|
Learn how to make your home fit your lifestyle with the APT Premium Service special The Not So Big House: Home By Design
APT recently spoke to author and architect Sarah Susanka about her new Premium Service special THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE: HOME BY DESIGN, premiering 6/30/07.
How was "The Not So Big House" born?
I had been studying residential architecture for 15 years and had been watching how everybody had been coming into our office knowing that they didn't want the average house, whether they were building or remodeling. They didn't know what they wanted so they would try and tell us. I started to realize early in my residential architectural career that we're sorely lacking in language by which to describe the qualities of home. If you look at real estate listings, for example, you'll see that … they'll say "cathedral ceilings, hard wood floors, spiral staircases." It's all about things, quantities. The things that make people feel really at home have almost nothing to do with all of those quantities, and yet there's no word. If you use the word "cozy" in a real estate listing, it means there's not enough space. So, I started making some real estate words and phrases to help define the things that let people feel that their house is their home. And then, [I would] duplicate things so that [people] can build a house that feels like home without this kind of hit and miss process that is the standard fare. After 15 years of doing this, I had a pretty good notion of how to communicate a different way of thinking about your house.
I find your approach to be very European. I see a lot of similarities to European style in your books, like the use of built-ins … the idea of a small space being used effectively and beautifully.
Well, I grew up in England so there is definitely some influence there in Europe.
What do you hope to accomplish with the public television program beyond what you've accomplished with your books?
I never cease to be amazed by how many people there are who want this information and don't know that it's there. So every year I find new people saying, "Oh my God! I just read your books and I loved them!" Even though they're best sellers, I think there's a lot more people who will embrace this [concept] with public television. And the thing that is fascinating to me – and I've known it form many, many years – is that the people who are my best audiences, also are public television viewers or national public radio listeners. They are exactly the same demographic. For years, this has been my dream. I've said for about 20 years, if I ever get a program, this is where I want to be.
And then the other part is – the thing that's very difficult when you're writing about house design – is that it's a three-dimensional art and it really requires more than just still photographs to explain it. What I wanted in finding a [production] company that would be able to do the quality of work that I was looking for, I knew would need someone who really got the message – really, really understood what it was I was talking about and was able to imbue the program with the same quality of detail and design and beauty that I was talking about. Cortina Productions has done that in spades.
Why do you think, even if they are aware of the "Not So Big House" concept, many homeowners still opt to build a "McMansion"?
It's just because that's the answer that we've sort of packaged for people. A lot of our decisions we make unconsciously; we just do it because everybody else is doing it. The one that is the most obvious is that our living rooms are furnished like they were 70 to 80 years ago. Nobody sits that way anymore. Nobody sits formally. And yet, across the country there are millions and millions of living rooms waiting for a kind of guest that we don't have anymore. And so I call them the "no living rooms." Everybody laughs, but you know it's so obvious, and yet it's just not obvious because we haven't named it as such. We haven't looked at it. It's like ok, that's what the living room is and that's all I'm doing. That's what architecture is – it's looking at problems in a new way and reformulating how to serve the true needs, instead of the things we think we're supposed to do.
You speak about sustainability in your books. How can an average person who is either trying to build a home or redesign their home incorporate sustainability into their new design?
The first step in sustainability should be to build not-so-big. I'm talking about remodeling or building new. They're both the same thing. It's really like "right sizing." It's design, tailored like a good suit, instead of "off the rack." And once you do that, not only are you living more sustainably because you're living in less space that really nurtures you more. It's also true, that if something is beautiful, you look after it over generations. We don't normally talk about that side of sustainability, but it's really important. Beauty is one of the most important aspects of the sustainable structure.
Another topic you discuss in your book is using technology gracefully and not wearing it like a badge.
Exactly. You know, that's such a reflex these days. We're proud of our toys and we want to be able to show them off, and have the latest of everything. That might be what you do with your car, but it's not what you do with where you live –
where you live has to be comfortable. I'm just beginning to write another book, actually, that talks about remodeling and the quality of home people are usually looking for. I'm going to use the clothing analogy again. The clothing we see on the runway at the fashion show in New York, might look elegant on that runway, but try sitting down in it. It may not be very comfortable. And this [idea of home] is more like a nice, comfortable cardigan and a nice pair of slippers that you really enjoy being in. That's what these houses are about – they gotta feel good.
In the photos in your book, the one thing that struck me is the use of light and how much airier and bigger it can make a space feel, just the correct use of light.
