I like HHI, too. Not because of the formula, but seeing the variety of properties!

The show I've seen that, somewhat, considers the home owner's taste is Sabrina Soto's High/Low Project. Still mostly contemporary, though, and they're recently turned into a Target commercial. That was off-putting.

Funny story. The kids saw a commercial for Renovation Raiders and their first reaction was "mommy wouldn't like it if we did that." They know their momma, never take design decisions away from me!

I miss Matt and Sherry, Decorating Cents, Lynette Jennings, etc. Practical upgrades, furniture placement, and addressing design dilemmasâ¦things most people can use.

I think part of the problem is the availability of items. Homes are decorated with what's trendy because those are the items that are easily available, and these shows have time limits.

And, like others said-- it's what sells.

Yes, I agree the woman on the Toronto version of Love It or List It does seem not so nice!! And I actually feel that she and the man on the show really don't like each other - they don't just lightly tease, they taunt like they mean it. Makes me uncomfortable!!

Ha ha about the "open concept" being used too much on those particular shows!! I also consciously have been thinking that I too will scream if I hear that expression one more time.

This post was edited by Scarlett001 on Wed, Nov 6, 13 at 10:34

It's all very formulaic and slipshod. I don't even enjoy HHI anymore because you have to endure the repetition and recap after every freaking commercial. All you have to do is tune in for the last 5 minutes and you get the whole show.

I would rather watch This Old House where I can actually learn something and not have to endure such fakeness.

I loved HGTV when it had real decorating, gardening and craft shows. Now that it has become all about drama, races and contests, I never bother to watch. I still enjoy House Hunters International when it is based in Europe or Asia because I enjoy seeing the properties.

Even Sarah Richardson was forced into the formula of look at three houses, buy one, reveal one room's makeover with her newest show, Real Potential. There was almost no design/decorating information provided during the show. I was so disappointed.

My guess is that HGTV gets a lot of promoted goods donated to the show and that is why there is so little variation in style from show to show. Some of the items that they use are clearly new and not likely to become classic. It is a way for the donor/vendor to advertise their goods to a wide range of viewers.

The early shows were really helpful, not necessarily based upon the fixtures and furniture, but instead on space planning, color inspirations, and problem solving.
Too bad they went so commercial.
Diane

Even though I know it's totally fake/staged/whatever, I've been watching a lot of Love It or List It lately. I do think it's fun, but I *totally* agree that I'm over "open concept." It also kills me when they take out amazing century-old details and put in transitional big-box stuff. Hilary once ripped out amazing original stained wood built ins & a brick FP in a MBR and replaced them with white Ikea bookcases and an ugly modern gas insert. I was so mad! LOL.

Even Sarah R rips out original FPs and details to contemporize a house. But I think that's less about selling and more about her design preferences, and at least she takes the original stuff to salvage where appropriate.

This post was edited by StellaMarie on Wed, Nov 6, 13 at 13:05

I nodded my head the whole way through this thread. Another over-used term that I'm sick of hearing -- "pop". (As in "This color will make the room pop!"). Maybe I don't want "pop", maybe I want a good old-fashioned "Come on in, sit down and get cozy, dahrlin', while I bring you some iced tea..."

I agree about the boring style uniformity. It's surprising how many people enjoy House Hunters -- that show in any iteration puts me to sleep. Time to put that show out to pasture! Property Brothers is more interesting, IMO, because they sometimes imaginatively transform rather pedestrian spaces. I used to like "Hidden Potential" for the same reason. Is that show still on?

I hate "Love It or List It" for all the reasons already mentioned: both of the hosts come across as nasty jerks, the premise is not practical and usually the homeowners come across as griping, negative PIA's, as well. I refuse to watch it anymore.

I do like Property Brothers and Income Property but agree that the same old design schemes and colors schemes are getting boring.
Lynn

I always liked "Design on a Dime". They had a segment where they took the things the homeowner had and rearranged the room for a different look. I agree about the programs where they update a room while the homeowners are gone out to dinner....Gee...5 hours to redo a kitchen....I can't even see paint drying in that length of time.

I agree Scarlett001. What bothers me most is they don't pay homage to the older homes when redoing the kitchens, bathrooms or other built ins. It's all so sterile.

We NEVER watch HGTV or any of the so-called décor shows because the décor is ALWAYS the same -- modern ....(as wisely noted above) without ANY references to ANY other types of décor.

DH and I loved the early shows -- both the décor and the gardening shows ...

And yes -- nowadays both the TV shows (and many of the home blogs around the Web) are just there to SELL .... and SELL!!!!

