There's a wonderful story about its development.

Fine Homebuilding Magazine Big Island Prairie House This house, which was first featured in the annual Houses issue of Fine Homebuilding in 1994, and which also appears on pages 134 and 160 of Sarah Susankaâ€™s first book, The Not So Big House, is a slightly larger and more highly detailed version of her Prairie House plan #454-8. You can order them at design epitomizes the Prairie style, employing legitimate details, joinery, and logic throughout. Setting off an archway with trim can communicate different uses of the space on each side without obstructing the view.īlueprints for many of the houses in Creating the Not So Big House are available for $1,400 a set. A window at the end of a hallway, for example, makes the passage more inviting and connects the rooms at each end, to make the house seem bigger.įramed opening: Defines space. Light to walk towards: Opens up small spaces and links rooms. Susanka uses a circle motif and glass block to relate rooms in her house. Theme and variations: Repeating shapes, materials or colors subtly through a house increases coherence and personality. One example would be a fireplace column in the center of an open room, which separates but doesn’t close off spaces on each side. Providing a small space for each family member where he or she can be alone, such as a window seat or alcove desk may be enough.Ī pod of space: Defines space in an open plan without obstructing. A small room that offers a view into another space feels largers.Ī place of one’s own: A room off the main living space for quiet activities near, but not with, the rest of the family. Long diagonal views: Increase perceived space. But a seldom-used formal hall can be a part-time dining room, for example. The classic example is the home office that doubles as a guest room. A slightly dropped ceiling in a nook can make it cozier a dropped soffit can create a transition space in an open plan without resorting to a view-blocking wall.ĭoing double duty: Decreases the need for extra rooms. Also beware the ceiling that is the same height throughout a house it doesn’t define different rooms for different activities.

Variety of ceiling heights: Beware the vaulted ceiling it can make a room feel out of scale with humans. An alcove off a larger room can make the area serve two activities - such as watching television and paying bills - without cramping either one. Typically found in an alcove or bumpout in which the floor, walls or ceilings are brought in a little to wrap around the person sitting there. Shelter around activity: Creates coziness. But how do you translate those desires into things your architect or contractor can build without adding expensive, underused rooms? Architect Sarah Susanka offers some solutions: People are forever looking for “bright, spacious and cozy” in their homes.

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