The Book of Renovation

A lushly photographed guide to creating a home with enduring appeal and lasting value

In this frenetic age of social media influencers, trends with an increasingly short half-life, and a misplaced emphasis on the novel rather than the enduring, it’s hard to know how to embark on a renovation and make design choices that won’t date. This is where Chris Mitchell and Pilar Guzmán come in. Authors of Patina Modern and veteran home renovators, they reject the fleeting and faddish and show how to work with a home’s historic bones, incorporate a gracious sense of proportion, and pay careful attention to details and materials. 

The pair have so far undertaken ten major home renovations, from city apartments to historic brownstones to gradious Hamptons estates. What all of these exceptional renovations have had in common: design decisions that transcend the time in which they were made, and highly functional layouts that have been able to change and grow with the family’s evolving life stages. In this book, in addition to tours of the most recent of these homes, the authors go on deep dives into the make-or-break design decisions in every room (from what tile to use in the bathroom to the flow of the kitchen layout); what technology and modern luxuries are worth adding, and which will date quickly; and the hardworking, honest materials they favor for everything from roof tiles to window hardware. It’s the ultimate guide to creating a home that last and that you’ll love forever.