Not So Big House

Years ago when we (Yours Truly and his wife) first thought of building our house and started to work on various floor plans we happened to come across Sarah Susanka's book Not So Big House. Actually, it was right when it first came out. We thought that her concept although foreign to most mass builders and people we knew was totally logical. Our floor plan design already reflected most of her concepts. We have always wondered why do new houses need two living rooms (living room and family room) and in some cases media room and game room, and two or three eating places (dining room, breakfast nook, and eating space at kitchen island). In addition there is nowadays another living room in most master bedroom suite. We thought that all of this is a big waste of space and planned our house accordingly. During the planning process we were guided by the concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright. We liked the Prairie house concept in general and the Usonian House concept in particular. So we resolved to build a house that would incorporate many of these concepts. I mentioned Susanka's Not So Big House concept because when it comes right down to it is really the Wright's usonian concept restated and adjusted for today's living. I'm not an architect but that's the way I undestand it.

Susanka's Not So Big House Concepts that guided our efforts in designing the house:

Quality over quantity

Every room gets used

Double duty rooms

Comfort

Public and private spaces

Shelter around activity

Fitting our lifestyle

Outdoors is also a room

Energy efficient design

Frank Lloyd Wright's Concepts We Followed:

Integrity of site and structure

Natural materials

Human scale

Common and private spaces

Multilevel interiors

Sheltering

Indoor/Outdoor space

Simplicity

These concepts translated into the following design elements:

The house was designed as a three level house (multilevel design) to fit the severely sloping site (integrity of site and structure). Simple beauty was the goal of the design.

The exterior of the house was designed as a prairie house using stucco, stone and wood as materials (natural materials). The stucco and stone have number of design elements to provide a variety of minor design elements such as raised integral trim around windows and windows and vertical stone bands in a horizontal stone pattern.

The interior has a varied ceiling height, 9 ft. on lower level, 9ft. on the first floor with partial cathedral ceiling in living room and clerestory windows above, and 8ft. on the second floor. The rear hall on the frist floor has 7'6" ceiling with three steps at the rear entry making the ceiling in this part of the house open up to 10'6" high (human scale, multilevel interior). The second floor is partially open to the first floor with a balcony the width of living room (multilevel interior).

Entry foyer, living room, dining room and kitchen are open common area with bedroom wing closed to make it private (common and private areas).

Organic shelves of varied width run throughout the first floor at a height of 7'6" (sheltering). The 9 ft. ceiling in dining room which is adjacent to the cathedral ceiling in living room make the ceiling in dining room and kitchen seem lower than 9 ft. (shelter around activity)

The living room has a 6 ft. wide sliding glass door with a 3 ft. fixed panel on each side. Master bedroom has a 6 ft. sliding glass door. These doors open up onto a balcony/deck running the length of the house but of varied width (indoor/outdoor space, outdoor room).

The roof has overhangs of varied widths (sheltering) are based on sun azimuth angles to allow sun into the interior in winter and shelter the interior from the sun in summer (energy efficient design). Large part of the balcony at each end of the house is under an 11 ft. roof overhang (sheltering).

Both the interiror and exterior of the house are of simple design with straight lines and no curves (simplicity).

Insulated concrete forms were used for the areas that are under the ground with 2 x 6 framing for the walls and increased insulation (energy efficient design).

The house was designed for our lifestyle, comfort and full use of the rooms (fitting our lifestyle, comfort, every room gets used, double duty rooms). The fountain in the entry foyer is not only an esthetic feature (quality) but also provides some humidity for the house. The office also serves as Susanka's Away Room. Living room is also a media room because we spend most evenings watching TV or listening to music. No need for a separate media room. The large

kitchen has an island with seats for eating at the bar heigh counter and a real bar. The large space between the island and the bar serves as a gathering place for family, guests, and during parties. All of these features fit the concept of comfort, fitting our lifestyle and quality. Upstairs are two guest bedrooms and a balcony overlooking the living room. This space serves as a space for guests to relax and lounge and as a library. Guests can enjoy view of Pike's Peak through the clerestory windows. Pike's Peak can be observed from every room in the house (quality).

The interior materials include drywall, stone and wood (quality). The stairs are made of wood. The ceiling on the second floor and on the cathedral ceiling in living room is wood. All trim throughout the house is wood. There are built-ins made of wood on the main level. Simple horizontal wood paneling with a batten to cover the horizontal joints was used on one wall in each guest bedroom (natural materials, quality). All wood throughout the house is stained.

We set out to design a house that would at first look appear to be a contemporary interpretation of a prairie style house with a somewhat usonian interior and beauty throughout. Surprisingly, the house does not look out of place amid the local Colorado mountain architecture.