All photos © Stephanie Munguia for Cheap Old Houses
In Episode 7 of Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House?, Kalindi + Ed gave us a challenge that we happily accepted: find the CHEAPEST of all cheap old houses! Their only request was that we decorate the house like a giant celebration.
We took them seriously, and transformed one of the saddest (and yes, cheapest) old houses out there into a literal cupcake. Thank you, Kalindi and Ed, for letting us help make your house the happiest in town!
These homeowners were AWESOME. Not only have they devoted their lives to restoring cheap old houses, but they also poured an incredible amount of time into the restoration of this particular house. When I met Kalindi and saw that she had an old house tattooed on her arm, I knew we would be fast friends!
All photos © Stephanie Munguia for Cheap Old Houses
In Episode 6 of Who’s Afraid of a Cheap Old House?, Kalindi + Ed gave us a challenge that we happily accepted: find the CHEAPEST of all cheap old houses! Their only request was that we decorate the house like a giant celebration.
We took them seriously, and transformed one of the saddest (and yes, cheapest) old houses out there into a literal cupcake. Thank you, Kalindi and Ed, for letting us help make your house the happiest in town!
These homeowners were AWESOME. Not only have they devoted their lives to restoring cheap old houses, but they also poured an incredible amount of time into the restoration of this particular house. When I met Kalindi and saw that she had an old house tattooed on her arm, I knew we would be fast friends!
The exterior transformation of this is one of our favorites, not just because it brought the house back to a whimsical, happy place by ripping off all of the sad, grey aluminum siding to expose the original clapboard! We also got to use SO MANY colors from our capsule collection with Dunn-Edwards DURA, which we simply adore.
As always, we have our brilliant architectural designer, Scott Reed, to thank for this one. This may have been our most controversial exterior restoration to date, because so many people don’t know that pink and stripes were perfectly period-accurate for a house from the 1870s! We’ve always loved the Armour-Stiner Octagon House in Irvington, NY, which wears this whimsical color scheme (and stripes!) beautifully. Perusing through authentic color schemes of the period was so much fun, and we are just over-the-moon with how it turned out.
Why? Because as so often happens, someone had coated it with non-breathable paint, and the masonry was deteriorating underneath. Womp, womp.
The fact that the porch was crumbling actually meant we had an opportunity restore its original configuration. The house was built in the Italianate style in the 1870s, and nothing about the existing porch (the product of a later renovation) was speaking to that style. The chunky piers were totally out place; the Italianate style was all about graceful lines and welcoming the outside in. So this porch originally would have had had thin, delicate columns intended to make the house feel light, airy and one with nature.
But where to find such columns? I still remember my excitement when Scott texted me the listing for a period-perfect set on FB Marketplace for $350, which were being salvaged from a home of the same era 2 hours away (thank you, Ed, for picking them up!). Together with our amazing team (plus Kalindi + Ed’s incredible family, who cared deeply for this project and devoted countless hours to restoring this house) Scott + Ethan worked until the wee hours retrofitting the columns.
The icing on the cake was an 1870s front door we found in the back room of a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Guess how much it was? If you guessed $35, you’re right!
I could swipe between the “before” and “after” of this one all day long! It’s just the best!
Grab your balloons and shout it from the rooftops: BRING! BACK! COLOR!
We had one request of Jennifer and the design team for this one: KEEP THE ORIGINAL SINK + BUILT-IN!
The house had been so gutted that these features were some of the only remnants of the home’s past. We always believe in keeping a home’s original configuration and features intact, and will stop at nothing to make sure they’re respected and cared for. We love the way this cute little vintage kitchen turned out!
Exposing the original wood floors (yippee!) and adding confetti-like terrazzo tile made for a fun little kitchen for the most wonderful family.
GIVE ME VINTAGE APPLIANCES ALL. DAY. LONG.
Oof. So much of this house had been gutted, but we loved that a fireplace dating from the early-20th century renovation of this house was still in the living room.
A mix of playful furniture from Newel Antiques & Props complemented Kalindi’s own rug (I AM IN LOVE WITH IT).
We had a blast visiting Adelphi Paper Hangings on this episode—one of my favorite small businesses in the entire world! As you know, I LOVE authenticity in old houses. Located right in Sharon Springs, this is one of the very few companies reproducing ACTUAL historical patterns (mostly salvaged from historical homes), block printing them by hand the old-fashioned way, in both original and custom colorways. Their workshop is filled with the most delicious designs imaginable, and we chose the pattern “Volute” to use in Kalindi + Ed’s dining room.
Bright and fun, all the way through!
Our deepest gratitude to architectural designer and fellow champion of old houses, Scott Reed, for his invaluable insight and guidance on so many aspects of honoring this building’s era and history. Thank you to the tiny-but-mighty design and build team, lead by interior designer Jennifer Salvemini, who worked hard to celebrate the building’s history and character.
It takes a village, and we’re so fortunate to work with a team of preservation-minded contractors, designers, fabricators, and more to achieve our vision.
Design & Build
Kent Hansen
Hansen Complete Remodeling
General Contractor
Brian Crabb and Ruth Storc
Design Producers
David Figueroa
Build Producer
Edin of Edo’s Home Renos
Painting
James Waterhouse
Jack of All Trades
Production & Filming
Ann Lewis Roberts, Jenny Daly,
Jon Beyer, and Bill Gaudsmith
Executive Producers
Phil DePietro
Line Producer
Steve Bowler
Supervising Producer
Cory Dross
Director of Photography
Mike Spencer
Audio Mixer
Kathryn Zavistak, Alex Nam, Greg Corwin,
Carlos Escoto, Kirk Murray, and Dan Tivin
Editors
Nick Batchelder, Paul Celello,
Owen Goldstoff, and Alec Wright
Production Assistants
Amy Goodfriend-Nussbaum
Clearance Supervisor
Kelly Taylor
Post Production Coordinator
Victoria Chiaro Snyder
Executive in Charge of Production
Erika Smith
Supervising Story Producer
Ann Marie Lizzi
Segment Producer
Bill Keller
Camera Operator
Tori Dunn
DIT
Kurtis Endreson
Production Manager
Jon Earnest, Kevin Lowe,
and Sam Rubin
Story Producers
Andi Nunez
Post Production Supervisor
Gregory McClintock and Goga Sordia
Assistant Editors
Elizabeth Stephenson
Associate Producer
With our sincere thanks to our incredible partners:
Dunn-Edwards DURA
Paint
AjMadison
Appliances
Charleston Hardware Co.
Hardware
Vintage Tub & Bath
Kitchen fixtures
Adelphi Paper Hangings
Wallpaper
Spoonflower
Fabric and textiles
Hawkins New York
Decor and styling
GreenRow
Furniture
Masaya
Patio furniture
uShip
Logistics
Business & Pleasure
Patio furniture
George’s Market & Nursery
Landscaping
Saratoga Sod
Landscaping sod
Proven Winners
Flowers and plants
Kichler Lighting
Light fixtures
Newel Antiques & Props
Furniture
Piece of Cake Moving
Logistics
Juniper Print Shop
Art prints
FrameUSA
Picture frames
Leslie Parke
Artist
Venus
Artist
Don’s Moving & Storage
Logistics
Thank you to everyone who made this project a reality!
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