I agree. I don't understand why people take a sledge hammer to perfectly good cabinets. Don't they know that it's not that hard to remove the cabinets from the wall? If someone has the money to change out cabinets because they don't like the color or style, fine, but don't destroy them in the process.

Is this as prevelent in real life as it is on the shows?

Unfortunately, I think it may be, and the reasons are varied (and not necessarily related to any TV show). First of all, it's true that when you sell a house, some might think updating the kitchen will help to sell it. And sometimes it might. But that depends on your buying audience. If you spend any time at all on the Kitchens forum here, you'll find that some people, kitchen people - we call ourselves TKO or totally kitchen obsessed - are very particular and discerning when it comes to kitchens. We want a certain style, a certain color, a certain flow, a certain feel... you get the drift. So, for me, if I found a great house that had a crappy kitchen, it would be a selling point because it's a blank canvas that I can go wild with. TKO ecstasy! OTOH, if I found a great house with a great new kitchen that met my specifications, I might keep it. But if I found a great house with a brand new "builder-grade" HD, big box kitchen with a crappy layout and cheap appliances - even if it was just finished yesterday - yeah, I'd tear it all out and start over.

I guess the lesson is, if you're remodeling your kitchen just to sell your house, be very careful not to go overboard, and consider just doing minor cosmetic things. And certainly, if you buy a place with a new kitchen that you plan to remodel, sell or donate the cabinets and appliances if they're in good condition. That's what we did here 3 years ago when we bought and remodeled.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens

When a friend of ours was remodeling her kitchen, my hubby volunteered to take out her cupboards and countertop and brought them back to our gardening shed where the sink, countertop and cabinets are serving us very well.

I hate to see the waste that some of these shows show. When I see someone taking a sledgehammer to cabinets that could be donated to others if not sold, I shudder.

Ijust wish HGTV wasa little more responcible about encouraging people to donate the old before implementing the new. But sledgehammers make good TV I guess. Honestly, I got sucked into the personalizing of the house too until the economy dropped out beneth my feet. NowI am a little more aware of how wasteful this is. Too see a woman walk into a newly customized kitchen with lots of upgrades wrinkle her nose at the wood color or the granite color is no longer entertaining.

I have to say I have a lot of sense, but not a lot of money and I would LOVE to rip the kitchen in our brand NEW house as it is very poorly laid out and have very little usable storage. The cabinet quality is also sub-par, however it looks really good and everybody always says it looks so good and can't understand why I hate it. We did what we could when we bought it and paid the builder close to $2000 to switch some cabinets and add some deeper cabinets in a few spots so at least there were some place between the sink and cooktop to prep food (that area was all blocked with an appliance garage) and some useful storage above the fridge.

I absolutely HATE the kitchen, but I make do until I can afford to change it. I wish I had the money to change it now and I would. However I would recycle the materials. I would re-use the countertops where possible and use the cabinets in the garage.

I have to say I have a lot of sense, but not a lot of money and I would LOVE to rip the kitchen in our brand NEW house as it is very poorly laid out and have very little usable storage. The cabinet quality is also sub-par, however it looks really good and everybody always says it looks so good and can't understand why I hate it. We did what we could when we bought it and paid the builder close to $2000 to switch some cabinets and add some deeper cabinets in a few spots so at least there were some place between the sink and cooktop to prep food (that area was all blocked with an appliance garage) and some useful storage above the fridge.

I absolutely HATE the kitchen, but I make do until I can afford to change it. I wish I had the money to change it now and I would. However I would recycle the materials. I would re-use the countertops where possible and use the cabinets in the garage.

In our area almost *all* of the cabinets are built on-site. That means there is really no removing them, as they're built to the wall via stiles stapled to the studs, etc. If you've ever tried to remove this kind of cabinetry intact, you'd know that a sledgehammer is truly the only way to go. They cannot be taken down and re-used, as they are not free-standing boxes that are just hung on the wall.

Just a little aside.....

Here's one for recycling! In our previous home, we remodeled our kitchen about a year before we sold. We had carefully removed the old cabinets (which didn't have backs) and used them in the garage. When we moved to our current home, we took those cabinets with us, and put them in the workroom (where there were old cabinets from a kitchen redo from about 1975). When we redid that kitchen, we also kept those cabinets and put most in the garage, and some in the adjoining workroom. (Not all survived being pulled off the wall; once again, no backs.) So we have three sets of recycled cabinets which work perfectly fine for our purposes. Almost nothing in the landfill, and didn't have to buy cabinets for those spaces.

