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Rock The Block - General Discussion


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On 3/14/2022 at 11:24 PM, LittleIggy said:

That installation made of sailcloth would be an absolute dust trap! 🤧 How would one clean it? 

The end product turned out better than I expected. The bedroom had a sort of dreamy look that I liked. But I'd never want to live with that sailcloth...or dust it...or vacuum it...or tuck moth balls in the folds....

  • Love 5
On 3/15/2022 at 12:58 PM, carrps said:

As Tommy Smythe used to say "You're there for a good time, not a long time."

Everybody says they want a soaker tub, but a survey I read a while back said the average use was once.

Tommy Smythe! I recently discovered that you can watch Sarah and Tommy reruns on DABL.com. They just finished airing a Sarah's House season about upgrading a builder's house. Very Rock the Block. Spared no expense, of course, and I loved most of it except the expanded living room that ended up looking like a furniture warehouse. Most impressive were smart upgrades in the kitchen and a walkout in the converted basement.

Those statement piece soaker tubs look great, but I'd rather have a nice big shower stall with a bench. Every shower I've had was in a bathtub. More elbow room, please. But as other posters have said, not so spacious that it's cold, especially up north.

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13 minutes ago, kikicat said:

The end product turned out better than I expected. The bedroom had a sort of dreamy look that I liked. But I'd never want to live with that sailcloth...or dust it...or vacuum it...or tuck moth balls in the folds....

I wondered how long that wall decoration from the sailcloth will stay on the wall?   I can only imagine it coming down on someone.     I don't think it will hold up to any kind of cleaning or dusting either.   

  • Love 3
On 3/21/2022 at 9:12 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I don't like trundle beds, and Dave and Jenny's trundle bed didn't change my mind.   I don't think having to climb over someone in a trundle bed is a good idea. 

Now I'm picturing my weak little grandma trying to struggle out of that trundle bed after being stepped on by Grandpa-with-the-stiff-knee. Though my parents had one in a guest room and you could press a bar on the trundle to pop it up to full height.

My take on the last episode: When Nate & Jeremiah are saying, "It's cute" and "Nice" and "You're not afraid of color", you're probably not winning.

I would've gone with Team Egypt, I guess. Not in love with any of the designs.

  • Love 8
9 hours ago, carrps said:

I really like the Detroit guys' wall in the loft area, but that's about the only thing they did that I liked. They have a 70s vibe -- an ugly 70s vibe -- and I don't like it. Their FROG was awful. I liked individual elements, but nothing gelled. That green tile looked bad against the midnight blue walls, and the baby blue fridge added a third color that didn't go with anything. That was not purple in the bathroom; it was a particularly hideous shade of fuchsia. I don't like dark tiles in a shower.

I liked the wooden wall, too. Not my usual style, but I'd love to have that in my dream library. An entire room for books is my version of heaven.

Maybe it's my TV, but wasn't their room in shades of green? I liked the wall color, but the tiles clashed. Too grassy. That bathroom was so much no.

  • Love 2
On 3/21/2022 at 11:20 PM, buttersister said:

 

And who wants a laundry room up a bunch of stairs away from the bedrooms?

 

Other than the primary, the bdrms were on the 2nd floor.

I've never cared for the idea of the laundry on the 2nd flr to start - I would like one off the kitchen were you can multi-task  cooking and doing a load of laundry.

Edited by sheetmoss
  • Love 3
7 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Other than the primary, the bdrms were on the 2nd floor.

I've never cared for the idea of the laundry on the 2nd flr to start - I would like one off the kitchen were you can multi-task  cooking and doing a load of laundry.

We have a second floor laundry and, even though it's nice not to have to carry clothes up and down, when the front loading washer really gets going, it sounds like the whole house is going to fall down.

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15 hours ago, kikicat said:

Tommy Smythe! I recently discovered that you can watch Sarah and Tommy reruns on DABL.com.

Yes! We discovered DABL and have been watching it, too. I'd rather watch 10 year old Sarah and Tommy episodes than this travesty.

They've already shown their country house, and then went to the new build (I agree that living room looked like a furniture showroom), and now they're on the first house, so, I'm assuming they're just cycling through. They also show a UK program called Escape to the Country. I know more about UK geography than I ever did.

 

14 hours ago, kikicat said:

I liked the wooden wall, too. Not my usual style, but I'd love to have that in my dream library. An entire room for books is my version of heaven.

Are we twin sisters from another mother??

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I love design for cozy spaces.

Perhaps it was the late hour when I watched, or my TV screen, but Nate and Jeremiah looked pale and sickly. Weird.

