Customer Reviews

Capes: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling and Building New

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I showed this book to a contractor friend who immediately went out and bought one for his own use. Lots of new ideas, with great illustrations and photos to refer to when discussing options for one's own project. Highly recommended.

If the number of reviews seems scant, it's probably because readers of this book are inspired to head for their drawing boards or take sledgehammer to wall, rather than compose a book review. Who has time to write a paragraph or two for Amazon when there are contractors to call and design decisions to make? This book will motivate you Cape owners out there to finally make the updates that you've been thinking about since you moved in -- whether it's just replacing rusty bathroom cabinets or adding that extra bedroom so your two boys don't have to share a room anymore.

Jane Gitlin's book is a pleasure to read -- again and again. My wife and I own a classic Cape. We've spent the past 10 years renovating it, bit by bit. Now we're contemplating a major exterior remodeling project and Jane's book is a treasure trove of excellent ideas. The text and photos offer many creative alternatives to the standard, time-worn designs suggested by many architects and contractors. The book truly renewed our sense of pride in owning a classic Cape. Bravo!

I purchased this book with the hope of finding a few capes similar in layout to mine, and with ideas on how people have renovated certain rooms or how they may use them differently than me. This book, while very nice, pretty much made me depressed - almost all of the renovations were too large scale for what I was looking to do and seems to focus more on dramatic upgrades such as whole additions, entire floor plan changes, and overall high-budget changes. If you are seeking design ideas for larger-scale cape upgrades, then this book would no doubt be a great resource, but if you are seeking smaller scale ideas for how others have redesigned certain cape-sized rooms, you may want to look elsewhere.

I am in the process of remodeling my 60 year old Cape using ideas from this book. I showed my contractor the book so he would know what I wanted to do & he joked that he almost walked off with it. Great ideas - great detail. Whatever your style.

My husband and i just recently purchase a Cape house and were use to living in less traditional houses....This book gives us so many inspirations on how to make our new house more us! We took it out of the library before we moved in and.....haven't returned it yet! I think it's time to get one of our own! We took out 50+ books but this one was just what we wanted to see sooooo many ideas! Not frumpy - clean lines, open spaces, etc...

I loved this book. We have a 1950's Cape Cod home. And anyone who has one knows, they can be very difficult to add on to without looking like you have a "moron room" - add a little more on, add a little more on. This book was filled with absolutely beautiful photos and gave me several ideas that we will utilize when we begin our work this summer.

I appreciated that we were able to view some of the pages before purchase. I had an idea what I was getting, and certainly was not disappointed. The book exceeded my expectations.

This book is very helpful in creating new looks and ideas for any cape cods. The ideas they suggest are very pricey, but if money is not an issue, then the sky is the limit.

This is a superb book for anyone remodeling who is looking to maintain their homes style while updating it. It shows the floor plans before and after and is filled to the brim with beautiful photos. This isn't just for cape owners, the little details like built ins and decorative columns are the little added features that make a house interior shine no matter what style your home is.

This is a great book for owners of Cape homes looking for ideas on updates. The text explains in layman's terms what makes a house a "Cape" and the essential architectural elements to consider when making changes. The photos and text cover a couple of dozen Cape homes that have been updated. The possibilities for renovations are endless, yet the book presents these in a manner that allows the reader to visualize projects ranging from small to large. Both indoor and outdoor updates are addressed. While not an architectural guide, this book is a good starting point for a Cape owner with expansion or renovation plans in mind.