That's a good idea. The funny part is, I want to do the kitchen before I do the garage, so if I tear out the old cabinets, where do I put them? I currently only have a teeny leaky old one car garage. So do I build a new garage before I redo the 40 yo almost completely vintage kitchen? No way, the cars don't get a nicer place to live than I do...

Ah, I can dream.

To stay on topic, I paid a contractor 300 to haul away the old bricks from our walkway. Later that week I learned that I could have posted them on Freecycle.

What HGTV needs to do is have a show about how people can re-use what other people discard. Had I known there were people out there who would take the bricks, I totally would have gone that way...

What HGTV needs to do is have a show about how people can re-use what other people discard.

That's a great idea. I know that HGTV had/has a show about "green" decorating and remodeling. On the only episode I saw, they were tearing out old flooring to replace with "green" flooring (bamboo or something similar). It made no sense to me to toss perfectly serviceable flooring. Just like it doesn't make a person "green" to buy several pair of organic cotton jeans or any of the other products using "green" as a marketing tool.

I post on other forums and lurk here.

More than likely if you look at who sponsors these shows, it is the big box stores.

Their marketing strategy is to get people to think they need the newest thing hoping people will buy their kitchen cabinets and appliances from them.

My biggest pet peeve are the shows Sweat Equity and My House is Worth What? .

Amy Matthews of Sweat Equity actually stated neutral colors and recessed lights add equity. Your house may sell faster with these things but I do not think a bank appraiser will add on very much for a neutral wall.

You can only imagine how I feel during a real estate show when the camera first pans the kitchen and I say to DH..."Oh, I like that kitchen!" and THEN the real estate agent says "Ew, this kitchen needs to be updated before we can list it." DUH!

It is hgTV. The sun always shines on TV.

Meanwhile in reality, people can't do that anymore because we all don't save money and credit is getting tight and energy costs are going through the roof. I anticipate quite a few bankruptcies of expensive remodel shops.

"lsst" hit the nail on the head.

If the shows don't move product for the sponsors (the big box stores), then HGTV will lose the sponsor dollars.

It's their marketing strategy to get you to BUY STUFF, whether you're moving out of your house, or moving into a "new" one.

Do people really buy anything of "quality" from the big box stores?

The shows on HGTV are just infomercials for their sponsors.

Yea, I too hate all the waste. We try to recycle everything. I like the Habitat for Humanity stores where people can purchase donated goods for very little money.

I personally would not buy a home with an "updated" kitchen that was extremely not to my taste - I just would not feel justified to tear it out. I would much rather find one that desperately NEEDED to be ripped out and do it the way I like.

I really, really hate "My House is Worth WHAT." It's not worth ANYTHING until someone actually buys it - lol!

I understand the rant. But the show ("moving up") that inspired the rant is on TLC, not HGTV. I think TLC showcases its big box sponsors even more than does HGTV. So I hope TLC will get equal time on the rant :). I hate the waste, too.

But also recall that the premise of "Moving Up" and the flipping shows is base on people doing major renovations on a newly purchased home. I assume the producers of "Moving Up" spefically seek buyers who have markedly different design styles or lifestyles compared to the home seller, who loved the home as is. The buyers must also have the money and gumption to renovate or redocorate significantly so the old owners can be astounded by the changes.

I also dislike "My House is Worth WHAT." Not only don't they have a buyer, the show never subtracts selling costs from the so called "profit."

Just the other day there was a million-dollar home on '...worth what' that had a stunning kitchen, and the RE 'expert' said the guy shd rip out the countertops and replace them because they're granite, and 'today, it's all about manufactured materials.'

Oh brother.

It just goes to show--never put anything 'trendy' in your house, as next week it'll make the house 'dated.' (harvest gold fridge, anyone?)

There was one not too long ago on "MHIWW?" where the guy had a BEAUTIFUL kitchen with carrara marble countertops and they told him that it was a strike against it because marble wasn't "practical" for a kitchen.

I dare them to go over the kitchen forum and say that....LOL

gypsyrose - Must be nice to have so many choices that you can just go and find the right location with a kitchen that needs to be re-done and everything else in the house fit with your requirements. I'd rather get the location and the majority of things I want that are hard to change and then change things that are easy to do as I feel I can justify replacing them. There is always use for them elsewhere.

Actually, in the area I am looking I DO have a lot of choices. It's the first time ever I will have had so many choices, and it's really nice for change.

What I am waiting to see on these shows is a homeowner or prospective buyer that talks back to or contradicts these pushy hosts. Don't try to tell me that marble isn't practical or that I should rip out perfectly good granite and replace it with Formica or Corian or concrete or something. Or that electric stoves are better than gas.

