Home improvement and similiar shows

[betts4]

Sitting here on a lazy Sunday morning, I was cruising the channels and kept running into the home improvement and landscaping and clean your house shows.

TLC usually has some cool stuff. 'While you were out' is always inspiring, and neat to see, however frustrating because I would love to do some of that stuff in my house, and know that I can't....they have oodles of people doing it.

I think that is what bugs me about all of these shows. There is plenty of help. Not just designers, but drone workers to do the drone stuff. I would love to do some of what I see in my house, but I don't have the manpower. Sigh.

I do like Clean Sweep and have done that not as a whole house, but in one room. It helped. And 'what not to wear', well, I will watch, but I yell at the tv.

Do you have a favorite of this type of 'come into someones house and do somethng to it' shows?

[uncdrew]

They definitely don't show lots of the labor involved, and they certainly don't factor that into the price for the reno.


We did this door trim for $53 -- saved the homeowners $600. Yeah, $600 in labor.

They also leave out the tools. Most of us don't have all those tools that they use.

They are fun to watch, and I'm addicted to them.

[betts4]

They also leave out the tools. Most of us don't have all those tools that they use.

They are fun to watch, and I'm addicted to them.
Do you have a nail gun? I would love one of those. And they never use duct tape as much as I do! :D

[wendiness1]

That's my biggest gripe - not accounting for the cost of labor and not revealing they had a lot of help behind the scenes.

[uncdrew]

Do you have a nail gun? I would love one of those. And they never use duct tape as much as I do! :D


I do have a nail gun. Not a great one, but a decent one.


Thing is, I'm kind of old school in a lot of ways. Something about swinging a hammer makes me feel good. :o :p

[balboa dave]

I think I watch them all. These are on HGTV.

Divine Design is one of the best. Candice Olson has unbelievable talent at giving the owners everything they ask for while taking it to a whole 'nother level. She's a little goofy too, and seems to have a lot of fun.

Designer's Challenge is usually interesting. Three designer's compete for the same job with the same budget, and the owners pick and build the design that suits them best. It's surprising how different the three designs are.

reDesign is OK. Kenneth Brown has good taste, but usually has to talk the owner into making the changes he wants. But the show is honest, in that some of the mistakes and changes are shown too.

[uncdrew]

I go a bit less design and more home improvement/repair.

Ask This Old House
Over Your Head
Don't Sweat It
Property Ladder

[SueAnn]

I'm hooked ...always have been.

My first crush was Norm Abraham. :o

[jtlytle]

I have two air nail guns. Electric Miter saw is on my wish list.

"Monster House" was fun to watch, that's it.

Over Your Head, Don't Sweat It, and Property Ladder are pretty good too.

We watch a lot of Divine Design show. A lot of excellent ideas!

[TonyTheTiger]

I thought Tim Allen was great in that show. He even has BETTER DIY skills than me!!!!

[Graymalkin]

The problem with home improvement shows is that you need a LOT of tools. There's no way to justify that kind of monetary investment if you have only a one-bedroom apartment. I'd also have to do all the work myself, and some of those things require two people.

[jtlytle]

I'm hooked ...always have been.

My first crush was Norm Abraham. :o


Humm Norm Abram ?

[Gregor]

The home improvement shows also don't show you what happens when stuff goes horribly wrong, like when you break a piece of plumbing trying to remove it with the wrong tool or driving a nail into an electrical line trying to hang a shelf.

The shows would be much more entertaining if they showed that stuff and how to correct it :)

[betts4]

The home improvement shows also don't show you what happens when stuff goes horribly wrong, like when you break a piece of plumbing trying to remove it with the wrong tool or driving a nail into an electrical line trying to hang a shelf.

The shows would be much more entertaining if they showed that stuff and how to correct it :)
That could be a great concept! How to fix mistakes. And they could show actual real mistakes that happen to us. There was one that followed a renovation from start to finish, but it was all done by the couple. The show didn't help, but just recorded. Hearing the participants grunt groan and deal with problems like getting something too big to fit thru the door, that made a good perspective.

[TeighVaux]

The shows are interesting to watch to see the final result. On top of not accounting for the cost of labor, materials, and tools, they also don't bring up that the homeowner would have no idea how to be able to do the job. Or even what tools or materials are needed in what quantity at what price.

Even if I somehow had all the tools, material, equipment, and laborers to do a kitchen or bath remodel, I would not have the first clue how to do it.

Also, on some of the home improvement shows where the homeowners are doing it themselves (esp on Property Ladder, Flip That House), they don't follow basic safety rules (wearing open toed shoes, not wearing eye protection when doing demolition, and my favorite, digging up yards without checking where the gas lines are).

[jradosh]

I also love these shows. For me it's not so much about "how to do it" (although it used to be with "This Old House" and "Hometime", but not so much anymore). No... for me it's about "what is possible". The shows are inspirational, or in some cases ("Trading Spaces") cautionary tales. :p

[The Flush]

Holmes on Homes is my favorite home improvement show as it shows him fixing other contractor's screw ups.

