Barlowe

I like the design although I didn’t like the editing of the episode or the wood that was used inside and on the shutters. The house was tear-down but they couldn’t acknowledge any of the former owners? Ben usually milks the most of the littlest historical fact or family name connection and they just glossed over all of it. Then the homeowner didn’t even get a watercolour rendering of the house until the end. Apparently the reason Erin switched the arched porch for the stripped awning was due to costs. The architects quoted them $3500 to do the arch which would have nixed any woodwork or larger trim inside the house. I dislike when the show makes Erin pretend these are on the fly decisions where Erin’s hit with inspiration versus admitting these are homeowner’s requests or budgetary reasons

It was refreshing watching them delicately demo because I’ve gotten sick of the gut everything perspective. It was a bit amusing how out of their depth Ben & Erin were with non-Southern client who doesn’t have the sort of “down home charm” that they’re used to and wasn’t afraid to say he didn’t like aspects of her design or want to keep aspects she loved. This episode moved pretty swiftly I felt and I liked the overall design. I saw her recap on her instagram and interestingly enough the original hot tub they ordered was stolen on-route and the truck driver “ghosted” them The one we saw was the replacement.

The intro to the latest episode was weird and unnecessary. Jenny asks the oldest son if he knows they’re renovating Malachi’s family’s house? And then asks if he remembers he met Malachi in kindergarten as if this is a childhood friend that the son had lost touch with. But then it’s said that this is a child that regularly hangs out with their children and during the tour it’s mentioned that Jenny and Dave have dropped Malachi off at the house before. I just don’t get why they had to stage the intro that way.

I’m interested to see how the Napiers and Marrs end up in a few years. I feel like they’ve both built up little empires (books, brand deals, brick and mortar stores, the Airbnb) especially the Napiers and what they have is what Mina wanted to accomplish. But the difference is that they seem to come from money and have family and friends who are business partners. The Marrs seem to have Dave’s brother as a business partner and Ben and Erin have the two other couples that are co-owners in their businesses. Plus they have a strong brand as wholesome young couple with kids that’s easier for people to latch onto versus Mina whose husband isn’t part of the brand. In the case of the Napier’s, they have a good in with the city because they’re on the downtown redevelopment team or something like that. Plus unlike Mins who wanted District Co to be frequented by locals, they embrace the fact that these businesses are catering more to tourists/fans of the show. *Side note but I read Tamara Day of Bargain Mansions had to close her store and now just maintaining an online store. Which makes me think again that you need a strong brand and financial backing like that Napiers/Marrs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm6pniMA45W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm66HJqgMQR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link I checked Adam's instagram since the homeowner mentioned seeing him post about the tile and not realizing it was for her house. He posted about the tile back on January 2nd as the first design reveal of the collection. I liked how Erin used the design as the backsplash but I think it's too busy as a floor tile, at least based on the rendering.

They hated the cinderblocks but maybe there’s practical reason it was used, like storm proofing? I was curious and also read “In Florida, where termites are widespread, this is of particular importance. Concrete block construction also requires less repair and maintenance because concrete is less susceptible to rot like wood or rust like steel.”

What he described sounded somewhat like a more mechanical version of this pull out daybed. But while I did do some skipping on these scenes I don’t think I missed him showing how his would actually work. Just the finished expanded version during the reveal https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/brimnes-daybed-with-2-drawers-2-mattresses-white-meistervik-firm-s09130035/

L I checked the website and it’s also room sprays and hand soap

I liked the respite cottage reno. It was quaint and while I questioned the placement of the kitchen, I like the design. I think patio is the best part because I can see someone relaxing out there and I think the couple might use it when it’s not being used. I also liked their refresh of the main house. They mainly changed the appliances and painted the cabinets while keeping the everything else the same. I thought it was a nice compromise between what Erin’s vision and construction would’ve entailed and what a modest budget refresh could do. For the first time ever I found myself bored by Ben’s workshop creations. I think because they were so elaborate to make and there was so much talk about what needed to be done but we didn’t see that much of the functioning bed besides the quick reveal. I’m curious what the top level of the scent library will be used for. Another business or housing? I feel like we’re really getting in Gaines territory with how many business the Laurel Mercantile group are operating and their partnerships with other business like the winery and the guy who’s a coffee connoisseur. But they and the “Framily” might as well try all the opportunities that are possible. I just never saw them opening their version of a bath and body works on top of the wallpaper line and Erin’s books.

Erin’s released a peel and stick wallpaper collection. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpfiqt5OSim/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= I liked the first photo before I zoomed in but I actually like the second photo and the last two. The rest just look either too basic (the blue with the gold stars) or I just can’t imagine people actually using the designs without it overtaking the room.

What's one thing you'd like to see change or added next season? I think i'd like it if they were more transparent more often on camera and showed Erin working with the design team instead of just coming up with these ideas on her own and by herself or working with Mallory. I think I'm.a bit tired of the show trying to maintain that it's just Erin and Ben and Friends doing the work. And it was only in the Buzzard's episode as far as I can remember, that she actually admitted that there's a design team and showed Amanda, the head designer. I don't know why they hadn't done it sooner and it annoyed me a bit the way Erin made it seemed like the audience was wrongly assuming that she works solo. If people assumed that, it's because the show's made an effort to make it seem like that. Good Bones brought MJ on camera as the head designer who has a team underneath him and Sarah Richardson always shows an assistant on her shows.

