The Not So Big House

[Daddymem]

"A cultural visionary Sarah Susanka has emerged as a leader of a movement that is redefining the American home. Today "build better, no bigger" approach to residential architecture has been embraced by homeowners, architects and builders across the country, and her Not So Big philosophy is part of a national dialog.

Her books Creating the Not So Big House, The Not So Big House and Not So Big Solutions for Your Home offer a new vision for the American home: houses about a third smaller that what you thought you needed -- but better suited to your lifestyle. In short, quality over quantity."

http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/sph008_home.asp

She has some articles in:
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/index.asp

And she mentions Ross Chapin and others in the "not so big" movement in architecture.

enjoy!

[Amanda_931]

I enjoy her articles, first in Fine Homebuilding, now in the spin-off--Natural Home or whatever.

I know someone who designed his house using her ideas, thought that while the result was bigger than the apartment they moved out of, it was a lot smaller than what they had originally considered--it had, for instance, room for both of the couple to work in private.

But for me, her houses are so big!

[DavidLeBlanc]

I agree Amanda: her houses are big. They're also quite expensively detailed too.

Still, it's a move in the right direction.

[DavidLeBlanc]

Just saw where one of Chapin's cottages, his 990 sq. ft. "Coho Cottage", is offered for $430,000 in Kirkland, WA - that's over $400/sq. ft!

HOA fee is $185/mo!!!

http://www.cottagecompany.com/ccforsale_fsbo.html

YIKES!!!!!!!!

[Shelley]

Holy moly!  

I often wondered what the prices were.

What's that stuff he uses on the ceilings David?  Some 4x8 sheet of something with battens.  Homasote, maybe?

Small houses will have a higher per sf price, but 400 seems a little over the top.

[DavidLeBlanc]

Well, in fairness, if you read the blurb on the referenced website, this place is gold plated. "Furniture finish" millwork, top end fixtures from Kohler and American Standard, appliances by Bosch and etc. It's also on land that's worth a prince's ransom in urban Seattle's solar-hot real estate market.

This house is one in a division that was the demo project for a new land use policy in Kirkland (mostly upscale to quite upscale bedroom and "chi chi" waterfront community ), WA.

Still, it's beyond belief to ask this much for this little! It would be interesting to see what it actually sells for!

[DavidLeBlanc]

I don't know what he uses on the ceilings, but it's perhaps the one detail of his otherwise exquisite detailing that I find cheesy looking and cheap.

The biggest problem with Chapin and Serandan houses is that what attracts one is that very very expensive detailing. A virtual (ok, NOT so virtual! ) fortune in millwork, built in furniture,  partial drop ceiling details and nooks and crannies galore - all of which are either material or labor cost-intensive - or both!

On the bright side, one can accomplish a lot of that feel, either by careful use of off the shelf "big box store" products or by DIY upgrading interior trims over time to reach the desired look.

[Daddymem]

Wow.  Everybody seems to be missing the boat on this one.  
1.  The title is "The Not So Big House".  That doesn't mean tiny, small, or even huge, it means not as big as you think you need.  Just a quick skim of her articles in Fine Home Building gives 3 great tips and tricks that can be used in small home (or large home) design: add 10" (5" each side) of shelving space to the middle wall of a stairwell for cheap additional storage with minimal impact on the adjacent rooms; use a built in bench for the dining room table to gain the space normally reserved to pull a chair out from under a table; and built in couches save room and give a cozy appearance in a living room.

2.  Size is relative.  While I find the Volks Cottage and the Grandfather Cottage plans pleasant, they certainly don't provide enough room for my family of four in a New England climate where much of the time is spent indoors during the winter.  The solar saltbox or the country farmhouse would better fit us.  Both of those homes would be considered on the small side for conventional construciton of a four person home.  Up here in the northeast, the McMansion is the rule not the exception, as a civil engineer I constantly deal with this, almost everyone wants 2500+ sf four bedroom homes.  Not all Susan and Ross designs are large, the affordable comfort home by Ross is 1,750 sf which could easily be trimmed down closer to John's larger plans at ~1,300 sf without losing much.

