Besides the cousins being kind of cute, I'm not a fan of the show. It seems the homeowners have little to say about the design and products used in the kitchen. It is rather strange.

I will admit that I watch the show -- it is a mindless way to fill the time while peddling the stationary bike.
But, yes, the show sort of drives me crazy,
even though the cousins have some good design instincts and cute personalities.
I know if I were the home owner I wouldn't want to be surprised by fake lace-print countertops!
But I do like it that they try to introduce their audience to new products, many times sourced locally in NJ and NYC.

Off topic, I couldn't believe, as a citizen of NJ,
that in one episode they filmed one of the cousins talking on his cell phone
while speeding down the turnpike in a big delivery truck.
Call me a safety nerd!

I do not think much of them. On one show, they placed a wall oven right angle to the back door. Lately, I find most of the shows on HGTV to be repetitive and boring. There seems to be fewer home decorating shows and more home buyers real estate shows. All of which follow the same script. The shows which feature contractors like the one who remodels basements into rental spaces and the Holmes series always sensationalize defects and repairs. I just cannot get excited about HGTV anymore.

While watching it once I was harrumphing about stupid, stupid layout design and my **7 year-old** said to me: "This show is more Cousins than Kitchen!" Haven't watched it since, because unlike the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (I love it-I hate it-it's horrible-I can't get enough) there is none of that being sucked back in, can't look away kind of thing. Cute boys, cute family, canNOT get past the unacceptable layouts ....

In the previous week's episode, the one with the professional chef/restaurant owner in a Victorian, the wife allowed the cousins to pick out a backsplash for her kitchen!

Did you see the placement of the electrical panel in tonight's show? Did you notice its placement in relation to the wall switches?? And they sprung a change of cabinet color on the owner...supposedly the original red color door they'd chosen was discontinued...so they made a decision for her.

The show drives me nuts....

Helene

I don't like the Brothers on Call, either.
This family back and forth stuff is obnoxious. If I wanted that, I'd move back to my mother's in Michigan.

I want to know why the woman is always the whiner and the man is always the idiot? They also make it seem like if the woman isn't pleased, all hell will reside in their home. Huh?

So it goes, as I watch Renovation Realities this late at night.

haven't watched 'the cousins' yet but have the 'brothers' that reno. on that one Jonathan regularly decides on paint colors, style - even furniture. he sends the owners off so he can finish it with 'surprises' for them. no way jose - not on my house!

I 'spect there are some people who don't care - I doubt they are watching these shows either since they don't care.

If they aren't gonna do what I want in my house, they aren't getting near it.

Do you think some of these homeowners who act so surprised really had input into furniture and colors and just act surprised and "amazed and OMG."

I think the homeowners pretend to act surprised. I read somewhere that on the Property Brothers, they find people to be on the show who have already bought a fixer-upper, and in exchange for being on the show they get reno help and some money toward some of the materials. I don't think the Kitchen Cousins are surprising the homeowners either, as I imagine the homeowners are paying for some or all of the materials. These shows are staged.

I agree with sas95 and sixtyohno, everything's scripted and staged and formulaic. You can see it coming a mile away. I can only watch the last 5 minutes of House Hunters because of all the repetition. Are we so stupid and senile that every time they return from a commercial break we need a total recap up to that point?

My daughter is friends with the guy who used to host Curb Appeal. I wanted them to redo my front yard and got as far as a call from the producer, but it didn't pan out.

I think you have to let go of the "surprise-the-homeowner" format of so many of the hgtv shows. No, I don't like it either, but it is what it is.

As for the kitchen cousins...well, since we're planning for our kitchen remodel, I'm suddenly interested in anything kitchen-related. As was mentioned above, I like that they introduce viewers to interesting, new products. Some I like, some I don't. It's kind of like looking through photos in home/design magazine. We all pull out the pages with ideas we like and recycle the rest of the magazine.

The cousins themselves are adorable, but I want to watch hgtv for the projects, not so much the personalities. I agree that so far, production on this show has emphasized the cousins/their family a little too much.

My favorite shows on hgtv are Dear Genevieve, and the Sarah Richardson shows (room service, design inc, Sarah's house, 101). I'll also add that I like home by Novogratz for seeing how you can really think outside the
box.

I also agree that many of their layout choices have seemed very odd/inefficient.

