Customer Reviews
Beautiful book, but Not So Big - Not 
2008-04-23
It is a beautiful book that is well written and illustrated. So I'll give it 3 stars. But I don't believe it belongs in the Not So Big series. It feels like false advertising or misrepresentation. I appreciate the concept of connecting the outside and inside, but I expected to see ideas for small gardens/yards in small lots, not small planting areas within large lots and acreage attached to large houses.
Disappointing for a "Not So Big House" fan 
2008-02-24
I agree with many of the poor reviews by fellow "Not So Big House" thinkers. I was very, very disappointed by the lack of practical information and very few useful principles for "creating the landscape of home".
While I agree with and have used so many of the principles in her other books, this one left me with nothing I can use to landscape my property.
While some of the examples are quite interesting, most are also quite unusual and there is not much to take away for those of us with average-sized, rectangular-shaped lots living in subdivisions filled with tract homes.
You can have a million-dollar view from your home 
2008-01-26
Prerequisites: You have a house with some space for plants.
Pros: if you wanna block your not so eye-entertaining neighborhood.
Cons: French (glass) windows/doors may have security concerns.
You don't have to have a million-dollar house and 10 acres to have a nice view. The point of this book is "a look from inside out."
Your windows and doors can be a frame looking through your garden, hence the garden/landscape is designed from an inside view of your house, as far as your eyes can reach.
It teaches you how to create a relaxing enjoyment by using your current limited space, landscape, or even a slope with proper plant arrangements.
It greens your house from inside out!!
A good gardening ideas book for both design professionals and ordinary gardeners 
2008-01-08
A house and its garden are different parts of the same overall design. Bestselling author Sarah Susanka and acclaimed landscape designer and award-winning writer Julie Moir Messervy understand this concept. They describe it as "opening up the relationship of indoors and out" and demonstrate it with actual case studies in "Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home."
"Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" covers the landscape of home, embracing the habit of home (playing up the corners, borrowing the landscape, the attraction of opposites, a stream of one's own, shelter and embrace), composing journeys (variations on a theme, Japanese journey, parallel paths, the territory of home, the world behind the walls), linking the inside with the out (living lightly on the land, easy living, a landscape of stone, good fences, rooms inside and out), and crafting the elements of nature (gardens of earthly delight, three cabins in a forest, at home on the range, terraces of grass, a cottage in the city). This book does show the influence of Julie Moir Messervy's training with the well-known Japanese garden master Kinsaku Nakane as a Henry Luce Scholar.
"Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home" has 216 pages and many dazzling color interior photos and plans. It is a good gardening ideas book for both design professionals and ordinary gardeners.
The Rather Big 'Not So Big" 
2007-03-29
I come away with the feeling that Sarah was lead astray when this book was in development.
Many of the houses in previous books in the 'Not So Big' series have been rather expensive even if they have not been that big. At least these books have provided me with ideas in redoing our moderate sized/priced house.
In this book I find a 'Not So Big' house with a library, a sitting room, and a sunroom on the first floor in addition to a mudroom, kitchen with eating area, formal dining room and living room. The next house in the book sits on a 4 acre lot. Almost every house in the book has grounds that require hired maintenance professionals.
I would imagine that one of the first chapters in Sarah's new book, 'The Not So Big Life', will recommend reducing the square footage of your house and the maintenance required for your grounds. Reducing the square footage of your house will substantially reduce the work needed for upkeep. The 'grounds' could be turned into a native prairie for which God will provide the maintenance. Half of our 1.3 acre lot is native forest looked after by God.
The subtitle of the new book is 'Making Room For What Matters'. One of the things that matters for me is making time for things I enjoy by spending as little time as possible 'mowing the lawn'.
pretty much only covers enormous houses 2007-01-11
Outside the Not So Big House extends the principles from
The Not So Big House to offer a unified source of design advice about making the indoors and outdoors work together. Through the unique pairing of bestselling author and residential architect Sarah Susanka and landscape designer and award-winning writer Julie Moir Messervy, two highly qualified experts teach us how to think in a new way about designing our outdoor spaces--so they are in keeping with our interior ones.
Outside the Not So Big House gives language to design concepts that unify home and landscape. Two major concepts--make building decisions in the context of the land and make landscape decisions that draw the inside toward the outside--inspire homeowners to attune their homes and property to fit the way we live today.
Landscaping 101 2006-09-14
This is a grand book with homes in differing sites in differing parts of the US. One can glean many ideas from the great photographs and text. Julie Moir Messervy's designs are elegantly simple and reflect her studies in Japan. This book is a real addition to the library of anyone interested in designing their landscape.
Wonderful Book- Susanka is the best! 2006-08-22
Susanka is a great architect! Love it all and look forward to generating a whole new look for my entire property!
Many ideas for designing small areas near small houses 2006-07-15
(4.5 Stars) I can see from the other reviews that there exist a wide range of opinions about this book. I fall on the high side, I suppose. I enjoyed the large number of photos and ideas for landscaping small areas - spots even - in the yard around a smaller home.
One, rather unreal aspect was that, most of the homes pictured are modern homes with interesting custom architecture. Some of us live in simple ranch-styles (boxes).
Julie's training and interest in architecture does come through, but I did not find it distracting. In fact, I found the emphasis on the relationship between the interior design of the home and landscape as seen from inside very useful. Most landscaping books present only the view TOWARD the house, not FROM it.
I got several good ideas from this book and learned a bit about design.
Milking the Not So Big House 2006-06-02
Subtitled: "Milking the Not So Big House for Everything It Is Worth."
