MaKaM

I don't remember Sarah being that in love with white. It was her show that taught me to buy my fabrics (like curtains an stuff) and then take the colors off that for the walls and furniture and other things. So she definitely did color at some point (it has been years since I've seen her reruns so i could be mis-remembering). I love how several different paint companies sponsor ads on HGTV and Magnolia and are always showing full, deep color rooms and then property brothers comes back on and it is all gray (that reads purple on my tv) and white. Must be frustrating to all those paint companies that keep trying to get us to buy colored paints. (I have a gray family room, but my other painted rooms are yellow, blue, orange, green, teal, and aqua so clearly my house will never sell until I paint out all the rooms to white or gray or greige)

I think I'm an episode or two behind but damn, her "let me redesign this one thing" schtick really gets old. She's been at this long enough that she clearly knows the costs in time and money and still plays dumb blonde. And maybe they are characters they are playing for TV (her: dumb blonde who things expensive == best, him: grumpy, put-upon husband who caves to wifey but also passive-agressively thwarts her whenever possible), but they aren't appealing characters. Her shrill, him condescending... "Ugh, where can we park our kids for the 10 days it takes for epoxy to cure because we were morons who scheduled this mid-reno and didn't bother to just reschedule it for a year from now...too bad we don't own our own hotel and a private plane on which to fly there..." And I'm guessing that they don't AirBnB because none of the houses available are up to their snobby standards--or because it is so much more drahmah for TV to moan about their >$250/night hotel. I always rooted for Tarek and Christina to flop on Flip or Flop because they were so snobby, I am definitely rooting for Bryan and Sarah to go bankrupt because they come off as miserable people. Talk about failing up.

I have to say, I don't think the people who did the ugly to themselves should even be in the running. If you inherited an ugly house or bought it because of the area, okay, but if it is your design, your junk, yeah it is ugly but it is self-inflicted.

Yeah, I don't know who she thought she was fooling but no short skirt is going to make her 30 again. Or even 50. And Dolly did it first and did it better. That wig, yeesh. The houses were dull as dishwater and the husband needed a serious haircut cuz he looked like a schlub (since I commented on her appearance, I figured he needed a mention to keep it fair).

I kinda wonder if the camera guys/editors on these shows are sneaking in "mean" shots to kinda mess with the renovators. Like the shot of Cory's kitchen cabinets, the one cabinet had a very obvious paint flaw right on the front of it. And it isn't the first time I've seen this--the camera always seems to catch a wall with an obvious paint flaw, a piece of staging furniture with a nick, or a tile wall or floor with uneven grout lines. While watching a beachhunter's reno episode, the camera lingered on the unfinished edge of the backsplash tile. I don't know if it is that my eye immediately gravitates toward the flaws or if the camera guys are taking the piss out of the flippers because it would be easy enough to frame a different shot that doesn't include the bad spot.

After laying 1000+ sqft of tile in my basement, I know my wrists were begging for a machine to do it...

The all black main floor and the gold zebra stripes -- dear god. Talk about tacky and tasteless design. And all the brushmarks on the cabinets shows that it was definitely not a professional job. And the stupid wall feature. I think I am done with this show. I don't really like the two guys and I really don't like their "design". I feel sorry for anyone that buys the house. Giving the flip or flop vegas team a run for their money. The only thing I liked on it was the outside paint color.

Well, maybe they are hoping that if he throws enough ideas at the walls, something might stick and become the new "shiplap" for them to pimp into the ground.

Probably because it would be tough for them to get loans/capital/startup-funds. It is just easier to come from richer parts of the country and set up in the poorer areas and go at it. These guys seem like hobbyists and yeah, white savior complex. Maybe because the show focuses on the ridiculous designs and the way they move their stuff in that ratty shopping cart, they don't come off as professionals who do a quick, professional, to code job and then move on to the next.

Yeah, something like this. Give all the teams a dossier and see how they interpret the wants/needs of the family that the house is supposed to be sold to. Family loves to have big dinners, family has video game night, kid 1 likes monkeys and elephants, etc. I know this is just the next evolution of the "white box" challenge from the design star show but maybe get the designers involved from the start of construction for moving walls or adding bathrooms so it isn't done after the house is built (agreed, stupid waste of materials; there is no way they didn't know that pony wall was coming out on every single house) or else tell them they aren't allowed to do any construction at all and it all has to be design--paint, wallpaper, lighting, furniture--to fix whatever issues are there. And then, instead of basing the winner on who adds the most money, base it on whose design is most cohesive throughout the house and best meets the dossier. Finally, if you go to the trouble of making the little mini-challenges, make there be a damn penalty (like losing money for the next week) if they don't meet at least the basic requirement of the challenge (looking at you red square behind stupid curtain wall).