LOL Linelle, I just about spit out my coffee. I have always wondered that about House Hunters! If I see that it's 5 minutes till the hour or half hour, I'll flip over to see the "whole show". You think they could fill that summary time with more inane comments about paint color on the walls or space for entertaining. Hehehe.

"There's space for entertaining!"

"I can totally see myself here!" WTH does that mean anyway?

I can't watch Novogratz and listen to that woman's voice.

I used to be addicted to Christopher Lowell. That led me to be addicted to HGTV. Then somehow alll the good shows went away, and House Hunters came on in multiples, and I managed to wean myself off of it to the Weather Channel, and now I hardly even turn on the TV, because I have my iPad, THS,and a house to remodel!!!

I AM going to need AA, however, to wean myself off of the wine when this craziness is over.....

I've watched a few episodes because they are local to me. I can't say that I've been impressed with the final product, considering this what they do for a living.

Every time I watch the show, I end up wondering what they were thinking. One show they put the cooktop on the end of skinny island. Definitely dangerous location. This week's countertop, with all of its nooks and crannies.... bet that will be fun to keep clean.

I haven't seen that particular show, but it seems to me that the HGTV kitchen renovations are cutting corners many times to get to the "wow" but I am often left wondering "why didn't they fix that issue?" They seem to do alot of low end kitchens, or splurge on one thing and cut costs on everything else. And they spend about a minute working on the design!

This week, I watched an episode where they put in soapstone countertops, but made an odd shaped radiator cover and left a window that went below the countertop level. Also, it was a small kitchen and they "saved $500" by getting 36" high cabinets instead of cabinets to the ceiling. I think that $500 would have been well spent even if they had to sacrifice the soapstone.

Then on another episode, they put in a dark colored cement countertop that was just awful with the cherry cabinets. But the homeowners always like it!

Yeah, the cousins just don't do it for me, but it was interesting to see apartment kitchens in NJ on the 3 episodes we watched. OTOH, I'm a big fan of Holmes and have learned alot. When we were working on the dining room, which is a part of the kitchen, we had a Holmes moment. We had this funky ceiling register which we pulled off because we were taking the popcorn off the ceiling. Guess what? The duct was partially disconnected just like on Holmes. It was built that way 40 years ago. AND we knew how to fix it - *huffing on fingernails and polishing them on proverbial vest*. In addition, we've learned all kinds of stuff about houses in cold climates: ice dams, weeping tile, attached garages where venting really matters because the door is closed 95% of the time, frost lines that heave porch posts, all novel because we live in So. CA. Also tidbits like when a Canadian refers to "hydro," they mean their electric service.

Actually our neighbors could use some weeping tile. They have the misfortune of being at the bottom of our hill where the water from above us runs to our property and then down to theirs. We've spent a goodly amount of time and money trying to make sure our water runs off sideways to the easement road (driveway) instead of over the bank to the neighbors, but ultimately, they live at the bottom of a hill. I think they have a sump pump in their crawl space (no basements here!).

On Holmes you frequently see wiring nightmares. We were in Xian, China last spring and saw some outside wiring on apartment houses that put the worst of those to shame. Should have taken a picture, but if you hear about terrible house fires there, you'll know why. Forget a fire truck responding. These apartments were at least 400' down a narrow "street" from the nearest road even the smallest fire unit could get to. No fire hydrants, of course. There's a great deal to be said about having codes and actually enforcing them.

I feel like I have to keep watching to to see if one day there will actually be a space I like. I feel like it has to happen sometime, right?

linelle- that's what drives me crazy about house hunters as well. It is amazing how EVERYONE needs a house that is good for entertaining!

katsmah- cleaning of the countertop is exactly what I was thinking. All those nooks and crannies would just be an invitation for bacteria to breed. What a pain it will be to clean! No wonder nobody else has it.

Entertaining = code for something. Spaciousness? Popularity? Not sure, because often people are moving to a town or country where they don't even know anyone else. But they invariably say a certain space would be good for entertaining. (Unsubtle message to those watching the show: If you aren't entertaining or being entertained, you have no life. And maybe the reason you have no friends to entertain is that you bought a loser house with no entertainment spaces.)

And no good saying, that's a nice place for an easy chair. You must say you can see yourself sitting there, reading a book.

Who watches Kitchen Cousins for the kitchens??? ;-)

I am not a fan of the show. I think the shows on the DIY and HGTV networks have really gone downhill.
I still like Sweat Equity and I really miss Kitchen Renovations with Paul Ryan.

