Love It Or List It - General Discussion

[TattleTeeny]

I need a closet that big, man (and I do wear it all eventually). I just really dig clothing. I used my second BR in my old apartment as a closet/dressing room situation. It was fabulous (especially on nights when you just didn't feel like putting away the clean clothes immediately; just put the basket down and close the door). Now I have a large but inconveniently set up walk-in and it just ain't cutting it!

Edited November 16, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[Crs97]

Watching an old one with Cathy (who wants to move) and John (who wants to stay).  Don’t know how it ends so far, but Cathy is so unpleasant I am hoping for a divorce announcement after the last commercial break.  Fingers crossed!

Edited November 27, 2018 by Crs97

[Tosia]

The latest episode featured a couple where the guy looked like Teller (?)--the quiet one in Penn and Teller.

Their house was gigantic, and yet they "needed" more room, instead of an efficiency expert/home organizer to repurpose the room usage. 

Since when do kids "need"  play rooms???????????   Isn't that what outside is supposed to be??????   Or that enormous family room???????

I don't get it.  My dad was ALWAYS saying, "Go outside!"  In the winter, we played in the basement family room, using a space heater if necessary.  Or we played in our rooms. 

It seems to me that families are trying to separate the kids/everyone too much.  Each kid needs his/her own room AND bathroom?????   Sure, it might eliminate squabbling, but with phones these days, where else will they get ongoing interaction?  Or build relationships?  My siblings may not have been my best friends, but they were there to talk/play/fight/debate/gossip/joke/do chores with everyday., 

Again, I don't get it. 

[BookWoman56]

13 hours ago, Tosia said:

It seems to me that families are trying to separate the kids/everyone too much.  Each kid needs his/her own room AND bathroom?????   Sure, it might eliminate squabbling, but with phones these days, where else will they get ongoing interaction?  Or build relationships?  My siblings may not have been my best friends, but they were there to talk/play/fight/debate/gossip/joke/do chores with everyday., 

Some of the desire to provide separate bedrooms and bathrooms may just be a function of personality traits. I come from a long line of people who need huge amounts of solitude and silence. As a kid, I shared a bedroom with a younger sibling and hated every single minute of it. It was a huge relief when one of my older siblings left home and I then had my own bedroom. I wanted as little interaction with my younger sibling as possible, for various reasons, and to this day we have minimal contact. My father built what would now be termed a "man cave" but was essentially a music room for him, so he would have his own more or less private retreat. It was also a place where he and my mother could socialize with friends on weekend nights, but we all understood that on weekday evenings, he wanted to be alone. 

Almost always with this show, I think the people should just move to a new house, unless it's clear that their problem isn't really lack of space or lack of properly configured space, but just inability to keep things organized. The only episode I've seen where I 100% wanted the couple of stay in the house was the one where the home and acreage had been in the guy's family for 150 years or something, because I can see that it would be emotionally wrenching to sell a house that had been in your family that long. But the show is so formulaic at this point that a week or so ago, I was in a teleconference that was dragging on forever, with stuff that didn't pertain to me, and I randomly opened a blank Word doc, and before I knew it had written a parody of the typical Love It or List It episode. Most of the time Hilary does a good job of making the current house work better, but a few things bug me. She seems to have new kitchen cabinets installed in every single house, even when the existing ones seem in good shape and it would be easy to just add new matching cabinets. I've also seen one too many episodes where she removes every trace of personal taste the owners have (bold colors, interesting patterns, etc.) and replaces it with some of the blandest furniture, color schemes and so forth possible. Finally, when the clients are primarily asking for new bedrooms, renovating the kitchen and master bath doesn't do a damn thing to accomplish that, and I hate the idea of chopping up a decent-sized room, such as a dining room, to split it into a small bedroom or two. 

I think someone upthread was questioning why someone would want a separate office if there are empty bedrooms. I can't explain that completely, but I will say that one major selling point for me when I bought a new house last year was that it had a dedicated office downstairs, at the front of the house. It was configured with a lot of outlets, windows looking out onto the front yard, and no closet, so all the wall space can be used for my two desks and various bookcases, etc. I've dealt with using my bedroom as a half bedroom, half office, and that was difficult to work with. Because I telecommute 100%, I need the dedicated office space. I do have a token unused bedroom upstairs, but I prefer to keep that as a dedicated guest bedroom. 

[Broderbits]

On 11/29/2018 at 11:13 PM, BookWoman56 said:

Most of the time Hilary does a good job of making the current house work better, but a few things bug me. She seems to have new kitchen cabinets installed in every single house, even when the existing ones seem in good shape and it would be easy to just add new matching cabinets. I've also seen one too many episodes where she removes every trace of personal taste the owners have (bold colors, interesting patterns, etc.) and replaces it with some of the blandest furniture, color schemes and so forth possible.

I agree with this; the houses end up looking like they're staged to sell whether or not the homeowners are going to "love it or list it". I actually prefer Jillian's designs on LIOLI2, they seem to be closer to my own taste.