Yeah, and can we talk about them and David and Tiffany's back decks? No access down (fine is some instances, my back deck has no access and I like it that way), no shade (dealbreaker, especially with all the leaves it was already collecting), huge furniture that barely fits on the deck, and weird placement of furniture (why was there so much dead space on the one side of the sectional in D&T's deck. If they had put an umbrella there, it would have made sense but as just a gap between the shoved-against-the-siding-to-fit sofa and deck railing, it was a head scratcher). If I recall rightly, Mike loves a spiral staircase, not sure why he didn't insist on that instead of the generator; it only would have cost a couple grand and might have put them over for the win.

Generally, you aren't supposed to paint pressure treated wood for a few months. So it was actually a bit shocking that so many of the front porches/decks got painted. Wonder if touch-ups are included in the selling contract.

I don't think that's accurate. Jasmine won one of the challenge weeks (the outdoor one, if I recall correctly) and won the whole thing in Season 1. Mina was the one who didn't win any week. Or am I on crack? I can't find an episode-winner list anywhere. Ken and Anita are going to have to have that basement repainted at a minimum in David and Tiffany's space. Like, if you can't step into there without laughing, it isn't a selling feature. Those were not the good "wows".

If Nate and Jeremiah had added the door and stairs down from the third garage like Brian and Mika did and then you really could rent out the basement, offer a garage for parking their car, and easy access down the stairs to the living space, and get buku bucks. I know my basement renter would bless my name (and pay extra) if I were able to offer her a garage. I'm glad Brian and Mika won. They might not have had all the highest end design features, but most of their choices/modifications were good ones--laundry access, covered porch, stairs down, workout space (and yeah, changing the bowling area to a workout zone is probably on the new homeowner's to-do list...after they got a few parties out of the way)... only thing they were missing was a screened in portion (which, being from Florida, you'd think they would know to do). The only thing they failed on was the mudroom space that David and Tiffany created. So as a design show, they weren't the best. But as a building/selling show...I can see how they won. Any space that makes a BIG statement might be saying "go away!!" to a good portion of of the buyer pool as easily as it could be saying "buy me!!" to others. Bland sells these days.

So...clearly Nate and Jeremiah have never mowed a lawn. I can't imagine how you mow the center of their little garden thing. And how you don't end up with grass clippings in the gravel and gravel in the grass. Similarly, Mike, the rubber mulch is a okay if you don't have any trees anywhere at all. Cuz guess what, leaves fall into it, if you try to blow the leaves out, you blow some of the mulch into your grass but if you leave the leaves in, they turn into dirt and weeds will then grow. And grass clippings end up in there too. I liked the pergola. I didn't like the putting green but it wouldn't be too hard to pull it out and grow some grass David and Tiffany must be having budgeting problems. They couldn't even get a cheapy bed to stage the basement bedroom and they did absolutely nothing interesting in the back. Maybe spend less on pink paint and save some for a product-placement sun shade for the back. Someone make instructions on how to make Mike's thinker light. Me wanty.

Hope it isn't a code violation where I live or my basement renter will have to microwave cook only! I have an electric stove that has knobs on the front that I can turn on by bumping into. I was going to get the plastic covers but then figured that if the knobs come off to put the covers on, I would just keep the knobs off and in the drawer next to the stove and put them on when I need them. 😉 That said, I'm pretty sure every stove has a gas shut off valve. If you are *that* worried about your rugrats toasting marshmallows on the basement stove because you didn't rent the space out, cut the gas to it. et voila! I think Brian and Mika have the best chance of winning followed by Allison and Mike. Nate and Jeremiah are going too "European Country" when they are in southern USA country...might not be the best reading of a potential buyer pool. I think David and Tiffany know they have no chance with all their suuuuper taste specific colors that don't seem to have a unifying theme across the house and are just doing it as a rebellion against the endless black, white, gray that HGTV features nonstop these last 10 years. They could have done color and wallpaper and made it work if it was gorgeously and tastefully done, but basically none of their choices totally work. The pattern scales on their wallpaper have all been off for me and when they do color, they go overboard. There is nowhere in that pink basement for your eyes to rest. The house is going to need a repaint before anyone moves in.

Same thought! And did any light actually come out of it downward or was it all directed upward?

N&J: total cop-out with the color. For such lauded designers, they should have been able to come up with something, even drapery tassles or a throw pillow, that had the red in it. I actually liked the checkerboard in the bathroom more than the conservatory with Professor Plum... their closet looked super cheap. D&T: The wall paper worked better than I thought it would but I didn't love it, the closet size was laughable, the sitting room did not make up for the reduced closet, the bathroom was fine, but I don't know how i feel about the toilet being in the one room and then the sink in the other...even though I have a bathroom in my house with a similar layout. The banana was...a talking point at least. B&M: Much better closet than the others but they need to get the little white peg fillers to hide the holes for the adjustable shelves if they really want a high end look. The door to the laundry room was genius but what are you going to put in all that cabinetry? Best use of the color. Really weird to only have rain heads and no wall spigots. A&M: It was fine, the two closets were smart, and they were the best looking inserts. I did like the ombre tile but I wish it hadn't been black and white and been blue and white instead (the black kinda looked like fire damage...). Should have been DQ-ed along with N&J for the color challenge fail. Frankly, I've already forgotten what the rest of it looked like. My mom and I decided that Ty looks rough after a night of drinking or like a hobo, not sure which.

