Ugliest House In America - General Discussion

[Cetacean]

On 1/18/2022 at 5:21 PM, Del Boca Vista said:

My daughter and I binged this show yesterday to try and get our minds off a very stressful and sad family situation we are going through

Sending strength at this difficult time. I used to volunteer with hospice (pre-Covid when they cancelled all volunteers) so I can feel for you.  I have also been through it myself with parents so I totally understand.  Make sure you give yourself some care and breaks.

[Badsamaritan]

It's starting to seem like HGTV isn't doing their due diligence, especially as it concerns anything to do with Allison. Did they really think all this info about the house and the owners wouldn't come out?

On another note, $150K for a remodel of the ugliest house in America seems kinda cheap. I know it's a lot of money but if you're gonna show houses that obviously need extensive work, maybe up the total to $250K. Otherwise don't show the audience a house with stalagtites in the bathroom. That's $50K or more just in that one room. 

[MsTree]

I think this show is more like "you live in what?" (or whatever that show was called). Those houses are probably never even considered for the reno due to cost. 

Regardless, I like the idea of integrating two show ideas in one. Old/odd/crazy houses and a complete reno.  Plus I enjoy the comments made by the host re: the crazy places.

[Grrarrggh]

They were more interesting houses than ugly ones. A few of those places I'd happily live in with only a minor bit of updating/cleaning. HGTV could easily do a few specials a year touring places like them. Better than flipping brothers.

[quirkygal]

Season 2 starts July 24.

https://www.hgtv.com/shows/hgtv-stars/articles/retta-stars-in-new-season-of-hgtvs-ugliest-house-in-america

[CrazyInAlabama]

6 hours ago, quirkygal said:

Season 2 starts July 24.

https://www.hgtv.com/shows/hgtv-stars/articles/retta-stars-in-new-season-of-hgtvs-ugliest-house-in-america

Unfortunately, the 'prize' is still a makeover by Alison Victoria, so the 'winner' will be the house that fits the budget, and that's a real limitation.   

Edited June 26, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[BAForever]

On 6/26/2022 at 6:02 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Unfortunately, the 'prize' is still a makeover by Alison Victoria, so the 'winner' will be the house that fits the budget, and that's a real limitation.   

Never saw Windy City Rehab, but Ugliest House was my 1st exposure to Alison. Kind of an annoying woman who is "a force to be reckoned with". Bwwwaaahhh. 

[letusprocrastinate]

The first half hour of season #2's premiere is in the Mountain West (two houses in CO and one in MT).  Whoever is doing the graphics needs a dictionary and a map.  I caught two big typos:  chords instead of cords when referring to the kind that get plugged into walls to provide electricity; and Kalispel, Montana, which is the location of House #3.  It's Kalispell.

Edited July 25, 2022 by letusprocrastinate

[LittleIggy]

I’m just watching to see the ugly houses and Retta’s reactions. OMG, that rock house was  bizarre! 

[satrunrose]

I agree with the choices tonight, but I have no idea how $150,000 is enough of a budget to fix either of them. You seem to have massive structural issues in the rock house (no floor, one wall is a 2 million-year-old rock, electrical issues) and I don't know how you fix the octagon house unless you put ceilings on all of the rooms and call the remaining space above an attic or a loft. I might have picked the "not a church" house, actually. I think you could have solved a fair number of the problems with the budget they're given. (I'll admit I kind of liked the stained glass, though),

[marymon]

In the second episode the last one in Tampa (the green box) wasn't even close to being ugly.   They could fix the few problems easily.

[MsTree]

As much as I enjoy this show, what puzzles me is the homeowners. They buy a house that they consider "ugly" and do absolutely nothing to improve it. I wouldn't brag if I were them.

[letusprocrastinate]

6 hours ago, marymon said:

In the second episode the last one in Tampa (the green box) wasn't even close to being ugly.   They could fix the few problems easily.

I had the same thought.  Sure, it may stand out from the rest of the immediate neighborhood, but it wouldn't in many places elsewhere in Florida.  If they don't like the green accent, that can be changed  Although I had the thought that Alison Victoria and her black paint should be allowed nowhere near it.  As for the bathroom, plenty of people have this same type of situation, although there may not be a church 50 feet away.

