SubscribeSign In
Collection by Kelsey Keith
Editor’s Pick

Top Renovation Tips from the Pages of Dwell

Each year, Dwell devotes an entire issue to the joys (and travails) of home renovation. In honor of our February 2015 issue, on newsstands now, we collected the ten best tips from the renovation experts.

View 7 Photos
A dim Toronto Tudor gets an airy new look. The home’s second-story hallway, which serves as an open office and library, was suffering from a severe lack of light. Lifting up one side of the old pitched roof made room for a linear skylight, which faces south to allow in as many rays as possible, and the modification transformed the top floor into a loftlike double-height space. Inexpensive detailing then added texture and scale: Simple plywood panels attached to cold-rolled-steel frames serve as guards along the stairs.
A dim Toronto Tudor gets an airy new look. The home’s second-story hallway, which serves as an open office and library, was suffering from a severe lack of light. Lifting up one side of the old pitched roof made room for a linear skylight, which faces south to allow in as many rays as possible, and the modification transformed the top floor into a loftlike double-height space. Inexpensive detailing then added texture and scale: Simple plywood panels attached to cold-rolled-steel frames serve as guards along the stairs.
For historically protected structures, move the party to the back. This home in Australia demonstrates how even a traditional Victorian can get assertively modern on the rear. In this case, the shape of the roof eave is designed to allow winter sun into the house while cutting out the hot summer sun.
For historically protected structures, move the party to the back. This home in Australia demonstrates how even a traditional Victorian can get assertively modern on the rear. In this case, the shape of the roof eave is designed to allow winter sun into the house while cutting out the hot summer sun.
A family in Hamburg, Germany, turned a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a few exterior tricks, including sheathing the exterior in one-dimensional, murdered-out black.
A family in Hamburg, Germany, turned a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a few exterior tricks, including sheathing the exterior in one-dimensional, murdered-out black.
Use your imagination. A Portland architect went for the "ugly duckling" house that wouldn't sell (a plain Jane ranch house in the leafy enclave of West Hills), saying, "A tight budget forces you to look at things you normally wouldn’t, and use your money in more creative ways. We bought the smallest, cheapest house in a nice neighborhood and turned it into this funked-up modernist thing by creating a workable composition while keeping as much of the original as possible. We couldn’t have gotten the total package we ended up with otherwise.”
Use your imagination. A Portland architect went for the "ugly duckling" house that wouldn't sell (a plain Jane ranch house in the leafy enclave of West Hills), saying, "A tight budget forces you to look at things you normally wouldn’t, and use your money in more creative ways. We bought the smallest, cheapest house in a nice neighborhood and turned it into this funked-up modernist thing by creating a workable composition while keeping as much of the original as possible. We couldn’t have gotten the total package we ended up with otherwise.”
Though this kitchen fits in with its period surroundings, a few tweaks keep it current. “It’s functional in a way that doesn’t feel like the kitchen is in the living room,” says architect Rick Black. He explains, “One of the goals was to make the islands more like furniture than like heavy objects that go all the way to the floor.”
Though this kitchen fits in with its period surroundings, a few tweaks keep it current. “It’s functional in a way that doesn’t feel like the kitchen is in the living room,” says architect Rick Black. He explains, “One of the goals was to make the islands more like furniture than like heavy objects that go all the way to the floor.”
The owners of this renovated mid-century modern home in California longed for an outdoor eating area, but with the house sited smack-dab in the middle of the 40-by-100-foot corner lot, the property offered neither adequate space nor privacy from the streets or neighbors. The design team specified a 14.5-by-6.5-foot retractable skylight over the dining room, which brings in sunshine and provides natural ventilation. The Rollamatic window quietly transforms the space into a near-outdoor oasis in just over ten seconds. Photo by Mathew Scott.
The owners of this renovated mid-century modern home in California longed for an outdoor eating area, but with the house sited smack-dab in the middle of the 40-by-100-foot corner lot, the property offered neither adequate space nor privacy from the streets or neighbors. The design team specified a 14.5-by-6.5-foot retractable skylight over the dining room, which brings in sunshine and provides natural ventilation. The Rollamatic window quietly transforms the space into a near-outdoor oasis in just over ten seconds. Photo by Mathew Scott.