oooh I hate that!!!! HATE IT!I hate going into people's houses and seeing it too.

The other day, forget what show it was, but they renovated this kitchen which had been previously renovated (in a victorian) and I missed the beginning so I don't know the full reason why, but they ripped out very nice inset white cabinets (OTK style) and put up some partial overlay, nearly laminate looking, doors (not to knock them, I happen to have full overlay nearly laminate looking doors lol) . I kept thinking what a downgrade if you had something that nice.

Thanks for the laugh, before opening your post even (Uhoh, CE's been watching TV again.) This forum's pretty much ruined me for TV kitchen remodels. Reactions run from pursing lips, to shaking head and wondering why on earth, to, very often, quick turning it off before I get really excited. :)

This is making me happy we dropped cable...I was previously addicted to HGTV :)

Slightly off-topic, as it's a comment about another show, but still a cable home dec show...

When my dd was in the hospital she and I watched cable tv, which for us, is a rare treat. Without any programs to guide us, I happened upon "Design on a Dime." I quickly discovered that their "dime" is actually $1000... 10,000 dimes.

Why does this help me with 'economical home decorating?' If I had $1000 per room to spend on decor, I could do a lot of things! I sure wouldn't think it was a major accomplishment in frugality. And the things they did? Some great, some... not so much. Lots of exposed edges of plywood. DH could not be OK with doing that, thankfully.

Still, you just have to watch. ;-)

Rhome410, I never thought of it that way!
There isn't any way I'd ever pay $1000 for the stuff those people come up with. There's a whole set of people on that show that do everything "retro" except frequently they mess their retro eras up. If a decorator walked into my house and squealed, "Ooooo! We'll do a retro thing here" the door wouldn't hit them in the bummy hard or fast enough.

Imagine what I could do with $1000.
I could finish the electricity, the siding, and maybe get some drywall up. ooo. A finished room, perhaps?

C.

OK, what is WONKY?

Hah! I'm in the process of weaning away from HGTV... too many real estate shows... and thanks to GW, my kitchen plans are complete:-)

My biggest HUH? is when the completed room is suddenly missing 2/3 of its contents. Where did the office or exercise equipment, toys, TV, etc. go? Hard to believe all these people just happen to have a spare room. Let's see their garage!

And I totally agree about Design on a Dime. Sometimes the end result is okay, but with the size crew they have, $1000 ought to get you more than plywood cutouts and generally pretty awful curtains and paint.

Oh well, these days it's better than getting hooked on the news:-(

From Google for 2LittleFishes:

Wonky:
Crooked; off-center; askew.
(of a thing) Unsteady; shaky: "sitting on wonky stools".
Synonyms:
shaky - rickety - wobbly

There's a whole set of people on that show that do everything "retro" except frequently they mess their retro eras up. If a decorator walked into my house and squealed, "Ooooo! We'll do a retro thing here" the door wouldn't hit them in the bummy hard or fast enough.
Amen! ;-)

Another one I saw not on HGTV: Someone on Nate Berkus' show the other day was worried about her messy office area being seen by guests who go through it when they entertain (It was in the path from the main house to the barbecue area). He got her all new furniture..pretty much just replacing what they already had with like pieces. He also had some great family photos taken to be used as decor elements. But the problem I noticed in the pictures shown of the room is that she had piles of papers and files all over the current folding table they had in the room to do the work required for their home business, and had messy looking files in the open bookshelves. -- A fancier table and bookshelf won't change that, as the real organizational needs weren't addressed.

Also, the table he chose was rustic and 'distressed', so they wouldn't have to worry about the kids damaging it when doing writing and coloring projects, because it was already dinged up. A table in an office with a surface that's no good for writing?

I told my son in law about "Design on a Dime" and he agreed with my impression... He said, "With that you could decorate the room and buy a new computer for it." That's about right for how we'd do it.

My biggest HUH? is when the completed room is suddenly missing 2/3 of its contents. Where did the office or exercise equipment, toys, TV, etc. go? Hard to believe all these people just happen to have a spare room. Let's see their garage!

OH>!!! I wonder the same thing!!! Like, they just had all the baby toys in the living room for fun? Really? or the desk? Where did it all go? And when will it wind up back in the room?

Hey, just think of us poor pros who have to deal with the "Too much HGTV" crowd. They don't understand that TV isn't real life and you can't do a kitchen on $1000 and in 2 days.

Quick. Cheap. Quality. Pick two. HGTV always ends up being cheap and quick. I'd much rather deal with DIYers who have a bit of real world experience under their belts and are going for the Quality and Budget route. I have one couple who have done their kitchen one wall at a time over 5 years. That's finally done and it's on to the buffet in the dining room for the next cabinet project.

Agree with all of you.

Design on a Dime usually ends up with such a cheap, junky look. That's an improvement?

