Customer Reviews

Suburban Renewal: Transforming Standard Capes, Ranches and Builders Colonials into Classic Homes

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This is not an academic dissertation on the downfall of American suburbs - there are plenty of sources for those. This book for most readers is something better. I found it to be a fresh look at what is being done to bring life and inspiration for the tired,neglected, and typically dull field of "ranch house" renovations. As an architect I see this book as a great primer and visual starting point for people who don't believe good design can transform the ordinary (suburban box) into something Special. The Designers and Architects who shared their work with Mr. Connor for the book should be commended for tackling a seemingly simple but actually challenging design problem.

As an architect who specializes in residential remodelling projects, this book caught my interest. However, when I received the book, what I found was a great big coffee table book. Most of the projects contain a two page spread with a black & white photo of the existing house overlaid and skewed (scrapbook style). Of the thirty six projects in this book, few contain floor plans, some offer no interior views, and many projects only contain one photo. With such little data even the most seasoned contractor or architect is left to wonder how these transformations took place. The real estate section of my Sunday paper has does better justice to remodelling projects!

As a home owner, I am faced with the usual problem of aesthetic / expense. My wife and are lucky in that we have similar taste in design and decoration - so we sing from the same hymnal - so to speak. But one is always on the prowl for a great look as yet undiscovered, or at least unexploited. This exquisitely produced and artfully written volume opened our eyes to a widely ranging catalog of both classical and neo-millennial architectural "looks" that both inspired us and confirmed our opinion that there is no substitute for good taste. I recommend this wonderful book to anyone who owns a home and wants to improve it.

Here's what happens when you take a typical post-WWII American suburban home, add some design ingenuity, a lot of labor and a ton of money: you get a unique, livable and classy home. At least that's what's shown in this book--though I wish some of the homes had more photos and detailed floor plans.

As a residential architect I have been using this book for years as a starting point to show my clients the possibilities and transformations that are possible to their typical, tired, suburban home. Most of my clients want to expand their home in someway while renovating and updating to modern looks, conveniences and finishes. This book provides all that and more. And while there are some homes that upon careful observation would be considered torn down and reconstructed on the original foundation, they are still well done in scale and respect for the lot and very likely the neighborhood. Don't look to this book for detailed information but for inspiration!

With a few exceptions, the houses in this book were made into ghastly Modernist homes, or were so overdone as to not be viable to any but the rich. I do not recommend this book.