I *think* (because I'd have to see the floor plan and study it) that because they moved the kitchen, what should have been the pantry was now some unused space off the dining room. I think that got incorporated into the main floor suite. Like in N&J's room, they connected it to the pantry and kitchen but for D&T, that was the closet...I think. Hated the peacock wallpaper. The yellow in it was too big a contrast to the other colors and the pattern was too small for the space. It would have been okay in a powder room, but in a main room, it was too much pattern and too much in your face. ETA: Belgian farms, french mantle, and a turkish bowl...not exactly a cohesive voice (the belgian and french can at least be a bit related to each other but the turkish sink looked like a fountain which kinda went with the Clue Conservatory vibe of the front room... they do come off as very pretentious though. ETA2: on the rewatch, I hate, hate, hate that their "beams" in the living room have such obvious seams right in the middle. Like could you *be* any more obvious that they are fake? Put in an effort, yo. Brian and Mika's was dull and Allison and Mike were too much in the bourbon room but then they were under designed in the living room--lots of empty corners.

Catching the rerun. Some thoughts: Ty's hyperactive, shouty delivery worked better when he was 15 years younger and was moving that bus. Now...nah, man. David is a bit over the top but he is younger so it still works-ish. I like the tudor best but I grew up in a neighborhood with tudor houses. Mika's house was the "house of many sidings". Mike's house exterior was snoozy. I like an all brick house and they are doing brick 360, right? Because full brick front with siding everywhere else is stinky. (and the horn for the brick deliver was so dumb. "Don't look at the product placement we just blasted the horn to get your attention about..." HGTV built these houses just for the show, right? Why did they bother to put in the cabinets and ponywalls and whatnot if they knew/suspected it was going to be yanked out? At least they weren't breaking the cabinets and they could probably be reused. Did they ever show a floor plan? Is Tarek's new gf a clone of Christina? Man clearly has a "type". In the previews I thought it was Christina until she talked--same bleach hair, same fake eyelashes, same yogawear. The show is a little funny in how it shows the one room at a time but you know they had to have been given some time to examine the house and come up with an overall floor/design plan. In five years, we'll all be redoing our kitchens because our islands don't have corner cutouts...er, probably not. Nate and Jeremiah should have painted the chickenwire another color. Even brown to go with the leather. It would have added just a bit more. David and Tiffany's window shelves on the other hand were one thing too many, as was the gold on the mason jar bowl--edit people! (my friend has 2 dishwashers (well 3) in her kitchen: 2 of the drawer ones next to the sink that she uses every day and then the one that came with the house moved to the island for party dishes when she has a non-pandemic party. But she finds it fun to give 8 course meals to her friends so...the extra dishwasher makes some sense)

Watched the Rock The Block season 2 preview and they have all new designers/teams except for the return of AV. Geez, HGTV, who does she have nekkid pictures of? Quit trying to make fetch happen (though maybe since she is everyone's least favorite designer she brings the needed "drahmah" that David Bromstad or Tiffany Brooks just can't generate).

Looks like they compressed 3 episodes into 2 since the first series was only 3 episodes long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_to_the_Chateau#Series_1 Even if they didn't show it, I hope some attention was paid to the roof. No point in fixing the inside with a roof that looks like that (did they address it? My mom called when this second episode started and I was doing other things while the first episode was playing). It definitely looked like they went into the renovation with absolutely no clue at the costs or needs but maybe that was just for the show and they had a full plan before buying the place. I find her a bit much (the hair, the nails, the clothes) but she does seem to buckle down and get to it. And at least you know it isn't going to be another HGTV standard gray and white box...

I googled the Ice Cream shop and they basically have no internet presence at all. Maybe with the 'rona they had to shut down before really opening. Or it could have been a "just for TV" thing. Did they ever show what was on the second floor?

I don't know that I will watch the show, but if they did a "behind the scenes" and showed where Mike was totally destroying her, i'd pay to watch that. But honestly, she is probably fine if she just sticks to design and has a competent builder doing the heavy lifting. Her aesthetic isn't mine, but there isn't *that* much you can do to ruin a house by picking out fancy toilets and big brass range hoods. Mike likes the finer things but is also practical so maybe he'll be able to keep her from screwing up the budget for some antique furniture she is just going to paint black or a toilet that sings to you as you wee.

Oh, yes. I mean, of course, right? She comes off as very self-centered and would OBVIOUSLY feel that if she likes it, the high end buyers will love it and pay extra for it. Because she has taste and class and if the buyers don't like exactly what she likes, they lack taste and class. Has she designed a house that had any other character than exactly what is in her own house? Does the door handle in the powder bath have a hand for the handle? It really is brass/gold overload--made more obvious by the lack of ANY other color.