S01E03 - 210-square Foot Rochester Studio Retreat

[Snarkette]

"A dance pole is installed in a 210-square-foot house in Rochester"

[MrsClaus]

Well, the dance pole wasn't installed.  The cats found a new home.

 

I thought the bed placement was problematic, but it was really the only option since he had a "no loft" decree.

[Snarkette]

I *hated* the bed result. I think a murphy bed, a pop-up bed, or even what they had but free floating into the room would have been an improvement. So low to the floor, looked horrible to sleep in, and I bet whoever sleeps closer to the "closet" gets to bang their head on sharp edges during the night. That couch looked horribly uncomfortable as well. The only things I really loved this week were the light overall, the 5-in-1 sitting solution (although no back support, ouch), and the screen for the projection TV system. (Although I think it might be annoying to have to close your main windows to have the TV on during the day).

 

Once again my favorite bit of the show was seeing how the people adapted the tiny house for real world living, specifically creating a better closet system.

[AltLivia]

Really disliked the couple this week. "I have to have--" "I'm not this---so there can't be that----," I know that design challenges are a mainstay of the show, and most design shows. But it comes off sounding really entitled. I would love to see a family say "You know what? We can't afford where we are right now, so this seems like a good option." I got that vibe from the first few families, but not these two.  

 

And c'mon, the dog and cats don't get along in a large house. Would you even entertain the idea, realistically, of putting them together in a small space? Nah. I'd even argue for getting rid of the dog. "He eats things, so we need to crate him." * I feel like they just need to teach the animal not to eat things, really. And introduce the dog to staying outside some of the time.

 

Loved the island, the projector/tv setup and the extra seating (but not that couch). I feel like the bed could have worked better wedged somewhere else, away from corners/not as dark. I would have dealt with it. But the husband was correct - that kitchen sink is almost too small to be functional.

 

*I don't know anything about crate training, and don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. It's just the way the guy said it, and the idea of keeping a large dog in a tiny house.

[auntjess]

I really disliked Her.  He didn't want to live in a tiny house to begin with, so I think all the sacrifices should have been hers.
And that poor dog, what will it do when it's too cold to be outside. 
I'd have dumped the wife and kept the house and the cats.

  They could have built a loft for the cats.

If it were me, I'd have had them both get extra jobs for a while, wait a bit on travel, and do it that way.

I was so hoping that they'd decide not to do it.

Edited July 25, 2014 by auntjess

[LittleIggy]

I hated that the wife gave away the cats without blinking an eye. I was teary eyed watching it because I have 2 cats and would never give them away like that. And they were older cats because they had had them for at least 8 years! Cats would be more suitable for a tiny house than a big dog like that. As someone already posted, train your dog not to chew up stuff instead of locking her in a crate all the time! Also dogs and cats can coexist, even love each other.

They really ruined that back lawn! Again I wondered about the utility hook- up.

Edited July 25, 2014 by LittleIggy

[Granny58]

I love the idea of a tiny house and am fascinated with the designs.  But this episode was awful.  I would have added, oh let's say 100 square feet (!) before getting rid of 2 family members!   And that poor dog.  Was it locked in the box during that party?  Miserable life.  I have friends who crate at bedtime, so I know it can have its place, but how about you exercise the dog enough and don't leave shit lying around for it to consume its boredom on.  I didn't hear why they needed to be in such small quarters, did anyone else?  Again, 100 additional square feet could not possibly have added that much cost and would have made it so livable.  Oh, and a CLEAR curtain at the bathroom?  Whatever happened to (a) folding doors  or (b) pocket doors.  This one was a fail.  Poor kitties.  Poor dog.

[auntjess]

When the guy said they hoped to get a bigger sink, I remember they had one like this last week, and thought there was room for a bigger one.

The sink looks like the ones in Amtrak roomettes.

[Snarkette]

Doesn't this look...familiar? 

[mompanga]

Wow, Snarkette! Great find! I prefer the original to the bootleg design on the show. 

[judy]

Oh! That's Boneyard Studios in DC! I've been wanting to tour it since I heard about them but their open house schedule (once a month) has kept conflicting with mine! There are three tiny houses there but I don't know if any of the owners actually live there. There's a zoning problem.

In keeping on topic, I really like the sink he had in the video much better than that wash bowl they had in the episode. I'm wondering why they didn't think to maybe hang some of the beer brewing equipment from the ceiling.

[purplemonkey]

Just watched this one. I think there's too much emphasis on design and not enough on function. Why does a tiny house kitchen need to look like a real kitchen? Wouldn't they be better served by having just the 2 burners and your stock pot (and a big enough sink to wash it FFS) than all this cabinetry? Agree there could have been all kinds of stuff on high shelves, ceiling etc.

I did like the cube seat that hides 4 other seats.

And I don't get the point of that office if all you do is apply makeup or pay bills. That can be done at the dining table. I'm disturbed by the lack of comfortable seating. If I'm in a small space, just give me an easy chair for each resident, a teakettle and stockpot, and some type of mattress.

The couple was odd, but to be honest, if I were in Rochester I'd want to travel, too.

[SmithW6079]

The hosts like to say how these people are "embracing the tiny house" lifestyle, but I don't really see that, especially with this couple. All they did was put a shed in their backyard and rent out their house. Who would want to live in that situation, with their landlords camped out in the backyard? Do the tenants have the right to use the yard?

 

Since this couple wanted to save money to travel, wouldn't they have been better off selling their big house, downsizing into a small apartment, which would give them the freedom to travel when they wanted? What will their tenants do when they want to go on extended jaunts? Will the couple hire a management company for their rental?

[Mrs peel]

I am watching this now, and am appalled that these people think their pets are so easily tossed aside. Take care of the animals you "chose" to take responsibility for before worrying about travel. Sell the darned house if it is too expensive, and save elsewhere before treating your pets like property.

I also wonder about the utility set ups and especially the arrangemtns for bathroom waste.

I can't imagine wanting to rent a 3 bedroom house where the entire backyard is the tiny home of your landlords.

[proserpina65]

I just saw this episode on the weekend, and I have to say that these people (especially her) are pretty vile.  I cannot imagine giving away animals who've been part of the family for several years just so that I could live in a glorified garden shed.  That poor dog, spending so much time in her crate.  (I know from friends that crating has a purpose and done right can be fine, but still.)  At least the cats are presumably in nice new homes where they're being well-treated, not shoved in a box all the time.  And given that this is upstate NY, where are the homeowners suppose to put their winter clothes, coats and boots?

[buttersister]

Sometimes I think that storage rental places near some of these homes are doing a lot of business.

[Snarkette]

If it makes things better, nearly all the participants don't actually live in the smaller place. They rent them out on AirBnB. They probably kept their pets, their home, and listed their "unique design".

[debraran]

I was reading, at least on TH Hunting, how hard it is to find real properties and one woman wrote on her whole experience, the "pretend friend" or real friend who doesn't have to help, the rental properties or properties not really for sale. I didn't think the rental agent was fake too, but I guess they can be. Is anything real?

The same article said the International shows are more accurate in properties but probably not near 75% With them, it's just a way to see what it's like to live in an apartment in Paris or Dublin or Australia.

The article I read was so descriptive of the whole process, I doubt the show liked the publicity but this from Huffington Post just touched on a little of it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/15/hgtv-house-hunters-fake_n_1600522.html

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/house-hunters-show-fake-16575500

Edited June 3, 2016 by debraran

[Snarkette]

If I remember correctly, @auntjess had found a bunch of these kind of posts

[auntjess]

Don't remember these.  At some point I think I found a parody on youtube.  Or someone did.