Honestly those shows and most of the House/Home décor Blogs are more Info-mercials (commericals that APPEAR to be informative) that anything else!!!!

(what!!!! "YOUR décor is SO dated" "Home Depot?Lowes/etc. KINDLY gave us this stuff -- BUT we REALLY tell the honest-for-goodness truth (LOL!) about the FREE products) (OH They JUST hired us to SELL their new stuff -- We are SO surprised!!!) (OH, we'll just feature THIS product -- but we just LOVE it -- have you bought our book yet?????)(WHAT!!!! You STILL HAVE the SAME stuff ??????)

I enjoyed the show where Sarah Richardson "bought" a fixer and the season was spent redoing. Each episode was a different room. I loved how she out things together, her choice of colors, etc.....even though most of us can't spend $50,000 or more per room!

What I am tired of is that these shows make me feel like my only option in redecorating is to rip everything out and start again. I know my decorating is always a work in progress. I watched so much HGTV that I began to feel that my decorating style was inadequate.
And I feel that these programs show us 'before' rooms at their worst, sometimes even looking staged to appear worse.
I guess the biggest thing I've learned from these makeovers is that they are actually 'staging' a room as any professional stager would to sell a property and not to live in in real life.
I have been enjoying Rehab Addict. At least she gives me ideas on how to improve on existing conditions rather than ripping everything out. Since when has everything become so disposable anyway? I can't find any quality, affordable furniture except at antique or second hand shops. And learning how to rehab them to fit into my home is my way of getting something that all my friends haven't see at my local HomeGoods or PierOne or Ikea. Granted, I have my ikea finds that have fit well into some of my decorating situations; curtains, coffee table -which IMO should be disposable. Why else would I want to put my feet and a plate of hot nachos on it? -not at the same time:)
~diane

enjoy income property and property brothers....

any 3 of those guys can come to design my 'space'

call me bros!

;p

Ok guys, I had some cleaning to do tonight - so I put on a few of these shows while I cleaned. I watched several shows (Candace Tells All, Love It or List It) and *every* room that was transformed on both shows ended up blue/silver/grey/white. Every room.

Candace took a room that had warmer colours (apricots/rusts/wood, kind of like my current colour scheme I am sorting through) but needed more finesse, and she not only gave it more finesse but of course did it in - drum roll please- light blue/grey/white - it was pretty but very repetitive. Sigh.

And I do agree with the person above who said that these shows do act as if the solution to every problem is to rip out everything and pay tens of thousands of dollars. What about if I don't have the money to change all of the oak trim in my house - how can I find colours to "work" with what I have to keep - every change I see does involve a total gutting of the space - not just interior design but massive renos at every stage. Crazy.

p.s. I still have these tv shows on behind me as I type this, and I just heard the phrase "open concept" used 3 times in about 30 seconds!! ;) :D

What is funny is that they actually created a Love it or List it, Too. I mean seriously! That one is worse than the first. They even have the same exact formula and the realtor tries to imitate the realtor on the original show.

I think one show where you can see some variation in style due to what the homeowners like is Dear Genevieve. She does things that are different from show to show. Some of it I love and some of it I shake my head but at least she is not following the same formula.

I have to admit I LOVE Doug Wilson. He had a show called Moving Up where he was just hysterical. I just would not want him to decorate my home. But, I would enjoy his company.

Oh and the Income Property guy can come to my house ANYTIME! For one, he seems very talented and I would 100% trust him in the work he does. And two, he is very cute! I always laugh at the end of the show when the women hug him a little too tightly! I know I would.

I thought so, so I just checked. Both Lynette Jennings and Christopher Lowell were on the Discovery Channel, not HGTV, so perhaps we're blaming the wrong folks.

Some PBS stations have a "Create Channel" which is mostly cooking. I did try to stomach "Katy Brown Workshop" for awhile which is a show that includes some design, craft and cooking, but everything she did looked like a craft project as opposed to the really professional stuff that Lynette and Christopher did. I know Christopher would come back in a heartbeat ... I just wish someone at HGTV would wise up and let him.

I don't watch any of those shows, but I know what you mean. Nine years ago, when we were planning our house, I spoke with two kitchen designers at a huge store that is no longer in business.They kept saying, "Oh, you want this," indicating something I did not care for at all. "And why do I want this?" "Because that is what everyone is doing right now" and because "That's what's featured in all the design magazines right now." Okay, then, adios. If they could have convinced me based on longevity, value, aesthetics, practicality, originality, or even how an item worked with my overall plan and concerns, I would have reconsidered. Appealing to herd mentality wasn't going to do it.

