汤顿出版社， Houzz上的原创照片

封面说明了一切。 The ubiquitous photo of a gorgeous, award-winning home that's beyond most of us is replaced with images of a saw, cup of morning joe and a to-do list.

你自己待在原地吗？ Read on for 8 of Dickinson's suggestions.

米克黑尔斯， Houzz上的原创照片

考虑罗盘的点。 这些提示和例子都非常简单明了。 For example, we see a house that gets overheated, 壁板退化 and the front door bakes in the sun because it all faces south.

Dickinson's common-sense advice: Rework the front of the house with a new wide porch that shades the front door and some smaller, yet well-sized windows to 创造更多的外观吸引力 while reducing maintenance and energy consumption. It's a triple win: more beauty and comfort with less cost.

避免排水沟。 Statements such as "gutters and leaders are devout to be avoided" may sound like heresy to many but certainly are the truth. 为了证明他的观点，迪金森举例说明了一个建造得当的屋顶悬垂如何能够在没有排水沟造成的冰坝等复杂问题的情况下，将所有的水都排出。

拥抱小的动作。 迪金森提供了大量简单的解决方案，并配有前后对比的照片。 他展示了如何利用小的变动来获得大的收益，比如拆除厨房和走廊之间的一堵墙，为更多的厨房存储空间腾出空间。

米克黑尔斯， Houzz上的原创照片

增强外观吸引力。 这本书提供了解决方案，共同的问题与一个特定的风格，如如何改善和加强进入一个分层住宅的入口。

向外面敞开心扉。 Dickinson provides some excellent examples of how we can use modern windows and 门加强连接 between inside and outside. Our homes, says Dickinson, no longer need be "later-day caves."

找到你的家。 更多地了解你所拥有的房子的风格将帮助你避免在改建时遇到的障碍，并认识到改善你的房子的最佳机会。

米克黑尔斯， Houzz上的原创照片

打开里面。 书中零星的建议就像清新的雨点，能清除蜘蛛网。 One such snippet: "If you walk through a room to get to a room, something is wrong." You know — it's when that new great room gets added to a modest house, and the result is some kind of dyslexic creature that's really two houses rather than one.

因此，迪金森建议，与其再建一栋楼，不如充分利用现有的东西。 In this example, widening the opening between rooms strengthens this room's connection with the rest of the home, increasing its utility and spaciousness.

汤顿出版社， Houzz上的原创照片

Work with what you've got (before): Keeping the kitchen size the same while vaulting the ceiling dramatically increases the overall spaciousness of the room, as you'll see in the next photo.

米克黑尔斯， Houzz上的原创照片

Work with what you've got (after): 墙壁、门、电器，甚至天窗和厨房水槽都留在了原来的地方。 这一切都避免了昂贵的管道、电气和机械工作和返工。

汤顿出版社， Houzz上的原创照片

Working with what you've got (plans): 迪金森在许多例子中都包括了前后的平面图。 这些计划有助于提供更多的背景，让读者更好地了解他们可以用他们已经拥有的房子做什么。