Colonials (Updating Classic America) [Hardcover]

Matthew Schoenherr (Author)

Book Description

Series: Updating Classic America | Publication Date: April 15, 2003

A lavishly illustrated guide to remodeling or building a Colonial home

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Architect Matthew Schoenherr, AIA, has 25 years' experience in the residential design and the construction industries. He is principal in the firm Z: Architecture, which has completed more than 200 additions, renovations, and new homes. He is the author of Taunton Press' book Updating Classic America: Colonials. Matthew lives on the Connecticut shore with his wife and three sons.
Linda Mason Hunter is a freelance writer who has written for numerous magazines including Better Homes & Gardens, Home, Fine Homebuilding, Historic Preservation, Family Circle, and Country Living. She is the author of The Healthy Home and Southwest Style. She lives in Des Moines, Iowa.
Wendy Jordan is senior contributing editor of Professional Remodeler and former editor of Remodeling. She is the author of The Kidspace Idea Book and Taunton's New Kidspace Idea Book. She lives in Washington, D.C. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (April 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561585645
• ISBN-13: 978-1561585649
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a book for historical taste, February 9, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Colonials (Updating Classic America) (Hardcover)

Readers interested in historically authentic renovations or new construction of colonial, federal or classical revival style houses will not find much of interest in this book. The houses and furnishings pictured for the most part present eclectic blends of contemporary and historic styles. I would describe many of the "colonials" pictured in the book as postmodern eclectic. A number bear no recognizable relation to the colonial style.
The text is typical of what you would see in popular shelter magazines like Southern Living or House Beautiful: pleasant, generally informative and upbeat but not very detailed, and of little interest to more advanced readers.
One should examine this book in a store rather than buying it online, because the content suggested in the title is not what the book contains.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "This is not your father's colonial", January 24, 2007

By 

Penumbra (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colonials (Updating Classic America) (Hardcover)

The author, Matthew Schoenherr, is an architect who not only admires the colonial style, he has a lot of experience with remodels, renovations and new construction. There are lots of photos, floor plans, diagrams, and useful text in this book. He covers all the basics about what makes a home a colonial. There are explanations of various styles of roofs, windows, doors, chimneys, moldings, and other details that make a house "colonial."

What is kind of odd about this book is how few of the homes end up looking really colonial after the work is finished - especially the interiors. Most of the photos show rooms with lofty and/or vaulted ceilings, banks of windows, curved doorway arches, and other stylistic anomalies. Apparently his clients like the "idea" of a colonial style home but they want a very contemporary interior. The rooms are beautiful, but they tend to look like "Martha Washington meets Judy Jetson in Tuscany" more than they resemble anything I've seen in Williamsburg, VA. This is something that goes beyond having a colonial home with a multi car garage, large bathrooms, and a spacious kitchen. Schoenherr refers to this as blending colonial design with modernism.

The book is very logically laid out. (Well, he is an architect!)

Chapter 1 discusses the history of the colonial home in America, and covers what makes a home "colonial" style. He covers everything; the Early American Saltbox, Georgian, Dutch Colonial, French Colonial, Federal and Adams style, Classical Revival, and Post WWII Colonials - even the differences between northern and southern colonials.

Chapter 2 is about remodeling an existing house. What types of additions work when you need to expand? Do you really need to expand at all? What are the planning and zoning considerations? He mentions the difficulties involved in getting the vaulted ceiling look, especially on the first floor since most colonials have two stories.

Chapter 3 deals with renovating an older colonial. There are special considerations for colonial homes that were built in the 17th and 18th centuries, such as how to hide the wiring or how to create a 21st century bathroom. There are different problems involved for someone trying to renovate a colonial home that was built in the 1950's. One interesting example shows a saltbox house believed to have been originally built in 1694. The owners were attempting to undo a series of previous renovations that had occurred over the years and, in the process, made some very interesting archaeological discoveries about their home which they have done their best to preserve.

Chapter 4 is for the intrepid soul who is building a new colonial home. You have a lot more freedom in the design when you're starting from the ground up.

Chapter 5 is entitled "A Fresh Perspective." It includes such informative subheadings as, "This is not your father's colonial" and "A new sensibility." If you're a traditionalist, take that as a warning. However, you don't have to be as "out there" with changes to your own colonial home and there is a lot of good basic information in this book.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than the title, May 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Colonials (Updating Classic America) (Hardcover)

Most home design books use lots of visuals and minimize on the text. "Colonials" has so much more. It's actually a pity that the title directs one to a particular era or style, because this book is a comprehensive compendium of design, renovation and construction ideas that apply to a much broader design style than simply Colonial.

This is a design book where the text is important. There are highlighted features where the author gives informational snippets about everything from variations in roof design to conservation and wetlands, and even hints on lighting; all useful whether you're building, renovating or remodeling. Far more than a coffee table book, this book will get dirty from hands-on use!

As a collector of design and remodeling publications, this one gets my highest recommendation.