The star of this book is the ordinary American tract house--the ranch, rambler, split-level, or ranchette. Call it what you like, but it's still the same old cookie-cutter structure found in suburbs everywhere. Blueprint Remodel looks at ten standard tract houses, with basic run-of-the-mill floor plans, boxy rooms, low ceilings, poor lighting, and bland materials, and shows how they can be transformed into well-designed, distinctive homes with character and charm. From a one-floor interior makeover in Omaha to a full renovation of a Texas bungalow, these examples encompass a variety of challenges and solutions, and they include everything from sleek modern design to an Arts & Crafts-influenced remodel. Featured in a wide range of cost, style, size, and location, and illustrated with phenomenal before-and-after photographs, these profiles will empower tract house owners to go from mediocre to marvelous. Kodis proves that even the most lifeless tract house can be magnificently transformed. Michelle Kodis is the author of Blueprint Small: Creative Ways to Live With Less and Blueprint Affordable: How to Build a Beautiful House Without Breaking the Bank. Since receiving her master of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1991, she has written about a broad range of topics, including architecture and design, science, the environment, health and medicine, business, and cuisine. She lives with her husband near Telluride, Colorado, and is currently at work on additional architecture/design books for Gibbs Smith, Publisher.