on the whole i do not watch them either. the one i do watch is often this old house. that show taught me all the work arounds that we used when we worked on our homes. that is what i always found valuable about the show. even better is their newer ask this old house.

Awhile ago I watched several episodes of a British series where obsessive-compulsives tried to bring back ruins of castles and manors back to life, mostly going through their life savings to do so, with mixed success. These were on YouTube. Interesting, but somewhat sad on several levels.

I did like This Old House, there was something more real about it than many of the offerings out there now. But yes, beyond the budgets of most. But what I liked is they actually showed you how they fixed many of the things in those houses.

This Old House educates us, and not just if we have old houses. Grand Design is just fun, but it's fascinating, the ideas people come up with. And their patience.

I'll put a plug in for the Irish series 'Room To Improve' with architect Dermot Bannon. I also enjoyed most of 'Rehab Addict' with Nicole Curtis.

look on utube, find the great interior design challenge for bbc. i love anyone who thinks they could do interior design competes on all styles of homes to win.

I love This Old House too. I learn a lot about the nuts and bolts of construction/renovation and old house-specific issues, even though not all of their renovations are historically appropriate. I'm sure I'll never have the money to renovate my old Victorian the way they do, but I get a lot of inspiration and sometimes learn what NOT to do as well. Way more interesting than any of the HGTV flipper shows.

We too used to watch Bob et. al. I remember they did have budgets and it was a huge issue how often they went over. Home owners were not at all happy. I think we jumped to HGTV because #1 we got cable so we could and #2 it was all as stated above faster/glitzier...in those first years we didn't get the insane advertising commercial vibe they have today. As years passed we were more likely to sit for the companion show where they show how to fix things. I all these shows cater to the young with dreams of their own castle in mind. Once you age and reality HITS you move on. Some dreams never to come true. LOL

From the This Old House website - 'The renovations are completely funded by the homeowners and not by This
Old House, though the show arranges for product discounts and donations
where possible. All donated items are considered gifts and the
homeowners pay taxes on them."

https://www.thisoldhouse.com/tv-faq

I like Restored on DIY. The budgets seem to be somewhat more realistic, although I don’t live in California so could be wrong. I also like that he restores each house to its true style. The fixer upper houses all look pretty similar, whereas this show has many different styles to see and learn about.

I remember watching This Old House back in the 80's or so and they were doing The Weatherbee Farm somewhere in Massachusetts. The costs kept adding up and in the end the homeowner regretted having them remodel his home. At the time he had spent way more than he could afford.

Forgot to mention - Vintage Flip, is enjoyable, altho' I think there are only two seasons. Surprisingly small budgets, insofar as they are set in CA. But they do respect the style of the home and try to restore as much as possible.

I think Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis accomplishes renovations with cost and while maintaining the integrity of the old home. I used to see her show on HGTV but it isn’t shown there anymore, just DIY which I don’t get. Why HGTV doesn’t air her shows as opposed to Hours and hours of House Hunters or Flip and Flop reruns, is beyond me.

I rarely watch This Old House, but I subscribe to the magazine. I don't have an old house, but I do like the stuff they do.

Recent visited New Orleans after not having been there 20 yrs - without getting into a long debate on the pros and cons of gentrification some of the rehabs were just amazingly well done and considering the degree of deterioration Im sure a lot of those budgets were at least that of "this old house" and then some. I feel if rich people want to spend their money on something then let it be a "labor of love" type of old house restoration - something that we all can enjoy even if we cant live there. Architectural design is a business and a commodity.... but its also an art, and preserving our collective cultural heritage is in everyone's interest I think. So Im fine with anything that promotes that idea

I have an old house and used to love This Old House. Once they started ripping out original features instead of rehabbing them, I quit watching. They have long since quit most restoration and even built a new "old" house. I am sure that they know who watches their show and have adjusted their show to accommodate that audience.

I agree about Rehab Addict. I don't get DIY and miss her program. She is clearly at the other end of the rip out/leave in place debate.

My SIL was the architect for a TOH project. She said the show is as staged as an HGTV show. It's just less hokey.

There actually used to be programs that were more realistic in HGTV. I used to like "design on a dime" which took designer inspiration looks and showed how to recreate them on a budget. Some of the featured designers were better than others though.

Holmes on homes used to get my eye rolls. Great guy and knowledgeable but if a homeowner had a poorly installed kitchen counter (for example) it meant Holmes had to practically rebuild the whole house, even the pergola in the back yard.

i only miss Sara.

I don't have cable, but caught HGTV in a hotel last weekend. I don't know what show it was, as I didn't watch the whole thing. But the couple bought the house for $99,000, and had $71,000 to fix it up. This was spent on a gut remodel of the kitchen, some upgrades to the master bedroom, and paint everywhere. Never was there any mention of the bathrooms, or any other rooms. I expect for $99,000, the bathrooms needed a bit of work, but that wasn't included in their "budget." Riiight.

pink, you made me remember "Design on a Dime" and that was a fun show, and also inspirational. Practical and yet entertaining shows like that just don't exist any more, more's the pity. Another one with an interesting premise was the one where a designer (older, and with a British accent) would work with a different couple where he and she have very differing ideas of how to decorate their room, and he would come up with a design they could both be happy with. That again would be interesting to resurrect, since I'm sure that is still a very common real-life scenario.