Staying Put: Remodel Your House to Get the Home You Want

Home Sweet Remodeled Home. The American dream of owning a home and then buying or building a bigger and better one is no longer a sure thing. Millions of homeowners stymied by the housing market and the economy have embraced remodeling instead. In this timely book, maverick architect-author Duo Dickinson offers hope on how to get the home you want from the house you have. He shares his passion for saving money without sacrificing good design and offers up cost-saving options and smart solutions to make older homes better fit today's lifestyles. Dickinson offers guidance on looking before you leap, ways to avoid pitfalls (and money pits), strategies for staying green or going geriatric, and moves you can make so you don't have to move out. Anecdotal "old saws" round out this inspiring how-to, perfect for anyone looking to turn their home today into their dream home tomorrow.

For the millions of housing consumers who are house-bound by economic realities beyond their control, this book offers tangible hope for getting the home you want from the house you have. But even with the best of intentions, residential renovations can create misfits that ruin the character of the existing home and make it more painful to live in. To state the obvious, the nation's housing stock is aging, and you can't just remodel or add on to a Cape or Colonial from the 1950s or '60s and expect it to work for the way you live today. Without the perspective of thoughtful design, a renovated home can actually be more expensive to heat, cool, and maintain than the original home, and with a larger indebtedness and mortgage payment to boot.

This is a book of options and solutions for people who are desperate to transform the houses they live in into homes that fit the way they live and reflect their values.