Essay Page
Sarah Susanka has written a number of books that have made a big impression on the architects and builders of
houses in America. Her first, The Not So Big House, patiently explained the deficits of the houses that are now in
fashion: those large, imposing, multi-gabled structures that spring up in new subdivisions on lots that seem barely
big enough to hold them. Her most recent book, Home by Design, seems to suggest that she has managed to snag
some commissions for houses that don’t exactly fall into the “not so big” category. Well, the folks who are getting
her big houses are every bit as fortunate as those who live in her not so big ones. Her designs are warm and
comfortable, and her work appears to be very thorough: every aspect of every room shows careful consideration.
I think that Home by Design is a book that should be in the library of anyone who is thinking of building a house.
Or designing a house. Or, for that matter, buying a house. It is a sort of cookbook for house design that patiently
and thoroughly takes the reader through the process of “transforming your house into home.” It is divided into three
main sections, “Space”, ”Light”, and “Order”. These get broken down clearly into subcategories that clearly draw
heavily on Christopher Alexander’s classic A Pattern Language”. If you don’t come out of the end of the book
with the ability to design your own house, you will certainly be able to judge the design of a house that someone is
designing for you.
All of Sarah Susanka’s books are lovely to look at. They are published by the Taunton Press of Newtown,
Connecticut, who also publish the equally lovely magazines, also of interest to architects and designers, Fine
Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking.