It would be awesome if they came up with a nice garden show! I loved the victory garden show.

I like their show. I like them. They're good people and very talented, in my mind. Their religious beliefs are no problem for me. But, I do have to say that lately, Chip's antics are starting to get on my nerves. Many times they're too loud (screaming, as a joke, for example) or just way too silly. But, I do enjoy them and their show. They are, along with Property Brothers, the only HGTV shows I watch these days.

HGTV seemed to move away from professional Interior Decorator shows to fixer uppers, flippers, etc. Another new show is starting called Home Again or something like that. Wish they would bring back Sarah Richardson for one. Loved her design.

At first I was kind of interested in the show, but it didn't take me long to get bored. Same thing over and over, and that look is really everywhere now. I don't have anything against them, other than I'm kind of sick of that look altogether. I also agree Rachel Ashwell did it first.

I don't want to be too hard on Chip~he seems like a good guy. I watch the show for the the transformation of the house which is chosen, and feel the emphasis should be on that part of the show, and not so much on Chip. Please HGTV, pull the reigns in on him. ;)

*reins*

I like the way they can transform some pretty dumpy houses and make them attractive.

I would like their ideas for transforming my house, but NO shiplap, open shelving, wide-open-to-the-living-area kitchen, or teeny tiny pots hanging on the wall with real plants in them. Other than that, I like what they do.

Agree with Em....thought the show was good in the beginning but what turned me off was that every finished room was in the same style and looked alike. I think they are talented and I wish I could put a room together like she does, but the farmhouse/rustic look show after show gets old.

I wish they would bring back Sarah and Tommy, and Candace as well as some of the true design shows from the late 90's, early 2000's.

I also miss the gardening shows..my favorite was A Gardener's Diary.. agree with all of you that Chip is too silly..and they have imitated Rachel Ashwell's look..they do seem like a nice family..

lol on "he's an idiot but he seems to own it". i agree that's important lol. that's already the third thread about them here? I remember one really long one..but I really loved reading the comments now

as for the show..i don't watch much HGTV since we don't have cable..only what they put on Netflix, and also just several of these. I don't know..they're nice couple and all but this show really makes me very sleepy somehow. I can't seem to sit through it. Very samey. I don't know why I'm able to watch some other(not really better) shows but this one is getting on my nerves in a very strange way..i'm not annoyed with them, it's just monotonous as hell. it's a bit like a tooth ache. when Chip ate some sort of a roach..yeah, that's where I kinda stopped forcing myself to watch. and i'm probably very egocentric person since I don't care at all about how things are going at Magnolia farm..

@aprilneverends, Have to admit I record the shows so I can watch the very beginning and fast forward to the end.

There are several Instagrammer's that mimic JoAnna's style to a "T". Altho, lovely and talented I have unfollowed most of them because all their images look alike. Summary of their signature color palettes: bright white, white, whitewashed, oatmeal, dark oatmeal, dirty oatmeal then black.

I haven't watched this one, but I'm sure it's no different from the rest. Each show has to create their own schtick, whether is be drama, silliness whatever.

It's when you can predict what will happen and what will be said, is whenI lose interest. They are all money makers in their own way, nothing to take too seriously.

I was just thinking last night that Chip is getting very obnoxious and annoying. Please don't take your shirt off! I also do not love the open concept. Who wants to see the mess in the kitchen from your living room?

I've seen a handful of the shows, and while I think Chip is okay I do not like Joanna. Even though everything seems to tuen out the same regardless of the style of house some things are pretty. I like color too much to not follow that ship though.

I also think about the Branch Davidians when I do watch so there's that. Especially since someone mentioned her faith up stream it makes sense.

I'm not a huge fan of the show. However, belittling their early work as "a silly little gift shop in some one-horse town" is harsh and unnecessary.

How can you be a decorator when you have NO sense of color? And why would anybody turn everything over to a person like that and have no input into how your home would look at the end? The rooms all look the same and of course, the clients are invariably just delighted with it all. Sure.

I find the decorating boring and all the same. Joanna seems to have run out of creative ideas.

I keep HGTV droning in the background while I work. Fixer Upper is the only show that catches my attention. Yesterday they had a show where they fixed up a Vietnam veteran's house with the help of a football player who has a foundation. They took the couples 800sf house and made it much more liveable and expanded it to 1200sf. It was a heartwarming show that brought me to tears. Oh, I just read that the wife died just a few months after the house was finished. Her husband said she was so happy to be able to live in the house of her dreams even if it was a short time.