8 hours ago, satrunrose said:

I agree with the choices tonight, but I have no idea how $150,000 is enough of a budget to fix either of them. You seem to have massive structural issues in the rock house (no floor, one wall is a 2 million-year-old rock, electrical issues) and I don't know how you fix the octagon house unless you put ceilings on all of the rooms and call the remaining space above an attic or a loft. I might have picked the "not a church" house, actually. I think you could have solved a fair number of the problems with the budget they're given. (I'll admit I kind of liked the stained glass, though),

When I first saw the rock house I wondered if it is this season's version of the house in California in season #1, which had so much going on inside that $150,000 wouldn't have made a dent.

4 hours ago, MsTree said:

As much as I enjoy this show, what puzzles me is the homeowners. They buy a house that they consider "ugly" and do absolutely nothing to improve it. I wouldn't brag if I were them.

I agree.  Some things are structural and would take a lot of time, effort, and/or $$$, while there are others which fall under, "You could do something about this, but just haven't." 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think it's like last season, the 'winner' is the house that $150k will fix all of the issues in the house, because it's mostly cosmetic. 

[Grrarrggh]

Ugly isn't really the correct definition. So far most of the houses are more in the badly/cheaply/illegally built category. I still do not understand why anyone would move to Florida, yet alone into the houses featured on this programme. And then do nothing about it for years. Were they sitting around hoping someone else would pay for it all if they waited long enough?

[satrunrose]

The Grey Ghost family seems to have intended to fix it, but are in over their heads. The octagon house probably seemed cool and unique at first. It seems like the kids had their own zone which seems to have worked until they were older and they said there was a leak in one of their rooms which didn't help. I'm also at a bit of a loss how you fix a place with no ceilings. I have no idea why the other family couldn't just slap some drywall up over the bedroom hole and cover over the shower window somehow. It doesn't seem like it would break the bank to make that house less awful. 

[MaKaM]

I have to say, I don't think the people who did the ugly to themselves should even be in the running. If you inherited an ugly house or bought it because of the area, okay, but if it is your design, your junk, yeah it is ugly but it is self-inflicted.

[MsNewsradio]

10 hours ago, MaKaM said:

I have to say, I don't think the people who did the ugly to themselves should even be in the running. If you inherited an ugly house or bought it because of the area, okay, but if it is your design, your junk, yeah it is ugly but it is self-inflicted.

If you’re referring to the geodesic dome folks, I agree. Not only that, but it didn’t even seem they were truly on the show because they thought the house was ugly, the husband seemed to imply they’d entered just to hopefully get money for updates/upkeep. The husband certainly still seems very enamored with it. They rent out the other two domes, I assume to tourists.
 

While I don’t think they’ll ultimately be chosen for the money and the makeover, I don’t think they should have qualified for the show, much less been chosen as a finalist. 

[satrunrose]

I was really surprised that the hard core 70s house wasn't chosen. I would think the money would update that nicely... I mean except for the Allison doing the design part. 

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, MsNewsradio said:

If you’re referring to the geodesic dome folks, I agree. Not only that, but it didn’t even seem they were truly on the show because they thought the house was ugly, the husband seemed to imply they’d entered just to hopefully get money for updates/upkeep. The husband certainly still seems very enamored with it. They rent out the other two domes, I assume to tourists.
 

While I don’t think they’ll ultimately be chosen for the money and the makeover, I don’t think they should have qualified for the show, much less been chosen as a finalist. 

I so agree with you. When I saw the dome house, I thought, why are they even on this show? It's different, but not really ugly. They complained about the spiral staircase not going to the floor, but that's an easy fix, I would think. The other 2 homes were much worse, especially that house divided by the breezeway. Now THAT was an ugly house.
 

[Cetacean]

GIving up on this. Not sure of the criteria used but clearly this is all pre-arranged to fit some corporate parameter. Many are not ugly, just weird.

Tired of the over-the-top reactions by the host as well.  And the fact that Allison is doing the makeover again is a major turn off, cannot stand that woman.