And that show Designed to Sell (I think that's the one), where they make these quick fixes, and then bring in buyers who all ooh and aah over the "beauty" and "style" and all say they'd buy it in a minute. Well, where are the people like me, who'd look at the light fixture they installed that didn't even cover up the hole in the ceiling (really - they did this), and say something about it? Where are the ones who say, "yuck - this isn't my style at all - what ugly colors" or "I can see you painted over the wallpaper here". I've even seen them PAINT THE GRASS outside. Gee.

I'm sure they conveniently edit out the intelligent, informed buyers that walk through. It might be more entertaining if they didn't. Let me at em.... too bad I'm not in CA. What fun it would be to go to one of those open houses.

jenswrens said,

I'm sure they conveniently edit out the intelligent, informed buyers that walk through.

I think you're being waaay too generous, assuming that these "open houses" are real, advertised open houses attended by people who haven't been recruited and carefully coached by the show.

There is a poster here, bethesdamadman, whose house was actually on Designed to Sell. I know that his house did not sell right after the show.

Take a close look at the people who go through the open house on Designed To Sell. Most of them are relatives-you'll realize how much they resemble the homeowners once you start looking. One of those "how did I not notice!" things...

"I've even seen them PAINT THE GRASS outside. Gee."

LOL... I saw that episode of 'Designed to Sell' as well. My mouth dropped open and I cant believe they comfortably suggest spray painting dead grass to maketheyard look healthy. Replacing a yard is EXPENSIVE and I wonder if a buyer moves in, the rain comes and washes away all the spray paint to reveal a dead lot...couldnt the seller be in trouble for non-disclosure or something??

I just can’t watch Property Brothers anymore. Can’t stand to watch them destroy perfectly good reusable cabinets! I guess they have never heard of Habitat for Humanity!!

We talk about that all the time. It's so refreshing when we see a show - currently I think Bargain Mansions may be one that does it - where people say, "Oh, this needs replaced/doesn't fit the design, but it's in good shape so we'll use it on another project." Very few do. We're about to redo our cabinets and hope to save some. They are solid oak and the boxes are SOLID...but they were built in place, have no backs and are nailed to the walls with really big, long nails. As we discovered taking out a vanity, you are unlikely to move them without a sledge and pry bar.

I'm all about NOT destroying good things and giving them to someone who needs an update but can't afford it... so stop sleddhammering good stuff please

Home Town remodeling show puts the usable things out front at the house they are re doing. They are free for the taking, and I guess the community likes it. The host is a carpenter, and he often re uses wood from the house, or will turn a bank of cabinets into an island base in the kitchen. I like that.

@sheilajoyce_gw - Home Town is the only show I really like on HGTV now. They do very thoughtful remodeling. Their kitchens are individually designed and not masses of white cabinets from house to house with no particular design like the other shows. The renovations take the buyers personality into account. I think the show is one of the best that HGTV has put together. I would be disappointed to find out if it was fake like the other shows.

I was just watching Property Brothers-Uplift & Electrify 4/18/18

I couldn't believe they totally destroyed a beauty kitchen that could have been donated to Habitat for Humanity or put out on the sidewalk with FREE on it so someone could use them. That was such a waste and not everybody has a lot of money.

Yes, was upset to see numerous home shows destroying perfectly good cabinets some looking like new when could be donated to Habitat for Humanity. What a waste, guess they make too much money😏

That’s why I like Rehab Addict & Restoring Galveston. They don’t throw away anything that can be repurpose!

I am starting to hate the Property Brother.s. I just saw them rip our a perfectly good granite counter and smash it on the floor. It was the wrong colour and wasn't worth saving. How entitled are they? Our poor planet. The wealthier people become the farther they are removed from those who have nothing and from caring about 'our' planet.

Alot of shows on HGTV could donate a lot more than what they do. From the Property Brothers to Hometown they just start smashing things out. From kitchen cabinets, countertops, hardware, to bathroom vanities...the list goes on and on. Many people could use those items. People who can't afford to be on television or can't afford to do a complete remodel would love to have many of the items that always go into the dumpsters and landfills. How wasteful!

Here's one of two walls of kitchen cabinets now awaiting Mr. Komatsu.

Habitat for Humanity used to take discards. Now, too--as long as you dismantle them and bring them to their store.

If you try to sell cabinets from an empty house, expect a "buyer" to do some midnight shopping. Beats bargaining!

Give them away and you risk a suit if the recipient hurts themselves dismantling them.

I did like Flipping Vegas. The same staged routine each show. But I was always impressed by Amie's design ideas for the dumps they flipped.