On the other hand, I caught a re-run of "Donna Decorates Dallas" last night. On the opposite end of the spectrum, cost-wise. You'd empty the Cayman Islands account for the redecoration of a master bedroom she did (for the neurosurgeon's wife). But more money doesn't buy less tacky. It's just more expensive. And the designer didn't really listen to the husband's wants & needs. I thought the final result was pretty awful. He was very low-key & polite about it, though.......

Unlike another show I saw a while ago (maybe Trading Spaces? what a mess that show was), where the designer used the only colors -- orange & brown -- that the couple absolutely did not want. And the couple actually said so at the reveal -- that they hated it & would have to undo all the redo!

Anyone remember Decorating Cents? Nicer rooms at half the price ($500) but lots of good ideas that could be incoporated into other projects. Not every room was perfect, but they were MUCH nicer IMHO than Design on a Dime...which I gave up on, a long time ago :)

Joan Steffand's practically high end compared to a husband and wife team I used to see only on passing through. I clearly remember my last time accidentally dropping in on THEM: They'd mounted some louvered shutter they'd picked up sideways across the bottom of a window--offered as such a wonderfully fresh and clever idea.

Who thinks up this stuff?
And who tells them it's ... it?
Are people that desperate for "in" or that insecure that they'll do that stuff?

I do remember decorating cents. I frequently didn't like their results, but I did recognize for $500 and a total reno? They did a good job.

I don't know. I dislike sitcoms, I hate the real estate shows, I am bored with the repeats of the history and Discovery channel (they can't do something new?) and I can't watch animals being eradicated, hurt, starved etc.
New isn't on all day, and I don't do soaps. What does that leave me?

Insane decorators that thing because some nut cases pay them to offer crazy ideas, that they're pros.

Kick me.

CEFreeman-if you are a fan of history, here's a website that fascinates me.
What is most maddening to me about all the real estate shows is that you know exactly what the jerks are going to say and "amazing" is the only word they know. The words "amazing" and "OMG" are not allowed in my house. (I am however guilty. Once in a while they slip out.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Day by Day

sixtyohno!
What a cool, cool site. Thank you for that because I'm definitely a fan of history! Particularly such a transitional era.

We weren't allowed to use the words "gonna" "jus' gonna" "wanna" "eatin'" "cheap" or "free" (4-letter "f" word).

Amazing is way overdone, as is awesome. Huh?
How come they never just walk in and say, "oooo! I'd love to have a big party in here!" Instead of the false-prim "This is great for entertaining." Let's get real.

The real estate shows really bore me. The makeover ones aren't so bad, but the purchase ones? eh. Then, they do an entire weekend of House Hunters. Whom did HH pay for that? I highly doubt they're the most popularly demanded shows on those networks. I'm rather tired of the Renovation Realities idiots, too. Particularly when it's always the girl who is the snottiest whiner.

Ok. Today's another day and I need coffee.

How about House Hunters International? I've learned all kinds of interesting stuff on there:

*Slovakia is gorgeous!
*It's not uncommon to find the clothes washer in the kitchen or bathroom of a European house.
*There are many places where the kitchen leaves with the sellers.
*Especially in the Carribean, the furniture often stays with the house.
*Many European houses don't have built in bedroom closets.
*Many not-N. American bedrooms are long and skinny with a door to the outside located on the narrow end wall.
*In some countries one doesn't borrow to buy a house, you have to have the cash on hand.

What I learned from HH International is that I will never be able to have a house on or close to a beach, in a year round warm place, any where in the world. Unless there is some undiscovered gorgeous, safe place, which is cheap to get to.

For a change, try hanging out in a local auction house! Around here the examination open house is once a week and they serve coffee, tea, and storebought cookies as well. Cheapest entertainment a retiree can find, if you ignore the transporation costs and wintertime issues of ice & such.

Each week I get to live through a new installment of "guess what the owner's living room looked like" and I can ask myself "will 1950s faux historic maple furniture ever become collectable" or "can anyone actually find a use for THAT?" A thrill a minute!

This week there's this set of two sleigh-sided Regency(?) ebonized black chairs, which I can't for the life of me find a use for, even in my fantasy rooms, because, trust me on this, you can only sit between the sleigh sides with no actual back behind you.

{{!gwi}}
Better than HGTV, an auction house is like a roller coaster where I don't have to buy anything, just experience other peoples' stuff as fantasy for a while. And big money and good taste are rarely a requirement.

I love houses and getting the chance to look inside, so I kind of like House Hunters. (It's a rare treat to see any of the shows, so I haven't had the chance to get too sick of them.) The realtors can be annoying, because they often seem to know as little as the buyers. I'm often shocked at the compromises people make in their original goal, or what priorities they use in buying a house they claim they want to live in for the next 20 yrs. On one we saw when dd was in the hospital, a couple chose a house weighted heavily by the suitability of the back yard for their wedding. 1 day. 1 event.

