{ "item_title" : "Cheap Old Houses", "item_author" : [" Elizabeth Finkelstein", "Ethan Finkelstein "], "item_description" : "From the founders of the HGTV show and Instagram Cheap Old Houses comes a stunning collection of beautiful, affordable homes and inspiration for buying and restoring an historic house. Welcome to the magical world of Cheap Old Houses, where the new American dream comes with zero mortgage and an affordable lifestyle fit for a storybook. Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein have scoured the country to find homes in desperate need of saving--including a $45,000 Victorian in Mississippi, a $25,000 mansion in Indiana, an $82,000 recreational camp in Maine, and more. Cheap Old Houses features the stories of how these homes were acquired and lovingly restored. Within these pages, you'll discover sprawling Victorian mansions, Italianate-style farmhouses, off-the-beaten-path cabins, and even old churches turned into residences. You'll meet a couple who camped out on their back porch while they made their 6,000-square foot manor livable, and homeowners who found a free bungalow and moved it seventy miles to their property. Additionally, Elizabeth, a historical preservationist, gives information on the details to preserve in historic houses, from pocket doors that might be hiding in the walls to badly cracked plaster walls that are worth repairing and butler's pantries that are once again more desirable for storing dishes and small appliances. With hundreds of beautiful photographs capturing these homes in all their glory, you'll be inspired to find the one--a fixer upper to rescue that will rescue you right back.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers3.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/59/357/876/0593578767_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "35.00", "online_price" : "35.00", "our_price" : "35.00", "club_price" : "35.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "35.00" } }

Overview

Customers Also Bought

Details

Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein launched the @cheapoldhouses Instagram account in 2016, delighting followers with the boundless possibilities of starting over with a fresh—albeit dusty—slate. Even if you don’t dream of rescuing a fixer-upper, the notion is endlessly enchanting and story-rich, which is why “Cheap Old Houses” is yet another successful HGTV series. For those of us who’d rather read than stream or scroll, enter its book form: Cheap Old Houses: An Unconventional Guide to Loving and Restoring a Forgotten Home, in which architecturally sound buildings priced beneath $150K are restored to livability. The Finkelsteins note that the buyers have “discovered astonishing purpose by devoting attention to a home that needs love,” a path to fulfillment I can totally get behind, despite my total lack of carpentry skills. There are how-tos sprinkled within (“Painted Woodwork: To Strip or Not to Strip?”) but the focus is on the amazing stories and images of a wide range of old buildings—from mansions to farmhouses to cabins, and even a hydropower station—and the people who gave them new life. The details and features that have survived in highly dilapidated structures are awe-inspiring but also educational: If you’ve wondered just what plaster-and-lath is, now you’ll know.