have extensive collections that are well presented and show off their unique personal style.
5) Most of these places are inhabited by: architects, artists, interior decorators, makeup artists, writers, curators, floral designers, etc. Essentially those who are in the "profession". I got the impression that hiring someone is de rigur if you are an accountant or fireman.
6) I liked the organization of the book by size of the space, architectural diagram of the space, lots of well shot photos, a narrative of who the residents are and how the space came to be and a picture of the residents.
7) One of my favorites were Francisco Parod and Ximena Orozco, the couple from Mexico living in a 450sqft NY apartment...with a baby! Not only did it look comfortable and open, they furnished almost everything at IKEA. My other favorite was Karen Meyer. She had translucent screens that could slide between the living room and dining room. This provided flexibility to the spaces by making it more expansive or more private, as needed. A murphy bed that was behind a shelf unit in the dining room could be opened up to create a guest room. A nice example of rooms doing double duty.
All in all, the best book I've found for realistic ideas for very small spaces.
Living Large in Small Spaces.......2007-03-19
Although I was not overwhelmed with inspiration, I liked the set-up of this book. The spaces are grouped by square footage complete with pictures of all areas of the space and a floor plan so that you can visualize how the spaces fit together. I also liked the fact that there were various design styles. However, I could not visualize myself living in the majority of the spaces displayed in this book. The majority of the homes displayed were homes of designers and artists. Since I myself am not a designer or an artist, I could and would not begin to design like what was displayed in this book.
Book Description
This definitive reference offers detailed analyses of more than thirty medical and dental specialties and their respective space planning requirements. New to the third edition is coverage of new medical specialties including reproductive enhancement, LASIX eye surgery, breast care centers, larger ambulatory centers, and medical oncology. It also offers up-to-date information on digital technology-electronic medical records, digital imaging, diagnostic instruments, and networked communications-and how it impacts the design of medical and dental facilities. You'll also find out about recent changes in regulatory agency reviews of office-based surgery practices and ADA compliance.
Customer Reviews:
Excelent source of information.......2006-05-08
this book is excenlent describes the medicasl procedures and what spaces to design for them, covers radiology, surgical suites, nuclear medicne and medical spaces for dentist it was a big help , an it even comes with plant layouts that you can really see how the facilities work!
Customer Reviews:
great reference.......2007-09-29
this is a book that will never make you excited with designing spaces, but it is something that you really NEED TO HAVE if doing inerior design. greatest reference book i've seen.
Good Reference Text.......2007-08-23
Good reference text for deminision and clearly illustrated. Only drawback is the data this is based on is a number of years old. That said it is still highly relevant.
Indispensible Resource.......2007-06-13
I purchased this book over 22 years ago and loved it then! I lost my copy during a move and now am looking to repurchase it. Without a doubt, it was one of the most valuable books in my collection for designing custom homes! As an architectural designer, I highly recommend this book to any design professional or student!
It's All Inside!.......2007-03-22
One of the best reference books to date for building ergonomic interiors.
MSUT HAVE FOR DESIGNERS!.......2006-02-26
I got this book for my Sr. Design class where we are designing a retail store. This book is a MUST HAVE for an interior designer... students especially....
a book you will keep in your design library forever...
Book Description
More than twenty superstars from the world of crafting--including Anna Corba, April Cornell, Sandi Genovese, and Andrea Grossman--offer their expert advice on how to design a work space where creativity can blossom. Like the bestselling Business of Bliss, it's practical, inspirational, and beautiful to behold.
Research by Craft Trends Magazine reveals that 89% of all crafters are women, and that they want to work in an environment conducive to creating their art. This invaluable and very special guide helps them achieve that goal, whatever their passion. It goes straight to the experts: successful women who have made their mark in more than 10 different creative fields. These top designers and artisans offer insights gleaned from years of experience, reveal how they constructed their own creative spaces, and explain how the reader can make practical use of these decorating, organizational, and inspirational techniques as they go about designing their own work areas. Among the pertinent questions they answer: Where did you like to work as a child? What's the most important thing about having your own place to work? Are women's creative spaces different from men's? How important is it for you to organize your work, and how do you do it? Do you listen to music when you work--and what kind? The featured designers include Wendy Addison, Dena Fishbein, Jill Schwartz, and Suze Weinberg and their fields range from paper crafts to gardening.
