Our fascination with the "before and after" never seems to wane. And where trappings of our very American heritage are concerned, we love to see what was once beautiful and majestic restored to its former glory, somehow appreciating it even more now than when it may have been when it was originally built.

Cary Goldweber, executive producer of Home and Garden Network's "Old Homes Restored," admits that Americans have a long-standing love affair with beautiful old homes, whether they live in them or not. This is the inspiration behind his new series following rave reviews of his one-hour pilot episode produced by the National Association of Home Builders. The first episode of the new show will appear October 3 on HGTV.

"Old Homes Restored" give accounts of historic home restorations as well as innovative renovation projects on more generic houses, all at least 30 years old. The half-hour magazine show features a former professional carpenter, Sean Pratt, as host and will be aired every Tuesday and Sunday, according to a press release by the NAHB. All of the restoration projects featured on the show were designed to showcase the purest architectural loyalty to the homes' original appearance and character as possible. Homeowner, architects, and craftsmen will be on hand to explain and demonstrate their parts in the loving restoration of the historic dwellings.

Its first season sees the program traveling to Louisville, KY, where "Old Homes Restored" visits and ongoing major restoration of a 200 year old farm, and to Virginia for the "unmasking" of a log cabin, whose original beauty was hidden by wood siding. Other projects include highlights of restorations in Seattle, New Orleans, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Sag Harbor, NY, Santa Fe and Levittown, PA, according to the press release.

Already having gained popularity with its "Dream Builders" show, HGTV and the NAHB looks forward to adding "Old Homes Restored" to its regular line-up. The NAHB asks the viewing public to contact their production group at hgh@nahb.com if you know of restoration projects they would like to see featured on the show.

Following its premier on Tuesday, October 3, viewers can also catch "Old Homes Restored" on Sunday and Tuesday evenings, but should check with their local cable listings for times. Those who delight in new home projects can still tune in to the seventh season of "Dream Builders," which premieres on October 2 and airs on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Published: September 26, 2000

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A veteran of the real estate and homebuilding industries since 1986, Dena Kouremetis first joined Realty Times as a new homes writer in 1998. Since then, she has authored four books, written consumer columns on new homes issues for websites and newspapers all across the country, contributed to builder trade magazines, appeared as a guest expert on several radio shows and even created a ten-chapter podcast for LendingTree.com’s homebuilder website, iNest.com, now available on iTunes, entitled Uncharted Waters; Navigating the Purchase of a New Production Home. Kouremetis recently joined her local Folsom, CA Coldwell Banker office as a broker associate while continuing to write for the real estate industry. For the past three years, she has been training real estate agents for both the resale and new homes industries, putting her experience, research expertise and gift of expression to work to help others entering the business.