Chips antics don't bother me, I think he's a sweet guy who loves his wife and children. Besides, I have a DH who can be pretty silly (but not spastic silly like Chip!) so I get it. I'm as far as you can get from Chip and Jo's personal beliefs but they don't talk about it on the show which is fine by me. I've never heard them say anything hateful like stuff you here on this board from people with the same beliefs as they have. Of course they don't want to be embroiled in any controversy that could topple their empire (think Paula Deen).

As far as Jo's style, I think it's evolved and I've seen some sophisticated, smart design a few times. Beside, I'm totally in to farmhouse style right now which is very apropos for Central Texas. It really does crack me up that people from all over the country decide to vacation in Waco because of the show. I would love to here them tell their friends about their vacation, "We went for a week and had nothing to do but visit the Silo shops everyday."

I watched this week's new episode last night and enjoyed it--they did a houseboat! It seemed to reflect the homeowner's requests very nicely.

Yesterday they had a show where they fixed up a Vietnam veteran's house with the help of a football player who has a foundation. They took the couples 800sf house and made it much more liveable and expanded it to 1200sf. It was a heartwarming show that brought me to tears. Oh, I just read that the wife died just a few months after the house was finished. Her husband said she was so happy to be able to live in the house of her dreams even if it was a short time.

Oh, I saw that one recently. And actually it made me very sad but for a different reason. The house in its "before" state reminded me very much of where my own dear grandparents spent their final years, right down to the pair of oversized and much-used recliners in the living room. When the reveal was done on the show, the wife's reaction was very hard to gauge. I did not think she looked thrilled with her "new" space; in fact, she looked quite lost and confused. I'm happy to hear that the husband reported that it was "the house of her dreams", because I was left feeling very uneasy after that episode. It felt as though the Fixer Upper folks had come in and taken away much of what was familiar and comfortable to an elderly woman, and that was heartbreaking to me.

I don't care for the show because of the atrocities they perpetrate on the structure of the nice old houses they redo, but there's no question that their influence is spreading far and wide.

You'll never make me believe, for instance, that the folks who just did this house in S FL weren't under their spell, from the wall words and odd shiplap overmantel to ripping out the front wall of the house to incorporate the porch into the main living space, and coincidentally guarantee a future of devastating electric bills and create a space that any fool could walk into any time of day or night at whim (even I figured out how to remove the glass from jalousies in about five minutes when I was seven and tired one day of sitting outside waiting for someone to come home and let me in).

http://www.estately.com/listings/info/601-s-palmway--1

But it shows beautifully if you don't stop and think.

Pattycakes,

After I saw the video, I thought she was 1) slightly whacky and 2) a follower of a type of religion that I find totally indefensible and distasteful and 3) wasting God's time if all she could think of when given the unfathomable gift of communication with God, was the fate of a silly little gift shop in some one-horse town.

In re my comments above, if you see the whole paragraph I was talking about her first venture, which she herself said was modest

But that is not the key point in any event.

I am not a regular churchgoer (heck I am not even an irregular churchgoer), but I do believe in God. To me it is downright blasphemous to suggest that God would advise her to close her gift shop because she was going to have bigger money-making opportunities.

I find that simply outrageous and hence used purposely provocative and dismissive terms to dismiss the idea.

I mean am I the only one who finds this insulting and absurd? It's like I could commune with God and asked him to help me pick a backsplash. I should hope that other things come to mind before my own narrow selfish material interests at such a moment.

Maybe this is just a type of religion I do not get.

Again, I do not think her religion is anyone's business and she should not be harangued for her beliefs; in my case it simply made me see her differently and like her less.

FWIW, if I were in the area I would def. go see Magnolia and even enjoy staying in one of the homes. She is not original, I think she is a kook, I hate her DH's krap, but I have always loved Shabby Chic and to me she is derivative of that.

Someone makes a good point above; what happened to professional designers (instead of just personalities), from whom we could truly learn? I'd like to give Pal a show.

You're not the only one who thinks that about her (and others') religion, Mtn. It demeans the humanity of every poor, disadvantaged person, plus all others who aren't financially "successful" to imply that god "speaks" to people about material success, thus favoring them. And implies that material success is "godly" and that god (should you believe in Her) cares about anyone's business, career, or similar. Unless, perhaps, you are running a charity that actually helps others.

