Living SMALL: The Life of Small Houses Review

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(More customer reviews)As a founding member of the Small House Society, much of my volunteer time serving the group involves reviewing books, websites, and other resources that are significant contributions to the small house movement.
I recently had an opportunity to review "Living Small - The Life of Small Houses" by Dennis Fukai of Insite Builders.
During the review, as I took the time to enjoy the book at a slower pace, I was really impressed with the attention to detail and the thoughtfulness that went into it. I've spent time working with AutoCAD and similar 3D modeling programs. I know that it takes a lot of work and attention to detail to put together the kinds of models used in the book. So, I could appreciate the time that went into that.
I also appreciated the humor, sometimes sarcastic and dry, that was sprinkled throughout the book. At one point, Dr. Fukai describes the Mini McMansion as being less expensive yet "the same waste and efficiency are included" as with the larger McMansions (page 13).
This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning more about small housing. Anyone considering building or purchasing a home of any size should seriously consider buying this book. In addition to offering a thorough look at small housing today, this text guides the reader throughout the history and development of housing in North America. An overview of larger homes is also provided to offer the reader a contrasting backdrop. The cost of building and maintaining larger inefficient homes is evaluated. By pointing out specific design techniques, the reader is made aware of what to look for in their next home and what to avoid. The book includes the following unique features:
* richly illustrated with 3D wire-frame and finished visual models
* valuable footnotes are included on almost every page providing additional information, book titles, and/or internet web pages for more details
* information about small housing is presented in a holistic and historically contextual framework allowing the reader to understand the cultural conditions and sociology that fostered various housing designs
* the entire text is offered in black and white sketches and text allowing the reader to focus their attention on the construction and design of various home designs
* included with the book is a CD ROM that contains 3D models for viewing on a Windows or Apple computer - these models can be rotated and viewed from different perspectives
More about Dennis Fukai and Insight Builders can be found by doing a Google search for Insite Builders (remember to spell it as it is here).
More about the Small House Society can be found by doing a Google search for the Small House Society.
Regards,
Gregory Johnson, Founding Member of the Small House Society

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This book is a survey of small houses from early settler cabins to the tiny house movement of today. The houses include frontier shelters, squatter houses, Cracker houses, farmhouses, bandboxes, shotguns, bungalows, and tiny houses. The book shows how these houses were built and served the special needs of their owner-builders.

Each chapter starts by showing the house in the context of its construction, the kind of resources that were available to its owners, and how their construction was shaped by both their purpose and historical situation.

Many of the insights of these home-builders can be used in small house construction today. These insights include the use of decks and outdoor spaces, separation of spaces, and simple framing techniques that are visible in the construction models. These models help readers get a feel for what it might be like to live in a small space and ways traditional builders maximized the efficiency and comfort of their homes.

The book 's CD includes a model of every house in the book as well as contextual plans and elevations, three-dimensional details of the structure, and the layout of each house. Readers can explore the house s construction, deconstruct its pieces, modify the spaces, and adapt them to test their own ideas.

All our books are written as graphic narratives in a comic style. Every book mixes layers of visual information with construction models, short video tours, and tutorials on how the models were built and organized.

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Compact Cabins: Simple Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less; 62 Plans for Camps, Cottages, Lake Houses, and Other Getaways Review