[Swirl_Junkie]

Holmes on Homes is my favorite home improvement show as it shows him fixing other contractor's screw ups.

I agree, I used to watch pretty much all of these. And now I can't stomach a Trading spaces at all. They're horrible, and up close the work is incredibly shoddy.
Some of the design shows are good, but show too little of the actual work, which is what interests me.
I guess it just boils down to what interests you. If you're a dreamer and want to watch design, or if you'd rather see The guts of the project.

New Yankee Workshop, Holmes on Homes, and an occasional Bob Vila are watched here.

[TeighVaux]

I also love these shows. For me it's not so much about "how to do it" (although it used to be with "This Old House" and "Hometime", but not so much anymore). No... for me it's about "what is possible". The shows are inspirational, or in some cases ("Trading Spaces") cautionary tales. :p

From an aesthetic viewpoint, I love to see the results. Fun to see what is possible. I realize that on some of the shows, that the homeowner is not paying for most of the remodel (the show is).

When did the country turn from what they can afford to what is possible (i.e. what they want)

I'll add shows like Househunters to the list.

It seems many homeowners are taking out too much mortgage to buy showcase houses, sellers/flippers are doing state of the art/showcase remodels, most of which are way too much for the neighborhood or the buyers' budgets.

Househunters is my favorite where often the breadwinner has a mid level job and the other spouse is a stay at home mom/dad and they are out looking at half million dollar homes and then "six months later", we see a top to bottom showcase style remodel (funded with more debt).

How did homeowners manage to survive before 2003 without master bedroom "retreats" with "en suite bathrooms" with all the trimmings, granite counter cops, top line cabinets, pools, jacuzzis, a bedroom for each kid (plus a home office plus a guestroom).:)

[classicsat]

I like the more professional contractor ones like Holmes On Holmes, This Old House, and Home Time.

I quit watching Trading Spaces when Paige Page (her married name BTW) and Ty Pennington left (Pennington's new show is too "busy" for my tastes, FWIW).

I also watch the real estate shows where they are buying.

[GoodSpike]

Do you have a favorite of this type of 'come into someones house and do somethng to it' shows?

Porn? ;)

I don't tend to like the HGTV stuff, but if I had to pick one it would be "Designers' Challenge" where three designers make their pitch and the owners pick. It's nice to see what different people would do with a space.

The thing that gets me about these shows is somewhat Tivo related. They'll either build a custom cabinet to hold a 4x3 TV, or place a plasma above a fireplace. If anyone proposed doint that in my house I'd throw them out the door!

[veruca salt]

I like watching these also but I don't know why...like my palate (see justapixel's "what should I order" thread), my decorating taste is very simple. My living room started out with a beige colored, tweedy fabric kind of couch. I got it to sit on...not to look at. I already had a glider rocker with navy blue with accents of dark red and tan running through it. From there, I really preferred oak end tables and a coffee table. They are very basic. Mom offered to help with the window treatments. She made them out of a Waverly fabric of dark reds and navy blues. It's nothing that would ever show up on one of these shows, but it feels like home to me.

I, too, would like to do some of the home improvementstuff in my place, but like betts4 wouldn't start it by myself. Hey, betts4...I'll help you and you could help me. Maybe we could borrow uncdrew's and jtlytle's nail guns????

My other problem is that I only want to do something if it will increase the value of my little abode. I want to start with hardwood floors in the Living Room but don't know if that would increase the value enough to make it pay off.

Other problem is that I have no problem spending $1000 on a new TV and $1000 on a new TiVo, but don't want to spend the $1500 that I've estimated for hardwood floors.

[CorgiMom28]

I love Designed to Sell and Mission Organization... I've actually gotten a lot of ideas from those shows.

[sushikitten]

I think I watch them all. These are on HGTV.

Divine Design is one of the best. Candice Olson has unbelievable talent at giving the owners everything they ask for while taking it to a whole 'nother level. She's a little goofy too, and seems to have a lot of fun.

Designer's Challenge is usually interesting. Three designer's compete for the same job with the same budget, and the owners pick and build the design that suits them best. It's surprising how different the three designs are.

reDesign is OK. Kenneth Brown has good taste, but usually has to talk the owner into making the changes he wants. But the show is honest, in that some of the mistakes and changes are shown too.

Oh, we loooooooooove Divine Design. We drool over everything she does. We like Designer's Challenge, too, except that I always want to combine aspects from each design into one.

[TeighVaux]

My favorite is Sell This House with Roger Hazard and Tanya Mimi (spelling?). It shows how simple stagins, decluttering, and cleaning can help get offers on a house.

The solutions are rather cheap although it seems that the shows pays for extra laborers and storage.

[EchoBravo]

My wife and I just looked at a house that had a "Trading Spaces" type project in every flippin' room. It was a major turnoff. You buy a pre-existing, you expect to go in and replace carpet, paint... Maybe do a room in hardwood flooring or two. Having to go through every single room and "undo" a faux finish here, some bizarre striping there... A chair rail gone horribly awry, you name it. Ugh!

