This Old House is still more or less like that. They follow one (or a small number) large scale renovation or new build over several episodes. They can’t show every single thing that gets done, but they show a fair amount in good detail. It’s light years ahead of the drivel on HGTV.
This is a little bit off-topic, but it seems like this crowd would enjoy this program:
This is the Big Mama of all renovation shows.
Here’s a teaser.
The scale of this project is immense. It makes the most complicated This Old House project look like a weekend closet fix-up. The stuff that this crew goes through is beyond mind-boggling. The passionate, [del]almost[/del] fanatical dedication of the restorers is dazzling to watch.
For example, the place is completely furnished with all kinds of treasures, and one of the first problems is where to put all the furniture, paintings, sculptures, glassware, tapestries, etc., while the renovation is going on. They don’t want to move everything, and besides, where would they move it to? Someone comes up with the idea to build a three-story building INSIDE the property’s chapel and move every stick and bauble there, properly labeled, of course. This has the advantage of keeping everything in the same climate where the items have existed for centuries. So they frame it, put in floors, and create a storage space that will house everything during the project.
For renovation-tv junkies this is the ultimate trip.
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That looks good, thanks for posting it
You’re welcome!
I’m punishing myself this morning (not sure what for…) by watching HHI. AARRGGH!!
We want 3 or 4 bedrooms (1) because all of our USA family/friends will be coming to visit, and/or
(2) our children can’t possibly be expected to share a bedroom, even though we’re only here in <country> temporarily.
EWWW… the *washing *machine is in the kitchen???
The stove/oven is too small! Where am I going to cook the Thanksgiving turkey??
EWWW… the toilet is in a *separate *room/enclosure from the tub???
Oh yeah, we also want a big backyard so the kids can play. (Even though they’ll only be sitting out there playing on their phones.)
Stairs?? :eek: Oh no! The baby/toddler/kid will surely fall and kill him/herself. Because no babies or toddlers have ever safely lived in houses that had stairs. :rolleyes:
We need to be within walking distance of shops, restaurants, night life, work. But the neighborhood needs to be quiet.
And our monthly budget is $1,000.
It’s not what we’re used to in the USA.
It’s not what we’re used to in the USA.
It’s not what we’re used to in the USA.
It’s not what we’re used to in the USA.
It’s not what we’re used to in the USA.
Thank you. I needed that. Carry on.
That always makes me laugh. I remember when my husband and I were house-shopping and having dumb ideas like that.
I’m picturing an American dad standing on a busy European street at 21:30 and saying, “Keep it down please, we’re trying to get the baby to sleep. Don’t make me call the police.”
Make European Residences Great Again!
MERGA!
Okay, another one (I just can’t help myself): Costa Rica. Budget is $1 million. Realtor finds them a house for $975,000. On top of a mountain. Views of the ocean. Infinity pool, FFS. Mom: “WAAAAAH! I don’t like it! It only has one oven!”
Oh, hi France!
Well, it isn’t necessarily France, but that is distinctive enough that the French consider it a normal bathroom and several of their neighbors call it a “French-style bathroom” A few months back I discovered that the French refer to a bathroom that’s not split as “Italian”.
Does she even know how to use one? Or is she like some people I know, who wanted a “gourmet kitchen” when they couldn’t even make an omelette?
Thank you for entering into the spirit of my ranting.
I think separating the facilities makes a lot of sense. Why should the toilet, shower/tub, and sink necessarily be in the same room? I think they should be near each other because plumbing, but no reason not to separate them with partitions. Just like why shouldn’t the washer be in the kitchen? My washer is out in the garage and I’d much rather have it in the kitchen.
Thank you for asking, as it gives me the opportunity to complain about something else. Apparently this mom loves to cook and cooks all the time. She wants to make sure she has a kitchen to cook her two grown sons’ (I’m guessing late 30s) favorite foods, because otherwise they might not come to visit! The sons were along on the trip to help them pick out the house because, “they have to feel comfortable in the house so they will come and see me.” There are so many things sad and wrong about that statement that I don’t know where to begin to analyze it. So I won’t.
Recent related article from Slate.com: What It’s Actually Like to Be on House Hunters—Twice by Elizabeth Newcamp.
Two quotes: “For starters, we already had a house. It just got weirder from there.” and “When people learn that my husband and I have been on House Hunters not just once but twice, they always have a million questions. Once we are done explaining, though, they never like my answers and wish they never asked. This is because even though smart viewers know that reality TV is created and edited just as carefully as scripted TV, they still, in the back of their minds, think that there must be some base-line rules about the ‘reality’ that’s portrayed. But there aren’t!”
