Hey!! I’ve got a burning question rattling around inside my head and would love to know your thoughts.
Would you rather…
Spend $1 million on renovating an old building or spend $1 million on a new build?
The Parade of Homes is happening in Southern Utah right now so we’re literally face to face with what a cool mil can get you.
So much newness.
So much perfection.
On the other hand, spending a million bucks on a loft conversion
Or saving an old building like Andy and Candis are doing with The School just seems so cool. You can’t fake this kind of history. (Pssst. You’re going to want to see the other pictures of the school. You’re welcome.)
So, chime in. What would you rather?
Definitly save an old building! I, like you, love bringing old unused things back to life. It’s my dream and passion to be apart of reviving old historic homes and buildings back to new and useful…One day! ?
I got have the history!! No doubt! Saving an old building all the way!
I would rather renovate than buy new, no doubt about it.
Reno all the way! I am so much more creative when designing with constraints than from a blank slate. Having historic details and working with existing components makes a richer environment in my opinion.
Renovate! I love the history of older buildings and with a million dollars you can do anything!
renovate!!!!! save a piece of history, have a quirky old building full of character! that’s a no brainer for me!!!
Reno!!!!
Definitely saving the old building. I LOVE going by the old houses in our town and dreaming of fixing them up. They have the awesome character and history and when you mix that with some new stuff then it is just amazing!
Didn’t even hesitate, Renovate!
I’m the weird one I guess. I would build a new one just the way I wanted it.
Reno all the way!
No brainer – renovate!
Renovate. So much more of a challenge, renovating an old home or crazy building is my dream. There is an old brick cigar shop built in the early 1900s in the city that I live in and I would LOVE to live there.
I chose a house built in 1938. I had to tear it down to the studs and basically completely rebuild the back half but there is still something about an old house that is just more special than a new house. http://www.travelingsole.wordpress.com
Old building all the way. Character and history.
Old building all the way!
Renovate an old building! The history, remaking what we already have! That is what we should be spending our dollas on!
Save the old!
OLD OLD OLD!
Renovate. Old buildings are incredible and just the history of the place is inspiring.
Renovate an old building! That was an easy question…lol
My husband and I have built two new homes and remodeled three…I will choose new construction every time. No rewiring so you can enjoy more than one outlet/room. Plumbing where you want it..and no surprises when you open a wall. Plus: modern and safe engineering (read: earthquake) and materials..no lead paint! You can always make it “look old.”
I think I would do a combination. I would find an old building and rehab the inside to make it modern and work with how people use buildings today. After all, what in the world is a “drawing room”, and who needs one? Make old space useful and relevant. You didn’t ask if it would be for housing or offices or whatever. People have been reclaiming warehouses for years. Lofts. Housing. The old building would have to be sound or require little work to make it sound. Sometimes, old buildings are too far gone to save, but the materials could be used again to create something new.
Definitely Reno! The only way to go!!
I grew up in old houses that only got fixed up right before they were sold. It did NOT look like fun to me. I’d rather have a new home built where I want, how I want, and with quality materials that will withstand the test of time.
1000% renovating an old
give me old any day.
“in with the OLD out with the NEW!”
I love how old homes were built ….
Save the old building!
The old building is the keeper. There is so much character in an old building.
Old!
It would be about location for me first. So if I found a once in a lifetime empty block I would happily sink my money into a new build. But if I found the perfect property that already had a house, then I’d be just as happy to renovate to make it mine. Old character is fantastic, but location is more important, and often you can’t have both. We’ve built 3 new houses and renovated (extensively) one other, and I honestly couldn’t tell you which I prefer, but I definitely prefer the location of our current house over every other one we’ve lived in. We’ve finally got it right 😉
Save an old building. So cool.
Old building. Always the old building. There’s a beautiful brick storefront from 1909 in my town that’s for sale; huge transom windows with original luxfer prisms, 12 foot ceilings, original heart of pine floors (hidden under hideous linoleum or industrial carpet everywhere except the front room of the salon), original plasterwork, beautiful stained glass sconces and brass chandeliers. The downstairs is currently rented out, an antique bookstore on one side and a hair salon on the other, and the upstairs is an apartment with a rooftop deck that looks onto the ocean. It needs new HVAC, new windows, there’s probably asbestos in the boiler room in the basement, the roof leaks, the wiring is almost certainly tube-and-knob…basically it needs a million dollars of work with the historical society looking over your shoulder AFTER you buy it for 2mil, but I went to the open house and I am so in love with it. If I won the lottery tomorrow it would be my first purchase.
Old with gorgeous newness inside , New/Old
, N-OLD if you like!!!
Old is the old new lol!!
It was new sometime too ya know lol!
Renovate!!! So many old buildings that have so much charm…renovation brings them back to life and it’s so much fun
New construction made to look timeless. My husband and I are in the process of building and it provides plenty of decisions and concerns w/o the headache of old pipes and electrical wiring. Reworking load bearing walls etc. can get tricky and expensive. I admire those that go the old route (those of us who don’t are in the minority, I guess) but you just have to decide what’s right for each family. Mary Wilding
An old building all the way! It’s a fantasy of mine to take over an old church and make it into a home so the link to the schoolhouse was right up my alley.
As much as I love and respect old buildings I’d have to say a new one. Living in an old house now where nothing is square, nothing is plum, there aren’t nearly enough closets, and the light switches and the outlets are never where I want them, it would be nice to plan something from beginning to end and have everything exactly where I want it …plus no worry about asbestos and lead paint
In our area there are only a handful of old houses (pre-1930). After looking at several when they came on the market I couldn’t get past awkward everything and most were in questionable locations. You could never get a return on investment. So we did a major remodel of a 50’s ranch and lived in it for 11 years. It was still drafty and cold/hot even with added insulation and a new heating unit. Eight years ago I designed and had built our “forever home”. All outlets and lights exactly where we wanted them! Efficient heating and cooling! New construction for me but it would definitely depend on your part of the country.
New construction! With a million bucks, and my simple taste (I only want a one story, 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bath, with a den and laundry room and 2 car garage), I would pour the money into sustainable, green products and efficiency, and I would definitely go as solar powered as I possible could.
Renovate!
Old!
Definitely a renovation. You are doing such a service to your community.
Re-doing a vintage building for sure – ideally a little villa somewhere in Italy :+)
Old building awesome. Nice work and capture.
Old building save! Give me the history!
I would definitely spend the money to restore an old building. I have this dream to buy an old church house and convert to a home. High ceilings, maybe some beautiful windows! Yes please.