Clueless -- my thoughts exactly! Those boys could read the phone book and I'd watch them. Who cares how ugly someone else's kitchen is if it means watching them flex their muscles! ;)

I dont think there is much "reality" going on in reality shows--everything is staged. You can bet the homeowner in last night's Kitchen Cousins knew exactly what she was getting....change in cabinet color, "lace" countertop, etc...especially if she was paying for some if not all of it. I read that clients pay for everything on Candice Olsen's show.

A few years ago, neighbors of a friend were on the Sabrina Soto show where she prepared your house for sale (cant remember the name) and then you had an open house to see what people thought. Well, the "people" who came to the "open house" were actually crew and staff of the show! A friend of my son is a PA in Hollywood and basically said the same thing....everything is staged...like all those catfights on Real Housewives....it's a business--higher ratings = more $$.

I googled lace counter and didn't find anything but granite marketing names. I'd like to see it. A suggestion for search terms?

Yes, yes! On house hunters international...no matter where these people are looking, they need space for guests. I don't know about you, but we're not going to visit those folks in Nicaragua.

Oh and by the way, the best house hunters EVER was when the woman left her beautiful home in Melbourne, Australia to rent an "apartment" (read: hovel) with her new husband in Mumbai, India. Did anyone else see that one?

Rosie,

I don't know what the countertop material was. It looks like they picked it out a stone yard. i'm thinking maybe it was plain white quartz with the pattern made on it. Maybe you could try to go to the kitchen cousins webpage. They might have pictures from their episodes if you want to see what it looked like.

sounds like I'm really missing something by not watching the 'cousins' show - and I don't mean kitchen remodel either! lol! will have to make a point to watch it.

I feel the same about the HH recaps. good grief they think we're idiots. what a waste of time.

I don't watch many of the shows anymore. I like 'I want that' and the 'tool' shows. and Sarah R - just started watching her a few months back. Have seen a few and really like them - even if they are way outa price range for me.

I never knew regular people 'entertained' so much. When we used to 'entertain' we called it 'having friends over'. I never thought I had to 'entertain' them. They felt right at home. I'm not much into having people that I don't know very well over to the house.

first off, i like to say that i like the KC. both to look at and the show itself.

i really don't care about the layout, i just like to get ideas for things such as color and materials and to see the finished product.

although we are done with our kitchen, i still can't help looking at kitchens...hehe

i am not a fan of the colored cabinets, but i do like the italian wood cabinets they install. they did an episode where they redid their mother's kitchen and installed a stencil on the wall and i loved it. i am going to do that in my bathroom.

i agree with above poster that they do introduce new ideas. you might not like them, but they are interesting and its nice to see something different.

also agree that most are definitely staged. my god who would agree when someone says we are going to "surprise" you. you just have to take it with a grain of salt. it is tv after all.

i like when they sit to eat with their family, i think it brings a different aspect to the show and i don't know any other show that does that. i think its nice that they consult with their parents, to me its shows respect and in today's world thats really something to appreciate.

i don't agree with everything that they do, but i like their personalities and they way the show is presented.
they keep me watching.

property brothers: def staged, but it wuould take forever if they showed every aspect. and who really cares, you just want to see the end result anyway.

HH, my escape/my source of travel. not going anywhere soon, so i can dream at least!!! knock places off our list or add ones. cold where we live so right now would love to live in Belize..lol! don't really care about the places they buy, just love looking at the landscape...

i just veg in front of the tv and if i don't like what on hgtv, can always change to the other 500 channels....

What drives me crazy is not being able to decide which is cuter... honestly...

I googled lace counter and didn't find anything but granite marketing names. I'd like to see it. A suggestion for search terms?

It is Caesarstone lace;see link below.

They also have white and black crocodile.

I think they make you sign a waiver regarding stains.

Re Kichen Cousins.

I hate their obnoxious "splash of color" recommendations to every client. I have not seen one yet I like but have not seen every episode.

Here is a link that might be useful: LINK

Interesting that Caesarstone only shows the Lace and crocodile patterns on walls instead of counters.

That show is so staged. It is absolutely horrible, both the designs and the acting. Talented designers? Sorry, lets be honest: their designs are nothing that should have earned them a TV show. They were in the right place at the right time. Simple as that. I also think the shows on the DIY and HGTV networks have really gone downhill.