Creating The Not So Big House: Affordable Comfort

As an advocate of "less is more" in residential architecture and interior design, Fine Homebuilding contributing editor Sarah Susanka has emerged as one of America's favorite home architects. Her first book, The Not So Big House, created a movement that proposed a new blueprint for the American home: a house that values quality over quantity, with an emphasis on comfort and beauty, a high level of detail, and a floor plan designed for today's informal lifestyle.

Creating the Not So Big House is the blueprint in action. Focusing on key design strategies such as visual weight, layering, and framed openings, this book takes an up-close look at 25 houses designed according to Not So Big principles.

In this excerpt, you'll read about a 1,750-sq.-ft. home in western Massachusetts, designed by architect Ross Chapin for a family of four.