Cheap old houses An unconventional guide to loving and restoring a forgotten home

Elizabeth Finkelstein

Book - 2023

"From the founders of the addictive Instagram handle and HGTV show Cheap Old Houses comes a lookbook of beautiful, affordable homes and a resource for anyone who's ever dreamed of buying and restoring an historic house. More than once, I've lost my heart to an old house. And many times over, I've seen others do the same exact thing. I'm not surprised anymore when someone professes love for a home that has been overlooked or shirked, and watch them chase these feelings of adoration straight into homeownership. Save this house! Welcome to the magical world of Cheap Old Houses, where the new American dream comes with zero mortgage and an alternative lifestyle fit for a storybook. Elizabeth and Ethan Finklestein have sc...oured the country to capture real homes bought for under $150,000--some for as little as $25,000 to $50,000--and the stories of how they were acquired and lovingly restored. Within these beautifully photographed pages, you'll discover monster Victorian mansions, Italianate-style farmhouses, Federal manors, off-the-beaten-path cabins, and even old schools and churches turned into residences. Peppering the home love stories is valuable insight from Elizabeth, who shares her perspective as a historical preservationist on her favorite details to look out for, from pocket doors to plaster walls to mansard roofs"--

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Subjects
Genres
Case studies
Published
New York : Clarkson Potter/Publishers [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Elizabeth Finkelstein (author)
Other Authors
Ethan Finkelstein (author), Christina Poletto (photographer), Kelly (Photographer) Marshall
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
287 pages : color illustrations, color photographs ; 28 cm
ISBN
9780593578766
  • Introduction: The Lost Art of Imperfect Living
  • Mansions
  • A $149,000 Manor in a Field
  • Randi + Dave: Towanda, Illinois
  • Newel Posts 24
  • A $25,000 Muraled Mansion
  • Lucas + Kindel: Evansville, Indiana
  • Chandeliers 34
  • A $150,000 Neoclassical Palace
  • Cynthia: Orange, Massachusetts
  • Plaster
  • A $139,000 Second Empire Estate
  • Michael: Fremont, Ohio
  • Wavy Glass
  • An $86,000 House on a Hill
  • Jessica + Steven: Fonda, New York
  • Cheap Old Houses Manifesto; Take It Slow Reagan: Peoria, Illinois
  • Farmhouses
  • A $40,000 Farmhouse that time Forgot
  • Michael: Madison, Georgia
  • Paint Colors
  • An Elegant Northern Escape
  • James + Jacob: Colon, Michigan
  • Fireplaces
  • A Free Arts + Crafts Farmhouse
  • Larissa + Kris: Hays, Kansas
  • Wallpaper
  • A $100,000 Midwestern Homestead
  • Sara Jo + Michael: Bryarton Farm, Kansas
  • Vintage Stoves
  • A $15,000 Folk Victorian
  • Claire + Adam: Georgetown, Texas
  • Farmhouse Sinks
  • A Serene Farmhouse in the Mountains
  • Christienne + Chris: Delhi, New York
  • Cheap Old Houses Manifesto: Use Your Hands Daniel: Kingston, New York
  • Time Capsules
  • A $110,000 Urban Homestead
  • Kamaria + Dakarai: Detroit, Michigan
  • Vintage Tile
  • A Kitchen Frozen in Time
  • Jim + Tim: Toledo, Ohio
  • Butler's Pantries
  • A $45,000 Queen Anne
  • Kristian: Eupora, Mississippi
  • Pocket Doors
  • A $50,000 Slice of the Past
  • Tonya + Mike: Port Byron, Illinois
  • Radiators
  • A Storybook Home Down a Brick Path
  • Bethany + Joe: North Manchester, Indiana
  • Colored Fixtures
  • A Wing-Shaped Mid-Century Modern
  • Mellanie + Ryan: Colmesneil, Texas
  • Cheap Old Houses Manifesto: Save the Neediest House on the Block
  • Betsy: Wheeling, West Virginia
  • Cabins
  • Camp Cinnamon
  • Spencer + Thomas: Norway, Maine
  • Woodstovee
  • A $40,000 Secret A-Frame
  • Sarah + Matthew: Deering, New Hampshire
  • Cheap Old Houses Manifesto: Get Creative Lise: Detroit, Michigan
  • Unconventional Homes
  • A Magical Gothic Church
  • Anastasiia + Gunther: Easton, Maryland
  • Stained Glass
  • A Little Red Schoolhouse
  • Ashley + Caleb: Traverse City, Michigan
  • Beadboard
  • A Vintage Bookstore in a Hundred-Acre Wood
  • Sydney + Eric: Greenwich, New York
  • Tread Marks
  • A Riverside Hydropower Station
  • Mandy: Norridgewock, Maine
  • Cheap Old Houses Manifesto: Reuse Michelle + Trey: Indiana, Pennsylvania
  • Epilogue: Our Cheap Old House
  • Elizabeth + Ethan: Upstate New York
  • Acknowledgments
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This handsome debut from Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, hosts of the eponymous HGTV program, showcases restored homes and tells the stories of the people who live in them. The authors highlight the houses' histories, as when they take readers inside a central Illinois mansion built by a cattle breeder in 1866 and later abandoned for years before it was bought in 2015 by a woman who had admired the house since spotting it while on childhood road trips. The Finkelsteins draw attention to the vintage features of each home, showing the 1941 Roper stove in an 1893 Kansas homestead, the "breathtaking plaster" ceiling in the ballroom of a 1903 Classical Revival Massachusetts mansion, and the stained-glass windows in a converted 1901 Gothic church in Maryland. The photos spotlight the houses' imperfections, finding charm in peeling wallpaper, wavy glass windows, and scuffed tread marks on wood floors. There are a few tips on restoration (the authors note that "heat and chemical strippers" can remove paint from wood and they list boutique shops where readers can purchase vintage wallpaper designs), but the emphasis is largely on appreciating the homes, which are lavishly depicted. The beautiful houses make it easy to overlook the shortage of practical advice. (Oct.)