3.  Costs, those are up to the homebuilder.  Susan and Ross designs choose to spend the money saved by building a smaller home on amenities such as custom cabinets, granite countertops, and exterior "features".  Most people on this forum would rather choose to save that money.  The looks and styles of their homes could easily be mimicked for much less.  Also costs are very regional.  I do a lot of work on an island called Nantucket, and you would be hard pressed to find a home for under one million dollars.  The few I have seen over the years for less than that were for cottages the size of some of John's smaller plans with absolutely no fanciness to them whatsoever.  Even in my town where the average family income is low for the region, small cottage homes such as the 612 sf home I currently live in go for two hundred thousand.  I could buy a 2000+ sf home in North Carolina for less than what it will probably cost me to build a ~1500 sf home on land that was given to me here in Massachusetts.

4.  ANY movement that results in the thought of building smaller homes will only benefit everyone.  The current trend of McMansion 100' on center is very discouraging.  If the wealthy choose to spend the savings from building smaller, better looking homes on expensive luxuries, let them.  If one chooses to save the money instead, more power to them.

[Shelley]

Daddymem,

Didn't mean to imply that I don't "get it".  Agree with you completely.  Have every one of her books, rip her articles out of Fine Homebuilding and Inspired House.

Though her ideas aren't "new", I think that she's hot because she can relate the ideas so well.

Most of the McMansion stuff is brought to the public by contractors I think.  Build the biggest house possible to increase profit.  Don't skimp on amenities, but what's underneath doesn't matter.
What buzzy thing can I put in to wow the public and top my competitiors?  Lastest thing here is the garage that is so tricked out, one can entertain there.  Most of the contractors here don't use architects...to save a buck.  Elevations are out of proportion and boring.  Same with the interiors.  Last few years, houses are all beige.  A sea of beige.  Same flooring, same wall treatments, same cabinets.

I love the detail in Chapin's cottages.  Often wondered what they sell for.  But, to your point David, it's not the materials that cost the earth.  It's the land and the labor to do it.  So, you DIY and choose the location carefully.

http://www.idakelly.com/channing/channinghouse.html

Here's the house that we built for my best friend's daughter.  Single.  Works like a fiend.  Architect designed.  She picked the design.  Built for less than $74/sf in materials and labor that we did not do ourselves....which was cement, plumbing, ele, framing, roof, drywall.  We did everything else once the drywallers left.

Think how cheaply it could have been done if everything was DIY.  Didn't skimp on material quality.  Could have done it a lot cheaper if the child hadn't been so stubborn about some things.

[Daddymem]

No offense taken.  I just wanted to point out that I was pointing out that her ideas were something to start with.  And of course nothing is real new here, but is there much architecture that is?  I think she just has a great collection of ideas (from others)  on how to utilize spaces.  And the Chapin houses are gorgeous.  With a little effort and elbow grease I imagine one could have a DIY house that gives the same look for much less.

Yes, the contractor's drive the house sizes.  Around here it is due to Town Zoning that dictates a buildable lot to be so large so any lot that can be built on is worth a ton and a parcel can only be subdivided to so many lots so they try to make more money by building massive homes.  In my zoning district a buildable lot is 130,000sf!  

Nice house!  The process sounds similar to what we want.  Let the plumbers, concrete guys, electricians and framers do their work, we'll do the rest.  If I didn't work so many hours and so far away, I'd love to build the entire thing, but that really isn't realistic in our case.  

[conohawk]

I sold my beige Mc Mansion over a year ago.   Boy was I glad to see it go.    Lots of space, contained by a huge amount of drywall.  No soul at all.   Not one whit of craftmanship.    I always felt like I was visiting someone else's generic house.    

While I am still young enough to do so (early forties), I am determined to build my own residence.   Borrowing ideas from Susanka, Raabe, and a few others, I am building an honest house.