We can relate to Property Brothers in that every home that has everything we like is ~$1million, so that has at least got us thinking about the potential. We also liked Hidden Potential but I don't think that show is on anymore.

I like HHI because I do like to see how people in other countries live. The coolest one I saw recently was Katmandu/Nepal. Of course, there is often some spoiled American who wants American amenities in a rustic, centuries-old, remote countryside home.

Christopher had a new show a few years ago, but it's formula was boring. They DID usually address a design problem and how to solve it, though.

I'd forgotten about Genevieve's show. I like that one, but she keeps using concrete tiles and wedding blankets fromâ¦the Middle Eastern culture, I think? I kind of rolled my eyes when she put a blanket in a bathroom. You love those things Gen, I get it! I usually really like how she works with the style of the house, owners, and her own aesthetic.

Discovery Channel and TLC, two more who have sunk to new lows in programming.

I watched Nate Berkus for awhile, and he had some interesting things on, but for the most part, his makeovers embodied the worst of all the latest trends, IMO, chock full of product placement, and his DIY segments were so rushed that most guests never got a chance to even finish their project let alone really explain well how to do it. So those became almost useless.

My intro to these darn shows was Christopher. And he did have some very good lessons on decor.

Trading spaces became such a joke, the one thing that always bugged me was their building furniture from plywood and believing we had no clue.

As a once free lance magazine artist (scale historic recreations), I know how much time and research goes into creating a process that someone "just may" want to recreate. One can't just do anything, the resources have to be available, the skill set of the reader taken into account and current interests. This takes great deal of creativity away from the artist. I lost interest in this for the reasons we dislike these shows. You can't just do it, there is a leash attached.

Now with so many bloggers, I give them a great deal of credit. They are posting projects which require knowing their audience, supplies available, skill sets, latest/greatest in interest and decor. Although I do think they are now driving trends as the design shows are/were "attempting" to do. The design shows could learn a great deal from them, too bad some of them haven't been harvested for their own show.

Bloggers were my favorite on Nate's show. The show itself took his creativity away with non decor guests...my take. Although his Target line doesn't appeal personally. Just read that he is hosting a new show called Dream Builders on NBC. Hopefully they will stay true to his direction. The audience gets to vote on results.

And don't get me started with "Design Star". Where do they get these people? I think they should opt for our posters here who have given so much to us through their knowledge and talent.

If I remember correctly most of us on this forum are older. Not all, but most. I think that may be why we don't care for the shows on HGTV. We're past buying something because it's the latest trend or everyone else is doing it stage of our lives therefore those type of shows no longer appeal to us. In fact many of us may have never been there as most seem to be truly passionate about their homes being fit for their lifestyle.

Gottabeme....I like this quote from Nate. It is why I felt his talent was not used well. âÂÂOur houses represent who we are, who weâÂÂve loved, how weâÂÂve spent our afternoons, and who weâÂÂve spent them with,â Berkus says.

Yes, am old too. And stuck in what is my comfort zone. But sometimes my comfort zone shows up for adding a bit of new. I probably won't change much, but once in a while I still enjoy the craziness of these shows. And you may be right on regarding the target audiences vs "us".

As crazy as this sounds my son and I love to watch Design Star and House Hunters together - also Property Virgin. Not sure what originally got him into it, as he is usually all about sports, but it has been a great way for us to spend some time together and has sparked a lot of great conversations about goals, finances, how mortgages work, etc. A couple of years ago he decided he wanted to redo his room so he and I talked about some of the things we had learned about space planning, color, storage, accessories. We had a great time doing it together and he got a tremendous sense of accomplishment after finishing.

I do miss the older shows that didn't just toss everything, but tried to work with what was there and keep the budget down. Trading Spaces was hysterical, and sometimes had some great ideas, especially for DIY artwork, but it began to feel like they were just going for the shock factor after a while.

I am enjoying the show where they go back and visit people who renovated their basement apartments to see how it worked out for them. Income Property?? Cash in the Basement?? Something lie that.

Just, how old is old? I'm 40, but I've loved antique and vintage furniture as long as I can remember! I was very upset when I was 10 and my mom didn't let me get a particular antique bed (said it reminded her of a hospital bed). I ended up with a new, white, Scandinavian set which I always thought was very cold. Eventually my sister got my set and I got a nice old mahogany bed and old quilt. Sigh of relief for me!

technicolor, that's a wonderful quote. Too bad he didn't stick to his true feelings and push the issue when he did the show. I can't say that I really watched it. I think I got a glance of it once or watched a clip on Youtube as I have a vague recollection of seeing him on TV/video.
I'm very eclectic my nature. I love so many things, which yes, sometimes includes trends. Most often they have a background in the past though. Like the damask styled prints that I'll be doing my drawing room in.
Anele, though you are not "old" you are older than what I feel the shows on HGTV are aimed toward. I'm thinking 20 and 30 somethings. As I mentioned, I thought that many of us have never been there, meaning we've never followed the trends for the sake of the trend.

