Rock The Block - General Discussion

[sue450]

On 10/22/2019 at 8:57 AM, LittleIggy said:

So I was right about her personality! 😏

yes her show "windy city rehab"   she is annoying always having problems....many houses had work stopped  they couldn't get the permits and she blamed everything on her partner donovan who I think might be be suing her now...just google her AND  her show or got to the forum on this link!  

[CrazyInAlabama]

Good point.     It looks like between the kitchen storage, and the laundry room huge number of cabinets, that all of the storage in the house is in those two rooms.    The kitchen would have looked better to me, if the pantry door was one flat surface, and not just look like the rest of the wall of cabinets.     They should have made the side of the kitchen on the dining room side shorter, so there was more dining space.   That's a small dining room for the size of the house.   

[sue450]

On 4/14/2021 at 9:07 AM, Madding crowd said:

I used to really like the design shows because they gave me ideas I could use for my own home but then they changed to all house flipping all the time. These flipping shows don’t appeal as much because they are all staged with temporary furniture and art and we never see houses that show what the home owner really has, perhaps mixed with some new pieces.

I did like Design Star but Trading Spaces was mostly how ugly you could make a space IMO.

hildie  was the WORST on trading spaces...straw on the wall....million flowers  stapled to the bathroom wall...a whole room made with cardboard (yes even the furniture was cardboard)   she struck fear in the hearts of the homeowners that she would be the designer their neighbors would get   to deign the room in their house

 

[Spunkygal]

23 minutes ago, sue450 said:

hildie  was the WORST on trading spaces...straw on the wall....million flowers  stapled to the bathroom wall...a whole room made with cardboard (yes even the furniture was cardboard)   she struck fear in the hearts of the homeowners that she would be the designer their neighbors would get   to deign the room in their house

 

Didn’t one of the male designers paint everything in someone’s living room white (or was it black.) I mean EVERYTHING....lighting, furniture, walls, etc. Not one bit of relief in sight. The homeowners were two guys and I thought one of them was going to cry (rightly so.) The neighbors who they traded places with who were teamed up with guy designer told the homeowners that they’d help them repaint. The designer was a supreme jerk about the whole thing. That was the last episode of that show that I ever watched. It was so rude and mean. 

[Madding crowd]

I remember that episode and think that was Doug. I always thought I could do a way better job of redecorating a room and I have zero training in interior design. Of course the show was looking for crazy stuff not what I would do which might be paint a reasonable color, rearrange existing furniture , find cute art work and accessories, add colorful throws and pillows etc. It would never occur to me to glue anything on a wall!

Edited April 18, 2021 by Madding crowd

[buttersister]

K, you got me. I’d choose Alison over Hilde for my house.

Was re-watching five minutes of the basement ep. Just enough to see a medium shot of Mike murmuring, “make it right” like a hostage. 

[carrps]

47 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I remember that episode and think that was Doug.

Not a bad guess. I remember Doug doing things for the lulz mostly. For his IRL work, he wasn't bad, but TP wanted PERSONALITIES!!!!!

[sue450]

On 4/18/2021 at 2:44 PM, Spunkygal said:

Didn’t one of the male designers paint everything in someone’s living room white (or was it black.) I mean EVERYTHING....lighting, furniture, walls, etc. Not one bit of relief in sight. The homeowners were two guys and I thought one of them was going to cry (rightly so.) The neighbors who they traded places with who were teamed up with guy designer told the homeowners that they’d help them repaint. The designer was a supreme jerk about the whole thing. That was the last episode of that show that I ever watched. It was so rude and mean. 

yes it actually  involved doug and of course hildie!!  one did the entire room in white and the the other did the entire room in black on the same episode!!   

 

[Ohmo]

Nate and Jeremiah's 'Rock the Block' Home Sells Quickly—and It's No Wonder Why

[buttersister]

Ha, looks like N&J was the first house to close (B&M's place is pending). So maybe we should again ask realtor Anita (of the HGTV stable) whose house had the highest value?