It does. A lot of what I talk about is the placement of these different parts. You know, I understand that houses have doors, and windows, and walls and floors and ceilings, but how do you use all those parts in the most effective way to give you a sense of spaciousness? But also, this tailoring and what you're describing – the vitality that comes from using light and form in a way that's inspirational – that really feels wonderful.
So, basically you need to look inside yourself first, figure out what you like, and then communicate that to your architect?
That's right. This is all about developing a language that allows you to find out what makes you feel whole and have a sense of well-being. Then, communicate that to the people who are working with you so they can help you create this space and become good renderers, essentially, of that dream, that vision.
So what do you think is the most common mistake people make when building a house?
They build too much space. Almost universally – whether they're building new or whether they're remodeling – because in this country particularly, we have a deep fear of not enough. I had one client years ago, she and her husband had built themselves a house, and their kitchen was so big, it was ridiculous. And she said, "You know, I feel like I have to swim to the kitchen island. It's so far away, I never go over there." It's just reflex. We don't realize that we actually feel much better when things are closer in proximity to one another. It doesn't mean cramped. I have to be very careful when explaining to people that when I talk about not so big, I don't mean small. I'm just talking about appropriately scaled to our human scale. It's paradoxical – not so big is not about size – it's about appropriate proportioning.
What elements do you think have the most design impact on a house? I'm sure there are tons of them, but if you can give one example…
Since we're talking about this program, the subject that we spend the most time on is interior views. People think about how they design a house when you have a nice view outside the window. We usually put the window in that spot so we can see the view. But what we don't realize is that we spend the majority of our time looking from place to place within the house. One of the analogies I use in the program is that, just like a well-composed piece of music, the interior of your house can be just as composed and just as inspiring. (Johann Wolfgang von) Goethe uses this phrase, "architecture is like frozen music." There's the same kind of harmonics and melody and rhythm. It's just spatially oriented, rather than oriented in time. Whenever I think about design, I'm always looking at the inter-relationships from place to place. I seldom think about one spot.
In your book, you discuss adjusting ceiling height and that struck me because that's something I never would have thought of.
This is actually another of the key points in the program. We live in a three-dimensional world and the space we live in is three-dimensional, and yet when we pick a house to build or remodel we tend only to look at the two dimensions in the floor plan. I can't tell you how many people have built house after house or addition after addition and have been disappointed assuming that the problem is that they didn't get the floor plan right. The point is that the floor plan is missing one dimension – the heights of the ceilings. And it's not until you get the height that you know how something is going to feel.
And so the whole point about what I call "ceiling height variety" is that we respond to variations in ceiling heights. So, if all [of the house] is 8 feet, 9 feet or 10 feet, it tends to be homogenous. It doesn't feel alive. Most people have never ever thought of that. They just assume that they're done when they look at the floor plan and build it and they don't like it. But the fact is, the information that they're looking for isn't on the floor plan. That's absolutely revelational to most people. When I speak about this in lectures, you can literally feel this ripple going through the room as people get it.
You've been making floor plans available on your Web site. Will these be part of the premiums for this program?
People can get them by going to the Web site. Obviously they cost money but there are a number of beautifully designed house plans designed by architects on the "Not So Big House" Web site. Also, there is a link on that Web site to a home professionals' directory, which is a very useful resource for people. When I started writing these books, I realized I was telling people that they needed a good builder and a good architect to help them and yet that's pretty hard to find – people that are really in synch with this notion. I started this listing basically to help home owners identify people that thought the same way at least. That link is a very useful tool for people who may be watching the program.
How can people incorporate your floor plans into their houses? Can they take them as is and implement them or can they customize them?
They come in a lot of different ways. I've seen them built exactly as they were designed. I've seen people take them as a starting point and work with an architect to customize and personalize their own house. And, I've seen other people use the plans because they want certain details for their house – they have a completely different house designed but just use some of those details. So they can be used in many different ways.
I've been really stunned by the quality of houses that have been built from those designs. There's a fellow in New York who has built, I think, five of them on his street right now. He's an exceptional detail-oriented fellow so they're just gorgeous.
If someone were to ask you what the easiest and most cost-effective, across-the-board tip in home design was, what would you say?
Well, umm…let me just think. I have a funny one, which is really not what you're looking for… Hire a cleaning lady! So many people think they need more space, but the reality is it's there. Take an inventory of the space you have now and write down the sizes of the rooms and how frequently each one is used. If you find rooms on that list that are used less than six times a year, it's time to repurpose that room.
I have this notion that I talk about in the program, as doing double duty. A function that is only done six times a year is a perfect candidate for doubling up. So for example, if you have a dining room that you use but you use it rarely, how about lining the room with bookshelves and making it into a kind of library/homework table.
