DownTheShore

David will just dump some interior paint on a canvas, sign his name and they will be thrilled to have one of his paintings. ~eyeroll~ Good point about the loss of space in that room for the married couple due to that bathroom bump-out. I foresee built-ins and a Murphy bed (if they can budget for it). @hkit - I agree with you re HGTV's busy yards, which is why I only watch their yard shows now if there is nothing else interesting on TV. You know they're going to install some sort of kitschy bar, at least two seating areas, a firepit, some sort of water feature, a free-standing pergola (those things drive me mad - either give a roof for shade or forget about the whole thing). I saw one of those shows recently where they installed one of those fake streams made of rocks not water. Just - why? There's never any room to put up a volleyball or badminton net, or room to play catch without falling into a pool or a bed of plants. Not to mention that they never include any vegetable gardens.

I wasn't meaning that you were making a fuss over it, LuckyBitch. Just speaking in general about the couples usually seen in the episodes. Because you know most of them aren't going to be having housefuls of guests, especially when they're newlyweds for example. Yet their tone of voice when they contemplate having to use the main bathroom is as if they're going to have to trek across the Gobi Desert to reach it.

It's aimed at the American audience, which is relatively ignorant about foreign currencies and exchange rates. I think it's more laughable than phoney, especially when only one or none of the troika (renting/buying couple & realtor) speaks unaccented American English. I was thinking that she must have gotten an inheritance, too, which was why she kept mentioning her mother. Perhaps to give credit where credit's due in a subtle way, when her relatives watch the episode so she doesn't get any snide remarks later? It didn't really seem to have much relevance to the situation, otherwise.

The same thoughts were going through my head, especially the question as to why they couldn't use one of the upstairs bedrooms while he was small? They could just as easily crowd the upstairs bathroom at the same time (because isn't it a written rule somewhere that married couples simply must use the bathroom at the same time?) just as well as the one in the master bedroom. I always ask "who's going to clean it?" too. ------ And I always cringe when the wife in an episode wants a chandelier over the bathtub, and I think how water-spotted the crystals are going to get from the steam, and what a pain it is to take apart and clean a chandelier to begin with - much less one perched over a hard surface like a porcelain tub.

I liked that couple too. And I agreed with her reasoning against an open floor plan - in that it limits your decorating choices since everything is seen all at once. I didn't get the gift-wrapping station bit either - did I miss something and perhaps she has a small side business? Or maybe they both have ginormous families?

I actually liked the sisters' faux grass idea especially since it's made much more lifelike nowadays. It would have been PITA to try to get grass to grow in that small area not to mention having to move all the furniture all the time to cut it. They should have glued down that parquet floor, though. I think that was a strike against them. Also, what was with that teeny-tiny pergola? That was virtually useless as a shade feature. Big Hair (who always initially inspires dislike in me that gradually fades away as the episode progresses because despite the hair she seems to be an okay person) made a serious mistake with that sand. She keeps decorating for herself. I saw all that sand and my first thought was, "that's going to become the neighborhood cat litter box". And sand ALWAYS gets in the house, even if you brush your shoes off or wash your feet; I vacuum my sister's shore cottage between renters and have to dump at least a pound of sand out of the container. You'd think that they'd all learn by now to demo just what's needed in case they don't have enough time to do all of their projects. I was wondering why they didn't use a paint sprayer to stain the boardwalk, instead of staining each individual board. I think the twins got robbed on this one. They had a nice, restful shady backyard (having that full-grown tree there was a plus) that served the dining and entertaining purpose - and they finally finished one of the challenges. Nicole made it sound like that back entry way was going to resemble Grand Central Station, but really, how much traffic is it going to have normally? Grass that's rooted can take a lot of wear before dirt patches start to show, and it wouldn't take anything for the new homeowners to throw down a few stepping stones to create a path right on top of it. The married couple's backyard was nice and it was designed well for entertaining. I thought that it was a little too busy, but that's just me. And they have no way of easily watering that grass and those plants, which means that they'll probably be just as dead as the twins' non-existent walkway. I was really surprised that she picked them again - considering that their bathroom mistake with the tile was glaring and they should never have gotten that particular win. She did not look happy to be there, once again. I have nothing against her and usually watch her show, but she always looks like she should either be playing the role of a consumptive in a Victorian drama or else trying to score some drugs on a street corner somewhere.

Saw one set in Paris featuring the only Parisian realtor on earth, Adrian Leeds. LOL. I like Adrian, she always manages to dig up some interesting apartments. Didn't that home buyer say that she's been coming to Paris for 20 years or so on vacation? Yet she hasn't mastered the French language? At least she resisted getting the teenie-tiniest apartment in the oldest building in Paris even though it was unique. (One of the first things I would have changed would have been to install a tankless water heater; that would have freed up space in the bathroom area.) If I was buying a place in Paris, I still think that I would always pick space over a single, choice arrondissement.