Some of this stuff should be left to the professionals... Or at least returned to neutral before you put your house on the market. ;)

[balboa dave]

...I guess it just boils down to what interests you. If you're a dreamer and want to watch design, or if you'd rather see The guts of the project...That's a pretty dismissive conclusion. It's easy for dreams to become reality. It doesn't matter how good with a hammer and saw you might be, if you don't have a design in mind, it's not going to do any good. Of course, if you're interested in maintaining the status quo of your home, like fixing broken or leaky windows, patching roof leaks, waterproofing your basement, etc., then shows like This Old House are fine.

The design shows are very helpful for when you want to make a change. They show the impact of how sometimes simply painting walls could be all you need, or even rearranging furniture, up to where removing a wall, and maybe moving doors or windows are needed to achieve a worthwhile change. Then, the DIY shows are good to get a feel for the scope of the work, and whether that scope is something you want to tackle.

Once you have a reasonably clear idea of what you want, then you can make the decision whether to do it yourself, hire a contractor, or even hire a designer. Or in my case, hire an architect and build a custom house.

[mqpickles]

My wife and I just looked at a house that had a "Trading Spaces" type project in every flippin' room. It was a major turnoff. You buy a pre-existing, you expect to go in and replace carpet, paint... Maybe do a room in hardwood flooring or two. Having to go through every single room and "undo" a faux finish here, some bizarre striping there... A chair rail gone horribly awry, you name it. Ugh!

Some of this stuff should be left to the professionals... Or at least returned to neutral before you put your house on the market. ;)which brings us to one of my favorites, Designed to Sell. They're often undoing garish color schemes, etc. I also like Clive Pierce and Lisa LaPorta.

People have mentioned Designers Challenge. I like Landscapers Challenge even better. That said, I do wish more gardening/landscaping shows were taped in different climates, not just So Cal.

[veruca salt]

First off, I'm going to re-state...my decorating taste is simple.

That having been said...Why are people usually so surprised when they find out that in order to get top dollar for their house when they sell it and to help sell it faster, they are going to need to get rid of their bold paint color choices?

Then...Why do all of the designers suggest bold paint colors? (I guess because they are decorating the house to live there, not to sell?)

Then...Why do owners replace carpeting in order to sell the house? I think of myself buying and probably no matter what, the seller's choice and mine probably would not be the same. I would probably end up replacing the carpeting no matter what. I would probably also take that to the bargaining table. Why don't most sellers see it that way? Why do they waste the money replacing carpeting?

[veruca salt]

And another thing...

It annoys me when the designers don't take functional things into consideration. The most recent blunder that I can remember was on Divine Design.

She was rececorating a bedroom so that it was "green". Eco-green, not the color green. One of the problems about the bedroom was that it was on a top floor of kind of a loft-type place so she brought up the fact that heat rises and that they need to come up with an eco-friendly way to cool the bedroom in the warmer months. She did that by installing a ceiling fan, which is fine, but what I noticed was that she covered up a floor vent by putting the bed on top of it!!

[Swirl_Junkie]

That's a pretty dismissive conclusion. It's easy for dreams to become reality. It doesn't matter how good with a hammer and saw you might be, if you don't have a design in mind, it's not going to do any good. Of course, if you're interested in maintaining the status quo of your home, like fixing broken or leaky windows, patching roof leaks, waterproofing your basement, etc., then shows like This Old House are fine.

The design shows are very helpful for when you want to make a change. They show the impact of how sometimes simply painting walls could be all you need, or even rearranging furniture, up to where removing a wall, and maybe moving doors or windows are needed to achieve a worthwhile change. Then, the DIY shows are good to get a feel for the scope of the work, and whether that scope is something you want to tackle.

Once you have a reasonably clear idea of what you want, then you can make the decision whether to do it yourself, hire a contractor, or even hire a designer. Or in my case, hire an architect and build a custom house.

I see what you're saying, and I wasn't trying to be dismissive. I just like to see the actual work. I want to see the craftsman that do it. Not the Designer that takes all the credit.
I forgot about Dreamhouse... which is really the best of both worlds. It takes the dream from inception, and follows all the work through to the end. But I've only seen like three seasons of this.

[Warren]

I hate that HGTV has pretty much lost all Garden shows. any gardening by the yard is more landscaping the anything else

[pkscout]

I think you all are missing the point of many of the shows. They don't account for labor (or say how much you saved) because much of HGTV/DIY's programming is aimed at folks who have the potential to do the jobs and just need pointers/ideas. Yes, there are many shows that demonstrate pretty design, but if you're plan is to hire a designer and contractor to do all the work, then you aren't the target market for some of the other shows.

[murgatroyd]

Improvement / repair: Ask This Old House
Interior design: Thom Filicia's segment on Queer Eye

Seeing what happens when stuff doesn't go according to plan: This Old House (those guys have made some colossal screwups in their day -- like the London Flat).

Jan