Susanka’s Show House for SchoolStreet Homes Complete

Architect and Not So Big House advocate Sarah Susanka announced last December that she would be designing her first-ever model home for a residential development. Currently being built in the Village of Libertyville, the SchoolStreet Homes project is a New Urbanist/front-porch revival development of 26 bungalow-style houses that incorporate many Not So Big characteristics. Susanka has said that the SchoolStreet Not So Big show house also will be the first to demonstrate all of her Not So Big design solutions.

Before the design was even finalized, Susanka’s model house had a buyer, as we reported in December. Susanka has since completed the design of the SchoolStreet Not So Big show house, and SchoolStreet will make three other versions of the plan available to potential buyers.

At 2,450 square feet, Susanka’s model sits comfortably in the middle of SchoolStreet’s offerings, which range from about 1,800 square feet to 3,400 square feet. Just like other houses in the development, the Not So Big show house is designed for a long, narrow lot and an ample front porch and will sit close to the street to engage the community. Typically unused formal rooms have been eliminated in favor of more informal spaces that can be used for multiple functions. The entry is actually on the house’s side, and the kitchen, dining, and living areas are positioned at the front adjacent to the porch to encourage its use.

An away room, large mud room, hobby room, a reading nook, and a rear garage-top deck, along with multiple built-ins and open, connected living spaces are among the many classic Not So Big features Susanka incorporated into the model. The plan also offers a pre-selected palette of materials to allow buyers to adjust elements of the layout and finishes to suit their preferences.

Susanka’s SchoolStreet Not So Big show house is slated for completion in fall 2011, and once finished it will be open to the public for six months, serving as a model home for the development.