They hardly said anything. Just dashed into each house, summed up their observations, and left.

The magenta paint with gold accents was garish and unappealing. It's like the designer is learning on the job.

  • Love 2

I just watched a rerun of the main bedroom/bathroom show. That sailcloth thing over the bed in Detroit guys bedroom was ridiculous. Do they ever think about cleaning/allergies/filth? It made me sneeze just looking at it. My favorites over all are Mike/Egypt and then the Marrs. The twins from WA pile so much stuff into each room that it makes me feel claustrophobic. And again, the sneezing with all of the dust collectors they cram in. I hope Mike and Egypt win the competition.

  • Love 6

I finally got to watch this week's ep and I probably would have voted for Egypt and Mike, but I really liked Jenny and Dave's FROG best.  I love a good trundle bed - we have one I use constantly for my grandchildren when they come. It works just like that, except that the top isn't built in.  The two pieces come apart and make two separate beds with space between, but when you don't need it to be a bed, it's a couch. Very convenient.

I also liked the colors and design choices they made.

The laundry room could be nice if the bedrooms are up there with that room.  I'm confused about the overall floorplans of these houses. I probably haven't paid enough attention to understand everything, but I would normally want my laundry room downstairs, but I know a lot of people love having it up and if most of the bedrooms are up, it makes sense.

I agree with the people who think E&M win it all, though. I think they've added the most value.

 

That 70's paneling brought back 70's nightmares for me, so the less I say about that, the better.

  • Love 3
On 3/22/2022 at 2:25 AM, MsJamieDornan said:

I've tried really hard but I just don't like the twins. 

I like their show, “Unsellable Houses,” where they help home owners get their houses in shape to put on the market. But yeah, on this show, they’ve been pretty annoying. 
 

On 3/22/2022 at 12:41 PM, carrps said:

Baldy and Blondy's was boring, and the trundle bed was dumb. We had a trundle bed when my siblings and I were kids, and we were always jumping around between levels. It's not for grampy and gramma. The tile in the FROG bathroom was pretty. That laundry room was way too big, and a waste of space - half of it wasn't even used. Why was

Agreed. Everything looked basic and uninspired. A fold-down desk that’s supported by ropes? I guess can’t rest a laptop on it, or books, or, I don’t know, your forearms. 

And why would I want to walk up a flight of stairs to do laundry if all of the living spaces are on the ground floor?

The husband is a great builder. But they don’t design well at all. 

  • Love 6

The FROG/loft episode is the first that has compelled me to comment on this show. I found plus and minuses with all of the designs and was torn about who I thought the winner should be. 

The idea of a rental, or a multi-purpose guest suite/office was spot on. In today's world with so many of us working from home, an office is almost essential. I thought the twin's did a good job turning it into a full time rental; although I am not a big fan of their eclectic shabby/chic style. But their bathroom rocked, the greenish aqua walls with the matt black finishes was really nice. Egypt and Mike's murphy bed was genius, and made perfect sense. But the room as a whole didn't work for me; it seemed rather spartan and generic, although I loved their bathroom with that beautiful tile. Dave and Jenny? Oh, I want to like their stuff, but so far I have found them very bland. I also tire of Jenny acting like Dave is the only person in the world who can build things. I mean, just look at that little, raggedy assed drop down desk he built. I wasn't impressed with that at all, and while he did do a good job on the trundle bed, I just didn't find it practical when you are focused on older folks. I think they are great for kids, but not the elderly who need to make it and break it to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I did like the tile in their shower, but found their bathroom uninspired as a whole. I liked Keith and Evan's main living area, but I like dramatic colors and bold style, and they were the only ones who put in a full size bed. Their bathroom however? I was feeling Liberace and Vegas. Just no. 

For me the loft area should have been a separate living space. I am old fashioned, and like a formal area where you can hang out and talk without the TV going in the background. I think kid's spaces should be in contained rooms where you can shut the door on the mess. The twin's wall was very creative and I got what they were going for, but I wouldn't want that to be the first thing guests see when they go upstairs. I also imagine it will be a sight after a few months of kids "crafting." I also thought the desks were way to small. Egypt and Mike's workstations were big enough to be useable, and you could multi-purpose the room because they had comfortable seating, although I do question a white couch in a kid's area. I thought Keith and Evan were on the right track until they installed that wall. For me that wall needed a big screen; there was no where to put a tv in their downstairs living room either, so where is it gonna go? I don't care what anyone says; we all like our tv, even if it is only once and awhile. Without a doubt the dumbest loft idea was Jenny and Dave's. That existing laundry room was plenty big enough. I was so surprised when Dave looked at it and remarked that it was "so small." Outside of that, I am not a fan of upstairs laundry rooms; as said above, I like them near the kitchen so I can multi task. I also hang my clothes outside on a line to dry, and going up and down the stairs for every load would be a task. And what they installed would have easily fit in the existing space; a room that big should have had hanging racks and a built in ironing board at the very least, but it was just the washer/dryer, some cabinets and a sink. 