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The Lost Art of Imperfect Living "We believe that you're being sold the wrong American dream." This is a story of a counterculture. And a rallying cry to you, dear reader, to fall with us down the rabbit hole of cheap old houses. There, you'll meet people who have looked past the commodities we are so often told will make us happier: newer, shinier, more expensive things. They've dared to dream differently, and in often unexpected ways, they've discovered astonishing purpose by devoting attention to a home that needs love. The houses featured in this book are from all across our country, were bought (with only a few exceptions) for less than $150,000, and have largely been either restored or kept in their original states. These aren't fancy landmarks, mind you, but more "typical" homes that truly represent the genuine moments in which previous generations grew up, had families, pursued local careers, and planted deep roots. What do the owners of cheap old houses know that the rest of us don't? Well, for one, these old places allow for an entry point into our country's competitive real estate market, with a financially tenable opportunity toward homeownership. That "location, location, location" doesn't only apply to a handful of overpriced cities. And that the materials used to build many of these homes are not only beautiful but also have withstood the test of time. With care, these relics of the past can and will outlive us. As a culture, we've quickly been conditioned to desire homes that are perfect and flawless. Homes that are larger than life. Homes that are smart and have amenities to care for all of our needs. Homes that reflect every fleeting design trend. And, for many of us, the trade-off for acquiring these homes is living beyond our means and accepting soul-crushing debt, not to mention contributing to the overabundance of waste that comes from accumulating everything shiny and new. It doesn't have to be this way. As you'll see from the personal narratives that follow, investing in a cheap old house is about so much more than buying real estate. It's about investing in ourselves and the future of our communities by looking to the past. It's about respecting architecture that can continue to outlive us if we allow it, and saving materials through reuse, repair, and salvage. It's about taking a critical look at the building and design industries, which thrive on a "newer is better" sales model and play a significant role in packing our landfills. And it's about showing that not all dreams out there look alike--we've peppered the book with homes of every style and ilk, and stories of people from all walks of life who forged their own reality of owning a cheap old house by saving their pennies, learning aspects of repair and restoration work, remaining persistent, sourcing atypical financing options, and more. When we first started sharing cheap old houses with the world, we had no idea that thousands of people would jump through hoops to purchase them, and then turn around and share their stories. These anecdotes have been so personally inspiring to us that finally, after years of helping others find homes, we purchased our own crumbling eighteenth-century farmhouse for $70,000 (page 278) and officially became key-carrying members of the Cheap Old Houses movement. And what a movement it is, filled with creative, tenacious, resourceful people with an inherent knack for thinking differently. We've watched couples like Randi and Dave Howell (page 16) literally camp out on the back porch of their cheap old mansion for months while they shored up rooms inside and made them livable for their growing young family. We've seen how Kamaria Gray and Dakarai Carter (page 144) scored not only their dream old home but also outdoor space that they intend to transform into a community garden. We've been impressed with how Kristian Berryhill (page 164) and Daniel Kanter (page 133), like many others, have tackled projects solo and with gusto, and how Betsy Sweeny (page 199) and Lise Saint James (page 227) have researched loans specific to old homes in the interest of financial independence. Equally remarkable is how others have worked to transform cheap old nonresidential structures, like churches, schoolhouses, and even a coastal hydropower station (page 264), into charming dwellings. If there was any doubt that an alternative to the typical American dream exists through cheap old houses, we are here to say it does. Indeed, this book intends to spell out that these particular buildings are more than worth our time and attention, and may just be the answer so many have been looking for: a sense of place, purpose, and possibility. Excerpted from Cheap Old Houses: An Unconventional Guide to Loving and Restoring a Forgotten Home by Elizabeth Finkelstein, Ethan Finkelstein All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.