Synopses & Reviews
Until now, homeowners have had to choose between the twin worlds of budget-friendly mediocrity and unaffordable fantasy. Responding to this gap, acclaimed architect Duo Dickinson demonstrates that a custom house doesn't depend on a fabulous price tag. House on a Budget, originally published in hardcover as The House You Build, is about a third way of building grounded in the realities of time and money, but focusing on your fondest hopes and dreams. He offers 19 real-world situations where unique and imaginative homes were built on real-life budgets.
Duo's Rules for Getting What You Want (and Can Afford)
1.Use Standard Materials Creatively
2.Shrink to Fit
3.Don't Fight the Site
4.Take Your Time
5.Defer and Save: Building in Phases
6.Take Charge: Spending Time to Save Money
Review
"For anybody who wants to design and build a nice house -- that is, who wants to hire other people to design and build a nice house for them -- this is the single most useful guide I've ever seen."
-- Kurt Andersen
"Dickinson's compassion for cost effective custom homes shines through his enlightened book...This is a must book for homeowners who seek more personality from their housing dollar."
--Dale Mulfinger, author of The Cabin, The Getaway Home and the forthcoming Cabinology
"In House on a Budget, Dickinson practically insists that design be affordable for everyone."
--John Connell, Yestermorrow Design/Build School, author of Creating The Inspired House
"Challenges the commonly held assumption that good house design and construction is always expensive."
--Jeremiah Eck, author of The Distinctive Home and The Face of Home
About the Author
A self-styled maverick within the profession, Duo Dickinson, AIA, is an architect in Madison, Connecticut. He is the author of five books on residential design, including The Small House (McGraw-Hill, 1986) and Small Houses for the Next Century (McGraw-Hill, 1995). His design philosophy has been summarized in The New York Times as: "Design it small, make it as beautiful as possible, and practice every trick in the book to keep it as cheap as possible."