If I had to pick a winner I guess I would choose Egypt and Mike. Overall, they added value by giving the homeowner choices, and they were not design specific. 

Edited by RuntheTable
  • Love 7
1 hour ago, Dehumidifier said:

I wondered if it is legal to have a rental apartment in that area.

I thought about that as well.  I kind of doubt that's an area that would embrace rental units but who knows.

ETA I would love a follow up show with real estate agents showing those places to the public.  I bet the remarks are golden.

Edited by Cetacean
  • Love 5
2 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I wondered if it is legal to have a rental apartment in that area.

If the subdivision has an HOA it's very possible that rental apartments, long-term and short-term, are not allowed, except in specific instances. For example, my subdivision's HOA only allows houses to be rented long term--no AirBNB or VRBO allowed. The one exception is during the week of the Masters golf tournament when many locals rent their houses to golf fans.

Every year there is the Spoleto Festival in Charleston that lasts for a few days more than two weeks. But... and this is a biggie... Rock the Block is taking place in Summerville, which is 25 miles north of Charleston and at least a half hour drive. Traffic in and around Charleston is horrific, especially for visitors who don't know their way around all the narrow one-way streets. Most festival-goers would want to be closer to the city.

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On 3/23/2022 at 1:09 PM, carrps said:

Yes! We discovered DABL and have been watching it, too. I'd rather watch 10 year old Sarah and Tommy episodes than this travesty.

They've already shown their country house, and then went to the new build (I agree that living room looked like a furniture showroom), and now they're on the first house, so, I'm assuming they're just cycling through. They also show a UK program called Escape to the Country. I know more about UK geography than I ever did.

 

Are we twin sisters from another mother??

Sarah's designs still look good after all this time. I'm counting on DABL cycling through. I need to see the brick country house again. My all-time favorite, along with the island house. Nice life if you can afford it!

I watched quite a few eps of Escape when it was on Netflix. Shall we move our matching libraries to Cornwall or the Cotswolds?

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9 hours ago, Cetacean said:

ETA I would love a follow up show with real estate agents showing those places to the public.  I bet the remarks are golden.

Ha, that would be fun. Do the furnishings stay? I'd also like to see what the houses look like after new owners move in. Hey, HGTV, give us an update on all the Rock the Block houses!

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3 hours ago, kikicat said:

Hey, HGTV, give us an update on all the Rock the Block houses!

While waiting for that update from HGTV, I decided to take things into my own hands.   I did a little research before searching a certain real estate listing site. It wasn't hard to find the four houses from last season (exterior photos only, sadly). They sold from 600K (David and Tiffany) to 640K (Alison and Mike).   The other two sold for 635K each.

I favorited them so that next time any of them go on the market, I will get a chance to snoop inside…

Edited by kirklandia
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Episodes 1-3 random thoughts:

I like the twins, but they always over-decorate.  I'd love a washer & dryer in the primary closet! With my family, I usually washed adults' clothes separately from kids', so being able to launder & hang them right there would be a plus.  Especially if the main laundry and kids' rooms were on a different floor.  

I don't care for giant or dueling closets, huge spa bathrooms, wet rooms, saunas or soaker tubs.  In the Budget guys' bathroom, how far would you have to walk from the shower or tub to get to a shelf or rack holding the towels? As one who doesn't like to be cold and/or naked, this bathroom was a big no (though I thought it looked beautiful.)  I liked the double closed-in toilet closets; "no sharing" indeed!

I liked the beverage bar idea in the twins' kitchen, but not the set up.  A direct-line coffee/tea machine with cup & glass storage, ice dispenser & drink fridge would have appealed to me.  Unless I missed it, there was no place to boil water for tea, mix tea, add ice to tea...it was just pot-filler in a place where there's no use for a pot filler.  

 

  • Love 4

I DVR'd and binge watched the first four episodes.  I had never seen the Detroit guys.  They are completely out of place.  That sailcloth wall installation - my first thought was all the little spider-y things that could hide in the folds, not to mention the dust! Are these guys a couple?  I can't quite figure out their relationship (friends? a couple?), having never seen their show.  It seems like the red haired guy is the one in charge.  The other guy seems nice but defers to the other one all the time.  To me, they are so bad that I am embarrassed for them.