When I think I am being too cynical, I often find I am not being cynical enough. The faked conflict I expected. It did not occur to me that House Hunters would present people as if considering to buy a house where they had already moved in.
Regards,
Shodan
It’s kind of a relief to know that people aren’t as stupid as they’re portrayed on the program. I still like seeing the foreign properties and surroundings. I’ll keep watching and yelling at the TV (I yell at the TV when I’m watching a fiction story, too, to wit: "Danny, stop being such a complete jerk!"*), but I do appreciate the info on the *real *reality.
- Danny on Blue Bloods
I’m fine with the toilet being in it’s own water closet separate from the bath/shower and sink, but there’s got to be a small hand sink either in the same room as the toilet or immediately outside it.
Normally it’s either immediately outside (the toilet is in its own little room inside the bath) or directly across the hallway. I’ve only seen it in the same little room as the toilet when it’s public or corporate ones.
I’m working in Normandy right now. Our offices at work are in a prefab/mobile home. Four bathroom stalls (full-wall rooms actually): two, marked with trousers silhouettes, are larger and include toilet, urinary and sink. Then there’s another room with a sink (its door has a skirt silhouette) and two stalls connected to this room; these smaller stalls only have toilets. People of any gender use any of the stalls and wash their hands at the sink in the skirt room. When someone tried to berate one of the guys for it, his response was “I’m not washing and drying my hands in the same place where I just peed!” and people within hearing agreed.
I can’t take the renovation shows. I’ve watched too much Mike Holmes and I keep seeing the crappy job they are doing. As far as HH, I only watch the US if it’s local properties or somewhere I’ve lived to see what people are buying. I do love the international one because I love to see what you can get in different cities. I never knew Norway was so very expensive and that parts of Italy on the coast were so cheap. I just love to see how different the houses can be in different places. I also like to see the cheesy ways they show the hunters “experiencing” their new city. Apparently, if you move to Europe you are required to take a cooking class featuring the local specialty.
My current pet peeve is the agent selling a one bedroom one bath as being great because “it’s an ensuite”. About 3/4 of the time nobody ever comments that this means that if you have guests they need to go through the master bedroom if they want to use the bathroom. I also hate having a separate toilet room without a sink because I just keep imagining the germs on the door handle.
Finally, I keep waiting for somebody to say “I don’t need a big kitchen/open concept because I really don’t like to entertain.”
My favorite moment was the episode somewhere in France where the homeowner was going on about how the windows had no screens and her children could fall out and how on earth could people with children live there and the agent said something like “we teach our children not to fall out of windows”.
Also mark me down as loving the Tiny House Hunters. I am especially a big fan of the family of six who wants to live in a 250 square foot home. And there are always those people who insist they do not want a loft or need more head room or more storage space. You know, one idea might be not to get a frigging tiny house then!
ETA-I also refuse to watch My Lottery Dream Home, or as I like to call it Dumbest Moves to Make if You Win the Lottery. Yes you won 3 million dollars. That does NOT mean you can afford a million dollar home.
Oh god, that would be hilarious. “We don’t have any friends and don’t plan on making any. Entertain? In a pig’s eye! Why should we feed a bunch of freeloading strangers?”
This one really kills me. Can’t have any steps or stairs inside or outside the house, no balconies, ledges in the yard, no swimming pools, or any concrete at all. No pavers or decorative rock walls. These people need to live in a windowless, underground cave with quilted walls with a sloping, padded walkway (with rails) to enter and exit.
And not come back down again? 
I have a FOAF who used to work for Booby Phlegm … who stole a recipe from him that he developed - he bailed on that job and is much happier now [wwell this was also like 15 years ago] Not fond of Guy Fieri, he is just abrasive enough for me to not enjoy.
I have to agree about the reno shows, Mike Holmes was great. There was a Canadian version that was great - Paranormal Home Inspectors … that combined my liking for the cheesy paranormal shows and home shows =)
Why is it people have to move to a whole 'nother COUNTRY in order to “spend more time with the family”? Can anyone explain that to me?
Possibly:
-
The family aren’t keen on visiting them, but might be tempted by an exotic foreign location?
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There are some family they want to get away from who they know won’t travel abroad, and other family they do want to be with, who will?
There’s a whole soap opera hidden in there somewhere