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"Location: St. Michaels, MD Produced by Laura Dye Lang  Glen and Elaine Tipton had been looking for some time at homes on Maryland&amp;#039;s Eastern Shore, when they came across a property they both knew was &amp;quot;the one.&amp;quot; After raising two children, the Baltimore couple was in the market for a weekend home that would allow Elaine to develop her second career in landscape design, while indulging her bird-watching hobby.  The couple fell in love with a property on a peninsula overlooking Porter&amp;#039;s Creek in the town of St. Michaels, but they were less than thrilled with the house itself. Clad in vinyl siding and with a layout of rather dark rooms, the 15-year-old home had an inward-looking feel that the couple thought did not take advantage of its setting.  &amp;quot;The house wasn&amp;#039;t exciting, but it was in very good shape,&amp;quot; says Elaine. &amp;quot;We were planning to kind of live with it for a while.&amp;quot; Their leisurely approach to intended renovations evaporated when their son and his fianc\u00E9e announced that they would like to have their wedding reception at the house-in eight months. An architect with CSD Architects in Baltimore, Glen Tipton worked with colleagues to come up with a design that would open up the house to the water view and make it more inviting for the couple&amp;#039;s lifestyle. After considering some extensive changes, the Tiptons opted to leave the three-bedroom home basically intact and add on a 14-by-50-foot great room at the back. &amp;quot;We realized that the house layout as it existed was a good design from which to expand and renovate,&amp;quot; explains Glen.  The addition gained drama from a new gabled roof that reclaimed little-used attic space for a second-story loft, now used as a home office. &amp;quot;The loft, which once had been a cramped attic with no view, suddenly became a big asset,&amp;quot; says Glen. The new scheme also allowed for a new two-story foyer and a more gracious entry at the front of the house.   An absolute August wedding deadline meant that construction began during the winter months. So the new gabled roof was built over the existing roof, which was then removed from inside. The process protected both the occupants and the new construction from the elements. Glen and his son handled the demolition. Their sweat-equity investment saved the owners so much that they could afford to purchase all new exterior materials. (They had originally planned to reclad the house in red-cedar shingles but keep the existing trim.)  A curved deck with custom-designed pergola adds the perfect entertaining space near the pool, a very important feature, says Glen, since &amp;quot;the house has become a magnet for friends and family\u2026The original design was so anonymous, it was important to create a style that fit, to make a statement that felt at home in the environment.&amp;quot; Everything came together so well that the Tiptons have made the home their primary residence. &amp;quot;We were able to grab that entire view,&amp;quot; says Glen. &amp;quot;When you walk into the addition in the morning it&amp;#039;s just breathtaking. It sounds corny, but it&amp;#039;s a great way to start the day.&amp;quot; Can This House Be Saved? Here&amp;#039;s how to decide whether you can and should renovate your home or build anew:  Assess the condition. It can be impossible or very costly to replace structural elements, such as load-bearing walls. Is there more than meets the eye? Can the existing layout be reworked to your advantage? Nondescript single-story homes can actually be the perfect canvas for all kinds of innovative updates. Do a cost-budget analysis. &amp;quot;In many ways, renovating is just as costly as starting from scratch because of the challenges it can present,&amp;quot; says architect Glen Tipton. What compromises are you willing to make to have the exact home you want?   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/a3749/expansion-plan-a-17585/>