New Compact House Designs: 27 Award-Winning Plans 1,250 Square Feet or Less

Rating:
Summary: Creative, sophisticated, and SMALL!
Review: Although this book contains 27 house plans, in my opinion only a very small percentage of these are innovative enough to warrant publishing. The most exciting being the design by Earth Rammed Works which could have easily taken over the whole book and I wished it had.! Some of the designs used new energy saving materials such as photovoltaics, but these were not given explanation space and left the reader feeling quite frustrated.

Rating:
Summary: Need more books like this!
Review: I bought this book because I was designing a sub-1250 square feet house for my parents, which I have since finished. I thought the book had potential until I attempted to apply some of the ideas of the "winning" plan. The winning house is not 1250 square feet. Not even close. When I contacted Mr. Metz through his publisher for an explanation, his response was that he "couldn't care less if the houses featureed(sic) are a bit under or over the 1250 advertised." I think it says quite a bit that the editor doesn't think the title has to be accurate.
Moreover, I agree with some of the other reviews that questioned the merits of many of the designs in the book. If these are the best plans, what could possibly have been rejected? I found perhaps a half-dozen plans that had anything new to say architecturally.
This book is a waste of time and money. You can get close approximations of most of these plans from the Sunset books at the library, and you won't get lied to about the size.

Rating:
Summary: Editor is no better than the designs.
Review: I bought this book because I was designing a sub-1250 square feet house for my parents, which I have since finished. I thought the book had potential until I attempted to apply some of the ideas of the "winning" plan. The winning house is not 1250 square feet. Not even close. When I contacted Mr. Metz through his publisher for an explanation, his response was that he "couldn't care less if the houses featureed(sic) are a bit under or over the 1250 advertised." I think it says quite a bit that the editor doesn't think the title has to be accurate.
Moreover, I agree with some of the other reviews that questioned the merits of many of the designs in the book. If these are the best plans, what could possibly have been rejected? I found perhaps a half-dozen plans that had anything new to say architecturally.
This book is a waste of time and money. You can get close approximations of most of these plans from the Sunset books at the library, and you won't get lied to about the size.

Rating:
Summary: Unique collection of small homes
Review: I like this book, and have had it in my home plan collection library for years. I still refer to the designs in this book because they are still fresh today, as compared to other similar books on the market. The layouts are livable, given the tight quarters imposed by the square footage limitation, and the floor plans are easy to read. A few of the houses are economical to build as well as graceful, unique, and stylish. Several of the houses have modern facades. If you need someting small, but have no interest in the average ranch/saltbox/Mediterranian, this could be your book.
I would not recommend it to those who want a typical small suburban tract house, or to those using Sunset plans, Home Planners, or Garlington House as a bench mark for modern style house plans.

Rating:
Summary: Unique collection of small homes
Review: I like this book, and have had it in my home plan collection library for years. I still refer to the designs in this book because they are still fresh today, as compared to other similar books on the market. The layouts are livable, given the tight quarters imposed by the square footage limitation, and the floor plans are easy to read. A few of the houses are economical to build as well as graceful, unique, and stylish. Several of the houses have modern facades. If you need someting small, but have no interest in the average ranch/saltbox/Mediterranian, this could be your book.
I would not recommend it to those who want a typical small suburban tract house, or to those using Sunset plans, Home Planners, or Garlington House as a bench mark for modern style house plans.

Rating:
Summary: Need more books like this!
Review: If you are looking for some creative ideas for small homes then this is a great book. If you are looking for the typical traditional home, then there a lot of other plan books or online plan stores that you may prefer. This book has a variety of home styles with a lot of great ideas. Some are pretty simple and some are a bit outlandish, but you'll see some designs that you don't see in the regular plan books, which is what makes this book so good.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Unless you like ultra modern home designs, skip this book. The plans are impractical, especially with respect to kitchen layouts. Most of the homes have no vestibules in their entrances, which are a neccessity in colder climates.