Even with the shows that have had better design, after a few shows you "got' their design viewpoint and it wasn't worth watching after that. I like Candice but after a few shows it was enough. I liked Debbie whatshername as well -- she did a few more styles than most.

I did like Income Property, especially as we were considering buying rentals. He seemed to be setting a good example on how not be a slumlord, and I like how some shows don't sugarcoat the surprises that will always come up and blow a budget, forcing a compromise.

lol at the aktillery's comment about the hugs -- between Scott and the Kitchen cousins, there is a lot of excess flirting and hugging going on. I nearly spit out my beverage when I first saw HGTV's promos that focused on the (male) hosts rather than what the shows were actually about.

Property Brothers especially is very repetitive with the story line and with the look of their rooms. Why is it they can always get the house for exactly the amount he suggests? Never a bit more or a bit less. It might be best enjoyed with the sound off.

I hate the faux animosity in Love it or List it, but it is the only show where the dollar amounts seem realistic. Recently I saw one where they planned a kitchen redo, bath redo, separate entrance and basement redo. In the end, mold and carpenter ants and some other problem left them with only enough to do the basement. I appreciate that realism.

Wasn't it Hildy in Trading Spaces that did the straw on the walls? She did faux flowers on a wall too. she mostly made a mess and I pitied the people who got her for their rooms.
Genevieve's designs were usually good ones but she didn't like ceiling fans and would always take them out.
Liked Christopher Lowell's first show and have to admit I have watched all the ones that have been listed, even if only for a short time.
When we lived in California, every home we ever went to was decorated in blah beiges with builder white walls. You could never tell who lived there, very boring to me. Yup, I'm old and I like old stuff :)

I guess the shows are for people who don't have a design direction, so they are given oneâ¦over and over and over.

I would appreciate more variety. Which network had "Million Dollar Decorators" or some such? Mary McDonald, Kathryn Ireland, etc were featured. That was a little interesting, but some of the designers' personalities made me wince. I suppose I just like to see the results and not the personality clashes while getting there!

Meh -- it's tv -- formulaic is its middle name, and its last name is cyclic. Westerns? Cop shows? Dr. shows? and . . . design shows. It's about money, too -- these kind of formula design shows, and competition shows are cheap to produce.

I have to say that despite the sameness and superficiality of most of the designs presented in these shows -- the "average" American could use a dose of even these designs. I find most people's real homes very ugly and depressing. At least these shows focus on color, fun, design, and beauty, and may encourage people to have a little style -- even "Target" style.

What always gets me are these house hunter type shows with young couples with a "budget" of half a million dollars or more for their first homes. Yikes!

I think the sameness comes down to economics on a number of levels. The shows like Candice Olsen were very expensive to shoot because the timeline was months to a year on the projects, and the projects had largish budgets.

Shooting a real estate show and doing some glorified staging is much cheaper. The look is the same because the budgets are low and they have to use what is relatively inexpensive and off-the-shelf at the local outlet of big box or chain décor stores.

---
The homebuyers with a $500K budget are a function of where the shows are produced. $500K is about entry level for a house in my neighborhood, and it doesn't get you a whole lot for that $500K either. It's that, though or live in an apartment or condo, and sometimes the monthly fees make it worthwhile getting into a house and at least building equity.

I watch Property Brothers but not sure what I think of it.

They take a total dumpy home then remodel two or three of the rooms to the hilt and the rest of the home is still a dump. I would prefer to have moderate realistic renovations like perhaps laminate counters instead of expensive quartz in the kitchen, regular appliances instead of gourmet....... And then have some money left be able to also fix the rest of the home.

That seems like a waste of money xc60.

I guess the homeowners must get money for being on the show hopefully it's enough to fix the rest of the home. :)

I thought they did the whole house on Property Bros. Huh.

I know that only certain areas are reno'd on Love It/List It.

This is more about House Hunters, Property Virgins, etc...house hunting shows.

If I hear one more time that the home buyers only want granite and stainless steel appliances, I'm going to puke. This also applies when they say that something "needs" updating. Unless it is not functioning, updating is a "want" and not a "need".