A Selection of the Crafters Choice Book Club & the Homestyle Book Club.
Customer Reviews:
AWESOME.......2007-08-31
This book is one that I will page through again and again. I found
the work spaces of these woman, creative, fun, and totally beautiful
and charming. There are so many different ideas, and at the end of the book, you
are wishing to see even more. This book is worth every penny, and I will refer
to it now, and in the future, for inspiration.
Visually pleasing.......2007-08-11
While I was hoping for more this was a visually pleasing book. I enjoyed seeing how different creative women utilized their space. I would have like to see more spaces
Casual Cottage Chic favorite .......2007-08-05
What a delight to find many of our favorite artists in their working spaces. Cindy Ellis is one of our favorite artists...delighted to have a peak inside her studio, and studio's of many other creative women. They are all an inspiration to design and color!
Inspiring.......2007-08-03
For those of us who live and work in our creative spaces, this book is a great inspiration. It really helped me dream bigger about my work space, and gave me some great ideas on how to organize for beauty as well as funtion.
If you love vintage details (and even not) this book presents wonderful references for organizing and creating a workspace that is personal and inviting. Some of the artists studio spaces really push the idea of craft storage... Also the women featured in the book, who have used their art to make a business for themselves, can be empowering. Great photos, a good deocorating resource book for the price.
Where Women Create.......2007-07-07
I enjoyed the variety of creative women they featured. The photos were helpful and I got a lot of ideas for my new studio.
Book Description
Outdoor cooking has far surpassed the days of the simply grilling on the patio. Incorporating everything from fully-stocked bars to full-size kitchen appliances in its plans, open-air cooking has soared to new levels of creativity, design, and technique.
With Outdoor Kitchens you will be able to personalize the outdoor cooking space that perfectly suits your lifestyle. Superb photography creates a catalog of options, inspiring you to design a space that exactly meets your desires, climate, cooking style, and budget. This book equips you with all the information you need to successfully set up an outdoor kitchen, from tips on choosing the right decor to proper equipment selection, allowing you to make all the correct decisions along the way.
Customer Reviews:
A Landmark Design Book.......2005-11-10
This must be the first full book-length study of the increasingly popular subject of outdoor kitchens and cooking. The author's style is precise and easy, allowing the reader to understand the history of cooking outdoors, which, after all, is how cooking got started. The book is beautifully produced, with a profusion of color illustrations and drawings which illustrate the text's in-depth approach to all aspects of the subject. From simple outdoor grilling to the design and construction of a custom, high-end outdoor kitchen and dining area, the reader can develop a better feel for the glorious benefits of cooking by fire. A useful index of resources for products is included at the end.
Not to be ignored are the many sidebars in the book, many of which provide essential information, such as those relating to choosing grills, the estimation of food servings for groups, cleaning a grill and food safety when outdoors. Major chefs and designers who specialize in outdoor cooking and grilling are interviewed, including 'Barbeque Bible' maestro Steven Raichlen, Dwayne Ridgaway, Food Network star Paula Deen, Richard Sandoval (author of Modern Mexican Flavors) and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que owner John Stage.
We can't all afford to spend a fortune on a full-blown outdoor kitchen, but Amanda Lecky's book is a great resource for outdoor large and small, and is worth more than its weight in (gold or otherwise) briquettes. Outdoor cooking has never been so fully analyzed and featured and this book makes you want to run out on the patio, fight the fall chill and grill a great meal.
