laredhead

Pickles, when I saw the Ohio episode and the HH trying to back out onto the busy street, I was asking myself why they didn't put in a small parking pad/turn around down the driveway so that when they came home they could just turn the car around so that you could drive out frontwards when you leave the house. Maybe they'll figure that out, but it did look like a very busy street. As for the Florida episode, I believe the couple said they had been "together" for many years, and married only 3 or 4 if I remember correctly. Maybe he had trouble making up his mind about getting married too which is why it took several years to commit to that.

For those interested in how the final scene was kept a secret, here's a link to an article about it. https://tvline.com/2019/05/21/ncis-cote-de-pablo-returns-ziva-season-17/

My favorite line from the realtor to that overbearing LI wife last night was when she was complaining about the construction noise next door. The realtor told her that it wasn't necessary for her to mention the noise when they entered every room of the house. Was that the house they bought? The husband seemed a bit "out to lunch" with his desire for a 1200 sf apartment on the 20th floor. Maybe he was thinking about it as an escape for himself.

What was the reason for Gibbs getting his old haircut style? Making himself look military before surrendering to the law? I didn't mind the episode, and I think the writers are beginning to think about the end of the series. While the ratings for NCIS are high, they have fallen over the last 2 years, and Harmon is getting a bit old to play an active employee of NCIS. Someone mentioned the number of lines Mark Harmon had in this episode, and it was sort of a "shock" to hear him speak so much dialogue last night. I like him as an actor, but I think he's more effective when he speaks less and uses his facial expressions to convey his thoughts. I guess with that in mind, it would be totally true that a usually non-verbal person would have trouble expressing his thoughts verbally. I also liked Torres attitude about Gibbs' confession to the team. You know his character has some secrets from all of his years under deep cover. He probably understands Gibbs' state of mind more than the other two. Ellie is just annoying.

I liked the 3rd house in the Denver episode. Evidently the low ceilings were a drawback they couldn't overcome. Who thinks it's a great idea to install a garage door in a living room? I think a folding wall of windows would have been more attractive and practical.

Juliet, she went $10,000 over budget. As for the dishwasher placement, I thought the same thing as you, but I kept going back and looking at the kitchen layout (thank goodness for DVR's), and that was a very short run of cabinet with a door next to the cabinet. There was no other place for the dishwasher. I think a white paneled front on the dishwasher to match the cabinets would have made it look less off center. It didn't bother me too much, because I didn't like the finished product as a whole. Too bland for my taste.

Just watched the Denver episode and I agree with all of the criticisms of the remodel mentioned up thread. I want to add that in addition to the creaky, whiny voices that young women have decided to use, please stop using the word "amazing" to describe everything in a newly remodeled house. Subway tile isn't amazing, and neither is a new bathtub, wood floors, etc. Find another adjective to use. Yes, it was possibly one of the most boring redos we've seen on HHR, even though the buyer thinks she has "amazing" design skills. I think she was joking with that comment. Every time she walked into a house and wanted to knock out a wall, it seemed that the wall had plumbing on the other side. You can't just knock out a wall that contains plumbing without incurring a large expense to relocate the plumbing, if possible. She ran into that little hiccup with the furnace flue. The other thing that irritates me about these owners is their constant whining that they don't know how to do any DIY projects and it would be a huge burden to take on. That's why you HIRE people to do it for you. I have a lot of experience with home projects, but there is no way I would tackle a bathroom and kitchen remodel on my own, or even act as a contractor for the project. Just open your wallet and pay someone to do it for you. If you can't afford to do that, then maybe a fixer isn't for you. Obviously she had some painting skills, and could handle a screwdriver to assemble an umbrella. She gets a participation trophy for that. Would HH please find participants who want color and a designer who has more than 10,000 shades of white and gray in their color swatches? Oh, and about painted brick. There was nothing wrong with the brick on the exterior of that house. She didn't like the color, so of course, it had to be painted white. Painting brick is more than slapping a coat of paint on it. You have to determine the type of brick and paint it with the appropriate paint. Brick needs to breathe, and painting it with the wrong paint can cause moisture problems down the road. In my area, young buyers are snapping up houses built in the 50's (red brick), 60's & 70's (what we call old brick here) and immediately painting them all shades of white and cream. Personally, I think that causes a loss of some of the character of the house. IMVHO if the brick is in good shape, don't paint it and create more maintenance problems for yourself. Work with what you have and save some money. If unpainted brick ever comes back in style, get your sandblasters ready.

What to say about the couple looking for a house in the Minneapolis area? So many things, but I wasn't surprised that she got the house she wanted, even though it had only 4 bedrooms. I liked the fact that the man wanted a house with a huge yard, or even a couple of acres so that the children could play outside, and he could enjoy that space with them. Nope, wasn't gonna happen. Obviously, they had known each other for a long time, but that was an opposites attract relationship, IMHO. Anyone notice that she drove in all of the house viewing scenes? Don't think I've ever seen that before on HH. Maybe he doesn't like driving. Getting real tired of the HH's obsessions of carpet vs. no carpet. That's a easy fix either way, so get over it. What's not an easy fix is location, lot size, demo of certain interior walls if they are load bearing, etc.

I was curious about the time invested in the Secnav's gift of the commemorative coin/medal to Vance. They lingered on that scene, and then again when Vance was alone. Wondering about the significance of that in future episodes.

Chessiegal, I'm with you, so make that a table for two.

I agree that the Raleigh woman seemed to be yelling throughout the entire episode. I was impressed that they were able to buy such a large house for $435,000(?). Wonder where it is located? I think they said it was closer to downtown which kind of goes against the rule that closer to downtown means more expensive. Anyone familiar with Raleigh and real estate prices? The husband seemed to be the quiet, steady one of the pair. His comments about new construction as opposed to older houses were good.

To the New Jersey couple, you have TWO bathrooms, you both don't have to use the same bathroom to get ready at the same time. Your child is young, and won't be primping her hair in the other bathroom while you are getting ready to go to work. Geeeze, people, use some common sense. The realtor was a saint. He should have gotten extra commission for that sale. The house they bought was the best of the 3, but none of them really appealed to me.

Auntjess, you are so right about counter space around range and within easy reach of refrigerator. When I remodeled my kitchen a couple of years ago, the kitchen designers (women!) kept talking about how important it is to have counter space easily reachable either adjoining the refrigerator or close by so that you could set things down while getting them in or out of the refrigerator.

The Atlanta woman with her obsession with columns and antebellum houses was irritating to end. She just wanted a grand house to make an impression. The production was like a mish mash of HH beach house and HH, with the realtor not going through house with them, and letting the HH's do the commentary. If a house is occupied, realtor's don't usually let people just walk through on their own. It was obvious the 3rd house was theirs, and the reveal shots didn't even try to disguise that because the decor and furnishings were the same. I laughed when they walked through one house and they kept dubbing rooms as living room #1, #2, #3, etc. It's your house, you can make the rooms whatever you want to make them.

Grrarrggh, I totally agree. I live in a house built in 1957, and it has 2 bathrooms. Not sure if they measure 8' X 8' each, but they have a tub, toilet, and sink mounted in storage cabinet. Both have built in linen closets. I can mop the floor with a couple of paper towels - lol. That's space enough for anything I need to do in a bathroom. When I walk into new houses today, and see the huge bathrooms, all I can think of is having to keep them clean and that acre of floor mopped.