Review by Library Journal Review
An architect with numerous books and articles to his credit, Dickinson (Small Houses for the Next Century) believes that one can have a custom house built for the price of a common "off the rack" spec house. Less can be more as long as the plan is carefully designed to fit the owner's lifestyle (the typical new home is oversized so that it can be everything to every buyer). To support this contention, Dickinson offers 19 homes as examples. In some cases, cheaper commercial-grade materials are used throughout, or lower-grade materials are used on the second or third stories where they won't be easily seen. Each section includes a wealth of information about the house and shows how it meets its owner's needs while saving money; entries also include budget information and floor plans. Although not exactly cheap, these homes are much less expensive than the typical custom homes featured elsewhere, but as the numerous color photos attest, they are just as beautiful. Dickinson's book seems more responsible than many architectural titles because it celebrates the designer's ingenuity more than the customer's vanity. Kodis (Blueprint Small: Creative Ways To Live with Less) takes a similar tack, showing readers how to build a custom house on a budget using a 15-item "Affordability Checklist" that encourages simplification, recycling, and the use of local materials. The ten homes featured seem more down-to-earth than those presented by Dickinson but are certainly attractive (and their comparative simplicity may actually appeal to some readers). Kodis includes a wealth of information about the savings achieved by using certain materials. The numerous color photos include a tiny floor plan showing the camera angle, which is a nice touch. Both titles are excellent additions to larger collections, although Kodis's book will better serve do-it-yourselfers. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
