Not So Big Solutions for Your Home: the Kitchen/Family Room Relationship

As an advocate of "less is more" in residential architecture and interior design, Fine Homebuilding contributing editor Sarah Susanka has emerged as one of America's favorite home architects. Her books The Not So Big House and Creating the Not So Big House offer a new vision for the American home: houses about a third smaller than what you thought you needed -- but better suited to your lifestyle. In short, quality over quantity.

In this excerpt, Susanka explores how the kitchen has evolved from an isolated workspace for the cook to a family-oriented space for socializing as well as preparing food. Raised counters, sliding panels, and buffer zones are among the design solutions she offers for maintaining a modicum of separation in an open floor plan.