[satrunrose]

That's interesting! My objection to last year's winner was that it was a bit of a cheat because the house itself was mostly fine, it just had ugly (scary) finishes. A local designer could have made it look perfectly respectable if the father was willing or able to pay for it. I'm more interested to see how they use the budget they've got for the weird houses because they need a lot more than the open concept, primary suite, free standing tub, black exterior that is HGTV's bread and butter. Do you put walls in? Ceilings? Insulate the wall o' rock?

I do agree that I'd like the show much more without Alison Victoria. The Napiers are probably the HGTV folks who are closest to by aesthetic. 

[ChicksDigScars]

On 7/25/2022 at 12:07 AM, satrunrose said:

I agree with the choices tonight, but I have no idea how $150,000 is enough of a budget to fix either of them. You seem to have massive structural issues in the rock house (no floor, one wall is a 2 million-year-old rock, electrical issues) 

If the Rock House wins, can we take bets on Allison simply painting the indoor rock walls BLACK to save money, and make them blend in, since the house has way too many issues to fix?

[CruiseDiva]

6 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

If the Rock House wins, can we take bets on Allison simply painting the indoor rock walls BLACK to save money, and make them blend in, since the house has way too many issues to fix?

HGTV is now billing Allison as their "superstar" LOL!!!  🤣 She's all over the place. Maybe they are trying to catch her up with the Property Bros, who also seem to be everywhere on the HGTV schedule. 

That Rock House will never be the final choice. The new foundation (for the floors laid right on dirt!) will exceed the renovation budget.

[Cetacean]

As has been said, the "winner" is not the ugliest, it's the one that can be fixed with that paltry budget.  Especially when Allison buys chandeliers for thousands and kitchen faucets for the cost of my dining room set.

[Grrarrggh]

I'm guessing the LA house might win. Seems the cheapest to "fix" and location is great for filming. 

[rhofmovalley]

Edited...it occurred to me he may be a cancer patient and that's why he's wearing a wig. And that I shouldn't be an a-hole about it when I don't know the full story.  But there should better options available. My friend lost her hair due to chemo and she has a couple of wigs that look great and much more natural.

And that house? Who dusts all that crap? I'm guessing no one.

Edited August 8, 2022 by rhofmovalley

[marymon]

Ugly or just bad investments??

[Soapy Goddess]

Definitely bad investments. Especially the one with all the mold. And it seemed as if they were bragging that they bought the property 2 years ago, and yet they haven't done a damn thing about the toxic mold in that home. 

[TeapotWakeen]

I honestly thought the church house to be converted into living space downstairs and community center upstairs was a lock for the win-win. Alison could crap it up within budget and still have money leftover to make cosmetic changes upstairs. I was surprised fantasy boy child in a bad wig got the extra screen time. He's toast though, 150k reno is wasted on a 150k house. And, betcha he could remove 100 or so plates from the walls by his owndamnself if he wanted to!

[ChicksDigScars]

My guess is the lack of privacy house in Florida will get the win. Small enough to accomplish a reno with the HGTV budget. 

[satrunrose]

I'd love it if they picked that one! I can't decide whether you extend the walls to the ceiling, or put a ceiling (with beams) on the rooms (especially bed and bath) and have an attic/loft/second floor under the roof. 

My bet is on the linoleum house, though. The structure isn't that bad, it's just the design, which is AV's specialty (or so they keep telling us...)

Edited August 11, 2022 by satrunrose

[ChicksDigScars]

14 hours ago, satrunrose said:

My bet is on the linoleum house, though. The structure isn't that bad, it's just the design, which is AV's specialty (or so they keep telling us...)

So, basically, it will go from linoleum walls, to black walls with gold fixtures. 

[satrunrose]

Oooh, is there such a thing as black and gold linoleum? Or linoleum covered corbels?

[Soapy Goddess]

On 8/8/2022 at 9:18 AM, ChicksDigScars said:

My guess is the lack of privacy house in Florida will get the win. Small enough to accomplish a reno with the HGTV budget. 

I missed the beginning of tonight's show. What reason did they give for choosing the home they chose? 

[rhofmovalley]

Ugh, that massive dark green shelf covering that entire wall. It made what was an otherwise bright room look dark and dreary. I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing those homeowners did was repaint it a less intrusive and dark color.