Book Description
Organized around architectural project, "AutoCAD for Interior Design and Space Planning" gives readers a fundamental understanding of the commands and features of AutoCAD 2007 and demonstrates how to use the program to complete interior design and space planning projects. Building on twelve years of updates, the book covers both two-dimensional and three-dimensional drawings. Using numerous illustrations, a prompt-response format and innovative exercises, the book captures the essence of this powerful program and the importance it plays in the interior design, architecture and space planning professions.
Exercises are geared to architects, interior designers, and space planners, providing readers to work with real-world situations. More than 500 illustrations with many printed to scale. Illustartions in the margins help the user locate AutoCAD commands within the AutoCAD menu and toolbars. Prompt-response format is now clearly defined with shaded areas and numbered steps.
Interior Designers Interior Architects Space Planners Architectural Drafters Interior Decorators Architects
Amazon.com
Finally, finally, a practical home-decorating book for the reader who is not a millionaire! Rather than call in a professional design consultant to tell you which walls "must go" and throwing out everything you own in favor of new and expensive designer fabrics, furniture, and fixtures, Ward starts with what you already have and makes dramatic transformations by arrangement, use of color, and a few inexpensive additions of objects or materials. Her idea is to use what you already have and like, and operate on a budget you can afford to make your home more satisfying and aesthetically pleasing to you without being a slave to passing trends, fads, and radical transformations that end up making you feel like a stranger in your own home.
Among the many tips and guidelines, Ward starts with the top 10 decorating mistakes that professionals all know about, but that anyone can recognize and fix. She covers diagnosing problems that jar the eyes, offers suggestions on items to banish and others to borrow from elsewhere in the home to create more visual appeal, talks about how to shop for furniture that will work with what you already own, offers tips for new homeowners and people just starting out to make older furniture work in new spaces, and covers the kinds of dramatic improvements possible through the use of the right artwork, accessories, and lighting. This is a great gift book for newlyweds, new homeowners, or anyone interested in creative, lively home decorating without breaking the bank. --Mark A. Hetts
Book Description
At last, a decorating book that teaches anyone how to achieve the look they want, using the space they have, the things they like and the budget they can afford. In fact, Lauri Ward demonstrates how to make dramatic changes to any home without spending a penny! In her unique book, Lauri Ward identifies the ten most common decorating mistakes and illustrates how they can be corrected without hiring a professional decorator. Using real before-and-after examples, complete with photographs and drawings, Use What You Have Decorating shows what most people do wrong--and how errors can be remedied in short order, easily and economically. Different from any other interior design book, Use What You Have Decorating provides the principles and techniques necessary not only to create an instant transformation but also to make the right choices and purchases in the future. And unlike most decorating books, this one remains timeless because it doesn't depend on current fads or fashions. It allows anyone to have the most inviting home based on the best taste--their own. Use What You Have Decorating works with any style of furniture, from traditional to contemporary; with any size room or home, from studio to estate; with any budget, at any stage of life and regardless of style or taste of each individual.
Customer Reviews:
I love this book!.......2007-08-26
I am a professional interior designer and I found this book great because it provides great information in a easy to read format. I read more than half the book in one evening. Some people have stated that even though they love the book they wished it was in color. I love the book in black and white because the emphasis really is on the placement and not so much the color. I find that when items are related in color it is easy for the eye to make the "connection" and ignore the real placement of the items. When the pictures are in black and white, it forces the eye to look at where and how the items are placed. This is a great book and I would recommend it to the novice, lay person, or professional designer/decorator looking to add an additional service that they can offer their clients. I give it two thumbs up!
Use What You Have.......2007-05-29
This is a good book for people who have no experience or formal training with decorating. I found the top 10 tips for avoiding design disaster to be helpful and easy to understand. The pictures in the book are very outdated, but made me feel like I might have a fighting chance with my own space.
One of my favorite decorating books..........2007-04-26
...and yet I only give it 4 stars. Why? Because first of all, there is very little advice that applies beyond the living room, and that's a formal living area - not the family gathering and watching TV area. I would love to see a book of hers that will address other areas in the house.
