CruiseDiva

Dang...I fell asleep and missed the last half of the show so I'll have to watch it on the DVR. IF Nashville isn't cancelled, I hope the network gives it an earlier time slot in the next season.

I've never ever heard friends, family, or even acquaintances call their children "kiddos." Is that a Texas thing?

I'd forgotten about the Home Goods store visit. I think you're totally on target about the "multiple Home Goods episodes, Wayfair specials and then, a lil Ikea for good measure" and maybe they will toss in Target just for fun. Even my husband groans when their ads and promos appear. The original premise of the show is gone and all we get are overblown commercials. Sad. The first season was interesting.

I hope Colt at least had a condom.

Okay... I have a cerebral aneurysm and have also had pulmonary embolism so I know what I've gone through. The aneurysm takes a while to develop--not minutes during surgery being performed for something else. Mine was so large that the neurosurgeon estimated it had been in my brain for years. It was repaired by filling it with tiny platinum coils to redirect the blood flow and decrease the chance that it will burst, which is probably what happened with Bev. Pulmonary embolism (in my case caused by deep vein thrombosis as he result of a broken leg and weeks in a cast) is a different story. I had 20 minutes to live when my husband got me to the trauma center and spent several days in ICU on oxygen and with Heparin (blood thinner) being pumped into my veins. Then I had to take Warfarin for a year to keep my blood thin and also have a vein filter to keep any future clots from getting to my lungs. I was taking estrogen (hormone replacement therapy) before the clots and was immediately taken off them--they can be a trigger. So, that's what I know about the two conditions. More than anyone probably wanted to know, but it sounded to me like the writers got them mixed up.

Also interesting are Joanna's recent Wayfair commercials that are all over HGTV. I don't think I've actually heard her mention using furniture or decor items from Wayfair on the show, but I have seen in her blog that she sells items from her own store that I recognized from the shows and she mentions local shops where she sources items. If this show becomes one long ad for Wayfair (like the beachfront flip show), it will truly jump the shark.

I've always thought Ava is an odd looking girl and she looked even odder in that nearly naked costume. The whole 'revenge' thing has been way overdone.

Wow, that group tap number was so sloppy that it was cringe-worthy!

So, anyone know which brother won tonight's challenge? I fell asleep before the ending.

Am I an evil bitch for hoping the "bad news" from the operating room is about Beverly and not Deacon?

Actually, I thought the homeowners had probably already moved some things into the house since they'd already closed on the purchase and the piano was probably theirs, but too big to hide in one of the rooms we didn't get to see. Has the second season ended? I haven't seen any new episodes on my cable schedule.

Thanks once again, aguabella, for your insights. I agree about the last homeowners--the husband seemed to be going along with the deal to make his wife happy. Perhaps she thought of it as promo for her real estate business. While it's been interesting to see some 'newer' homes fixed up, I really miss the concept of Season 1--fixing up disasters that would have been torn down if they had't been rehabbed. The most recent episodes in Season 2 have been homes that for the most part could have been moved right into despite being ugly and not up-to-date with HGTV's holy trinity of granite, stainless steel, and hardwood floors. We did that with our last house...moved in and then set to work refinishing kitchen cabinets, updated the bathrooms, installed new appliances, ceiling fans, and new flooring, plus a few other projects. Our floorplan was good, but we did end up moving a doorway to create a breakfast room out of what had been a storage space and removed a linen closet we didn't need because the house had three of them, My guess is that in Season 3 we'll have to suffer through fixing up the Silos, which will further cut into the original concept of the show.

On another thread someone posted a link to an article with a Q&A about Fixer Upper. You can read it at http://hookedonhouses.net/2015/03/23/hgtv-behind-the-scenes-chip-joanna-on-fixer-upper/#more-70074 I thought this was interesting and answers the question about the "bonus feature" in every episode:

Joanna's blog said the piano "came with the house." Sure it did. With the lack of discussion here, it appears that a lot of people have lost interest.

