Long Live HGTV!

Cafe Society
1

In another thread someone complains that all his MIL watches is HGTV. I can get with that because I’m an HGTV junkie. You’d think my house would look real nice, but it doesn’t.

Anyway-- I wanted to ask other people who watch if you’ve noticed the same things I’ve noticed. Mostly that some of my favorite shows don’t come on any more. Debbie Travis seems to be gone and that really, really fey guy who leaps around a lot, I can’t remember his name. Also the brothers (not The Junk Brothers-- couldn’t stand that show) from New York. One was a master carpenter and the other an actor. Loved that, seems to be gone. Oh and Designing for the Sexes. Gone.

To be replaced by Vern Yip, who I love as a designer but hate his show: Deserving Design. I like Color Splash. There’s a new ‘color’ show called Correcting Color or something that has replaced the ‘color’ show I loved. The color show I liked had the lady doing a color wheel with objects that the homeowners could relate to.

Even shows I love have been tampered with. Design on a Dime has broken up one of my favorite design teams and added a team with a lead designer who I cannot stand and who has a terrible design sense. At least Designed to Sell added two teams that I don’t hate.

And Divine Design has gotten even better. Less goofy skits, more goofing around while designing.
Yeah, I watch that channel far too much.

2

I’d like to remodel Danielle Hirsch

I have no sense of style, my house is bland in the “Early Poverty” style, but I like Candice Olson’s designs.

3

Er, in the interest of accuracy, it wasn’t my mother-in-law, it’s just my mother-full-stop, and I wasn’t complaining really, just expressing my, well, bemusement.

I’ll just mention I kind of get into “Designed to Sell”, mainly because of the poignancy of people with no design sense whatever finally making their place look half decent, just in time to…sell up and move out.

Please carry on.

4

I think I remember that it happened twice that the homeowners liked their newly re-designed house so much they didn’t move.

5

I’ve told my husband that if he can swing it, I’ll let him be the meat in a Danielle Hirsch, Rachel Ray sammy. But he’s gonna have to wash off those EOOV germs real good.

Also, we’d need to get a nice paint job and a good meal out of it.

6

I like the organizing show and Design on a Dime when the Asian chick’s team is in charge.

There’s this one show, I can’t remember the name of, that I never watch for long. It’s an older woman who talks with this low mellow voice that almost puts me to sleep. She usually has other people on who take on projects and then show her how to do them. Once they did someone’s bedroom in a country style that was truly hideous. We had this on at work and was watching it while on break and were mocking it the whole time, so at least it provided some entertainment.

7

Designing Cents. Joan is the host and there are different designers who’ll re-do a room for $500 bucks. The rooms are only as good as the designers who do them. Joan loves that country look.

There’s also a segment where designers reposition the furniture in your room for free and make crap from other crap (turn this bowling ball into a lamp! A tea tray into a coat rack!) segment at the end.

8

Is Curb Appeal still on? I haven’t seen it for awhile. I always wondered if potential buyers were disappointed at the interior of the houses, when they looked so good from the outside.

I like Divine Design and Designed to Sell too, and House Hunters, but I skip HH if they’re looking at condos or McMansions. Or if I don’t like the buyers. I love the international version!

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I, too, am completely addicted to this network (and to a somewhat lesser extent, the DIY and Style networks). And I agree, some of the better shows are being replaced with crap.

I miss Sensible Chic. They tried to recreate it with Double Take, but I hated the characters in that version, and apparently the rest of the viewing audience did, too, because it only lasted 2 seasons. Design Match is similar, but combines a bit of Trading Spaces and a competition into the mix, but it, too, seems to have gone by the wayside, with a smattering of episodes rerun at odd times.

I miss reDesign with Kenneth Brown. I think he’s on par with Candice Olsen, even if his personality isn’t as adorable.

I liked Karen McAloon’s first show, Design Remix, much better than her new one, Find Your Style.

I liked Ground Breakers until they replaced Joe Washington. He was way better than the new guy. I hope he’s moved on to bigger and better things.

I love Divine Design, Curb Appeal, Designers’ Challenge, Landscapers’ Challenge, Designed to Sell, Gardening by the Yard (the Gardener Guy ROCKS!), and Spice Up My Kitchen. Even Living with Ed is fun!

I loathe those harpies on Secrets that Sell, and House Hunters is a total head-scratcher to me. I seriously don’t get the appeal. Why would I care which of 3 houses someone chooses? At least with Hidden Potential, there’s something to get out of it insofar as getting people to look past possible flaws and realize how things can be fixed.

I can’t think of any specifics off the top of my head, but both my husband (begrudgingly ;)) and I have gotten ideas from shows on these networks and incorporated them into our home.

10

Even hubby loves House Hunters. The commercials for it are for real “That’s UGLY!” “Pick 3! Pick3!”

But the one that gets me is the one were the husband goes, “I thought they were brothers.”

If you watch HGTV long enough you’ll end up believe all homeowners in North America are either rich, a racially mixed couple or gay. Or or three at once.

11

Kenneth Brown is the fey guy who leaps around. I haven’t seen him at all. And I was sad to see Danielle Hirsch on Color Splash because that meant that ReMix wasn’t coming back.

Paul James is my deliciously gammed garden boyfriend. He’s so goofy and adorable. There another adorable guy who I just wanna squeeze-- he’s on a show called something remix also, where they take your funiture and move it around-- Freestyle maybe? I noticed he cut his curly mop but he’s still so cute.

12

My wife did a segment of Crafters Coast to Coast, once.

It was really weird. They made her say goofy shit. And, some things on the show are like, “here’s how you do it at home”, but she was making stuff with rolling mills, and acetylene torches, and grinding wheels, and tumblers.

Our niece memorized the episode, and would act the whole thing out.

She always knows when it re-airs because she’ll get a bunch of emails one day asking dumb questions.

But, she did get a couple sales out of it, eventually.

13

Is it me or is HGTV starting to cater more and more to those of us who want to ogle hot home improvement guys?

I mean, check out this Carter Oosterhouse, who will have a new show called Carter Can on HGTV. I already watch the channel a lot, but if he’s going to be doing a lot of shirtless construction, I think I’ll have a new favorite show.

14

Hello, my name is Phall and I’m an HGTV Addict.

Hello, Phall.

I watch HGTV nearly every day. It’s my default station. (Ya’ know…like you come into the room at 10:47 and you need to watch the last ten or thirteen minutes of something? I turn on HGTV.)

I like House Hunters (prefer International) and Decorating Cents (unless they have the really crappy Sy Whateverhisnameis designer) and Designed to Sell. I like David Bromstead’s designs, and Candice Olsen’s designs, but can’t stand to watch either of them. (I click over for the last five minutes or so.) Design on a Dime is hit or miss, and I’m in between about Vern Yip’s new show. As a native Tulsan, I catch Gardening by the Yard whenever I can.

For the record, I think Danielle Hirsch has an excellent skill level and wish she had a bit more personality to carry off her own show.