When I hear those proclamations, I always picture children picking through a landfill/dump in India to simply try to survive. What is "god's" message to them? What is their "blessing"?

The Gaineses seem like nice people who work hard, so I don't begrudge them their success. I don't mind the show, but don't have tv, so can only see what is available on Netflix or Hulu. They are amiable with each other and kind to their children it seems. I've seen some great transformations of some pretty marginal properties; if people like that style, they do it well.

Mtn, I guess it was your inference of Waco being a 'one horse town' that bothered me. Waco is actually a city, so not a town to begin with, but small towns are scattered thruout Tx. She may not be unique, but I don't see a resemblance to RA shabby chic style, except in re:to the same materials being used over and over again. If RA were doing a tv show, I'm sure we would see that floral fabric/distressed white furniture used in every episode, just as we see the shipslap used continously.(FYI:RA has a B&B in Roundtop, Tx)I never watched the video but heard about it. Appropriate or not, and she may be sort of kook, but imo, she speaks from the heart and is passionate about her faith, as many Texans are.

Personally I like their show...I LOVE that style décor so it doesn't get old to me. Chip is goofy but that is what I like about him. They seem like a cute couple.

Sorry Patty! I don't know anything about Waco, and it was not really the focus of my ... disdain. It would be equally silly to me if it were the head of LVMH in Paris saying such a thing.

I think of RA as not just about white muslin and florals. I think of her as a pioneer in showing how imperfect things, things of humble beginnings, things that are worn and aged, things that were not intended as decor, can be beautiful. That to me was a true innovation and I see it in the work of most of mass market design. And in my house, too!

I've lived in South/Central Texas for 43 years. So since we are using time spent in a particular place as a qualifier, I'm especially suited to state that Waco is a city. A podunk city.

Off topic aside...

TBH, I wasn't even aware that there is a strict defn of a city or town. I was curious so I googled it, and it seems that it can vary by state and county, but that any community that provides its own services and governs itself is a city. I would never call where I live a city, though we fit that definition.

I like the show; like their sense of friendship with each other and enjoy the idea of making a beat up house something of value. It doesn't matter to me that she has a particular style for most, not all, of the homes because clearly her clients go to her for exactly that. Compared to most of the crap on TV, which is based on violence, sex or Simpsons-type comedy, I think their show is a relief.

Our wonderful kitchen cabinet installer mentioned he watches these types of shows. I saw a few Fixer Upper episodes and was impressed with the transformations and also realized how our home could use some improvements, not just the kitchen. I guess we had other things on our minds instead of making our home much nicer to be in.

Well, for me it's all been downhill since Lynette Jennings. :)

Imo, these two have potential. I do like eclecticism and breaking the box a bit. if only they hired professionals to vet their designs, though. I OD'd on wincing about what they did to some of those houses early on. Just too painful to continue.

Chip can be a goof ball, and if my husband did some of those things I would be really annoyed or grossed out. Fortunately I didn't marry Chip. So, I don't mind his antics. What I do find appealing is how they restore/update old homes and turn these homes into gems. I wouldn't necessarily decorate in Joanna's style. But, I do appreciate that she has a sense of style that she stays true to. And sometimes I have the show on because there is nothing else to watch on TV.

I enjoy the goofiness of Chip and Joanna, she loves him anyways! I can't handle the ones where people fight (the love it or list it? that lady is mean, even if its just on tv). Don't even get me started on the tiny houses show....the purchasers all run around saying how "cute" everything is, or they are stunned! that the homes are TINY. Duh! I'd love to see a show that featured all the different prefab options out there, just out of curiosity.

I subscribe to HGTV magazine and apparently there's a new show, Home Town, premiering March 14. Cute young couple fixing up houses in their small town (Laurel, MS) - wife is the artist/desgner, husband is the woodworker and together they run a little gift store when they aren't fixing up houses for everyone in town. It's like HGTV is blatantly ripping-off their own show.

H B - My DH and I roll our eyes at the Tiny house shows when the prospective buyer insists on a "full size" everything -- they want a full size fridge, a full size tub, a full size living room for entertaining. Hello? You're in 200 square feet! You barely have "full size" enough to turn around three times!

I know nothing about the Chip and Joanna show, but I do know plenty about "Tiny House Nation" and I would guess that all the shows on these home channels are just as bogus.

