Small doesn't have to mean cramped! These books have building plans and design ideas that pack a lot of living into small spaces. Some titles offer detailed construction plans, while others have beautiful color illustrations to inspire ideas for your own compact, efficient, and economical home.
1. Little House on a Small Planet
"Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities." More than just a collection of photos and floor plans, Litttle House on a Small Planet offers advice and inspiration with a friendly dose of philosophy. The pictures and plans focus on practical ways to rethink your need for space, and suggests rebuilding, remodeling, and redecorating solutions to use space wisely.
2. Creating The Not So Big House
"Insights and Ideas for the New American Home." Sarah Susanka, a LIFE Magazine Architect of the Year, shows how homes can be designed to feature "adaptable spaces" and how to create the illusion of space.3. Build Your Own Low-Cost Log Home
Subtitled, "Complete Working Drawings and Specifications for Eleven Homes Suitable for Year-Round and Vacation Use, With Step-By-Step Construction Information." What more could you want?
4. 500 Small Houses of the Twenties
Presents 500 small-home designs of the 1920s as they appeared in a major architectural publication of 1923. Many are designed by leading domestic architects of the period. By Henry Atterbury Smith.5. Small Houses of the Twenties
"The Sears, Roebuck 1926 House Catalog." A vintage house plan collection showing interiors and fixtures in great detail. Sears Roebuck and Co.