[Sewlitaire]

I'm not getting this. All the houses were listed for the same price and they all had the same budget so this whole premise of "who improves the value of the home the most" is bonkers. Since time is money when it comes to real estate, shouldn't the ones who sell the house the quickest win?

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, the entire storyline of who added the most value was ridiculous, considering that they put all of the them on the market for the same price.    I think the winner should have been which house had a completed sale first.   

Nate and Jeremiah's sold (or about to), I bet the screened front porch helped a lot.

Alison and Mike's is still listed as Pending.

David & Tiffany's is active, not pending. 

Brian and Mika's is pending.

All are still listed for $635,000.     It will be interesting to see if the pending sales close.    

Edited April 21, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[deirdra]

8 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, the entire storyline of who added the most value was ridiculous, considering that they put all of the them on the market for the same price.    I think the winner should have been which house had a completed sale first.   

Or wait until at least two sell and see which was for the highest price.

Edited April 21, 2021 by deirdra

[DVDFreaker]

On 4/19/2021 at 11:27 PM, sue450 said:

yes it actually  involved doug and of course hildie!!  one did the entire room in white and the the other did the entire room in black on the same episode!!   

 

I remembered that, it was a bad episode, I remembered that the guys who got the black room was happy with it but the guys who got the white room was very upset

[sue450]

oh and god help you if the room hildie had to redo had a ceiling fan....she hates ceiling fans and removed them from every room she ever did that had them!

[buttersister]

Of course she did. They'd interfere with the paper or straw or whatever TF she'd stapled to the walls. Sociopathic hack.

[justdoit10]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:39 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, the entire storyline of who added the most value was ridiculous, considering that they put all of the them on the market for the same price.    I think the winner should have been which house had a completed sale first.   

Nate and Jeremiah's sold (or about to), I bet the screened front porch helped a lot.

Alison and Mike's is still listed as Pending.

David & Tiffany's is active, not pending. 

Brian and Mika's is pending.

All are still listed for $635,000.     It will be interesting to see if the pending sales close.    

I just looked at an update.  N&J sold, M&B now sold, A&M still pending and T&D still for sale.  Both say they sold for 635,000.

[GeorgiaRai]

I was mindlessly following GPS directions on my way home from a family reunion yesterday and noticed 4 out-of-place looking houses along a long, narrow road in rural Georgia.  Just as we passed, I told my sister "I think those are the Rock the Block houses!" We turned around and yes - they were!

D&T's house looked unoccupied; windows are covered from the inside with what looks like black paper, and a note of some kind was stuck on the front door.  N&J & A&M's houses definitely looked occupied; B&M's appears empty but it's hard to tell.

The houses are big but closer together than I'd thought.  The RtB "road" is more like a half-circle shared driveway off the main road, with the 4 driveways branching off it.  N&J's still had the front yard rectangle design thing but the plants look to be planted, not potted.  I did not see a Kleinschmidt street sign, but a realtor sign is posted out front.

D&T's is still my favorite on the outside and, of the 4, the one I'd most want to own (after re-painting and de-wallpapering), but the overall location just seems very random.  Everything surrounding this "block" seems more... stately, so these, to me, look McMansion-ish in comparison.  I think they'd look be more impressive in another setting, if that makes any sense.

[LizDC]

 

[LizDC]

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

This season should be interesting.    THe Farrs, Egype Herrod and Michael Jackson, and the two from Bargain Block are a nice change.   I'm not sure I want to see the Unsellables pair, but at least they have different contestants, and it's in Charleston.   It looked like the far burbs of Charleston.   

[LittleIggy]

I’ll be rooting for Egypt and Mike.

[Grrarrggh]

I'm thinking at this point it doesn't matter who's involved. The houses still look alike at the end. 

[buttersister]

No Allison, so I might tune in. If only they’d replace Ty.😂

[kikicat]

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I’ll be rooting for Egypt and Mike.

Me, too. But I'll be very interested to see what the Bargain Block guys do with more money to spend. No cheetah or giraffe walls, I hope.

