Last night, Martha and I enjoyed a dinner and lecture by Sarah Susanka, the author of The Not So Big House series. I read her first book years ago and I believe it should be read by anyone considering building or renovating their home! Home is not about size or square footage, it’s about how the home lives and feels. The message…

Sarah Susanka brings to light a new way of thinking about what makes a place feel like home — characteristics many people desire in their homes and their lives, but haven’t known how to verbalize.

Bigger is not necessarily better. Sarah challenges us to create well-designed spaces that maximizes each square foot. If it’s well designed, you can probably reduce the square footage and increase the quality and features that will improve daily life. Every family lives a little differently and designing your home to function for your specific needs will pay off over and over again.

Sarah also suggests (and I couldn’t agree more) that beauty matters!  My favorite quote of the evening, “Make your house feel like a tailored suit.” So often, we refer to cost per square foot. Well, the cost can vary greatly on that one square foot depending on the materials and finishes used during construction (just like the cost of a suit can vary greatly). Using quality products and good design costs a bit more. But, if you’re going through the effort of building or renovating, why not make it the very best you can?

I enjoyed every minute of the evening! Thanks so much to the Eastern Carolinas Chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association for hosting the event.