This book proves that you don't have to be a millionaire to live in a home that is special. The houses shown here all express an extraordinary spirit, which has been imbued by the people who have created them. The author show that a resourceful approach to space can yield more personal results than an expensive one. And ultimately, youll see that good design can happen even when there's no money for extravagance.

Introduction
House within Reach
Columns
New School
Shipshape
Mod
Wee
Metal Shop
Starter Barn
Bold
Music
Three
Florida
Loft
River House
Log House
Box
Alt.house
Compound
D.I.Y.
Galvanized
Art House
Block
Dogtrot
Pad
Structure
Farmhouse
Cottage
Starting Modular

I don't spend much time dreaming about a country estate or a marble bathroom. I'm a child of the D.I.Y. movement, steeped in "How-To" TV and books. I'm firmly locked in the group demographers call "cultural creatives," and my dream house is different. It will leave money in the bank for an interesting daily life and a vacation or two--and I'm willing to roll up my sleeves and work to get it.

An architect friend of mine has built an entire career out of working with people like me. His clients' budgets have inspired him to create his own style--marked by an inventive and playful use of inexpensive materials. We worked with him about seven years ago to renovate our kitchen in an Arts and Crafts style house.

We started our design process by listing the things we thought we wanted and then we compromised. A tile backsplash turned into a slate backsplash when we discovered acres of recycled chalkboards. The sink of our dreams cost an alarming $800. I found the exact sink, slightly used, with a fancy German faucet at a local recycling center. Cost? $50. I felt like I'd just won the jackpot. Instead of granite countertops, we opted for Formica, but we had them finished with a thick aluminum edge that gives the kitchen an old-fashioned feeling. We stripped linoleum off the floors (ourselves) and had the original wooden floors underneath sanded, stained, and finished. We decided to try to use as many of the existing cabinets as possible.

Our splurge was a skylight, which transforms the space with light. Because the area is relatively small and the skylight is big, the architect created a sculptural frame made of Baltic birch plywood, which helps integrate the skylight into the ceiling. And we didn't compromise on handcrafted leather pulls on the drawers. Filled with the warmth of old wood and new light, our kitchen is now a beautiful, welcoming space. It's amazing, but we kept to our modest budget.

I am consistently more excited by a resourceful approach to space than by the most expensive, fully loaded luxury homes. I'm a ripper, at least when it comes to magazines, and when I look at what I've collected in my "dream house folder," I see small, funky, interesting, unique homes and rooms, all of which are budget beauties. This might say something about the size of my dreams, but it also acknowledges that good design can happen even when there's no money for extravagance.

This book puts forth an alternative to the many books that are about good expensive houses. It proves that you don't have to be a millionaire to live in a home that is special. The houses shown within all express an extraordinary spirit, which has been imbued by the people who have created them. I hope they will prove inspirational to you.