And after, like other shows, watching several episodes in a row (Is that how cable TV works?!), I had to wonder if married couples ever shop for houses. I'm a traditionalist, so was surprised to see that the majority of shows were with young boyfriend-girlfriend sets. One girlfriend intended to take both of the master bedroom walk-in closets to herself, since 'I worked hard to build my own credit and I'm putting that on the line for this house.' Oh, yeah...that relationship was going to last... Her 'beloved' was told he could keep his stuff in the closet off his basement office.

HH Internat'l is too out there for me... Guess I just can't relate, as a non-traveler..and someone without millions to spend on a 2nd home. I like to imagine myself in the scenario and that will just never happen.

susanes1, I have a small dialogue for you, from one of the only, single Simpson's shows I've ever seen:

Homer: Marge, I can't learn anymore. When I learn something, something else falls out the other ear. Remember the time I forgot how to drive?
Marge: Home, you were drunk!
Homer: See!

IOW, Don't waste space on things that aren't relevant or beautiful. Or something like that quote. :)

I am a fun-fact Queen, aka Font of Useless Knowledge. Lot of good it does me! OTOH, to figure out how and why to grout diagonally? Now that's useful. Watching snots whine about granite, an unfinished yard, the appliances or paint color? Don't waste space.

rhome410? I'm not a traditionalist at all, but I agree those two are doomed. OTOH, after 18 years of marriage and having my STBX just plain screw me for the rest of my life? Everyone needs their own space and $$. But not like that!

Designed to Sell is on....
Now they can squeeze a zillion out of $2k. Nothing like free labor!

I'm just going to say it...I miss the OLD This Old House with Bob Vila. That was a show, where I learned things. It might take them 18 weeks to do a house...but you learned about all kinds of procedures and products. I may not be able to build a house...but I know what's involved in the process. And, knowing things like what OSB means...which surprisingly, impressed the heck out of guys, when my mom and I were looking for her manufactured home. I mean, really...don't they think women know about insulation, siding, 2x4 vs. 2x6 construction, etc.?

Anyway, the new This Old House don't seem to be as good. They talk more about countertops than the importance of installing plumbing on an inside wall...especially in cold climates. And remember that gorgeous pergola, Norm built on that bungalow? And back then, they still expected the home owners to do some work! Maybe Bob Vila could be a bit strong on personality, but he was never boring. LOL

Lavender, I was just going to say that! The OLD OLD "This OLd House" didn't wrap things up tidy in 1 episode - it was a full season (maybe it still is?) but they actually worked and focused on something different each week. And it was accessible - what they were doing was high end, but NOT out of the range of the average homeowner, and you learned what you needed to be watching for, when you wanted to buy yourself one of these "old houses".

or perhaps I'm simply nostalgic. I remember being a youngish teen and watching with my dad and remembering how the women on the show weren't talked down to. I remember thinking when the rare tradeswoman would show up or the female homeowner would be raring to go, that these girls were like me - happy to help my dad fix the house, happy to use the power tools.

I had forgotten about the slower pace of the original This Old House show, you're right. I think the current frantic pace of the HGTV shows may mirror the "I want it NOW" mood that seems so prevalent among the young people shopping for homes on this channel.

The producers of these shows seem to think that the fake drama produced by pretend crisis deadlines (or the shots of crazed homeowners waving sledge hammers in a fit of careless and wasteful demo) is necessary to keep our interest. I find it pretty insulting that they underestimate viewers this way (or, perhaps we are truly in the minority?)

Florantha, if we had a local auction house like you describe, I'm sure I'd live there!

Bob Villa's ego was hard for me to take, but we loved that show. We still like the current one, when we can find it, but their projects are always so high-end/expensive. They often did higher end projects in the old days, too, but the focus seemed to be on highlighting quality and new, helpful, building technology that, yes, was still reasonably within reach of most people.

--And HomeTime used to be good, too, before they started building ridiculously (for me) luxurious new homes, instead of working on 'regular' ones that needed some TLC.

Love that quote by William Morris, CEF, which I think is the one you were referencing?
Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

That's the one, Rhome410!
I am never good at correctly repeating quotes. I get the gist, but ...!

I email HGTV or DIY once in a while when I REALLY have nothing to do. Or I'm procrastinating once in awhile. I complain about the stupid demo crap, and the whiners. I don't get any responses, but I like telling them those people need to be slapped silly. Maybe if more people wrote....

Today I built things. No TV.

They were showing some of the old episodes on TLC as 'The Renovation Guide' I think. My favorite is the cape cod, with the plaster walls. It was a great home, not very big, but lots of neat details. The home owner's (uncle?) was doing all the plaster walls and Bob Vila says something about sanding down the rough spots. The guy says "Sander, Bob??? We don't need any sanders?" or something to that effect. It was SO funny to see someone give Bob Vila a hard time :)