Did the second (blond) daughter not live there? I didn't see her picking out paint colors or anything and I don't think she said a word during the reveal.

And I guess she was supposed to be sassy, but the wife's multiple references to her sex life with her husband were cringey. Great, you two are attracted to one another and still get it on. Do we need to know this? The husband looked embarrassed.

Beautiful daughters, BTW.

[Cobb Salad]

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

Ugh, that massive dark green shelf covering that entire wall. It made what was an otherwise bright room look dark and dreary. I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing those homeowners did was repaint it a less intrusive and dark color.

Did the second (blond) daughter not live there? I didn't see her picking out paint colors or anything and I don't think she said a word during the reveal.

And I guess she was supposed to be sassy, but the wife's multiple references to her sex life with her husband were cringey. Great, you two are attracted to one another and still get it on. Do we need to know this? The husband looked embarrassed.

Beautiful daughters, BTW.

There was a mention of the one daughter going off to college and said she’ll be back for breaks and holidays so I guess she’s officially moving out?  It still seemed strange that they didn’t have a room for her at the end.  

About that green shelf, yeah these people (and the others who entered their homes in the competition) were pretty much hanging the keys to their house over to someone they don’t know that well just to get a free home makeover.  I was watching this thinking I hope they’re happy with what they get.  

Yes, the remarks the wife made about her husband were cringey.  

[CruiseDiva]

Not sure what happened, but my DVR recorded two "new" episodes last night. Those two were actually reruns that were labeled new. The finale, which would have been new didn't record. I found it On Demand, but it's not available from HGTV--only Discovery+. I'm not going to pay to watch Allison Victoria paint things black.

I wonder what's up with HGTV/Discovery+. My cable is Comcast... did anyone else have this happen?

[Cobb Salad]

@CruiseDiva I watched the reruns live last night - a couple of times they had “new” in the upper corner which was about a 10 second segment that didn’t appear in the original showing.  I guess that’s what made the episode “new”?

[CruiseDiva]

1 minute ago, Cobb Salad said:

@CruiseDiva I watched the reruns live last night - a couple of times they had “new” in the upper corner which was about a 10 second segment that didn’t appear in the original showing.  I guess that’s what made the episode “new”?

Cobb, no doubt those little bonus scenes that they add make them "new" but I didn't watch them as soon as I realized I'd already seen the shows. Did you get the finale from HGTV?

[meep.meep]

I actually liked what she did with the house, but also wondered about a third bedroom for the other sister.

I think engineering the HVAC was a huge part of this and I'm sorry they didn't include an explanation of how they really handled it and why they couldn't just take out or box in the former vent center.

If they don't like the green shelving, it's easy enough to paint it.  Likewise, get rid of the pecky cypress dining room table.   They got a free home renovation after all.

[cuppasun]

11 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

Not sure what happened, but my DVR recorded two "new" episodes last night. Those two were actually reruns that were labeled new. The finale, which would have been new didn't record. I found it On Demand, but it's not available from HGTV--only Discovery+. I'm not going to pay to watch Allison Victoria paint things black.

I wonder what's up with HGTV/Discovery+. My cable is Comcast... did anyone else have this happen?

I have comcast too -- I looked and show the finale episode repeating this Sunday at 9:30 am (I'm in Pacific time, fwiw; could be a different air time depending on your time zone) if you want to set it to record. I assumed the comcast/xfinity on-demand would have it the next day, but who knows these days... Anyway, hope this helps! (Oh, I also have Tivo, which is how I record, and my Tivo showed all three as "new". But I never set stuff like this to auto record anyway, because I'm an old fuddy duddy with control issues, so... 😁)

She went mostly white this time instead of black, with a heavy hand on green "accents" (and I love greens, and blues and yellows, but this was not a good green to exist in sudden big bursts against a sea of blinding white in my opinion).

I do really hope the kid who's off to college does have at least some small space we didn't see of her own, or that there's a guest space we didn't see. Otherwise... she's gonna sleep on the couch when she comes home? There's zero chance she will ever ever again live with her parents? What happened to the parents' old room?

