Blueprint Affordable: How to Build a Beautiful House Without Breaking the Bank [Hardcover]

Michelle Kodis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2004

Dreaming of an architecturally distinctive house filled with graceful, beautiful materials that has been customized to fit your lifestyle-but think you can't afford it? Blueprint Affordable will dispel those fears and put builders on the path to a home that is personal, beautiful, and affordable. Discover the secrets of cost-conscious design and construction through the examples of ten cutting-edge residential designs, and see how building a unique home doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive. Author Michelle Kodis includes an amazing list of helpful information, guidelines, and tips to follow throughout the planning and building process such as: keep a simple floor plan opt for off-the-shelf stock sizes, which cost less than their customized counterparts choose locally available materials study your building site's climate and weather patterns, and focus on an architectural plan that shields the home from the elements omit a basement where possible-you'll save thousands on excavation costs do your own research and purchase your own lighting fixtures, paint, carpet, and appliances instead of hiring an outside consultant to do so Budget-mindedness and beauty don't live on opposite sides of the architectural block, as the ten houses in Blueprint Affordable strikingly demonstrate. As exceptional as they are in their design, these houses all share one key attribute: from the very beginning, before their owners' dreams were transformed into exciting realities, everything from the floor plan to building materials and finishes was driven by limited financial resources. Since receiving her master of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1991, Michelle Kodis has written about a broad range of topics, including architecture and design, the environment, health, business, and cuisine. She lives with her husband near Telluride, Colorado, and is currently at work on additional architecture/design books for Gibbs Smith, Publisher. She is the author of Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live with Less.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this well-organized book, Kodis has done the home remodeler an enormous favor, presenting ingenious yet practical guidance for building economical and aesthetically pleasing houses. Using 10 sample homes from across the country, she explains why various materials and design elements illustrate the golden rule of architecture: "the precursor to affordability is simplicity." Her mantra: avoid complex shapes and angles. Starting with a 15-point checklist, Kodis shares cost-effective choices for both construction and maintenance, forever sensitive to the specific demands of location. For instance, the concerns of a property owner in California, who worries about earthquakes, are different from those of a Kansas resident, who encounters oppressive heat and cold. In addition to regional tips, Kodis (Blueprint Small) celebrates an appreciation for natural woods and recycled building materials, such as irrigation pipes. Though she favors the less-is-more approach, she's quick to point out when an expensive option is more efficient in the long run. Each house is unique; prices range from $55 to $228 per square foot, and all are lovingly photographed. A particularly helpful addition is the inclusion of blueprints, which are shaded to indicate what the photograph is illustrating. Given Kodis's philosophy of simplicity, most of the designs are minimalist in style; what readers save on construction they can spend on decorating.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

Introduction Affordability Checklist Blueprint #1: From Fish-and-Chips Stand to Funky Beachfront Home Blueprint #2: Quaint Ocean-View Cottage Blueprint #3: A Contemporary Rendition of a Traditional Design Blueprint #4: An Imaginatively Remodeled California Bungalow Blueprint #5: Rustic Elegance Beside the River Blueprint #6: A Casual House in a New Kind of Neighborhood Blueprint #7: Midwest Ultramodern Blueprint #8: High Design on the Kansas Prairie Blueprint #9: The Colorado Barn, Reinterpreted Blueprint #10: Streamlined Sophistication on Martha's Vineyard Finding an Architect Resources

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith (May 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586853074
• ISBN-13: 978-1586853075
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,319,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great ideas for saving money, June 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Blueprint Affordable: How to Build a Beautiful House Without Breaking the Bank (Hardcover)

With 8 examples of new construction and 2 remodels/renovations, this book offers up many coherent and sensible ideas for building a well-designed house on a budget. The suggestions and guidelines are presented in a clear, easy-to-follow format, and the featured houses are in a wide range of style, location, and cost. Particularly useful are the clearly written photo captions, which at a glimpse provide the salient details of the house in question. Kodis also includes an Affordability Checklist, which is a useful rundown of the key points to remember when designing/building a house on a budget. There is a focus on materials and well-executed floor plans, as well as numerous lower-cost alternatives to more expensive features and details. The author also describes ways to splurge, even when money is tight. Another bonus: most of the homes in the book are modest in size. This book is an excellent addition to my architecture library.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another GREAT Book by Michelle Kodis, June 12, 2004

By 

Clayton C. Johanson (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blueprint Affordable: How to Build a Beautiful House Without Breaking the Bank (Hardcover)

Michelle Kodis' previous effort, "Blueprint Small", was an excellent resource for designing small residences (less than 1500 square feet). The book was well laid out, had some very good photography, and the designs of the residences themselves were all quite striking. This new book is just as good, if not better. The focus now is on complete residences that not only look really spectacular, but also come in with a respectably low price tag (in terms of price per square foot of living space). When it comes time for me to move from a condo into a house, I'll definitely be using this book as a reference... can't wait to see what Michelle will come out with next!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars You could write this book, August 11, 2004

By 

misterbeets "misterbeets" (Safe Harbor, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blueprint Affordable: How to Build a Beautiful House Without Breaking the Bank (Hardcover)

The theme is low-cost style and, sure enough, the ten houses featured, many if not most of them renovations, show some examples of this. The problem is, the accompanying text adds nothing--e.g. lower your home cost by eliminating the basement. Isn't this obvious? There's very little information in here, and what there is reveals only a vague understanding of how houses are built and what things cost.