I'm sick of seeing the ridiculous messes they start every show with; if these people are such slobs, no amount of square footage will be enough. And no more complaining about safety or structural issues that should have been discovered and addressed by owners interested in taking care of their investment. Some of these idiots even blame Hilary!

[BookWoman56]

I'm also tired of seeing all the clutter, most of which seems obviously staged as well. There's almost always a huge amount of clutter, but things such as kitchen counters and so forth are not dirty. Generally speaking, if you've let huge amounts of clutter pile up, then there's going to be a huge amount of dust there as well, and a real potential to have floors unmopped or unvacuumed. Yet there's never any evidence of actual dirt, just inability to keep things organized and put up. I'm 99% sure the clutter is staged so there will be a bigger contrast between the before and after pictures once Hilary has done her design stuff, but IMO it's not necessary. I'd rather just see the floor plan, shots of the relevant rooms, and hear the owners describe why they need a renovation or new house. Surely if you show the floor plan that has the standard 3BR/2BA layout, and then the clients explain they now have extra kids or extended family in the house, and one or both parents work from home and need an office, you don't have to have the stock images of clutter. In those cases, clutter isn't the real culprit; there's simply a need for a different floor plan that meets the needs of the clients. I'd rather see more before and after floor plans for more than 5 seconds on screen, so I can get a sense of what the problem was and how the new configuration is supposed to be better. 

And @Broderbits, you're right; if the people are slobs of that magnitude, you could give them a 5,000 square-foot house and it still wouldn't be enough. Not to mention I have no idea how someone can live in a house for several years and have zero idea that their electrical wiring and/or plumbing is defective. There are hidden problems that someone may not find until a formal inspection is done when selling the house again; I could see, for example, that between the time the clients bought the house and the time they are ready to renovate/move, a crack might have appeared in the foundation and not be visible, or termites could have done serious damage in places that are hidden. But things such as the basement having flooded numerous times and the homeowners having "fixed" it with duct tape (okay, slight exaggeration here), it's just not believable that they had no idea things were that bad. 

I don't watch a lot of HGTV shows, but stumbled across this one, and almost always have to then watch an episode or two of My Lottery Dream Home, in which at least the clients are almost always much more pleasant and grateful for being given good choices. I saw one episode not too long ago where the couple who won the lottery had rented an apartment their entire adult lives, including having children and grandchildren, and when they were shown the first house, the wife was thrilled that it had a dishwasher and commented that she'd never had a dishwasher. I couldn't help thinking that they were such a major contrast from the clients on this show, where the client who wants to stay in the existing house will bitch and moan about the most ridiculous things when shown a possible new house. 

[Tosia]

Spoiler ALERT:

 

Ok, last night's episode with the two cops.  Danny was the homeowner control freak big baby who criticizes everyone and everything. The other cop wanted a new house that would be theirs, v. just Danny's baby.  It was a good episode with realistically, smaller, older homes.  The last one was PERFECT for them, but....... Hilary did what she could, but $ prevented the reno of the basement.  

I really thought that they would sell because these guys were married, and that Danny would give up the house for his true love, but no.  Interesting episode.  Watch to the very end where they revisit these guys a year later.  Surprise!

[topanga]

On 12/4/2018 at 10:12 AM, Tosia said:

Spoiler ALERT:

 

Ok, last night's episode with the two cops.  Danny was the homeowner control freak big baby who criticizes everyone and everything. The other cop wanted a new house that would be theirs, v. just Danny's baby.  It was a good episode with realistically, smaller, older homes.  The last one was PERFECT for them, but....... Hilary did what she could, but $ prevented the reno of the basement.  

I really thought that they would sell because these guys were married, and that Danny would give up the house for his true love, but no.  Interesting episode.  Watch to the very end where they revisit these guys a year later.  Surprise!

Yes, great episode. I liked both guys. 

Although I find the show formulaic and repititive at times, I still enjoy the overall concept. But I’ll usually watch the first five minutes, finding out what the families want renovated or want they want in a new house. Then I fast forward to the final 7-8 minutes to see the last house David shows the couple (which is usually the Love it or List It choice), and then try to guess if they’ll move or not. I’m not interested in watching Hilary have the same arguments with the homeowners week after week about why certain projects can’t be done on their shoestring renovation budgets. 

And while most people do choose to stay in their their houses, I’ve been surprised by couples who decide to list even though they went on and on about loving the neighborhood, the other kids on the block, etc.

The only times I’ve been able to guess the outcome is when Hilary does something very specific to a house: e.g. on one episode she was renovating the home office of a radiolgist, and she made the walls black to make it easier for him to study x-rays and other imaging studies without a glare.

Does anyone know how the participants are paid on this show? And are they really investing the 70, 80, 100 thousand dollars for the renovations, or does the show do them for a discount?

[Tosia]

The latest episode with the young dr and his wooden wife?   Could she emote any less? 

They owned a giant house, but needed more.  Crazy . 

[TattleTeeny]

They should add an organizer to the show! Maybe alternate between David vs. Hilary and David vs. hypothetical organizer. "Love It or List It" one week, and "List It or Learn to Put Stuff Away" the next? As someone who can't renovate but needs more space I'd love to see what can be done! Of course, almost everyone on this show has much more room than I have to work with (and thus should not have such issues!).

