That's where Taunton's latest addition to the Updating Classic America series comes in. Colonials is filled with design ideas and inspiration for renovating, remodeling, and building this classic American house type. From modest remodels to major overhauls to building new, Colonials offers innovative and tasteful design solutions for a variety of budgets. Featuring over 20 homes selected by architect Matthew Schoenherr, Colonials is richly illustrated with inspiring original photography as well as before-and-after floor plans. Colonials also provides you with a history and overview of the form and an illustrated glossary of typical design elements.

From the Introduction
In my Connecticut architectural practice, we have several Colonial renovations underway at any given point - homes that are being enlarged, updated, modernized, altered, or restored. Of the houses that come through our office door and wind up on our 21-inch computer monitors, Colonials are the most common.

The owners' requests are similar - to improve or enlarge the house to fit their lifestyles and their needs. Sometimes we're even asked to help make a house look a little more authentic, if it hasn't been around for a century or two. And I oblige them happily. This house type has a past that no others can match, with such offshoots as Georgian, Dutch Colonial, and the Adams style. Even simple farmhouses have their roots in the Colonial gene pool. And about a hundred years ago, just when the style seemed to have been exhausted from being used over and over, a new variation was hatched - the Colonial Revival!

My appreciation for Colonials may have come from a vicarious experience through my wife. She grew up in a Connecticut Saltbox originally constructed in 1789. There was a historic magic to the house. You could sense something there that I can only describe as an American Spirit. Maybe it was her parents' wonderful collection of American antiques and folk art. Perhaps it was any one of the three fireplaces that you could practically walk into. But this isn't to say that a house has to be ancient to conjure up this feeling. I can visit a Colonial built within the past several years and that same spirit is apt to come across if the home has been carefully proportioned and detailed. Colonials can feel like more than a house. They can feel like a place.

This book has been written to show real-life renovations that can preserve or reinforce the style. Some of the houses you'll see are very small in scale, with projects you might easily and inexpensively undertake on your own. Other projects are far more ambitious and will likely require the professional services of an architect and a general contractor. There are many avenues you can take to express your own vision for a Colonial home. Read on - and participate in the Updating of Classic America.

Contents
Introduction—Chapter 1. The American Colonial Home; Chapter 2. Remodeling Modestly; Chapter 3. Renovating a Colonial Home; Chapter 4. Building a New Colonial Home; Chapter 5. A Fresh Perspective; Sources; Index.