Big Book of Small House Designs: 75 Award-Winning Plans for Your Dream House, All 1,250 Square Feet or Less

by Don Metz, Catherine Tredway

75 unique designs for attractive, efficient, environmentally friendly homes.

Now available in paperback, this collection of 75 plans for small homes offers more than 500 usable blueprints and other illustrations for a variety of living spaces suitable for every environment and style, from a New England farmhouse to a sophisticated townhouse in the city to a Santa Fe ranch.

The designs include site drawings, floor plans, elevation drawings, section drawings, perspective drawings, and exploded views. A brief introduction to each home describes its setting, the philosophy behind the design and its intended use, materials used, recommended landscaping, and more. Many of the homes come with money-saving and environmentally sound features such as solar panels and water heaters, wood stoves, ceiling fans, airlock entries, wind power alternatives, and natural gas heaters.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Design, Reference

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 4, 2004

Reviews

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in ebook version, and the pictures (ie, the whole point of this book) were difficult to see. Obvs not a problem with the content of the book, but a large impact on my enjoyment.
What was good: exactly what it says on the tin. I appreciated that there were many styles in the book- from suburban mini-ranch, to site-built highly specific cabins. I also appreciated different sizes of small, from studio/loft, to three/four bedroom layouts.

What wasn't good: I mean, I'm not an architect, so the axonometric drawings were kind of gobblty gook. I, personally, would have also appreciated a little more verbiage about the designs, and why they were created.

[Claire Nolan]

Pass. The designs are more of a west coast modern look, not the coziness I’m wanting.



How I rate books:
5 Stars= I absolutely loved it, felt very moved. Extraordinary. Maybe I cried. I rarely give this rating.
4 Stars= Well done. I was well engaged.
3 Stars= I enjoyed it but wasn't wowed. My most common rating
2 Stars=Meh
1 Stars= The kind of book that I feel shouldn't have been published be it might discourage some from becoming readers.

[Shandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I found three great designs that may meet my needs.

[M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

limited kitchen inspo

Was hoping to find ideas for smaller kitchens but the same 2-3 styles were used more often then not. Will keep looking!

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is really excellent. All of the houses featured are small (under 1,250 sq ft) but extremely livable. Each house has a brief description, a drawing of the house, floor plans (yay), and often axonometric drawings or sections (super yay). Some even have construction-ready sections. Too many "architecture" books don't include floor plans so it's very difficult to get a feel for the interior space but this one really has everything you need. I love the variety of styles included, from traditional to more architectural although the sort of artistic/architectural pieces seem a little stuck in postmodernism rather than featuring some of the newer developments. I also really like the focus on sustainability and energy-efficient design that many of the houses have, something which didn't seem necessarily intended but is a corollary to reasonably sized homes. I really recommend this book not only because it is good and lots of fun to look through, but especially since American houses have moved far past a reasonable expectation of space for each person.

[NoBeatenPath · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there are some interesting concepts in this book, it is let down by not having photographs. This is probably due to the fact that many of these buildings have not yet been built.
That said, all buildings have floor plans and elevation drawings or often detailed construction plans. So this is probably a book for people who either are good at envisaging things from plans and technical drawings or have some plans and want to do a comparison, rather than someone still just 'looking for ideas'.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I don't think of 1250 square feet as small...but in today's world I'm sure it's a good cut off point. I really liked the set up of the book - sketches of exteriors from every side, floorplans, wall designs, eco features. I'm hoping to end up in a much smaller house once we are empty nesters and I liked the ideas in this book. So, while I'm planning houses 30-50% smaller, the book still had good layout ideas and eco features I'd like to use.

[Motorcycle · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't a whole lot of reading. Mostly it is just a bunch of house designs in diagrams. But it was good. I got some really good ideas. Not that I'm building a house, but I have a better idea of what I could do, and what I like.

[Gail · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not really what I expected. I was hoping it would have more information about building small homes, but it literally is just sketches and brief descriptions of different award-winning homes.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was fun to look at. These are award winning designs and as such they have small square footage but the actual cost of construction would still be expensive because of the designs. Was kind of hoping for affordable designs.

[Mark Einselen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of designs that were submitted in a Small House competition. The drawings all vary according to the preferences of each designer. Some of the proposals are wildly post-modern and a product of their time, but that just makes it all the more entertaining to review.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

More for architects as an idea generator rather than anything practical for the lay person. Rather disappointed actually.

[Nora · Rating 2 out of 5]

No really good photos or illustrations of what these houses would look like if built--very technical. I'm sure it's meaningful to someone--just not me.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I just wish there were a few photos of finished houses.

[Cgpeterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of my 'to do' list of the near future. Too bad most counties in America don't let you build homes this small in town. Not enough tax revenue for them. 😠