[SusanwatchingTV]

On 2/19/2022 at 9:42 PM, kikicat said:

Me, too. But I'll be very interested to see what the Bargain Block guys do with more money to spend. No cheetah or giraffe walls, I hope.

Likely something that will collect dust on the wall and be impossible to keep clean.

His designs look cool, but I would hate to live with any of them.

 

I'm rooting for Jenny and Dave, but I do usually like what Egypt and Mike do, too, so I'd be happy if they won.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Bargain Block men did a very nice remodel on the house they kept for their own.  

I'm hoping Mike and Egypt win too.   However, the producers seem to be rigging the win for the people that the network wants to get more viewers for, so who knows.  

Edited February 23, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[buttersister]

Quote

The Bargain Block men did a very nice remodel on the house they kept for their own.  

I noticed that, too! Although I think they'll do some weird thing here. Egypt and Mike for me.

[CruiseDiva]

On 2/23/2022 at 4:33 PM, buttersister said:

I noticed that, too! Although I think they'll do some weird thing here. Egypt and Mike for me.

One of the previews for Rock the Block briefly shows what looks like a curvy fabric "art installation" on a wall. I'm sure it's the Bargain Block artiste's handiwork. 🤣

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:35 PM, CruiseDiva said:

One of the previews for Rock the Block briefly shows what looks like a curvy fabric "art installation" on a wall. I'm sure it's the Bargain Block artiste's handiwork. 🤣

Yes, it was the Bargain Block flippers doing the giant crumpled fabric (I guess fabric) headboard for the Rock the Block house. 

I think it will be very interesting to see what the contestants do to each house, when they don't have to please an individual client. 

I wish they would stop trash talking each other, I watch to see the designs, not for people sniping at each other.   

Edited March 1, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[CruiseDiva]

44 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, it was the Bargain Block flippers doing the giant crumpled fabric (I guess fabric) headboard for the Rock the Block house. 

Since the point of the show is to add value to the houses, I don't think the Bargain Block flipper guys are going to come close to winning. I'm pretty familiar with the Charleston area and doubt that their craptastic stuff is going to go over well there.

[Grrarrggh]

2 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

Since the point of the show is to add value to the houses

But who can trust house valuers these days? Every article I read says its completely an art, and a more than slightly corrupt art, than a science. 

[buttersister]

I saw the Bargain Block guys do the black house yesterday—it’s niche, at best. Same for all their theme houses. Niche doesn’t match up with “attracts the most buyers for highest price result” so I’m guessing that’s how they don’t win. They’ll get a requisite win one week, but after that?

Saw Egypt and Mike do a house last night. It was … not pretty, imo. The homeowners liked it, so yay, but I’ve seen better looking work from them. Otoh, they added a ton of function and on RTB, that seems like a winner!

[CrazyInAlabama]

Episode 1, kitchen and dining design, with a possible half bath and short hall.   

The Bargain Block guys' kitchen with the scuptured tile head over the stove is different, and not in a good way.    I have to laugh that the teams all bought the $17,000 stoves, and claim they're unique.   The backsplash is OK, I don't like the pot filler coming out of the potter head.  The island is too close to the table behind it.    I don't like the kitchen pendant lights, or the dining light.   The mud room, with cubbies is far from the garage door into the house, so a big fail for me.   The half bath is nice.   I don't like marble counter tops, I prefer quartz.  

Egypt and Mike's kitchen is nice, but I still don't like open shelves.   Does Egypt lime wash or whitewash something on every house lately?  The range hood, and back splash look nice.  The second pantry and wine room is not good.   Turning side hall into a pantry would have been better to be all pantries, and why add the wine fridge there, and the counter space wasn't needed either.   I wish they left the half bath in the original location, their half bath was a good location, so making it into another pantry and wine room doesn't make sense.  

Unsellable sisters, that's not how I make sweet tea.    I don't like their stove either, I like Egypt and Mike's double oven one better.  The dark blue cabinets do nothing for me, I think they look cheap.   Jonathan's right, the counter tops in their house do look basic, builder grade.  nice powder room.  Backsplash tile looks generic too.  

