Much to my delight, my copy of Small House Book, showed up in my mailbox two days after I ordered my copy.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering the aesthetics of the author, but the book is diminutive in size and stunning visually. It is packed full of glossy, full-color pictures of designs and examples of small architecture.
For anyone whose familiar with his earlier three-volume release of House book, some of the original material is included in the new release but there is also a bunch of new information, much of which is the same information covers in his two weekend workshops. This is especially true of his design workshop. If you are thinking of building your own tiny house and you’re not going to be able to attend one of his workshops, Id highly recommend picking up a copy of the book and also the construction DVD I hear it is currently developing.
What I appreciate the most in the new edition is the expanded section on his thinking about where we are currently as a society in terms of housing and neighborhood design, and what more modest architecture might be able to offer as solutions. I also appreciate now having a collection of work in one, concise volume (rather than the three prior volumes, a separate portfolio of his homes, handouts from his workshops, and a bunch of print-outs from his website).
While I didn’t mind paying the $37 price tag for a 196 page book, I could see this being an issue for some purchasers. Especially considering the book is only 7 x 7 inches and 197 pages. No doubt, the many color pictures in the book drove production costs up quite a bit. One thing I think the Tiny House might want to consider is offering a second, lower-cost black-and-white edition of the book which any pictures that aren’t needed to support the text. Considering many of the readers may already be familiar with his work, I suspect many would be willing to forgo the photographs for a lower cover price. However, with the unrelenting standards toward beauty, I have no idea if he’d be willing to consider such a thing.
I also found myself wishing there had been several more chapters on his thoughts and experiences with tiny architecture. I can pretty much guarantee that should he ever publish a longer book on tiny homes, Ill be the first one in line when its released.
All in all, though, the book is a lovely volume and a great addition to the small home literature.