Many stations will be using this program during their fundraising drives. Which premiums do you think people will find the most useful?
Well, the two are probably the most useful are the Not So Big House and Home By Design [books]. Home By Design is like a dictionary of all the principles that I talked about in all the other books and Not So Big House is wonderful because it sets the stage and helps people look at every house in a different way. Then there's one that I really think would be useful, not because it's so much about the content of the program, per se, but because it takes [the "not so big" concept] up a step further: a new book I have coming out called the Not So Big Life.
Just to give you a little preview so that you know what it is and how it might tie into this program … Not So Big Life is really an attitude and a sensibility … it's really taking [the "not so not so big" concept] up to the fourth dimension and [applying it] to time and how we inhabit our lives.
I think the thing that is really revolutionary about this particular book is that it doesn't say start over. It doesn't say quit your job and move to a mountaintop. It says that right here, right now in your everyday life – you have everything you need to make some changes. But we can't see it. It's just like those rooms that don't get used even though we have all that space. There's a whole bunch of time and effort that we put into our lives that isn't very useful. We have to be able to see through the obstacles that are not letting us recognize where we have time. This book includes exercises to help people see how patterns of behavior they learned when they were 5 years old are getting in the way and not letting them be effective human beings.
I think your new book is very timely. It comes at a time when people are thinking about changing their life and living more simply. A lot of these ideas tie in with the concept of sustainability and saving our environment.
I think so too. They're so related. In The Not So Big Life, I don't literally talk about sustainability. It's about how do you sustain yourself and the planet in terms of the way that you engage everyday. Have you ever heard that quote by Mahatma Gandhi? "Be the change you wish to see in the world?" In the second chapter, I talk about that. Thing is, we misunderstand what Gandhi means. There's all these efforts going on about changing the world out there, to fix the world, when actually – if we change ourselves – the only thing we actually CAN change – that's how things shift. That's the only point in which change can occur. As you take both care and responsibility for yourself and your well being, then everything else shifts with it.
And the other key point I make in this book, is I ask people to just stop and think about those things when they were young adults or children that they were really passionate about. And I think oftentimes, as we become adults, we sort of remember them but we figure we don't have time – we can't do that now. The most sustainable thing you can do is to follow your own passions. When you're passionate about something, you're truly present in what you're doing. And when you're present in what you're doing, everything that needs to happen happens.
The evolution is happening when you're engaging in something with your whole heart and soul. That's such an exciting message for people. Again, when I've been talking in public about that, I can just feel the electricity in the air as people start to realize, "Oh my goodness, I can do that!" And that is actually the sustainable thing to do. It is really cool to see how these ideas begin to shift people's ideas as to what's possible.
How did you go from being a commercial architect to a residential architect, to writing books and lecturing on this topic?
It happened very organically. As I tell the story, you'll learn much more than you ever wanted to know about me in The Not So Big Life. When I was practicing residential architecture I started to realize that there was something more that I wanted but I couldn't name it and I couldn't figure out what it was. And then I started to look at, well, what was I passionate about? What am I not doing that would really make me feel more alive? And ever since I was a little kid I've loved to write. And I just passionately loved to write way before I knew what architecture was. And so I started to realize – what I really want to do is to write. I just started. I actually just made a meeting with myself every Tuesday and Thursday morning and before I knew even what it was I was going to write – I just got into the discipline of sitting down and starting to write something.
The first book I started is what is now called Home By Design. The publisher, Taunton Press, who finally just adopted me as their author, told me they loved the first chapter I'd written for that book. But what they thought I needed was to nurture the audience, because it was more information about architecture than most people would be able to handle without a little bit more preparation. And so that's how "The Not So Big House" came to be. In fact, the title "The Not So Big House" flowed right out of my pen when I was beginning to write the introduction. Taunton Press had asked me to write — The Small House book. And I knew that wasn't the right name. I wanted to be able to get to the people who were building 6, 7, 8 thousand square foot houses and ask them to rethink the model.
Now that you're writing and lecturing, do you still have time to design?
Just a little bit. I still try to do one "show house" a year. So I've done demonstration houses at builder shows. What I'm going to try to do is to have a traveling show that can go to different museums around the country. I've realized that my role now is much more than creating new houses for individuals. It's more to get the ideas out there so that people can walk through them and really have their own personal experience of it – because even with a movie, you still can't actually feel the space – you have to walk through it.
There's a couple of Web sites people can go to. Notsobig.com is a porthole that people can go either into the Not So Big House or The Not So Big Life.
What else do you have coming out?
"Not So Big Life" releases May 8th.
# # #
|
|
Spain...on the road Again garners national press coverage
|