And then there was the table made out of the rescued pecky cypress. Look, I'm a weirdo and I really didn't hate that wood; I appreciate hardy wood that isn't common and has a unique look, and have a visceral aversion to wasting material like that. So I'm all on board for reusing it. BUT... it's a table. A really beautiful table, actually. But a table, meant to be eaten at, with deep divots in the wood. And she doesn't have the craftsperson do an epoxy seal over the top? Or put a glass top over it? Something... so that you can see the beautiful wood but aren't going to have to try to clean food and dust and whatever out of all those deep spaces?? I'm gobsmacked at the stupidity of that. Have to hope the family is smart enough to cover it pronto, or maybe haul it outside for outdoor furniture, or something. Yikes. I wouldn't want that woman anywhere near my home no matter how bad it was.

[Cobb Salad]

1 hour ago, CruiseDiva said:

Cobb, no doubt those little bonus scenes that they add make them "new" but I didn't watch them as soon as I realized I'd already seen the shows. Did you get the finale from HGTV?

I have Verizon and watched it last night on HGTV.  I watched a few episodes via on demand the other night through Verizon and didn’t see a mention of Discovery+.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

56 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

If they don't like the green shelving, it's easy enough to paint it.  Likewise, get rid of the pecky cypress dining room table.   They got a free home renovation after all.

My understanding from watching the HH Reno shows, and others over the years, the homeowner doesn't actually get a free renovation.    They pay full income tax on materials donated at full retail price (even if they're clearance), labor, designer fees, and anything else that was used on the house.   I was shocked to find that out, and I wonder if they changed the tax code since?  

 But there's an exception, if someone rents the house, then the fees aren't on the homeowner.   That's why the Extreme Homemakover show homeowners didn't pay tax on the remodel, but it had to be done in a certain time period.    I don't know if that loophole was closed in the tax codes or not. 

[ChicksDigScars]

I also wondered what happened with the eldest daughter. Her room was turned into the master suite. The car port type area was turned into a suite for the 16 year old. Man, would I have loved having a room with a separate entrance, bathroom and my own fridge when I was 16. Even if the eldest daughter was going off to college, why shouldn't she have her own room for breaks, weekends and summer? Where's she sleeping? The garage?

[tljgator]

Watching now...oh, y'all didn't tell me that the homeowner was freaked out because she was worried Allison would paint her house black! HA! The owner of the "ugliest house in America" was worried about Allison. Perfect.

Retta making faces and cutting her eyes every time Allison asked her if she liked a design choice was worth the price of admission.

[rhofmovalley]

2 hours ago, tljgator said:

Retta making faces and cutting her eyes every time Allison asked her if she liked a design choice was worth the price of admission.

Yeah, Retta was not impressed. I got the impression she really had to bite her tongue to keep from saying what she really thought of the 'design" ideas that twit came up with.

[kirklandia]

Just watched the final episode On Demand. Gonna go ahead and put this out there before I see what everyone else has to say.

Of course they chose the house that would be the least challenging to reno.

The house itself was not ugly. It was a design that was not practical for a family.  Their decor was over-the-top, we can charitably call it "taste specific".

The natural wood ceiling and original pecky cypress walls are elements highly prized by many.  (Well, by me anyway.)

The obvious solution - paint the ceiling white, replace the cypress on the walls  with peel and stick strips.  

(Yes, she did repurpose some of the wood as a table top. I didn't notice if she smoothed out the wood or filled in all those holes to make it functional. I think it would have served its purpose better on the walls.)

Take out the owners beach themed tchotchkes.  Go to an antique store and shop for new tchotchkes.

Black and white and brass - surprise.

I am always so sad to see unique vintage, authentic features replaced by the flavor of the week.

[hilaryvm]

I think there was another room that we didn’t see at the end. At the beginning she mentioned an office, so maybe the other daughter will stay in the office when she’s home.

[ChicksDigScars]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:38 PM, kirklandia said:

(Yes, she did repurpose some of the wood as a table top. I didn't notice if she smoothed out the wood or filled in all those holes to make it functional. I think it would have served its purpose better on the walls.)

It didn't look like she did fill in any of the holes in the wood grain. All I could think was that they were going to have to get a glass top to put over that table, because once you start spilling food and drink at a DINING TABLE (gasp, horrors!), that those holes are going to be impossible to keep clean.