 

Edited by debbie311
  • Love 6
2 minutes ago, debbie311 said:

Are these guys a couple?

Yes.

In their defense they are way used to a totally different audience with their homes in the rundown areas of Detroit.  They take tiny, dilapidated places, fix them up, furnish them with second hand furniture, and rarely resell for over $100K.  People in that money bracket have totally different mindsets. 

They are just in over their heads with these kind of McMansions and over the top expectations.

Edited by Cetacean
  • Love 9

I bet since the Marrs won the kitchen, and FROG, Egypt and Mike won the Living room,  and the twins won the main bedroom, that it will be the Bargain Block/Detroit guys turn tonight.  

It doesn't matter because the appraisal of the houses at the end determine the winner, and my theory is it's whoever the producers and network want to win.   I wouldn't be surprised if the 'appaisers' aren't really, but production crew.  I think the production team picks the show they want to promote, and that's who the 'winner' is.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
On 3/26/2022 at 6:07 PM, kikicat said:

 

 

On 3/26/2022 at 6:03 PM, kikicat said:

I watched quite a few eps of Escape when it was on Netflix. Shall we move our matching libraries to Cornwall or the Cotswolds?

Talk about a hard choice! I think I'd keep my library in the Cotswolds to protect it from the sea air, but I'll have my weekend cottage in Cornwall. I was so excited to see in the results of one of the DNA tests I took that I'm 5% Cornish!

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46 minutes ago, DVDFreaker said:

I do not care for them either, I would have replaced the twins with Luke and Clinton from Boise Boys

That would be great.   They do houses at higher price points, and would be perfect for a show like this.    However, I bet they don't want to spend this long away from their homes, and since I think the entire purpose of the 'contest' is to get viewers, they don't have a show on.     

Did any of the current teams realize how hot the sun will be on those paver patios they're all building?  The twins idea of a pizza oven under the covered part of the patio is awful, pizza ovens are pretty high heat, and I don't think they should be under the overhang.     I really hate some of the ideas of the dog friendly features.     I'm getting tired of seeing the blonde haired twin's crop top, with her stomach hanging out.  

Ty looks like he's been sleeping under a bridge.   I wish he would stop yelling, and try to look like he's actually a professional.  

I like what Mike and Egypt did, but the owner's patio is too high on the edge.   

The Bargain Block is nice, and I bet they win this week.   

The twins should have put the pizza oven in the yard, not on the porch with that heat going up the chimney through the porch roof.    The dog wash doesn't look great, and I dislike living walls, even with a watering system. 

The Marrs idea to paint the house pink, or blush doesn't do anything for me.   The pink looks so blah.   The Marrs' boat for a kid and dog play area is bizarre. 

Egypt and Mike win, this fooled me, because they're having several Bargain Block shows right after tonight's episode.

Next week is the finale. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • Love 2

It seems like Egypt & Mike added so much value by putting brick on the entire house, no matter what else they or any other team did didn't really matter; which kind of made the rest of the outdoor competition pointless. I actually didn't care for their whitewashed brick. It was blindingly white in the sun, and when the sun wasn't out it turned a flesh-color just like the pink Dave & Jenny were criticized for.

Of all the backyards, the one I would want to hang out in was Keith & Evan's. They were the only one's who added any kind of shade structure. Their raised bed garden was practical vs. the Twins' living wall that you would have to use a ladder to reach.

I think a fence was a must to keep kids and dogs out of the pond, but I'm surprised no one thought of either lowering the fence in the back (say 4 feet vs. 6 feet around the rest), and/or spacing out the boards to allow a view of the pond while still keeping kids and dogs in.

Edited by absolutelyido
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I loved the outside of the guys' house. It was a pretty Teal color. If I was buying a McMansion, I would pick their curb appeal exterior over the painted white brick. But loved Egypt and her hubby's backyard area. I disliked the twins front and backyard area... and absolutely hated the color of Dave and Jenny's home. Yuck! Probably would have looked great in a bolder pink. They played it too safe. Felt bad for them when the judges point blank said hot tubes don't add value to a home. They were soooo excited about it. 

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Seconding here two notes from above -- (1) that it would have been better to have a back fence for safety, but one lower than six feet  And (2) that the shade that the Detroit guys provided was unique and very much a positive for them.