Was watching the episode with Nicole & Dave (Charlotte NC to Marietta GA). All I have to say is that they better thank God everyday that I don't rule the world. What a very determined woman, bless her heart; and I mean that in the most Southern way possible. I wondered why she actually chose that house, when she was subsequently changing every single thing about it. Another one of those mothers who simply must have a laser eye on her only child at all times. God forbid that a partial wall should block her view of the room he is in. Can she just move a couple feet right or left to check on him? No, out with the wall instead! Poor little Beau, the focus of so much parental attention I had to laugh when the realtor said that even though their house was lower than the street, nothing would happen to their house because "it's on a slab". Superstorm Sandy's surge created a sinkhole under my sister's slab and half of it broke off and dropped six inches from the frame of the building. Granted an ocean surge is not likely to happen to that house, but we've learned to never underestimate the power of water.

Saw the repeat of the Ulan Bator one with the sweet Canadian guy in the odd glasses who works in micro-finance. I still can't believe that he chose that dump to live in. That bathroom setup alone would have been a no-go for me. And if it is so easy to get a roommate from the ex-pat community, then $750/mo split two ways wouldn't break anyone's bank - AND he could have gotten two bathrooms, the dishwasher and the washing machine, and the balconies. Some people I'll just never understand.

To those of us without a bathroom right in our bedroom, walking a few feet in one direction or the other doesn't seem to be something to make a big fuss over. ;-> I'd actually rather not have one in my bedroom - who wants the moisture and icky smells?

I think they soon find that their travel budgets are just as unrealistic as their housing budgets are. ============ I was watching one of the episodes the other day where the family with two boys moved to Costa Rica, I think it was, because they wanted a different life for their children, when actually what they want is a different lifestyle for themselves I always wonder what the children's opinion of that move is, as they grow older. Kids are resilient and can usually flourish anywhere if their home life is safe and loving, but I wonder if being conversant in another language and culture gives them an advantage over their peers, if their opportunities are broadened or lessened? Are they actually in the local country's school system, or are they going to one of those International Schools, and if so, then how much of a part of the local culture are they, really?

True. Very few of them are even thrilled that they can afford what they can. They either accept it as their due or else are disappointed because they can't have everything that they dreamed of - immediately. They all seem to be into immediate gratification; everything has to be perfect from the moment they move in.

I'd like to see a San Francisco one with unlimited funds, too. I want someone to buy some big-a$$ old mansion that had managed to survive the 1908 quake, or one that was built immediately afterward - not an apartment or condo in one, the whole darn thing.

I knew she was going to pick that Hawaii house, too, because it was the least interesting of all of them and the newest, and there was no way his personality was going to supersede hers. I didn't really like her for some reason; she seemed to have the air of "Mrs. Future-General's Wife" about her. Though they weren't really looking for entertaining space, so perhaps my assumption about his career path is wrong. I would have made sure that realtor took the bird with her if I bought that house. Keeping a bird caged outdoors just seems cruel to me, because they can see that there's something more than their restricted space.

I don't think that I can take another couple whining about no double sinks in the master bathroom. Haven't they ever heard of taking turns, of sharing? I was raised with one small bathroom for my entire family. You got in, did your business and got out. You didn't leave makeup and stuff all over the sink, you put it on top of your dresser in your bedroom or in one of its drawers. I mean, common courtesy people! If you know that it takes you an hour to do your makeup and hair, then do it someplace other than the bathroom so you don't tie it up for whoever needs to use it. Conversely, if your SO is going to do her makeup in the master bath and tie the thing up, then use the other bathroom in the house. A guest bathroom isn't a guest bathroom until you ACTUALLY have a guest in your home. That whole double sink thing has to be one of the most contrived bits on all the HH shows. I applaud the realtors who point out that there IS another bathroom.

I love when they go into one of those English cottages that the woman raves over and the guy's head is just about hitting the ceiling - and she's trying to convince him that it's the perfect place for them! Ditto when that happens on the regular HH and they are in the basement. Don't know about the rest of you, but if I my SO was whacking his head on the ceilings and door frames, that place would have immediately been off the list; I wouldn't even be trying to sell it as a viable place to him. Can you imagine how claustrophobic it would be to live like that? I'm looking forward to the day when one of those couples walks into one of those English apartments/houses and just asks why every single room has a door. Why is a door needed to the kitchen or the living room, er, lounge? It always seems to me that just makes the place smaller-seeming if you have an opened door taking up space in the room. First thing I'd do is pop those babies off their hinges and stash the doors wherever I could (probably under the beds if there's no other place). I also don't get the aversion to having one of those washer/dryer combos in the kitchen. What's the big deal? You're only putting the clothes in and taking them out, and you don't have to do that while you are cooking. Plumbing-wise it probably makes sense to have the appliance there.

Yeah, but still. Who wants an unrelated third person underfoot all the time, when you're having your "foreign adventure"? I couldn't help but wonder if she would have been so agreeable to having a female roommate around instead - lol.