Someone sent me a link to the episode about looking for beach cottages in FL. The first one I'll come back to (the one they actually bought, supposedly), but the other "two" properties they looked at are actually two parts of the same property (cottage 3 was the detached garage of cottage 2 originally) and it has never been on the market since the current owners bought it a few years before the episode was filmed. And you couldn't separate the two if you wanted to sell them separately because historic district and no separate entrance to cottage 3.

They completely made the whole thing up, including pretending that they had to get in the car and drive when both those are only 15 feet apart. All they would have had to do was to turn the camera around when they were on the deck to see where they had been "yesterday".

I was just in those cottages last Jan. on a local tour and the owners expressed no interest whatever in selling. It's a great situation for them, actually. They wanted to get married but not live together, so they each have their own space together. The NYT did a story about their situation a couple of years ago, which I guess is where the show producers got the idea of contacting them.

Now, as for the first house, the house they "found" and bought after a realtor "showed it" to them--they'd actually had that custom built to order at least a year before the show was filmed. And the "realtor" who showed them all the houses was actually the guy who runs the company that built the house.

But yeah, they wandered around shrieking, "It's so small!" in the approved fashion.

I'm not a huge fan of the show but whenever I happen to turn on HGTV it seems like they're always running an episode of it. I liked it in the beginning but the pattern and style of Jo Gaines is getting kind of redundant and same old same old. The houses always look great after but I'm getting tired of all the shiplap lol! Anyway, Chip doesn't bother me too much..you need a little comic relief. Joanna seems a little flat personality wise. Someone else mentioned reading the article in CL about going to their little empire out there in Waco. I also read it. What blew me away the was the nightly rate to stay in their bed and breakfast..$995 per night? Wow..no thanks.

Beverly Hills

How
can you be a decorator when you have NO sense of color? And why would
anybody turn everything over to a person like that and have no input
into how your home would look at the end? The rooms all look the same
and of course, the clients are invariably just delighted with it all.
Sure.

__________________________________

I'm not sure Jo doesn't have a sense of color...it's just her style not to really use it.

The people that gravitate toward her look want that style, same difference as those that gravitate towards Mario Buatta who want color. chintz and layering.

thanks Chijim. I want Mario Buatta rooms now! :) from AD

Highly recommend his book

https://www.amazon.com/Mario-Buatta-American-Interior-Decoration/dp/0847840727/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487187583&sr=8-1&keywords=mario+buatta

This is the way I feel to a "T".

https://justmewith.com/2012/01/11/an-argument-against-the-open-floor-plan/

This is the way I feel to a "T".

Awesome..that was one of the funniest and most true articles I've ever read! I'm going to back to that blog. Looks like the writer has some other home dilemmas and how to deal with them.

My question has always been if you have a house with a living room, dining room, kitchen and 3 bedrooms -- it's a six room house. If you make that an open floor plan creating once space for the living room, dining room, kitchen is it now a 4 room house?

Martha

In my world houses are described by the BEDROOMS--so a three room house means three bedrooms. That would be true no matter what sort of floor plan you had.

He does annoy me no end to be honest. I can take or leave the show. But oh! how I wish they would bring back Sarah, Tommy and Candace. Now I loved their style.

"I mean am I the only one who finds this insulting and absurd? It's like I could commune with God and asked him to help me pick a backsplash."

FWIW, Mtn, agree with you 100%.

Despite Joanna's views God is not your life coach, decorator, contractor or financial advisor, period.

Joanna does a lot of open concepts and they look great on TV. I wonder, though, how functional they really are. Having kids watching TV while you and your friends are having a nice dinner all in the same room? I don't think so. You need some walls!! Most of homes that HGTV designs are really not for everyday living. Joanna and Chip are really cute, though.

arcy - not here -- they count all the rooms with the exception of baths. But it may be a six room house, 3 bed, 2 bath which would mean out of the six rooms three are bedrooms and there are 2 baths in that house in addition to the three other rooms.

interesting..here, in the listings "6 rooms" means living spaces- (for example) living, dining, family plus 3 bedrooms..kitchens and bathrooms are not included. but it goes in the detailed listing..the main description, the one that will pop in the search, will give you bedrooms and bathrooms amount only

by the way I forgot-is the powder room(2 pieces) considered half a bath or quarter a bath?

PS Sherry that article is too funny, and so very true

apriilneverends - here it is a half while a bath with shower only used to be called 3/4 but not sure if they still do that since so many master baths have only showers.

And we count kitchens but not baths although in the listing it would mention how many.