I really enjoy watching Sarah's shows but the one thing that annoys me is that with every single house she gets a little too budget frugal and wants to reuse things that she should know won't work; and it usually backfires, like the paneling. It often creates a lot of extra work, costs more in the end and surely drives the contractor a little batty.

I didn't see the wood floor part yet, I don't think...but that paneling episode, definitely made me want to throw something. I love the way the rooms are turning out though, (as usual) and I think it's cool how hubby has been involved as well.

I didn't understand the paneling part either. I get how they didn't have enough. But why didn't they use the old paneling in one or two rooms, and new paneling in one room.

I also thought the part about the septic tank was weird. A plastic septic tank stored under the deck? I would have liked an explanation. Is this just a storage tank that gets pumped? Clearly on that little island there is no room for a drain field. I hope they don't dump it in the water.

Oh, I thought the septic tank was just put there temporarily, ewe...the only option would be to towing to the mainland for pumping, ewe again! No, I'm sure it will be buried???

No, it's probably an above-ground septic system. I've not seen the show yet, but above ground systems are pretty common in areas where the land won't perk (like an island made of rock) or the septic field is played out and there isn't room for another. Some have a mounded leach field, some are just a holding tank that one has to have pumped periodically. For a vacation home it would not surprise me if they just had the tank and had the honey-pumper come periodically.

Actually, hiding it beneath a deck isn't a bad idea....

Yes! I absolutely wanted to throw something at the TV when they installed the floors (the 2nd time) before having the exterior completed / watertight and then again when she decided to paint over the 3rd installation. I also absolutely agree with barbcollins that they could have simply used the old paneling in one or two rooms and then used new paneling in the remaining rooms. Why wouldn't they measure and calculate before beginning to cut all of that old paneling?

In general I like her designs. Many of them would not be something I would want in my own home, but I do like to try to understand her style of mixing patterns and vintage and new furniture. Though I am also bothered by her "Oh this piece was only $X" when in actuality she paid $X + cost of having the piece sprayed and/or re-upholstered. I wish she would share those extra costs as I think it gives an unrealistic impression And I suspect in some of the cases it wasn't really the bargain we're led to believe when you compare the total cost with the cost to buy something new or even used that would not need to be refinished.

I agree with pricklypearcactus it would be good to have some idea of the costs of refinishing the pieces. I especially would love to know how much it costs to re-upholster the chairs. They always look great when they are finished, with interesting fabrics, and looking fresh and plump. But how much did refinishing and re-upholstery cost?

I like her end results most of the time. And I agree with all of you regarding the waste of time and money when her "frugal" ideas go south. The thing that got me was how nobody factored in that the NEW door from the MBR needed to clear the roof decking. I mean, the door was NEWLY INSTALLED. It's not like it had been there all along and they just had to work with it. I think sometimes she misses a few trees when taking in the whole forest.

I wasn't crazy about the red and white bedroom.

Yes!!,but then again I often think she is extravagant. I love to watch her. I love to LOOK at her rooms. I have yet to see one that actually looked like people could LIVE in it, however. I missed the paneling episode, I guess. It can't be any worse than ordering the wrong windows, or the par-cay floor episode on another house. Yes, she spends much much more on her custom refinished "deals" than anyone in their right mind would spend on used furniture. Her cottage will say anything but summer get away when she is done. I would love for her to have a set of twin ACTIVE normal rambunctious boys, and then see how her designs hold up. The unisex color scheme screamed GIRLS!! No, she is in la la land, but I still love to watch her do it!!

Ouch. You are so harsh to Sarah :) Granted it's been quite some time (year or 2 or more) since I saw those episodes of Sarah's Cottage so I may have a nostalgic haze, but I really like the way she approaches the reno process showing it warts, redos and all. And even though she clearly has more money then God (which makes the mistakes have little impact on her upbeat mood) I can appreciate it from the perspective that I often measure once and yell 'oh #@*#' twice.

I think in subsequent shows Sarah has made a bit more effort to reveal the rough cost of all her re-upholstry and spray coating tricks. After all she does it multiple times an episode, everyone must have questions. Posters on a local magazine decorating forum I frequent revealed the location of her redo houses and the names of some of her trades way back when, so regular joes could have peek and call for a quote. So doing what she does is no longer a big secret. I also think that she's right, designer quality chairs and solid wood built furniture pieces in boutique stores ARE more expensive then her customising processes.

I have also enjoyed Sarah's design escapades, and Tommy too. Why can't he be my BFF? I saw the paneling episode and like others, it left me wondering. :)

deborah - I love Tommy too! If he would move to Alabama I'd let him fix up the guest room however he likes it and come and go as he pleases, as long as he hangs out with me at least once a week.

Well, I don't fault Sarah for the door/roof deck thing... she probably thought they would just slap some wood down on the roof, she would not have known that they would have to put a 6 inch underlayment down. But the deck contractors should have caught that and warned her before they started.

This is the first time I have ever seen this show, and probably the last... it just didn't hold my interest. But I agree with the people who talk about not factoring in the cost of things... that's what I hate about those "design on a budget" shows... sure, you can re-do a whole room for $500 if your husband is a master carpenter and you are an upholsterer!!

When Sarah has had something spayed on her other show Design Inc, it was always about a $100. to have a dresser. etc sprayed and $15.for a kitchen cabinet door.

Granted, this was from a few yrs back, so I would imagine prices have risen since then.

girlville, you're right: I was a little harsh. I actually really like the show, both for her designs as well as her and Tommy's personalities. Everyone makes mistakes, and I suspect it really takes guts on her part to be willing to film those mistakes and share them with us on TV.

A bit of a hijack here but there is another HGTV show that drives me nuts-Income Property. Ok, so the premise is that people have a lousy/grubby/unusable rental space in their homes. The designer comes in and does MAJOR work, to the tune of often 20-40K in expenses.

Then, at the end of the show there is a little online note that says 'Homeowner rented the space for X per month, and now Homeowner's mortgage payment is Y (miniscule after subtracting rental income from mortgage).

But what about the cost of the renovation?!?!?!? If you spend $40K and then you rent out the space for, say, $1K monthly isn't it going to take almost 4 years just to recoup the cost of the work? What am I missing?

runninginplace: Yes! I have the same gripe about that show.

I think Sarah has some great ideas (I really liked the farmhouse remodel) but maybe it's because this is her house...she seems a little distracted about the choices. The windows, the flooring, the roof leaking, the paneling...I don't remember that many mistakes on any other remodeling projects.

Tommy is funny and I think the two of them click as BFFs and that makes the show more fun to watch. As the kids get older, Sarah's style may change, quite a bit :)

The farmhouse remodel was amazing. She does do some pretty creative things, some of them just don't seem very practical for the average budget. Tommy is fabulous and he brings out the best in her. When I saw Sarah's other shows, I felt she was pretty boring. She's a great designer, but it was obvious she had some trouble carrying the shows by herself and needed to pair up with someone. He was the perfect choice, a total hoot.

We have watched Income Property, too. They have some renovations that are only $10,000. I think these people are looking at it as a long-term investment, so they must be ok with it taking a long time to re-coup their money