In my trade, software engineering, I use the concepts of step-wise refinement and iterative development every day.   As others here have mentioned, one can apply the same concepts to the building of physical structures.  Start with a solid framework, then iteratively enhance it as new ideas and skillfullness emerge.

[conohawk]

Pardon the back-to-back posting, but I wanted this query to stand out.

Looking though Susanka's books makes me wonder about where the fixtures (for example light fixtures) are purchased.   Is there a small collection of manufacturers that is known only by the Arch Digest crowd?  No doubt, I wouldn't want to pay $300 for a sconce light.  Surely there must be sources of fixtures that fall in between Big Box and  the providers for the wealthy.

[DavidLeBlanc]

Lot of sources for designer fixtures at prices all over the map. Google!

Terms to use include "craftsman light fixtures", "victorian light fixtures" and etc. Let your imagination be your guide - and post good finds here please!

IMO, the IRS has a lot to do with the McMansion fad: the more house you finance, the more you end up putting away, tax deffered (or tax-free?). For too many people, deducting interest is the only way to save. Even for the fattest of cats, the 400,000 sq. ft. real mansion is just a larger variation on the theme of interest deduction.

[conohawk]

Lot of sources for designer fixtures at prices all over the map. Google!
...

I think this is a case where word-of-mouth yields better data than a google.  Ideally, one could visit a "brick-and-mortar" business to actually touch and see the merchandise.    

[Greenbank]

I would think that most big cities would have specialty lighting stores that you could visit. I can think of at least two in Seattle on Western Avenue.

You might also poke your nose in a nice furniture store, and see if they sell any fixtures.

My tastes are traditional home/modern furniture (which I think is a wonderful juxtaposition) and modern style stuff seems to attract specialty stores.

Another thing to consider would be to use conventional recessed lighting for most of the ambient light, and "splurge" on a special fixture or two where they're desired, like over the dining table.

Yet another option is to make your own--depending on what you want, that may or may not be realistic.

[DavidLeBlanc]

I think this is a case where word-of-mouth yields better data than a google.  Ideally, one could visit a "brick-and-mortar" business to actually touch and see the merchandise.    

Ideally indeed. In reality, one generally gets to look at a lot of catalogs at ligthing places. They have a generous selection of physical fixtures, it's true, but they generally stock only those which are mainstream popular. At least that was my experience when visiting "Seattle Light" on Western Ave, here in Seattle (no relationship to "Seattle Light", the name for the city's utility company).

Just searching on "lighting fixtures" brought up http://www.bellacor.com/ which has the same catalog pics you'll see at a lighting store if you're looking for something out of the ordinary, plus they have nice search critera and likely much sweeter prices.

I can't afford Tiffany, but I can (sometimes, almost) afford the reasonable facsimilies that are available OTOH, my last purchase of a leaded glass shade lamp was an el-cheapo from Target that I like quite a lot.

[DavidLeBlanc]

Found this other place I've been to before: http://www.rejuvenation.com

This place is fun because you can see and/or buy lights (bulbs) and fixtures that are reproductions of Edison-era products on up to the latest trends in stainless steel and compact flourescents.

BTW, once you get out of the mass market products, the cost of lighting  fixtures is a horrible shock (pun intended!) This is generally due to economy of scale: many of the nicer fixtures are made by small, boutique operations that make a batch of a particular style only every few years because demand isn't that high. If one wants a particular Tifany-esque style for example, one might have to wait (literally) a few years for delivery. It's just not economical (for the likes of us anyway) to make such things to order.

[Shelley]

The trick for light fixtures is to keep an open mind and open eyes.

The specialty lighting stores have sales.  Watch for them.  Get friendly.  Say flat out, "got a limited budget but here's the look I want".    Did that once and the guy pulled out a catalog and showed me a mfg that had the look for 1/2 the price of what they had in the store.

All the stuff in the big boxes, Target, Ikea are not cheap/ugly looking.  Have to watch for the stuff that has the right look.

I can get Kohler faucets on E-Bay cheaper than I can buy them at a plumbing supply house with my discount.  Takes time.  You gotta know your prices.

