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The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka Review: A Groundbreaking Blueprint for Thoughtful Home Design
Sarah Susanka's The Not So Big House is a bestselling architecture and home-design book that makes the case for building and remodeling around quality rather than square footage — a philosophy that reshaped how many Americans think about residential space. The expanded edition, published by The Taunton Press, adds a new introduction and new chapter to the original, giving both new and returning readers fresh material alongside Susanka's foundational argument.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Homeowners in the early stages of planning a build or remodel who want a clear, principle-driven framework for prioritizing quality, comfort, and intentionality over raw square footage.
Worth it if
You're rethinking your living space and want both a vocabulary and a set of concrete design strategies to guide conversations with architects and builders — or simply to articulate what you actually want from a home.
Skip if
You need granular technical guidance — permitting processes, contractor negotiations, or detailed budget management — as the book is a design-philosophy primer, not a construction or project-management manual.
What readers & critics say
Thriftbooks describes the book as having "created a groundswell of interest among homeowners, architects, and builders" when it first appeared in 1998, and Buildersbook.com notes that Susanka "started a revolution in home design" with its deceptively simple message that quality should always come before quantity. StoryGraph readers echo this, calling it a genuinely helpful resource for rethinking how you actually live in and use your home, while also noting that the book's advice is most accessible to those with the means to build.
Sources: ThriftBooks, BuildersBook, StoryGraph4.3from 215 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Argues
- The Book's Place in Architecture and Design Culture
- Strengths: Clarity of Argument and Practical Design Strategies
- Limitations and Who May Find It Frustrating
- Who This Book Is For Today
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Presents a clear, actionable design philosophy — quality over quantity — grounded in Susanka's professional experience as a residential architect
- Structured to serve readers planning to build, remodel, or rethink their living space, with specific design strategies rather than abstract principles alone
- The expanded edition includes a new introduction and a new chapter, offering updated thinking alongside the foundational argument
- Credited with giving homeowners the vocabulary to articulate what they want from a home to architects and builders
- A proven, multi-decade influence on American residential design thinking that launched an entire book series and design movement
What Doesn't
- Not a technical construction or project-management guide — readers seeking granular budgeting or contractor-level detail will need supplementary resources
- Readers already well-versed in quality-focused residential design may find the foundational argument covers familiar territory, even with the expanded edition's additions
- Most directly applicable to those with the means and context to build or significantly remodel, which limits its practical utility for renters or those with heavily constrained housing situations
A bestselling classic that reshaped American residential design, The Not So Big House remains a clarifying and practical argument for prioritizing quality over quantity in the places people call home.
What the Book Is and What It Argues
The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka front cover
At its core, The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live is an architecture and home-design book built around a single, pointed thesis: that the sprawling, oversized homes dominating American residential construction are, for most people, the wrong answer. Author Sarah Susanka — a residential architect who holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota and is widely regarded as one of the leading residential architects in the United States — argues that homeowners would be better served by smaller, more carefully designed spaces that genuinely reflect how they live. The book is not a polemic against modest means; it is a call to redirect the same budget away from unused square footage and toward craftsmanship, comfort, and intentionality. The central premise, stated plainly throughout, is that quality should come before quantity in the places where people live their private lives.
The Book's Place in Architecture and Design Culture
First published before the expanded edition that The Taunton Press released on September 15, 2009, The Not So Big House has, over more than two decades, been described as a groundbreaking and revolutionary work in American home design. Susanka's author site credits the book with giving homeowners the language they need to articulate to architects and builders the kind of house they actually want — a practical, cultural impact that goes beyond the page. The book spawned a full series of follow-up titles, including Creating the Not So Big House, which applies its principles across 25 real homes, and The Not So Big Life, which extends the quality-over-quantity framework from architecture into how people inhabit their days. That a single book's guiding idea could expand into an entire design philosophy and book series signals the degree to which Susanka's argument found a genuine audience.
Strengths: Clarity of Argument and Practical Design Strategies
Where design manifestos often float in the abstract, The Not So Big House is structured to be actionable. The book focuses on specific design strategies — the kinds of decisions that transform an ordinary house into something that functions as a true home — and is organized as both an argument and a practical guide for anyone planning to build, remodel, or rethink a living space. Susanka's background as a practicing residential architect grounds the discussion: the strategies she outlines come from professional experience with how domestic space actually functions. The 10th anniversary expanded edition, which the book's verified publication record corresponds to, also includes a new introduction and a new chapter, offering readers both historical context for the Not So Big movement and updated thinking from Susanka herself.
Limitations and Who May Find It Frustrating
Readers approaching The Not So Big House as a step-by-step construction manual or a project-management guide are likely to find themselves wanting more granular technical detail. The book is designed to reframe how readers think about residential design and to equip them with vocabulary and principles — not to walk them through permitting, contractor negotiations, or budget spreadsheets. Those already converted to the quality-over-quantity philosophy, or professionals working in residential architecture, may find that the foundational argument covers familiar ground, even with the expanded edition's additions. The book is also most directly useful to readers who have the means and context to build or significantly remodel; those in rentals or otherwise constrained situations may appreciate the philosophy while having limited ability to act on it.
Who This Book Is For Today
More than two decades after its original publication, The Not So Big House holds relevance in a moment when housing costs, environmental concerns, and a broader cultural rethinking of consumption have made the question of "how much house do we really need?" More pointed than ever. Susanka's argument that a well-designed smaller home can outperform a poorly designed larger one is a useful counterweight to the square-footage benchmarks that still dominate real estate listings and builder marketing. The book is well suited to homeowners in the early stages of a build or remodel, to design-curious readers who want a framework for evaluating space, and to anyone who has stood in a large, expensive house and felt, inexplicably, that something was missing. For that audience, Susanka's blueprint offers both a diagnosis and a direction.
Frequently Asked Questions
is The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka worth reading
For homeowners planning a build or remodel, or anyone who has stood in a large, expensive house and felt something was inexplicably missing, the answer is yes — the review calls it a 'clarifying and practical argument' that still holds relevance today. That said, if you're looking for a step-by-step construction manual with permitting advice or budget spreadsheets, you'll find it falls short of that, since its goal is to reframe how you think about space, not walk you through project logistics.
What is this book actually about
At its core, it argues that the sprawling, oversized homes dominating American residential construction are the wrong answer for most people, and that homeowners would be better served redirecting their budget away from unused square footage and toward craftsmanship, comfort, and intentionality. Sarah Susanka — a residential architect with a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota — backs this up with specific design strategies drawn from her professional experience with how domestic space actually functions.
Is this book good for people who aren't architects
Yes — the review notes that one of the book's most practical cultural impacts is giving homeowners the language they need to articulate to architects and builders the kind of house they actually want, so it's explicitly aimed at non-professionals. It's described as both an argument and a practical guide for anyone planning to build, remodel, or rethink a living space, not just those with a design background.
Does this book have enough practical detail or is it too vague
The review is honest about this limitation: readers approaching it as a step-by-step construction manual are likely to find themselves wanting more granular technical detail, since the book is designed to reframe thinking and equip readers with vocabulary and principles rather than cover contractor negotiations or budget spreadsheets. It's more of a design philosophy guide than a how-to manual, which is either a strength or a gap depending on what you need.
What should i read after this book
Susanka's own follow-up titles are the natural next step — the review specifically names Creating the Not So Big House, which applies the book's principles across 25 real homes, and The Not So Big Life, which extends the quality-over-quantity framework from architecture into how people inhabit their days. Both books grew directly out of the original's core argument, so they're logical continuations rather than detours.
Is this book still relevant or is it outdated
The review makes a strong case for its continued relevance, noting that rising housing costs, environmental concerns, and a broader cultural rethinking of consumption have made the question of 'how much house do we really need?' more pointed than ever. The 10th anniversary expanded edition published by The Taunton Press also adds a new introduction and a new chapter, giving returning readers updated thinking from Susanka alongside the foundational argument.
Is this book useful if i rent and can't actually build or remodel
The review flags this as a real limitation — the book is most directly useful to readers who have the means and context to build or significantly remodel, and those in rentals or otherwise constrained situations 'may appreciate the philosophy while having limited ability to act on it.' You'd likely enjoy Susanka's argument as a framework for thinking about space, but the actionable strategies are harder to apply without the ability to make structural changes.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
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- 2
abramsbooks.com
- Further reading
- 3
Sarah Susanka, Wikipedia
- 4
susanka.com
- 5
- 6
beta.thestorygraph.com
- 7
- 8
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