Discovered | Miracle remodeling

The title is certain to sound like sheer fantasy to anyone who has endured the grueling marathon that is a major renovation, but the new book

Easy Home Makeovers

(Woman's Day Special Interest Publications, $19.99) delivers the kind of practical advice and creative solutions every stressed-out renovator craves.

Written by Mervyn Kaufman, former editorial director of House Beautiful, the book features 46 projects that run the gamut from whole-house re-dos to attic conversions. Like most home-decorating books, this one is packed with exquisitely lit photographs of those perfect post-renovation rooms and exteriors. But what makes Easy Home Makeovers truly enlightening are the remarkably dowdy "before" photos included for every project, along with before-and-after floor plans, the homeowners' wish lists, and detailed accounts of challenges faced and changes wrought.

Also sprinkled throughout are tips boxes and how-to sections on such topics as creating a lighting plan, applying wainscoting, selecting wallpaper, and transforming furniture with paint.

Among the more spectacular metamorphoses chronicled is that of a one-story California home whose renovation added 1,000 square feet, two stories, and a soaring 21-foot-high living room - all accomplished while the family lived there. But I also admired more modest projects, including a stunning bedroom makeover by an interior designer with a sharp eye for vintage fabrics and a talent for repurposing flea-market finds.

The book is particularly strong on clever ideas for kitchen and bath remodels, showing how renovators across the country tackled misplaced bathtubs, eyesore radiators, and lack of storage. Among the kitchens are two local examples: one in Aston, owned by a DIY fan who redid his outdated space in contemporary style, swapping a pantry for a breakfast area and running cabinets up to the ceiling; and another in West Chester, whose kitchen-designer owner turned her dreary, 1960s-era room into a cherry-and-granite showplace complete with wine cooler, built-in coffee- and cappuccino maker, and concealed TV.

- Eils Lotozo