New Rooms for Old Houses

A cramped kitchen. A bedroom that lacks elbow room. A living room that's no fun living in. It's the age-old dilemma of owning an old house...you want to add space by making an addition but don't want to damage your home's integrity. Now The Taunton Press and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have joined forces to bring you outstanding design solutions.

Renowned architect Frank Shirley will share dozens of proven ideas for expanding the space and comfort of your charming colonial, cozy cape, vintage Victorian, any classic home...all while preserving the look and feel you first fell in love with!

Teach an old house new tricks!

• 300 stunning photos of additions that work
• Reassuring answers to all your concerns about adding new space to your beloved old home:
  • A house in harmony - living in an old house and loving it
  • Preserving the all-important balance of your home
  • Creating "public" and "private" spaces
  • Making the painless transition from old to new
  • Crafting with materials that express your home's style
• Inspiring case studies - A Home on the Hudson, A Bay Area Beauty, A Victorian with Humility, Reviving a Retreat and more
• Pure pleasure to read...as a fellow old house owner and aficionado, Frank Shirley writes with warmth and insight
• A gorgeous book, the perfect gift for anyone who owns and loves his or her old house
• An unparalleled resource whether you're in the dreaming, planning or doing stage!

"Like you, I prefer old houses. For decades, I've helped home owners make their old houses more livable. With this book, you will discover a wealth of ideas and design strategies for additions that not only preserve but enhance the beauty that originally drew you to your classic home."

Walking readers through his four design cornerstones--balance, transition, public versus private space, and materials-- architect Shirley also leads a house tour through the golden age of American architecture.

Bostonian Frank Shirley was the project architect for two completely remodeled homes on the PBS series, This Old House. His work has also been featured on HGTV. Frank owns an architectural firm in Cambridge where he lives in "a Victorian house more than 100 years old, almost like a member of our family. If we add onto it, the project will be undertaken with all the deliberation of major surgery on a loved one."

"A design guide for lovers of classic American houses, the book offers tips, techniques, before-and-after shots and architectural drawings of historical homes in New York, California and Massachusetts. Shirley demonstrates how to add to a historical home without subtracting charm and character by using harmony as his guiding principle. The architect explains the four cornerstones of design, on which he bases all old-house expansions: preserving balance, creating public and private spaces, making transitions from old to new and crafting with materials that express your style. --Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
"New Rooms for Old Houses by Frank Shirley is a comforting companion for anyone undertaking the delicate challenge of extending the life of an old house for modern living. The book has an endorsement from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. --The Detroit News (Michigan)
"Old Houses have a charm all their own. But charm doesn't always translate into livability. Owners of old homes often find themselves having to add on to create a home suitable for modern living. The National Trust for Historical Preservation seeks to help them in that effort with New Rooms for Old Houses: Beautiful Additions for the Traditional Home. The book, written by architect Frank Shirley, guides readers on enlarging a home while maintaining its character. It contains tips, architectural principles and insights, along with plenty of examples of successful additions."--The Akron Beacon Journal (Ohio)

"The challenge of expanding an old home while staying true to its integrity, design and proportions is one that many New England homeowners have faced. Architect Frank Shirley of Cambridge, Mass., tackles the topic in New Rooms for Old Houses, reviewing in detail a number of examples, with excellent photographs by Randy O'Rourke. Interspersed with some before-and-after diagrams and a few "train wrecks," the book is filled with examples that show how to make the connection between old and new a graceful and flowing one." --The Hartford Courant

"Owners of old homes often find themselves having to add on to create a home suitable for modern living. The National Trust for Historical Preservation seeks to help them in that effort with New Rooms for Old Houses. The book, written by architect Frank Shirley, guides readers on enlarging a home while maintaining its character. It contains tips, architectural principles and insights, along with plenty of examples of successful additions." --South Bend Tribune (Indiana)

"New Rooms for Old Houses, by Frank Shirley, is a must-have for anyone living in an old house who wants to update his home for the 21st century. The author, an architect, is also a member of the Cambridge Historical Commission whose love of old homes is evident throughout. His main message is a home can be revitalized without sacrificing historical significance. Shirley knows the steps on how to achieve a sense of "harmony" between old and new. "--The Vancouver Sun

This book is a must-have for anyone living in an old house and looking to update it for the 21st century. To that end he suggests most historical homes should have additions at the side near the rear or off the rear so as not to interfere with the original structure." --Edmonton Journal