About this item
Smaller is big, says architect and author Katie Hutchison, whose book The New Small House shows those looking to downsize how they can live smartly, economically and environmentally friendly in elegantly designed homes. With 275 gorgeous photographs and 30 detailed illustrations, The New Small House takes the reader on a tour of North America and spotlights small houses in rural, coastal, and in-town locations. The book presents fundamental small-house design strategies, complete with whole-house case studies for homeowners eager to simplify. Creating a great small house is illustrated in the opening chapter with 10 approaches, including: borrowed view and daylight multipurpose spaces privacy pockets using quality materials Twenty-five stunning small houses are profiled in the second part of the book, organized by the nature of their locations.
About the Author
Not long after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design 23 years ago, I branched off to focus exclusively on the design of residential spaces and buildings. I connected with the scale and intimacy of home design and became deeply enmeshed in the design of projects ranging in size from a high-end bathroom renovation for a small firm in Newport to a new 6,500 square-foot home on Martha's Vineyard that I collaborated on with an architect friend on the Cape.
In the years since, I've found myself increasingly drawn to the challenges and rewards of designing smaller spaces and houses that live comfortably, connect with their site, and have a positive impact on their neighborhoods and the environment. I've come to understand that the houses we value and appreciate most are those that are sensitive to human scale, provide a satisfying variety of spatial experiences, delight our senses, and don't unnecessarily stretch our resources.
A smaller, meaningful house affords the opportunity for a simpler life. It's the path I've chosen in the small house I share with my husband in a former summer community on the shores of a bay and river.