Jenny and Dave Marrs stove is nice, with double ovens again.    The backsplash tile is nice.   I like the lighter wood floor, and accents.   Not a fan of the dining light.  The faucet, and hardware on the cabinets clash.    I agree with Jonathan having the island seating face the neighbor's living room is awful.   The kid's playroom, inside the pantry doesn't do it for me either.   In a house at the price point, and the amount of room this house has, there will be a play room somewhere, not a closet behind the pantry.  Jonathan's right, the fridge location makes no sense.   I wonder where they're going to put a powder bath on the first floor?   I thought the houses were all alike, but the former powder bath location was awful.   What is the point of turning the kitchen island with seating facing the next door neighbor's house?   As they said, it will need a blind of some kind, so it's pointless.   

If anyone screens in a porch, I bet it will be on the back of the house, not the side since the houses are so close together. 

I like Jonathan and his brother's points about each house.   The winners this week are:  Dave and Jenny Marrs (I think Egypt and Mike's kitchen was far superior).  

Edited March 1, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

None of those kitchens were very designed. And what's the point of a design competition when the judges imply that every buyer is looking for a boring new build. Why bother changing anything?

[Dehumidifier]

The twins. They act so silly.

[LittleIggy]

Can’t stand the twins or the Arkansas couple. The husband comes across as arrogant. Egypt and Mike should have won. I loved the Bargain Block guys’ pot filler accent. 
Why would anyone want a kids playroom in the kitchen? 

[Dehumidifier]

2 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Can’t stand the twins or the Arkansas couple.

That dance they did when they saw the hot guy. Pointing at their crotches. Embarrassing.

[absolutelyido]

I'm not usually a fan of Jenny Mars' designs, I think she does some dumb stuff**, but I agree that they had the best kitchen design. Turning the island to face the sliding doors was a must, IMO. It made the kitchen feel so much larger, and will give the family room a direct connection to the kitchen rather than having to walk through the dining area.

The Mars were also the only ones to connect the pantry directly to the kitchen. Having to walk all the way around to the pantry like in Mike & Egypt's design is a non-starter for me; it could be a general storage closet, but not a pantry so far from the kitchen.

**One time the Mars hid a secret stairway to the basement within a kitchen island. It led to some kind of wine tasting cellar for entertaining or something, I can't remember exactly. But you had to open up the island to get to the stairs, making the island unusable. How does that make sense for entertaining?

[MsTree]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Egypt and Mike should have won. I loved the Bargain Block guys’ pot filler accent. 
Why would anyone want a kids playroom in the kitchen? 

Agree Egypt & Mike should have won the kitchen challenge. But I hated that ugly cement looking fountain "face" where they put the pot filler through the mouth. Normally I wouldn't mind something unique, but that cement face was fugly! 

Totally agree about a playroom behind a pantry. So stupid.

[Cetacean]

4 hours ago, MsTree said:

Agree Egypt & Mike should have won the kitchen challenge. But I hated that ugly cement looking fountain "face" where they put the pot filler through the mouth.

It was Nate and whatshisface that did the face thing.

I honestly found some very peculiar choices in all of those designs.  My problem with the Mars' design was walking a mile from the fridge to the stove.  And that playroom thing was silly.

[KeithJ]

I found it interesting that all four teams removed the corner pantry.  Don’t builders have design people on their teams telling them that people won’t like that?

Also, what is Jenny going to do if there is no brick on the outside of the house to paint?

[TeapotWakeen]

10 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Why would anyone want a kids playroom in the kitchen? 

it wasn't actually in the kitchen -- it was in the pantry adjacent to the kitchen. I would have loved, loved, loved it as a kid. My mom would have loved to have us near here but out of her way. The problem that I saw was that every kid in the world would be grabbing snacks from the pantry on their way into the cubby. You'd have to put non-tempting items on those shelves or vaccuum daily to keep away ants!!

My thing about the big sliders or accordian doors is:  HOLY COW MOSQUITOS!! I mean, they're bad enough in the Midwest,  but aren't they even worse in the South, especially near water like that? Who's going to open those doors for hours and invite in moths, mosquitos, palmetto bugs, Junebugs, etc etc etc?