Drives me crazy when they walk into what will be the master bedroom and complain that it's so much smaller than what they have back in the US, or there isn't a good view from the window. To my way of thinking, all you need is enough room for a bed, to take care of all the business that is normally done on it. And if you're sleeping - usually with blinds, shutters, drapes, curtains, shades closed - then what the heck does the view from the bedroom window matter? As long as it provides light and no one can stand outside it and stare in, I'm good. I think the problem is that here in the US, we really have no conception of what things cost elsewhere. I know that I was raised during a time when my relatives in communist Eastern Europe basically ate dirt, so my notions of Europe formed as everyone there being poor and that an American income would let you live like a king. Even though I know better, I'm still shocked at the housing prices in the UK, for example, because of that image that was imprinted on my brain as a child.

I have on the HHI episode with the couple from San Francisco who are moving to Ecuador. Another couple who talk about "building their relationship". Is it just me, or does that phrase depress the rest of you as much as it does me? So few of them seem to be able to say plainly that they love each other. Instead, they treat it as some sort of process that can be managed and organized. It's like it's some sort of Lego construct.

That guy, while seemingly a good husband and father, was such a surfing cliche, wasn't he? That dyed blonde hair! Are people supposed to think that was sun-bleached? And what's with the complaints about 6 or 15 minute walks to the beach? I mean, isn't he going to physically exerting himself in the water for hours? The walk is going to kill him, though?

I think that a good designer is going to suggest things that are you think are outside of your comfort zone, just because you can't imagine those things working together yourself. I think most of us have learned, in the course of learning to dress ourselves, how to do basic color coordination. What not all of us have learned though (and I include myself in this group) is what to add to the mix so that the ordinary becomes wow! That takes skill and a better understanding of the meshing of design, color, and texture.

I liked the New Orleans couple too, though I would have chosen the house with the second floor master bedroom, just for the increased square footage. My thinking was that you can always add "character" back into a house in a piecemeal fashion over time, and it's better to get the most space right up front without having to remodel for it. I like the shotgun style, but they could have brought that look back to the house I preferred.

My sister hired a decorator to help her update the decor in her shore cottage (a very small place). She paid the woman by the hour, they went over her likes and dislikes, favorite colors, what styles she liked, what furniture and tchotchkes she wanted to keep, etc. The woman went shopping with her to the local Home Goods store for accessories, recommended the color and pattern for the window toppers, and what colors and patterns should be used on the reupholstered chairs. The decorator's services didn't really cost my sister much, probably a few hundred dollars but the cottage looks totally pulled together and coordinated. Everyone who's seen it has praised it. That was the first time any of us have used a decorator, and it was a totally pleasant experience. I think that you have to know, going in, what you like and be able to articulate that to the decorator. Not to mention choosing one that wants to create your vision for you and tweak whichever items are necessary to improve it, rather than one who's know for a particular "look" because then you're paying them to recreate what they like, not necessarily what you can live with. (Always remember what Hildi did on Trading Spaces: http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/the-5-most-wtf-room-makeovers-hildi-santo-tomas-did-on-tradi#nqsf8e )

Saw an episode where a couple went to school in VA together, he was originally from Wisconsin, she supposedly was from FL, and they were moving to Green Bay. IIRC he wanted to live on the west side of town closer to the stadium and she wanted an older home with "character" on the east side. What struck me about her was that there didn't seem to be a trace of FL in her accent. Every now and then she would pronounce a word that sounded like she originally came from North Dakota or somewhere in that area. It was odd. Back to kitchens, while I like the look of open upper shelves in a kitchen, all I can think of is dusty dishes. That's one of the reasons why I've never liked those hanging pots over a center island. Not really a fan of center islands either; they just seem to narrow down the room for movement in a kitchen. Also don't like stove tops on islands with large vents overhead that interfere with line of sight (I'm tall). I don't mind glass cabinet doors, but I would definitely use either frosted or that ridged glass that blurs the shapes of items behind the glass. I like those long horizontal upper cabinets that usually show up in the European cooking shows; the ones where the whole front lifts overhead, so the cabinets can remain open while cooking without the danger of whacking your head in the corner of the open cabinet door (been there, done that, writhed in pain). I just don't like white cabinets; to me they represent cheap, generic cabinets - no matter how expensive they might have been; that would turn me off buying a house with them, unless they could be repainted or something. Off-white I don't mind as much, or antiqued white - just those blinding white ones.

I think it's about applying the accent to only certain worlds and not others. If you're going to roll your "r's" when you pronounce certain words, then you should be rolling your "r's for all words if that's how it's normally done in your native language. Otherwise it comes off merely as an affectation. If you've lost most of your accent because you've become primarily an English-speaker, then ramping up a heavily accented pronunciation for only certain words seems false. It's the "Nik-a-rhag-u-ah, Nik-a-rrha-gwah, Neeka-rrrhah-gwah" thing.