It’s horrific how much abuse and sexual violence she’s experienced. Apparently she experienced another rape only a few years after the first and I also read that there was a tape with Brett Michaels that was almost released (or leaked and it was before she was with Tommy). His lawyer at the time said there were two copies in existence and Brett still had his and that Brett had refused the offer to sell his rights. I’d forgotten since the documentary didn’t mention it that she’d battled Hepatitis C for 16 years before being cured. And when I was looking it up, I learned Tommy was the carrier who passed the virus to her because they shared a tattoo needle and he didn’t disclose that he was a carrier. I’m glad she’s cured now but he really did mess with her while they were together in so many ways.

I’m watching her HGTV show which features her renoing her Canadian property. It’s weird watching her and her ex husband knowing they’re headed for a divorce. But I also see some cracks and I’m only in episode 2. He’s nice and normal but also they clash. She’s a free-ish spirit who literally says in the show she doesn’t know what things cost. The context being that she’s bankrolling the reno while he’s a contractor/manager on the team and she’s the one making decisions but often to the detriment of the budget and acknowledging how much her changes and specifications actually cost or if the ideas can actually be executed . She’s mocked his truck for being too stereotypically masculine, said she doesn’t like he’s on the team now that he’s her husband because he makes decisions and changes that suit him and how much effort he wants to put in. We see him carelessly trample over her garden and heard the designer say she doesn’t think he’s ever said anything wasn’t coated in concern because he’s full of concern (negativity). She’s has basically called him a Debbie Downer who’s too realistic and an instigator.. An interesting part of one of the episodes was when she was mapping out the layout of her laundry room with her designer and project manager. She asked her project manager if she could move the placement of the sink and Initially he was openly hesitant presumably because of the extra expenses and labour involved. So she picked up on that and said to just keep it as is. Immediately after they left the designer and PM said to each other “so we’re moving the sink right?” And the designer said she notices Pamela does things she doesn’t really want just to make things easier for other people and she was going to honour Pamela’s vision and ideal for her own house. I know they’re staff but I thought that was pretty sweet of both of them to just say we know her well enough to know she compromises too much and we’re going fulfill her dreams. Also that she’s very adamant about having a hand in the process. I.e she planted all the plants in her main house garden, wanted to lay the brick footpath, learned how to see her own curtains *Im on episode 4 of the show now and she’s really impractical at times and not the best communicator. There’s been multiple times where she doesn’t have a clear vision or know how to put her vision into practical terms and so the design team will make a sample for her to look at based on a summary of what she’s said and she’ll look and go “No no no” and tell them it’s wrong but not know how to achieve the look she’s actually going for. And one of the times the team says to her that they want to hear all her dreams for one of the bigger design projects, she goes “they’re not little dreams, I’m a designer”. The guy never dismissed her by calling her dreams little but she immediately went into that defensive mode and remembers all the times men have dismissed her. Just one more thing from the show I wanted to mention was not only did she marry the builder on the team, she befriended one of the painters and converted him into her personal assistant and talked about she had more in common with him (a love of fashion and art specifically) than her husband. I just really think this show is a good companion to the documentary because you get to see the dynamic of her now-mellowed out parents, her relationship dynamics in action and an even more well rounded view of Pamela.

I think she has a private chef/eats out primarily although I’m sure there’s meals she can cook for herself or that her grandparents make. There’s a chance one of the simpler recipes she’s recreated for herself but that’s a pretty small chance. The show is mainly for her to do philanthropy by donating to a different cause each episode and was also to give her something to do in the pandemic. I don’t know the filming schedule but I don’t think it’s that close together so she forgets plus having a new chef each time probably throws her off. As well most chefs don’t realize she has weak muscle strength as a result of her lupus so they have her use knifes that aren’t suited for her and other tools that are too much for her. And she tends not make accommodations either so she either struggles or eventually let’s her friends do it. The rest of her friends are influencers/regular people I think but Racquel is like a friend on her payroll, it’s never been stated but she’s likely one of her assistants because she lives with Selena and travels with her as well. There’s a few celebrities with arrangements like that because they want a companion to travel around with but a regular working person can’t do that.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhRCsDux90/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE= Erin seems a bit snippy with the remark about the seeing other rooms. On one hand, I get it bc she runs her own social media and gets plenty of invasive comments and repetitive comments but on the other hand it wouldn’t be hard for them to mention/remind in-show that they’re only doing the rooms shown and the rest will be reno’d on the homeowners time. I know on Nicole Curtis’s restoration show she would mention in each episode that they were only helping the homeowners with certain sections. *Since the fireplace was a recreation of a design the homeowner showed Erin, I think it should’ve been framed that way on the show instead of the Erin presenting it in-episode like an idea she made on the fly.