Dave and Jenny's open shelving in a kitchen where they are all "we design for families with kids, we have 5 kids, oh this house is for people with kids...." uh.... so a lot of open shelves for what, sippy cups and baby bowls?? When I was wrangling kids, I just wanted to put stuff away and not see it, and didn't have time to dust decorative items in the room I want to be the cleanest in the house.

Looking forward to seeing what Design on a Dime team does with decent money. Their whole concept is to reno and decorate a house for cheap, in order to provide affordable housing options. They're not trying to sell at the highest cost, they're trying to keep costs low. I'm hoping they show off different design skills for this competition. I didn't mind the pot filler, but it wouldn't be a plus either.

[RowdyCam]

I thought the kiddie corner and having two pantries were stupid ideas, but all the pantry space does make the open shelving work for pretty decor pieces instead of plasticware and clutter. Overall, the Marrs and Egypt and Mike's kitchens were far superior to the Detroit guys and those nails-on-a-chalkboard screechy twins. My prediction is that Egypt and Mike will be the overall winners. I'm also interested to see what the Detroit team does with a large budget.

Powder rooms -- wondering if it makes sense to spend a ton of money to move them and replumb somewhere else. They might need those dollars down the road for another room. I am sure they found another place for them before removing. Maybe there is a laundry room somewhere else and it could be adjacent? Off to view the floorplans....

[SusanwatchingTV]

I liked certain things about all the kitchens, but overall I'd probably pick Jenny and Dave's.

The thing with Jenny and Dave's "kid area" is that if you didn't want to use it for kids it would be fantastic extra storage for things you rarely need or bulk supplies and such.  The best thing about it, though, is that it was right off the kitchen. Going down the hall to the pantry or not having one at all would be terrible imho.

I didn't like the huge windows taking up the whole wall and overlooking the neighbors. I would have preferred smaller windows and more cabinets, and I also definitely would want the refrigerator closer to the stove, but their kitchen was still more usable and neutral and if I were actually buying one of those houses, theirs is the one I would pick.

 

That pot filler is exactly what the Bargain Block guys would do, but they don't seem to think about cleaning at all.  I mean, all those grooves on that face are going to be yuck the first time someone cooks something on that stove.  ick.

 

[LittleIggy]

That playroom was for all intents and purposes in the kitchen. The brats would be running in and out of there into the kitchen. 
Yeah, I hope someone screens in that patio when they do the outside space. I immediately thought of that. 

[Shelbie]

The way they all responded to the corner pantry was so over the top. They acted as if it was the worst thing in the world that they had ever seen. 
If I was looking to buy a new house I would think it was a cool place to store a bunch of stuff out of sight.

[SusanwatchingTV]

Oh, I wanted to come back and mention that I don't really like the personalities of the twins much, but I think that dance thing they did was mimicking something the NKOTB did back in the day.  I don't know for sure, I'm too old to have been a fan, but that's what it looked like to me, so I cut them some slack from being fangirls. lol

[Grrarrggh]

18 hours ago, absolutelyido said:

Turning the island to face the sliding doors was a must, IMO. It made the kitchen feel so much larger, and will give the family room a direct connection to the kitchen rather than having to walk through the dining area.

Walk through what dining area? It is all one room. 

9 hours ago, KeithJ said:

I found it interesting that all four teams removed the corner pantry.  Don’t builders have design people on their teams telling them that people won’t like that?

Why would they when they've got the HGTV "designers" telling them if the house is open concept white/grey people will pay through the nose for it. 

5 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

That playroom was for all intents and purposes in the kitchen. The brats would be running in and out of there into the kitchen. 

But isn't that what families supposedly want? Apparently children can't grow without being stared by a parent in the kitchen. 

[Grrarrggh]

18 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

That dance they did when they saw the hot guy. Pointing at their crotches. Embarrassing.

They were doing a popular New Kids on the Block dance. Not pointing at their crotches. Get with it boomer ;)