Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home (Susanka) - Softcover

There are gardening books that tell us what to plant and where. And there are architectural design books that tell us how our homes should look. But never the twain seem to meet. At least not until recently, when the two spaces -- home and garden -- wed harmoniously in the new book, "Outside the Not So Big House" by Sarah Susanka and Julie Moir Messervy. -- NINA A. KOZIOL, The Chicago TribuneThis beautiful book combines the best qualities of coffee-table attractiveness and excellent advice. It pairs Susanka - author of previous "Not So Big House" books, which emphasize the trend toward smaller homes - and noted landscape and garden designer Julie Moir Messervy. They label their landscaping concept "opening up the relationship of indoors and out," and encourage readers to make the most of each. --JUDY LOWE, Christian Science Monitor "Outside the Not So Big House" by Julie Moir Messervy and Sarah Susanka deals with landscaping, planting and hard-scaping everything from entrances to pathways, arbors, patios and streetscapes to make the most of tight spaces. Planting sketches, lush photographs and specific problem-solving advice make it a handy reference, complete with plant names and diagrams. It's a pretty coffee-table topper, too. --JOY CRAFT, Cincinnati Enquirer The premise of this book is that home landscaping should be special to bring out the residence's best features (or hide its drawbacks). On my scale of one to 10, this outstanding new book rates a solid 10. --ROBERT J. BRUSS, Miami Herald With its plentiful photos and plans, this beautiful book is a useful tool for learning to look at the familiar in new ways. - JARRETT SMITH Minneapolis Star Tribune In 'Outside the Not So Big House, ' the authors describe many ways, both large and small, of connecting a house intimately to its land. --ANNE RAVER, The New York Times "This perfect collaboration between the talented and articulate Julie Moir Messervy and Sarah Susanka proves what a huge pleasure the landscape of a 'not so big' house can be. A must read..." --Tom Christopher, columnist, "House & Garden "magazine "Sarah Susanka and Julie Moir Messervy's clearly written text offers practical advice for designing indoor-outdoor spaces that respond to modern lifestyles. They reveal secrets for achieving the ideal combination of architecture and nature in the home and in the garden." --James A. van Sweden, Fellow, American Society of Landscape Architects and author of "Architecture in the Garden"

"Outside the Not So Big House" offers 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. It 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.