Renovate: What the Pros Know About Giving New Life to Your House, Loft, Condo or Apartment Book

Metropolitan Home has created a guide to renovation that is both visually dazzling and filled with practical advice. Thirty homes -- from a barn in Pennsylvania to a modernist masterpiece on an Arizona hillside to a "white box" Manhattan apartment -- provide lessons in going from boring to soaring through renovation.

High real estate prices can force homebuyers into settling for second or third best. Views are sacrificed for space, style takes a backseat to location. No matter. Renovate proves that even the drabbest digs can find new life.

From a minimalist Chicago loft to a cozy Los Angeles bungalow, these 30 homes were all lackluster dwellings that have reemerged as fabulous places to live.

Each makeover, from the highly pragmatic to the purely aesthetic, is well-illustrated with before and after photos, and all include floor plans. Divided into seven style-specific chapters, including lofts, ranch houses, apartments, and suburban homes, the book presents homeowners with a wealth of helpful, easily implemented design lessons and provides creative solutions to renovation problems. It is truly "What the Pros Know" about going from gut to glory.