Try to be happy with good (Kohler AS and the like) toilets/sinks/lavs that they sell at HD.  They only carry a few models, but they buy in such quanity that you can't beat the price.  Or, go to a plumbing supply house.  Tell them that you're an owner builder.  Ask for a discount if you buy your material there.  You should be able to get about 30%...what they give to GCs.  Plumbers get more.

Go to Habitat's ReStore if there's one.  Start collecting.  May have to go once a week.  Look at architectural salvage.  Auctions.

Just ask me when you're ready.  I'm the queen of "cheap-but-tasteful"

[Amanda_931]

Good advice.  

I keep forgetting the Habitat store--but the nearest one is a hundred miles away.

www.westelm.com has some nice looking lights.  

That are cheaper than, say, design within reach www.dwr.com .  Which runs to things like Nelson bubble lamps, made under license.  Eames designs, ditto. And their collection of chairs under $100 has pretty well shriveled into nothingness with the dollar/euro exchange rate.

[Shelley]

But still two great links.  Thanks Amanda.

[DavidLeBlanc]

Another cost point on small houses:

Tumbleweed "Concord" 10 x 16 Front Gable. About 160sf, 20' x 10' x 14' (not sure why there's a discrepency between the 10 x 16 and the 10 x 14, except he seems to have done a lot of C&P to create his online content)

List price, ex. delivery:
Finished (exterior only) shell: $16,990 or $106/sq. ft.

$30,980 or $193/sq. ft. This is fully finished and includes (tiny) appliances (stove, fridge, hw heater, propane heating stove), fixtures (tub, toilet, sink) and a lot of built-in furniture (which doesn't look all that comfortable!) and storage space.

A Builder's Cottage, 392 sq. ft (1st floor only), would be roughly 2.25x these prices? That would mean ($30,980 x 2.25 = ) ~ $69,705, fully finished...?

I picked the Concord as an example because, with a little tweaking, it could have the same, scaled down, footprint as a Victoria's Cottage; and one could do likewise with the Encilada Plans and using the BC as the main structure.

[Shelley]

A Builder's Cottage, 392 sq. ft (1st floor only), would be roughly 2.25x these prices? That would mean ($30,980 x 2.25 = ) ~ $69,705, fully finished...?

I don't quite know what you're asking/saying David.

This guy has a degree in fine art.  They're whimsical..they way an artist would do.  Don't know what his niche is, but the cost is outrageous.

There's a lot of detail, but one can't see how well he executes it.  So copy some of the detail features and do your own.

 I thought you were posing the question "would one have to spend 69k to get a builder's cottage that looks somewhat like this?"  My answer is.. Absolutely Not!

[DavidLeBlanc]

I'd feel fortunate to get a BC to Chapin's level of detail for $70,000. If one went by the $400/sq. ft. that the Coho Cottage is offered at, a BC would be over $156,000 (392 sq. ft * $400).

I'll bet that $70,000 is not an unreasonable estimate for a commercially built BC. I'd also bet that I could self-GC one more economically and, if I could do more DIY, even more economical than that.

I was only making an extension based on a Tumbleweed price, not a Chapin price.

IIRC, Architecture is an Engineering degree and not a Fine Arts degree, but it's been a very long time since I read a college catalog - entertained the notion of being an architect at one time.

[Shelley]

Yeah, but if you read his bio says he has a degree in fine arts.

[John Raabe]

On lighting fixtures...

When I built my house (for $35/sf in '83) I figured I'd save money with low cost faucets and lighting fixtures, then upgrade later. Half of the faucets have been changed out, but I installed a few simple large white glass drum lights, each with two screw in lamp sockets and a white metal base. They cost $9 each ($6 for the single light units). I mounted these as wall sconces in bedrooms, halls and in the stairway. They are normally used as overhead center of the room lights. (Wall mounting also punches fewer air leaks into the ceiling.)

I still like these - they are clean and simple and with newer CFLs, they put out plenty of nice even light without using much electricity.