Mr Chips and I thought they all flunked Dog pretty much, but we're glad we were spared the iron sculpture of palm fronds to delight a dog (!).  If you've gotta spend the $1000, we thought a feeding station including one of those automatic water dealios that would provide clean, cool water to the dog.  

 

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I have a really bad back and would love a hot tub and Tv in my backyard. I didn’t like the boat, it didn’t look comfortable for a dog and only toddler aged kids would play in it. I hated everything about the twins backyard. Living walls are ugly to me and the dog shower and ugly piping from that stove made the backyard look junky. Egypt and Mike had a nice looking exterior without crazy features that won’t appeal to everyone so they deserved the win.

  • Love 2

I have no idea what Jenny was thinking about that color.  It needed to be a MUCH brighter pink or, even better, a green!    It was bland and the baby blue shutters were awful. 

I also hated Egypt and Mike's whitewashed brick.  I don't understand covering brand new pretty brick like that.  It made the brick completely disappear.  The house just looked basic white to me.  I did like the Juliette balcony, and I, like Karen, usually hate those, but it was nice and added something cute to the front of that huge garage.  One thing I really did NOT like about their house that no one mentioned was that the fireplace blocked the view of the backyard inside the house completely, and I wouldn't like that. I'd want an unobstructed view.  I guess I'm in the minority, though.

The guys backyard was probably my favorite, but their dog bed was lame and was their downfall, imho.

As far as the outside look went, the twins was my favorite by far. I loved the contrast between that beautiful brick with it's lovely deep color and the fun colors of the house. That's the one I would stop at first, with the guys house second (though I hated that brownish color - too baby poo for me).

The twins backyard wasn't that good for me though.  I agree that the shower dog area looked a little unfinished or something.

 

I still think E&M win the whole thing.  I'll be shocked if someone else does after all that brick and the extra square footage. I just don't see how the others can compete, even if the other houses are prettier.

  • Love 7

The biggest fails to me were the E & M white washed brick (I don't like white washed, but it's better than Lime washed in my opinion), the Detroit men's dog bed, the dog wash that looked like an old trellis was a fail for me also,  the pizza oven on the back porch, where the chimney vents right next to the house wall, and worst of all the pink color of the Marrs house.    The light pink, plus the shutters was hideous. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
  • Love 5
13 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The biggest fails to me were the E & M white washed brick, the Detroit men's dog bed, the pizza oven on the back porch, where the chimney vents right next to the house wall, and worst of all the pink color of the Marrs house.    The light pink, plus the shutters was hideous. 

Didn't Egypt and Mike use whitewashed brick for the kitchen backsplash -- supposedly because the wrong color brick was delivered? Didn't care for it there either.

  • Love 4

A double-sided fireplace outside? So that any inward-blowing wind can spray ashes on everyone in the sitting area of the porch? Good Bones, bad judgement. Unless they were parroting a producer's attempt to find something bad to say about Mike and Egypt's lovely, homey backyard. That's breaking one of the rules of this game: Don't let the producers make you look like idiots--think of something else to say.

I don't mind the whitewashed brick and when combined with the attached garage/extra space, I'm hoping M & E take it. Moving their outdoor kitchen around was smart, as was putting it in an area protected from direct sun. It's almost as if they're the ones who design and build based on how people would actually live in that house.

 

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7 hours ago, BryroseA said:

Yet another season of me screaming “SCREENED IN PORCH!!” at the TV, to no avail. How could not one team add what has to be the most popular outdoor feature in this bug-infested Southern hell I live in and love so well??? Seriously, people. Screens + shade = win for a southern backyard. 

No kidding! Our home had a deck when we bought it and we roasted using it, even with big umbrellas. We saved for years in order to replace the with a screened in sunroom and ceiling fans. Summerville is South Carolina Low Country. Noted for skeeters and palmetto bugs.

Egypt and Mike had the best outdoor kitchen. It's really a good idea to have it a ways from the outdoor porch area. Trust me on that! I was disappointed that they didn't have any shade on the deck outside the master bedroom. 

  • Love 4
17 hours ago, BryroseA said:

Yet another season of me screaming “SCREENED IN PORCH!!” at the TV, to no avail. 

I don't even live in the south, and I was yelling it, too!

Hated the color of Jen and hat guy's house. Insipid. Go for it or don't do it at all.

I liked the color of the Detroit guys. Very appealing to me. Too bad their metal work plan crapped out.

Mike and Egypt's was the best. I agreed with Mina that having the patios level with the house was a good feature.

Ty still looks like he smells like a back alley dumpster steeped in cheap whiskey.

  • Love 5

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