# The Dollar House – Rehab Addict - Link: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/dollar-house-rehab-addict/ - Published: 2015-05-10T16:10:24-04:00 - Author: Ken Roginski Nicole Curtis of The Rehab Addict purchased this house for $1. An additional $140,000 was spent for its rehabilitation. The residents of Minneapolis wanted to demolish this house in favor of a beautiful empty lot. Thanks to Nicole’s fight this house was saved. I think it’s great that Nicole Curtis and her show, Rehab Addict educate the public on the value and importance of saving a dilapidated building and restoring its features instead of replacing them. [⌊rehab addict⌉⌊rehab addict⌉[ The Dollar House from Rehab Addict – Nicole Curtis [HGTV – Rehab Addict website ](http://www.hgtv.com/shows/rehab-addict) While I agree with her philosophy, I don’t always agree with her work. I recently saw her “Dollar House” rehabilitation posting and thought it would be important to point out some issues that have a negative effect on curb appeal. Within 2 hours after Nicole Curtis posted this photo on her face book page, 20,000 people liked it. There were tons of comments on the dollar house such as “so beautiful” etc. All this is good for her PR of course. Keep in mind that** on FB, Houzz and all social media, the most ugly renovation can be posted and people will comment sweetly on how pretty the improvements make the house!** You would be shocked how people can get praised for some real crazy things they do to their home. Many readers out there when seeing a cleaned up house or even a historic house with fake purple siding will still respond “how beautiful”. I have encountered some people that will insist that their vinyl sided Victorian with all decorative features removed looks barely different from what it did originally. It seems people just like change. Even a neighbor’s bad remuddeling job will be referred to how they “fixed up” their house. While a new clean paint job may impress people, here **I try to educate so readers will understand what to look for, by comparing the before and after photos.** The focus in this article is the exterior design. Not interior design or other repairs which I’m sure were desperately needed. Unfortunately these Rehab Addict photos are poor quality and a lot of features can’t be seen well. When comparing the before and after photos of this house, I definitely prefer the before photo.  **Making repairs and giving this house  a new coat of paint will most definitely make it look better than the renovated photo.** [⌊nicole curtis rehab⌉⌊nicole curtis rehab⌉[ The before rehabilitation photo has better curb appeal. **Why do I prefer the original dollar house (left photo)?** The first reason is the style of the porch. This may or may not be the original porch but it works much better than the Rehab Addict porch. Notice the new very **skinny porch posts and the weak looking railing**. There are** no bases for the porch posts or piers**. Below the porch posts is the porch skirt which consists of lattice but **no supports**. For a better understanding of this problem and comparison photos to really see and understand the difference, please refer to my [explanation of porch skirts here. ](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/porch-skirting/) The original house had a strong stucco porch that was in proportion to the house and appeared strong enough to support the porch roof. The house was welcoming because it had a wide set of stairs as you approach the front door. Now** the porch stairs are narrow and unwelcoming**. The new Rehab Addict house is painted a cool green and white that appears more cheery compared to the warmer stucco color with brown trim. However, the new house also has brown trim. ** This is a simple house and only one color trim – the white trim– is necessary. The brown just adds confusion.** The new house is a common makeover you see everywhere and most people on social media will ooh and ahh and make a fuss about such a wonderful improvement. Unfortunately** they fail to or are unable to understand the logic of architecture and allow the new and shinny to rule**. As for the Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis does quite well with her houses with a Real Estate background. I just think she rushes through projects way too quickly. Realtors are on the front line of the battlefield. I wish all realtors could educate their clients before they make a mess of the houses they buy! **However though, the point of this article is not about what someone could do better or worse. It’s about no matter how good or bad the job is, people like change and will almost always praise the change just because it’s different than before. ** Like if there’s a change it’s gotta be good.