Beyond that though, I love this book. I'm a down to earth person, always looking for a quick and cheap way to re-do things. This book taught me decorating principles that were easy to put into practice. I like the before and after pics, explanations and the occassional room layouts. After studying this book a few times, it took me less than an hour to re-arrange my living room. It's so much more inviting and comfortable now, that I don't want to leave it! As for color vs. black and white photos, of course I'd prefer color. But I can live with it, because the content is so helpful. I have the older version too that has a middle insert of color photos as well.
This book will be helpful if you already have a house of furniture or maybe suffer from TMS syndrome (too much stuff) and if you enjoy being creative with what you have. If not, then this book will probably frustrate you.
Good, But Not Great........2007-03-06
The pros: it has before and after shots showing different living rooms and how to arrange the furniture and pictures on the walls to make the room flow. it is an easy read and doesn't get boring half way through. The suggestions are easy to implement into your home. in the book, each room shows what has been re-arranged, taken out, bought, and borrowed from other rooms in the home.
The cons: all the pictures are black and white, a few color pics would have been helpful for color ideas. it needs more pictures of the rooms instead of just one or two. as newlyweds we came from an apartment into our four bedroom home and we don't have the furniture to "borrow" from other rooms to complete the look. one of the reasons i bought this book is to learn how to decorate with what we have without having to buy a lot of new things. this book is good if you have an established home with more furniture.
Best do-it-yourself decorating book.......2007-02-21
This book is the most down-to-earth realistic book I have seen for the DIY person. The most important things individuals need to know, design principles are all included. The layout of the book with before and after picures and sidebars that list what is wrong and then what has been changed I consider to be priceless. Each chapter is easy to read. This book will always be at hand in my home.
Thank you Lauri Ward for giving me the encouragement and know-how to get my home looking its best.
Sylvia B.
Customer Reviews:
Not recomended.......2007-10-15
The quality of the renderings in this book are horrible, if I had things like this in my portfolio or submited work like this, I would get nowhere very fast. Some look as if he put markers through a paper shredder and let them just drip randomly on the paper, then smeared it around a bit. All of the Case Studies are of things he (the author) has done, so there is absolutly no diversity in this book. Try some of the more expensive alternatives, you get what you pay for I assume.
overated.......2007-03-21
I found this text very frustrating. There is no instruction in technique beyond some simple perspective lessons. If you want to know how to accurately render different materials you will have to find another book. You can tell there are many more steps he uses to achieve his renderings, possibly even the use of other materials or media with his markers, but there is no information about it in his book. It is the text our professor uses for our Intro to Color Rendering class and I think there has to be something better than this!
One of the best on the subject.......2007-02-06
An excellent reference text for both the student of design and professional. Beautifully illustrated with step-by- step instructions explaining the mediums and techniques in their use to acheive maximum results!
Ira S. Friedman
College Instructor,Interior Design/Graphic Techniques/Drafting
Pat Arnold's Review of Sketching and Rendering Interior Spaces.......2007-01-11
I really feel that the book was written in easy to use format. The instructions were very clear and concise.
Okay, but text should be formatted differently.......2005-12-22
I was disappointed with this book. I felt it needed more examples from different artists, rather than just the author's work. In addition, the book uses strange font and formatting which is sometimes difficult to read. In general, the information is easy to understand, but I have found other books present the same information in more concise terms. Okay to add to a collection, but not recommended to be the main source for any interior design project.
Books:
- The Paint Effects Bible: 100 Recipes for Faux Finishes
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete
- The Secret (Unabridged, 4-CD Set)
- The Simple Home: The Luxury of Enough (American Institute Architects)
- The Social Styles Handbook: Find Your Comfort Zone and Make People Feel Comfortable with You
- The United Arab Emirates: A Study In Survival (Middle East in the International System)
- Tile Your World: John Bridge's New Tile Setting Book
- Versailles
- VoiceXML 2.0 Developer's Guide : Building Professional Voice-enabled Applications with JSP, ASP & Coldfusion
- William Morris: Decor and Design
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