HGTV musings

[teller80]

I've been sick this week and watched a whole lot of HGTV.

Love It Or List It - what an awful show. I have to wonder how this show is even on??

Property Bros - overall a good show, but they really need to get rid of the "surprise! this house is WAY over budget" segment. Does anyone believe that the couple has never watched the show before? The fake "why would they show this to us" is painful to watch.

I like House Hunters Where Are They Now, and I think they should make a show: Hoarders - How Are They Now, and follow up with them a few years later.

Lastly - the overall way people live in the "before" segments. Junk everywhere. The floor, countertops, tables, the stove, sink, you name it. No surface is clear. I understand they need a larger home, but do the producers stage their place or do people really live like that? If it's how they live, who here thinks a larger place is going to solve their storage issues? I've lived in some small places, and my home never was that messy. I found ways to make it look neat and tidy.

Thats all for now, thanks for listening!

 

[havaneselover]

I don't get Love it or List it either. Unbelievably annoying. I might like it without the phoney drama.

I like Property Brothers too, but yeah it starts stupidly.

Other than that I watch House Hunters and Property Virgins. I get very annoyed by the people who want it all (granite, hardwood floors, ss appliances) in their starter houses.

 

[teller80]

I get very annoyed by the people who want it all (granite, hardwood floors, ss appliances) in their starter houses.

I thought about putting that on my list too! I've been married 30 years, and we don't have any of those. We don't even have a master bedroom - we have the largest of the bedrooms but it's just slightly larger. No attached bath. Those things just aren't important to me.

 

[Pembo]

We have to have 2 sinks in the master bath...
My kitchen has to have granite and stainless steel...


DH & I love to make fun of those two lines! We've been married 20 years and survive just fine with 1 sink. Who wants to be in the bathroom at the same time anyway??? Give me a little privacy in the am!

It also annoys me that they make it seem like the house has to be perfect when you move in. Our last home, it took me 6 years to get all the ugly wallpaper down and we never did replace the-fairly-new-when-we-moved-in green carpet in the living room that totally didn't match our furniture.

I love House Hunters (and where are they now), don't care much for HH International though. Property Virgins with Sandra, not so much with the new girl. Don't like Property Brothers - something about those 2 is creepy to me. Love it or List it - it's like a joke show, you know they are going to want EVERYTHING and then they are going to find a horrible problem in the house, it's just so predictable. LOL Don't like the Flip or Flop show with that married couple, Tarek and ?, they just annoy me too.

 

[sunshinehighway]

I get annoyed with people who don't want any stair because they have a baby/toddler. It's like they don't realize the kid is going to grow.

 

[jen73]

yes! I am shocked with how unrealistic these first time homebuyers are with their list of demands. Heck, this is our 5th house we have owned and I'd love a double sink in the upstairs bathroom...lol I'd love to be able to get rid of this builder grade carpet that's been in the house for a very long time...but alas, a college tuition bill for DD comes first...lol

Love it or List it, I will watch. The two hosts are annoying but it's neat to see the ultimate transformations for around $60k

Property Bros, they are creepy, I agree with an above poster. Never will watch that...

Hoarders, I think that's another channel but we have gotten mesmorized into watching a marathon or two...yikes! We immediately clean afterwards....lol

 

[disneychrista]

The thing with love it or list it is they never (or rarely) ever list it. I like love it or list too (the Canadian version). The "hosts" are much more personable.

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I hate, hate, hate Love It or List It. I especially hate it when they run marathons of that show!
I like The Property Brothers, but I could also do without the dream home segment.
I love House Hunters, but it has given me a complex that nobody will buy our house unless everything is PERFECT.
DH and I recently were house-hunting online and I found a 1950's era schoolhouse with a beautiful view and acreage. I wonder if I could get Jonathan Scott to redo it for us. LOL

 

[Hrhpd]

Love this blog:

http://hookedonhouses.net/2012/06/11/house-hunters-what-it-was-like-to-be-on-the-show/

It explores all the drama and fakeness behind HGTV shows. Everything is staged. HGTV has even come out and said that House Hunters is fake. The people on the show have already closed on the winning house when it is filmed.

That said, I still love HGTV. But I miss the days when there were more decorating shows on instead of all house remodeling or buying shows. It used to be decorating on one day, houses on another night, etc.

 

[sonnyjane]

The thing with love it or list it is they never (or rarely) ever list it. I like love it or list too (the Canadian version). The "hosts" are much more personable.

They are both Canadian. The original is in Toronto, "Too" is in Vancouver.

 

[tvguy]

The thing with love it or list it is they never (or rarely) ever list it. I like love it or list too (the Canadian version). The "hosts" are much more personable.

Both are Canadian. Love it or List it is on the east coast of Canada, Love it or List It Two is on the West coast.

Love, love, love both shows in our household. Just interesting to look at not only the different opinions, but different set ups. Very educational.

