Comments on: “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Solvent”

By: hannah

hannah — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 01:29:51 +0000

oh…i adore david’s book, great read for the story and the restoration details too. my husband and i bought our “fixer upper” aka “you’re crazy & naive” house two years ago. it’s been a lot of work but the accomplishment is worth it! we also had phone jacks and phone cords leading everywhere for no reason, huge vents in the floor everywhere, and a lovely kitchen as well- think multiple shades of pink craft paint on the cabinets, a pole holding up the top cabinet, a stove vent going to the basement, powered by an extension cord, and the cast iron sink held up by a 2 x 4. Needless to say we gutted it (and everything else!). Oh yeah and the downstairs bathroom had wood paneling in the shower. How do you think that turned out?? good luck on the never ending projects!

By: Crystal

Crystal — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 04:08:07 +0000

Once again, your post about this NYT article/family could have been written by me! I must get that book. We have been in our 1927 bungalow in PA for 2 years now. We have a 12yo and a 9yo, and I SWORE their childhoods would not be experienced living through house renovations/restorations the whole time…I fear that once we are done and sit back to enjoy it they’ll be grown! But, as you know, it’s so hard to balance and juggle all of life’s demands! This is all inspiration for me though…I can only hope that we are done soon enough so that we may focus on other things (this is our 2nd house, though our 1st bungalow), such as our children! It is so easy/fun to plan/demo and so hard to keep up the stamina once living amidst it/getting older!?

By: Christopher Busta-Peck

Christopher Busta-Peck — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:47:32 +0000

Now, those of you from the east coast and the west coast may laugh, but I think that at that price, having read the book, he really overpaid for the house. Given that he had to do essentially a full gut and then some, and the amount of damage he had to deal with, I’d say that the fair value of the house was probably closer to the value of the lot, perhaps half of what he paid for it.

Not that this means his idea was a bad one – I’ve considered buying equally wretched structures.

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 17:32:02 +0000

Mary Ellen,

I am sorry to say that I don’t remember…but, I do know it was from the Farrow & Ball paint line. I hope that helps!

By: mary ellen

mary ellen — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:54:42 +0000

What was the beautiful brown exterior paint called that you almost used?

By: liz

liz — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:02:25 +0000

I love your blog and can relate almost all of your postings. my husband and I bought a very early (built in 1900) craftsman bungalow 6 months ago CASH But, we are spending plenty to fix it up. it is in the neighborhood I grew up in and it is a wonderful area so we knew we could not go wrong, the lot alone is worth twice what we paid. we have no debt but are doing a little at a time. We have no regrets, it is so beautiful and really has the character and charm you don’t see in any of the newer homes.

By: Joanne

Joanne — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:13:18 +0000

I really need to get out of the Chicago area–such real estate prices sound incredible.

By: 1916home.net

1916home.net — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:07:44 +0000

This book sounds exciting! The photos are great too. All around the midwest house prices are dirt cheap compared to California. In Youngstown, OH, the city is actually downsizing. Old homes for sale there are inexpensive compared to So Cal. I saw one beautiful Victorian… it needed a lot of work, but it was 4 bedrooms, 3 baths for $14,000. Can you imagine that? Thats cheaper than some used cars!

By: Sandy

Sandy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:45:58 +0000

I read that article this morning. I was amazed! I must admit, the 55 aluminum pans had me too! (and I was wondering why he didn’t have a blog – LOL)

By: Jenni

Jenni — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:18:59 +0000

Glad you shared this.