Oh my. Tonight's episode featured a home buying husband & his real estate agent wife. Wouldn't she already be totally familiar with the local houses for sale? Heh. Plus, when I noticed the piano in the house they ultimately "selected" it was immediately obvious that it was the house they'd purchased in order to appear on the show. People don't leave behind expensive baby grand pianos like that when they move out unless the buyer wants it included in the purchase. The piano was also featured in the "reveal" decor, but not mentioned. Then Chip & JoAnna spent a good portion of the show conferring with their children & fretting over the purchase of "the silo" property for her business. As if they hadn't already bought it. They then really jumped the shark by making another shopping trip to (ta-da!) Home Goods! More craptastic product placement. I didn't see a lot about the fixer upper house reveal that screamed "French Country" although Chip & JoAnna mentioned the term numerous times, particularly in reference to what they planned for the fireplace, which ended up with painted brick and a heavy wood mantle. No, not French Country IMHO. The real estate agent & her husband weren't over the top in their surprise and glee during the reveal. That was refreshing. As was the use of real chairs around the Clint Harp dining table. The new front porch was a nice addition, but again painted brick.

This is what it says on the HGTV website in the "Be on HGTV" page for Fixer Upper: In terms of the final product, apparently anything that isn't installed permanently is all staging and an earlier post by someone who lives in the area said a truck arrives after the reveal to move it all out. So, to answer the "shopping" question... yes, it appears to be fake in terms of what is actually left behind. Unless of course what JoAnnna & Chip purchase is for one of those permanent installations (probably like chandeliers and other light fixtures). I've seen it speculated that the homeowners can pay for anything they want to keep and wonder if the "custom" things like the Clint Harp tables and metal cut-out quotations that hang on the walls are included in the reno budget. The reason I wonder about the latter is that I've seen identical pieces with the quotations for sale in the Magnolia online store.

Loose bricks on the entire exterior of the house? I hope that was discovered before those home buyers closed on the sale. Hopefully they didn't pay full asking price. The replacement siding just made the (formerly) brick house look cheap. The little "balcony" did nothing to enhance the appearance. The industrial looking railings and posts inside were an improvement, but I would have rather seen glass inserts instead of the horizontal metal rods stretched between the rails. To me, that gave it the look of a suspension bridge--okay in a loft apartment, but kind of cheesy in a house. The show moves so quickly through the reveal that it's hard to pick up on some of the details so I took a look at JoAnna's blog, where there are photos added each week. This one, http://magnoliahomes.net/the-faceless-bunker/ really picked up a lot that wasn't apparent on the TV. The massive stair treads leading down from the entry floor to the one below are "raw" looking and the intermediary landing box is an odd chunk that takes up a lot of room and looks out of place. The entire staircase looked out of proportion. Also, smack in the middle of the kitchen peninsula is a supporting column that is pretty big for the space. Maybe if it had been painted it would have blended in better. I thought it was odd to have such a large wood column there after they made such a big deal about "opening" up the landing by removing the wood posts and rails. Once again Clint builds a table--what looks for all practical purposes like a picnic table with benches--for the dining room. Doesn't anyone want to be seated in comfortable dining chairs to enjoy a meal? I thought he fireplace actually looked better with the brick than the black tile. That was a puzzling design change, especially since they left the "exposed" brick walls in the adjacent game room. Hopefully, that brick was secured properly and won't fall on someone's head when they are sitting at the dinky bar. I also noticed at least three different types/shades of wood used throughout. I was disappointed to see that the only master bedroom photo on the blog was an image of the hanging bedside tree trunk "table"--JoAnna designed that to make it look beach-y? Really? And voila! if you don't find anything you like at Home Goods, you can buy most of the accessories JoAnna featured in the house by going to the Magnolia online shop.

Thanks so much for the insighe, aguabella. You've made a lot of behind the scenes things regarding construction projects clear. Our experience with a recent screen room add-on to our home was that we worked with a contractor who has done thousands of projects in our area. We told him basically what we wanted, he designed the space, and got approval from the county. Once that was done, we then had numerous meetings with him about interior details--he dropped by every day when his crew left during he demo and rebuild. He made suggestions, which turned out to be better than what we had in mind, and the end result is impressive. Yes, our project cost more than we originally planned on spending, but we added on features. We were up to speed on every step during the project. I don't believe for a minute that the "fixer upper" clients stay away from the site and have no clue what's doing on, other than the meeting they have with JoAnna in her kitchen and the Phone Call of Doom. Do they not drive by & get a glimpse of the home exterior before the reveal? I don't think so. ;)