What, in my eyes, they fail to realize is that everything has a grade level. There are higher grade stainless appliances as well as lower ones. I would much prefer to have old appliances, where I would replace with quaility newer ones, than just some el-cheapo stainless appliances thrown in for the sale.

Same goes for granite. There is lower-quailty (and appearing) granite to me as well as the "wow" factor granites.

I always told my husband I would rather move in to a house that had to be redone, than to pay top dollar for someone elses taste (and possibly mistakes).

Just my humble opinion. And yes, I'm older (48) and have no patience for this type of thing. Don't even get me started on the ones who complain about carpeting and wall colors.

One of the reasons that people complain about even carpet and wallcolor is that the vast majority buy a house at the very top of their budgets and don't have a nickel to spare for a couple of years on anything.

Paper shades and empty houses with the absolute necessities of furnishings are typical here, many people are not willing to live with less, but more complete house.

I've noticed that too Pal. Often they go over their top budget because they have to have everything! NOW!

If these shows really wanted to teach their audience something they'd share a bit about how to wisely figure what you can and can not afford on your income. I was basically a stay at home Mom, though I did have part time jobs. When we financed our homes (we've built three and purchased one 8 year old home) over the years we always based it on my hubby's salary only. And we didn't go by the standard of one weeks salary either. We left a little room for savings or paying extra on the principle when we could.

I wish they'd show more in-depth how to stuff that actually teaches, instead of wham! bam! now we're remodeled!

Does anyone remember Neicy Nash and Clean House?

She was part house cleaner, part decorator, and part psychologist. And she made me laugh.

I don't think I've watched a decorating show since then, except HGTV always seems to be on in the waiting rooms of doctors. More politically correct than the news I suppose.

Thank goodness we have Gardenweb for our decorating fix, where everyone is so wonderful and willing to share sources. Why do so many decorators on Houzz respond to questions (or don't respond at all) with answers like "It's a custom paint blend, I can't tell you."

This post was edited by crazybusytoo on Sat, Nov 9, 13 at 1:19

Hi Scarlett, I'm Canadian too.

I agree with everything that's been posted. All the "decorating" shows seem the same. As soon as one has a new format the others all copy it.

I like traditional but all the shows focus on contemporary. If a homeowner has wonderful antiques, the designer says it looks like your grandma lives here, and the antiques never make it back into the room. I would so love to see a show that presents a variety of styles and colour schemes (and more affordable budgets). But as long as the big-box stores are sponsoring, I guess we won't.

P.S. What initially drew me to GW was the photos of GW's beautiful homes (Southern, Georgian, Cottage-style - everything not just contemporary). What kept me, is the friendly, knowledgable, talented, helpful people here.

The only reason why I watch HGTV any more is if I'm channel surfing and need a breather for a couple of minutes. I don't need to watch anything for long because I know exactly what people will say ("needs updating," "stainless," "granite," "open concept") and because the end product is so predictible - and so predictibly soulless. Like someone said, it's the Target look.

Plus, like some have mentioned, it's the lack of respect for perfectly good rooms. Oh, excuse me, perfectly good "spaces." I have seen a few shows in which original details, usually done in good materials and that have a certain amount of interest (not to mention, fit the style and period of the house) are ripped out in order to "update." I've seen it on both Love It or List It and on Property Brothers.

What's both amusing and sad is that viewers are being spoonfed a bill of unpalatable goods. First, they're led to believe that every house they buy or live in needs "updating." That of course, costs money, money that they might not (probably do not) have to spend. I know - we all realize the whole point of these shows is to get people into stores for expensive things like countertops, cabinets, stainless steel whatevers; to get them to redo entire rooms, especially kitchens and bathrooms.

My opinion: Closely related is that the shows lead people to believe there's no other way to decorate their houses. Like decordummy says, what about antiques? The irony is that if you flip through Architectural Digest, World of Interiors, Antiques & Fine Art, and other magazines like those, you'll see both antiques and ornamentation/anti-Target look. That's not to say there's nothing contemporary, but houses in those magazines show individuality, creativity, they reflect a personality and point of view - even when the look has been 100% created by the designer.

The other amusing but not-really-funny aspect of the HGTV philosophy is the whole "open concept" thing. I sure hope first-time home buyers, particularly people who buy new houses, understand what's going on with that. What a scam, if you ask me. What a gift to home builders, and with the buyers paying the bill! Same square footage, but what's missing with those "open concept" houses? Doors, walls, moldings, hardware, trim, and all the other things that define actual rooms. Instead, people are paying the same amount per square foot for "spaces."

I've wandered a little OT, but not entirely, I hope. Oh, and will someone please mail those property brothers a decent shaver?