Building a Not So Big House: Five Crucial Mindset Shifts to Make First

My first foray into interior design was as an assistant in the kitchen and bath department at the Great Indoors in Chandler, Arizona. I worked weekday evenings, and it could be quite slow. The Great Indoors was ahead of its time, and it had a Starbucks right inside and right next to the desk where I sat. The Starbucks had a little book section, mostly on home improvement and design, and I spent many of those slow evenings sipping a coffee and reading them over and over.

Two of those books were The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. It was 2004, and the first book was only about 6 years old and not yet dated. I became instantly obsessed with the ideas in those books and haven’t stopped thinking about them and referencing them for over 15 years.

I’ve referenced Not So Big before in other blog posts and on my about page. In summary, Not So Big challenges the idea of the McMansion (something I was surrounded by in early 2000s Phoenix) and asks its readers to consider a different way.

What if we built smaller houses but built them better?

What does better mean in this context? It means building less square footage so that you have more room in your budget to spend on architectural detailing, materials, millwork, hardware, and plumbing, and all of the other little details that infuse personality, character, and sense of timeless quality into a home.

Recently, I’ve had several inquiries from clients interested in building or renovating based on Not So Big House principles, which truly delights me. If you’re curious about getting started down the Not So Big path as well, then there are several mindset shifts you’ll want to make before you start.d

Mindset Shift #1

Every space in your home will be used on a regular, if not daily, basis.

 The quickest and easiest way to shrink your square footage is reduce the number of single function spaces. In other words, we’re going to eliminate or reduce the number of one-function spaces like formal dining rooms.

This exercise may be uncomfortable for you.  For example, you may think you have to have a separate guest bedroom. We actually have two guest bedrooms, and one of them only gets used a few times a year. With our new normal, I don’t envision anyone coming to visit for months, maybe a year.

So, I have a large room with beautiful natural light and a pretty view that no one will enter for the foreseeable future. It also has a totally empty closet and adjacent bathroom no one uses.

How can you make spaces like this do double duty in your new home or even in your current home? I could buy a sleeper sofa and convert this guest room into my office as my current space is busting at the seams. Would that be less attractive for my guests? Sure, but there are ways to make guests comfortable even in a double duty room

Mindset Shift #2

You’ll be living with less stuff.

In order to build or renovate Not So Big, you need to be honest with yourself about what you really need in your home, both for daily life, seasonal activities or events, and for sentimental reasons.

I am a first-hand offender though I’m working on getting better. For years, I carted around ten plus boxes of books than I never read a second time or even looked at. Before the last time we moved, I gave away, sold or donated more than half of them. I could get rid of even more and probably will.

In our basement, I have Rubbermaid containers filled with craft supplies I haven’t touched in twelve years. How do I know? They are still taped shut from three moves ago.

Our pantry is full of food we will never eat, including empty canisters. It also houses small appliances we never use, extra canning jars and who knows what else.

If you really want to build a Not So Big House, then you may want to Marie Kondo your current possessions first. You must commit to doing the mental work so you can let go of the stuff you really don’t need. Your closet will be smaller, and your overflow storage space will be limited.

This is a huge topic, and I can’t begin to do it justice in one post. But, it is something you will want to think about seriously and discuss with your partner and family before embarking on a Not So Big journey.

Mindset Shift #3

You will spend nearly the same amount on your Not So Big Home as you would have on a larger home.

This mindset shift is critical. Let go of the idea that Not So Big House = Not So Big Budget. That’s not the point. Susanka wrote in the original book that you should be prepared to build a house 30% smaller for the same budget if you want it to be Not So Big. You could also translate that to a dollar per square foot amount. It’s going to go up substantially.

If you’re not familiar with Not So Big, the premise is that the extra dollars you free up by building smaller are then used to add architectural character and special features. These details allow the house to live bigger than it actually is.

Are there ways to get creative to mitigate the increase in dollar per square foot? Of course! Susanka highlights some creative ideas in her second book Creating the Not So Big House.

One of my biggest takeaways: plan for future upgrades if the budget doesn’t allow for them during the build or initial renovation. This requires careful planning with your designer, architect, and builder, but it’s definitely possible.

Mindset Shift #4

Less space requires more creativity & innovative solutions.

As I mentioned earlier, part of that increased budget will go towards making the most of the space you have through built-ins, integrated storage, and improved functionality in your cabinetry, closets, and other storage areas.

For example, by upgrading your kitchen cabinetry to a frameless European style you can increase your usable storage over a framed or inset style cabinet.

Designing all of your base cabinets with drawers instead of doors, incorporating pantry pullouts, and building to the ceiling will increase cost but also maximize your kitchen storage. You will need less cabinetry and less square feet for your kitchen overall.

In your closets, you can also build up to the ceiling and add pull down hanging racks. Built-in drawers eliminate the need for dressers, so your bedroom can be smaller. Custom built closets are more expensive, but they will help you use every single bit of space.

Other ideas that are Not So Big include window seat storage, built-ins or closets under staircases, recessed niches with shelves in unused pockets of space, and medicine cabinets in the bathroom.

In other words, we want to look at the plan with a critical eye and think about every place we can build in storage opportunities. But, the key is to have a strategy for what will be stored in each spot and not use this as an opportunity to squirrel away more unneeded stuff and clutter.

Mindset Shift #5

Challenge the norms we’ve become accustomed to through television, magazines, Pinterest, our friends, family, & neighbors.

Some examples…enormous kitchen islands, extra large appliances, double bathroom vanities, huge walk-in showers with separate tubs, individual rooms for each child, and dedicated offices, guest rooms, and dining rooms.

Yes, this will also be uncomfortable, but does your grown child who moved out years ago need their own bedroom in your new home? If you want to build Not So Big, this might not be possible. It’s not wrong if this is one of your goals, but you have to be realistic about what you’re trying to achieve.

Another big budget buster I often see: the finished basement that is almost as much square footage as the main level of the home. It may have a separate family room with a fireplace and television, bar that functions as a second kitchen, multiple bathrooms, a workout room, and more.

I grew up in a decent size home with a living room that was probably around 13’ square. Our family of five watched TV there together every night. One or more of us had to sit on the floor to see the TV, and guess what? We all survived.

One goal of the Not So Big House is the ability to be together but apart. The floor plan should accommodate family members’ preferred activities and give them areas to gather together and also options to retreat while still being in close proximity to each other.

If your Not So Big house is designed properly, you should find your family spending more time together and less time in separate rooms pursuing individual activities alone.

After we purchased our current home, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was a Not So Big House in disguise. Built in 1986 and designed by an architect, it’s almost half the size of most new construction homes that I’m designing these days.

The layout of the house is classic Not So Big. None of the spaces, except maybe the master bedroom, are any larger than they need to be. There are no single use rooms. I’m sitting at our only dining table as we type this, but we also eat here and paint and do crafts and fold laundry. Aside from the guest room and closet I mentioned, we’re using every room in this house on a daily basis.

Because it was so well planned, the house feels much larger than it is. We’ve even thought about downsizing because sometimes it feels even too big.

If you’re thinking about building or renovating, I highly encourage you to pick up copies of the original Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House books. Even though the photos are dated, they are packed full of gems and ideas to make a slightly smaller house live large and feel special – like a home should.

In closing, I want to say that Not So Big is not an indictment of large homes in general. It is not necessarily about building small homes. It is decidedly not the tiny house movement. It’s simply about building a slightly smaller home for the same amount of money so your budget goes farther.

I’m very passionate about building and renovating based on Not So Big and am excited to write more on this topic in future posts. Sign up below if you’d like to be notified whenever a new post goes live.