I now know what a semi is.....what we call a duplex here.
Amazed that people actually have homes that not only have no garage but not even a place to park your car.
Love the different opinions on basements. "I'm not going to have my kids sleeping in the basement"....ha, my aunts and uncles in Canada all have basements, and that's what they are used for, the kids bedrooms. Sure seems though that a lot of the unexpected expenses are associated with problems with leaking, not up to code basements. How on earth did these houses pass final inspection when they were built?

I now know what an en suite is, what I know as a master bathroom. Last time I house shopped every house had that, and several fancy homes ones had two, his and hers.
Fun to look at size and layout in relation to prices, a 2,000 square foot house like mine might be worth $200,000 in one city, and $800,000 in another.

 

[disneychrista]

They are both Canadian. The original is in Toronto, "Too" is in Vancouver.

Okay then I like the west coast version, which makes sense since I live on the west coast

 

[powellrj]

I thought about putting that on my list too! I've been married 30 years, and we don't have any of those. We don't even have a master bedroom - we have the largest of the bedrooms but it's just slightly larger. No attached bath. Those things just aren't important to me.

This is how we are too. We have been married 36 years and still don't have a dishwasher. The joys of living in a older house!

My family banned me a few years ago from watching HGTV. I would get too upset at shows like House Hunters and really started to take it personally! My DS gave up talk radio and I gave up HGTV and life is much calmer!

 

[teller80]

We have been married 36 years and still don't have a dishwasher. The joys of living in a older house!

haha - no dishwasher for us either. Trust me, I have looked and looked and looked at my kitchen trying to figure out how to do it and never could.

 

[maleficent32]

I hate Love it or List It. She always has some major issue so half the budget has to go to fix it. The homeowners always get mad at her, and refuse to give a bigger budget. Yet, he finds a perfect home that is above their maximum price and they are willing to go for it.
Its so fake, I wish they would at least mix it up instead of having the same scenerio being played out each week.

I loved HGTV when it was more about decorating and less about real estate.

 

[sonnyjane]

I hate Love it or List It. She always has some major issue so half the budget has to go to fix it. The homeowners always get mad at her, and refuse to give a bigger budget. Yet, he finds a perfect home that is above their maximum price and they are willing to go for it. Its so fake, I wish they would at least mix it up instead of having the same scenerio being played out each week. I loved HGTV when it was more about decorating and less about real estate.

I agree. Seen one episode you've seen them all!

 

[disneychrista]

I loved HGTV when it was more about decorating and less about real estate.

Are there any design shows at all on HGTV anymore?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Are there any design shows at all on HGTV anymore?

Ellen has a design challenge coming up.

Seems intriguing and I hope her comedy is included.

Okay--never mind. It's furniture. And it is unknown if she will appear on the show.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...ing-design-challenge-series-for-hgtv/8020293/

 

[POOHsie]

HGTV seems to have county Real Estate boards underwriting their TV shows to showcase their inventory. Guess you have to go where the money is.

OTOH, much as I used to watch all the decorating shows, in the end they were always about using paint to transform your room. The rooms looked good on TV, but in reality, speaking for myself, no amount of pizzazz painting will make my tired walls (cracks, blemishes, peeling) look anything but what they are. And my moldings and casings have too many coats of paint on them, one more won't help.

Don't like the Property Brothers. If it was as cheap to make your place over into a showplace, we'd all do it. When they finish, they also place all new furniture and accessories, chosen by a professional decorating staff. That can cost as much (or more) as the building fixes. Who's kidding who?

Flip or Flop? Really. They just happen to see a house auction and it's in an hour, and the other side of the county. They're there! With just the right amount of Cashier's checks because they always seem to win! Oh, it's so easy! Ever notice at the end of show, if the house didn't sell, they don't talk about it. Like it fell off the edge of their planet.

I like Fixer Upper. My kind of people. Unfortunately, they seem pressured to complete a project quicker than is realistic. I like how the lady decorates the new rooms, but again, all that new furniture and accessorizing is above and beyond the reno budget. Where does the money for this stuff come from? So fake.

Love it or List it. Every show is the same. Love it or List it, too. The guy who is suggesting a replacement home is so full of himself. Can't stand people like that. The lady is OK, but rather low key.

Property Virgins. I like the hostess, she's dealing in reality. The couples -- they want their parents' "we-finally-made-it" house as their starter home. Each couple is worse than the last.

 

[sonnyjane]

Property Virgins. I like the hostess, she's dealing in reality. The couples -- they want their parents' "we-finally-made-it" house as their starter home. Each couple is worse than the last.

I do like her but sometimes I wish she'd be even more clear with her clients.

"Ok they're asking $190,000, what would you like your starting offer to be?"

"Well, we talked about it and we're comfortable making an offer of $130,000."

"Okkkk... That's a *little low, are you sure? I'll write it up."

5 minutes later

"They rejected your offer." Shocking!