Good House Cheap House: Adventures in Creating an Extraordinary Home at an Everyday Price

by Kira Obolensky

The 27 homes in "Good House Cheap House" prove that good design doesn't have to cost a fortune. What goes into making a good, cheap house? As writer Kira Obolensky discovers, there are three main adventuresome homeowners who are actively involved; cutting-edge architects and designers who can solve tough design challenges; and an array of innovative uses of materials. Industrial bridge washers make for gorgeous mantelpiece rosettes, old concrete subflooring is given new life with rich-hued stain, and glass sliding doors make for windows that are oversized and affordable.
From a Texas farmhouse to a loft in St. Paul, to a prefab cabin on the Wisconsin prairie, these houses, in which anyone would feel at home, display a wonderful mix of design smarts and budget savvy. ""Good House Cheap House" is chock full of great ideas and creative solutions for those of us on a budget-but even the less financially-challenged can learn a thing or two about stylish and innovative design."
--Charles Burbridge, designer, HGTV's "Design on a Dime" "The cookie-cutter house trend has been around long enough. With its outside-the-box ideas and great resources, "Good House Cheap House" proves you can build a unique space without emptying your bank account."
--Amber Jones, Editor, "do! Magazine"

Genres: Nonfiction, Architecture

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2005

Reviews

[Kevin Koppelmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of ideas I've seen before.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

My current bible on developing a sustainable, "green" home in Northern Arizona. It offers every imaginable example of sustainable development, from strawbale walls to pigmented, non-toxic plaster to using conventional materials unconventionally. Offers several examples of homes built, offering details such as floor plans, lot placement, wind direction & impact of the suns rays depending on the time of year. 50% of my current building enthusiasm is derived from within the page of this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I desperately want to build a good modern green house. This book didn't help. It made promises and then didn't deliver. Most of the books were built by architects for themselves. How does that help me? Not many tricks, no floor plans, no solid advice. Mostly this book was lovely pictures of houses that I don't consider "cheap" and since I'm an architect without ten extra acres of land to build my second house on, pretty pointless for me.

[Alyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me wish I could build a cool modern house with metal and innovative used of reclaimed and non-traditional materials. No floorplans in this book, which was disappointing. But still fun to look through and think about cost saving strategies. Not too many ideas I hadn't heard before. But the pictures were nice.

[Ali O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book, more browse than read, that showcases amazing homes built on the cheap. Most were built from 'scratch' although some remodels, and more than I'm looking to change in my own home for now, but gave me a lot of inspiration for the longterm and some fun ideas for now.

[Macel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dream houses are here. Most of the featured houses here are eco-friendly, or made use of salvaged buildings (school or church).

[Meadow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good AND cheap?!?! How can I go wrong?? I also discovered that a lot of people use IKEA cabinets and if you pair them with a nice countertop and/or floor that they aren't too bad.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

some interesting ideas, some nice designs, but we are already using more recycled materials more creatively than most of this book.

[Jill Corbett]

Interesting!