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(More customer reviews)As the title says, I own over twenty cabin books. This is by far my favorite design/floorplan book. It has 50+ different designs. The review about it simply being a series of identical designs with "expensive bump outs" and "no use of lofts" apparently didn't look at more than a few designs, nor read the actual text of the book. In the second half, the author addresses adding more floor-space cheaply by using lofts for sleeping areas. There are only a few designs with bump-outs, and if you don't like them, turn the page!
My favorite thing is the way the book is organized, the cabins are arranged in sq/ft. order as you look through the first half of the book, going from just over a hundred feet to almost 1,000 (but most are 600 sq/ft or fewer). Each design gets a floor plan and an elevation (exterior drawing), covering two pages per cabin.
The second half of the book gives excellent overview-level information about green building, energy efficiency, off-the-grid ideas, incorporating garages, RV-concepts, and even a few designs using shipping containers!
There is a great chapter on using modular designed 12' x 12' sections to create a mobile living space, whereby you can truck in your cabin, add to it as you can afford to, and even design your own cabin using 20 or so "modules" that the author pre-designed and included in the book (i.e. 4 bedroom modules, 4 kitchen modules, 4 bathroom modules, living rooms, dining areas, etc.). It's a really fun addition to the book.
This is not a book to go deep into any one subject, but it is an excellent overview for the new reader who wants a LOT of survey-level information on cabin concepts. And the 50 designs rank among my favorites for their creativity and individuality. How many round, half-round, quonset hut or yurt-style cabins have you seen in cabin books lately?
Like I said earlier, best design book I own. Buy this book, you will NOT be disappointed.

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The setting might be a sparkling lakefront, a cool clearing in the woods, a breathtaking mountaintop, or an expansive beach, but the dream of a modest retreat from everyday life often includes a simple little cabin. In cabin getaways of the imagination, the cares of the world recede, time slows down, and the day's pace is set by leisure and quiet activities.Compact Cabins presents 62 design interpretations of the getaway dream, with something to please every taste. Best of all, these small footprint designs are affordable and energy efficient without skimping on comfort and style. The cabins range in size from a cozy 100 square feet to a more spacious but still economical 1,000 square feet, and all include sleeping accommodations, kitchen and bath facilities, and a heat source. Complete chapters on low-maintenance building materials, utilities and appliances, and alternative energy sources supply readers with the options for living efficiently in small spaces.For every design, readers will find floor plans with detailed suggestions for designing the space for optimal use. These plans are flexible; many feature modular elements that can be mixed and matched to accommodate a particular owner's needs or hobbies. Features such as an outdoor fireplace, covered porch, or external storage locker might work nicely in several cabin designs. It's all about enhancing and maximizing small spaces to suit individual needs and preferences.Build small. In this time of uncertain energy costs, global warming, and tighter budgets, building small is a theme that resonates with second-home owners. Gerald Rowan shows readers how to achieve their cabin dreams on a small footprint.

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Portable Houses Review

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(More customer reviews)I have had an opportunity to see an advance of this book and must say I am impresssed. The photography alone is a reason to pick it up. What a wonderful topic. I continue to be impressed by these authors works. Cozy, comfy, like a crackle of a corner fireplace in an wintry cabin this book takes you to those bitty homes with great charisma.

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Sheep wagons, houseboats, RVs, tents, yurts, even prefab homes and old converted school bussespeople are finding creative ways every day to build and adapt homes that aren't confined to one geographical location.Portable Houses features traditional movable dwellings around the world, from a houseboat in Sausalito to a gypsy wagon in the English countryside. Authors Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel provide essential information on making movable homes functional and practical, along with chapters on acquiring the necessary tools and gear for travel, problem solving with each type of portable house, and converting the dream into highway-legal reality. With photography of some of the world's most ingenious and unique portable structures, Portable Houses will inspire the migratory-minded to turn ordinary modes of transportation into creative living spaces. Rawlings proves that it really is possible for the dedicated, nomadic, do-it-yourselfer to make the road a comfortable home! Irene Rawlings is editor-in-chief of Mountain Living and Log & Timber magazines. Since age seven, she has wanted to buy a retired school bus, take out the seats, paint it a shiny red, and travel around the country. She is the author of many books, including The Clothesline (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2002) with Andrea Van Steenhouse.Mary Abel is the managing editor of Mountain Living and Log & Timber Style magazines. She wants to buy an old trailer, paint it pink, and take it into the mountains to fly fish and cook chili over a campfire. She's still working on it.

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