I don't know, but some of those phone-calls-of-doom are for thousands of dollars of supposedly unexpected expenses, like HVAC upgrades/replacements and structural beams. The show certainly makes it sound like the homeowners are going to have to come up with more money. Yes, the 'extra' in the budget does pop up early and I suspect that those things are already in the planning stages and it's a producer-driven device. Hopefully, the homeowners ARE more involved in the reno. I sure would be. Some of those phone call have been for rather substantial amounts. Right. We had a screen room added to our home recently and I decided I wanted the outside brick wall of the house covered with the same beadboard we were using on the exterior screen room walls (below the screening). I wanted the screen room, which is actually considered a three-season room in our area, to look more like an actual room than an add-on so we covered the brick. The contractor just figured the extra cost for the beadboard & labor and we paid it. That's the way things work in real life. Yes. Very fakity-fake :) No apology needed. I'm glad to hear your thoughts about the real world. I've been there, done that, but still enjoy most of the reno projects on HGTV. They give me ideas for future projects that I'd like to do in my own 28 year old home.

I never thought I'd say this, but The Property Brothers show is more entertaining lately.

Oops. Sorry...duplicate post.

That's what I've been thinking all along since the first time I heard that "little money left in the budget" BS. I've been wanting to shout at the TV, "Don't SPEND it! They will find something wrong and you will get the fixer up phone call of doom." They're going to tell you they need XXX more dollars (or as Chip says, bucks) and, if that"little money left in the budget" was from your contingency fund, get out your wallet. Yes, I know it's reality TV and that's a producer-driven device that's very predictable, but it's gotten as annoying as the repetitive clocks, letters, signs, etc. Nearly as annoying as Chip's goofiness, Joanna's product placement for her merchandise, and the Clint project-of-the-week-using-salvaged-wood. I enjoyed their first season. It was a charming breath of fresh air, but it's gone stale. What a shame.

Two words: John Deere. I hope she had enough money left over to buy a riding mower.

I was shaking my head over her choice to "improve" the front door. She must be new to Texas and not accustomed to the climate? If that wasn't the case, I missed it. The front door looked nice in the reveal, but seriously? Having that done instead of HVAC for the sunroom was a mistake. When it gets hot, the son will fry even with ceiling fans and when it's cold he'll have to sit right in front of the stove to keep warm instead of playing at his Clint Harp (!) table. The dining table with built-in benches...did the magazine racks on the back of one bench remind anyone else of their dentist's office waiting room? The clocks and letters on the wall, the signs, the tearing down of walls, the "opening up" of staircase walls, the removal of foyers, the puddled drapes, the Clint Harp projects, ship lap (although we only see that in really old houses), Chip's antics, and a few others that I can't think of offhand. Yes--a drinking game is in order, but we'll all be alcoholics by the end of the season! Edited to add more repeating elements that I thought of: painted brick, white subway tile, farmhouse kitchen sinks, barn doors, and of course all the tchotkes available for purchase from Jo's shop and online. Interestingly, she even sells copies of the signs found in the staged homes. I guess those weren't necessarily one-of-a-kind pieces made specifically for the homeowners. Product placement, y'all.

auntjess, I remember mid-century modern first-hand as well and, while Jo's design was contemporary, it wasn't mid-century modern by any stretch of the imagination. Don't get me started on painted brick. The homeowners who allow their outside brick to be painted by Chip & Jo are going to be so sorry in years to come when that paint starts to look worn (and chipped) and they have no recourse but to put out big money to have it pressure washed, scraped, and repainted. Trust me, we lived in a rental house in Louisiana that had painted brick inside and out. The house was only about five years old and the inside brick looked fine, but the outside brick was already starting to look sad. The owners we rented from told us they hoped to sell it before they had to repaint it. Neighbors next door told us the natural red brick was gorgeous and they were astonished when the original owner (who was a decorator) had it painted yellow. camom, whenever that promo ad for Fixer Upper comes on with Chip telling Jo how smart & pretty she is (after she mispronounces Realtor), my husband laughs at her telling him "that piece goes over there" and the piece she is referring to is a bank of four beat up lockers that look like they came out of a high school gym. Doesn't everyone want junk in their living room? LOL! (edited because spelling matters!)