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

They should add an organizer to the show! Maybe alternate between David vs. Hilary and David vs. hypothetical organizer. "Love It or List It" one week, and "List It or Learn to Put Stuff Away" the next? As someone who can't renovate but needs more space I'd love to see what can be done! Of course, almost everyone on this show has much more room than I have to work with (and thus should not have such issues!).

I like this idea, especially since most of the people whinging about not having enough space just need to get rid of tons of stuff! I can't remember the name of the episode, but the one where their entire dining room table was covered with small kitchen appliances comes to mind.

[TattleTeeny]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

especially since most of the people whinging about not having enough space just need to get rid of tons of stuff!

I...

am probably one of them! I can't help it; I love so many different kinds of things! However, I also like neatness--or at least organized chaos--and I would never keep the damn dining table covered like that (unless I am still in the middle of something but had to stop doing it. Which is why I need just one more small room!

[Broderbits]

On 12/24/2018 at 9:44 PM, jcbrown said:

I like this idea, especially since most of the people whinging about not having enough space just need to get rid of tons of stuff! I can't remember the name of the episode, but the one where their entire dining room table was covered with small kitchen appliances comes to mind.

I have a sneaking suspicion that most of these people aren't as sloppy as they appear, and that the producers are responsible for the incredible messes we see. I hate that part of the show; it's totally unnecessary. We are not as stupid as HGTV seems to think!

[Crs97]

Saw another old one.  The couple gave Hilary a budget of $105,000, and wanted

1.  A new kitchen

2. The downstairs remade to be open concept

3. Updated master bathroom

4.  A separate house built for grandma on the property.

They seemed so surprised that building the brand new house would use most, if not all, of their budget, and I spent that hour wondering where they find these people.

[jcbrown]

On 1/18/2019 at 2:59 AM, Crs97 said:

They seemed so surprised that building the brand new house would use most, if not all, of their budget, and I spent that hour wondering where they find these people.

It's either where do they find them or why do the producers insist on the homeowners making themselves look like such idiots. Or both, I suppose.

[BookWoman56]

On 1/18/2019 at 4:59 AM, Crs97 said:

Saw another old one.  The couple gave Hilary a budget of $105,000, and wanted

1.  A new kitchen

2. The downstairs remade to be open concept

3. Updated master bathroom

4.  A separate house built for grandma on the property.

They seemed so surprised that building the brand new house would use most, if not all, of their budget, and I spent that hour wondering where they find these people.

Good grief. I frequently experience extreme sticker shock when watching this show or any of the ones where people are pricing houses/renovations, because I live in a city in TX with comparatively low real estate prices. I bought my house brand new roughly a year and a half ago. It's a little over 2800 square feet, 4 BR/2.5 BA, downstairs office, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, ceramic tile throughout the downstairs except the master BR, etc., and it's slightly outside the city limits. For what I paid here (~$265K) for my house, in most of the cities where these shows are set, I could get something maybe a third that size, much older, and obviously not recently updated. But even here in the land of cheap housing, I know that you can't build a separate house plus do all the other renovations they wanted for that price. About a dozen years ago, one of my sisters was able to have a couple of small houses (more or less cottages) built on land she owned, to use as rental properties, for around $45K each. But that was done using a very simple floor plan with no extras, very small kitchen, etc., and again, 12-13 years ago. Unless that couple somehow thought they could get 2-3 of those storage sheds you can buy at Home Depot or somewhere, merge them into one building, and trick them out with a very basic kitchen and bath, I can't imagine how they deluded themselves they could do all that on that small of a budget. 

[deirdra]

On ‎2018‎-‎12‎-‎24 at 6:38 PM, TattleTeeny said:

"List It or Learn to Put Stuff Away"

is a show that should be on every week since it would be more in line with what most watchers can afford.  20/30-something slobs on LIOLI think they want complete open concept, but it is stressful to see the mess in the kitchen when you are trying to enjoy family time 10 feet away.

And when their kids are teens, they will probably be stomping off to their rooms and slamming the door to get away from all the togetherness.

Edited January 23, 2019 by deirdra

[TattleTeeny]

On 1/21/2019 at 12:25 AM, BookWoman56 said:

Good grief. I frequently experience extreme sticker shock when watching this show or any of the ones where people are pricing houses/renovations, because I live in a city in TX with comparatively low real estate prices. I bought my house brand new roughly a year and a half ago. It's a little over 2800 square feet, 4 BR/2.5 BA, downstairs office, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, ceramic tile throughout the downstairs except the master BR, etc., and it's slightly outside the city limits. For what I paid here (~$265K) for my house, in most of the cities where these shows are set, I could get something maybe a third that size, much older, and obviously not recently updated. But even here in the land of cheap housing, I know that you can't build a separate house plus do all the other renovations they wanted for that price. About a dozen years ago, one of my sisters was able to have a couple of small houses (more or less cottages) built on land she owned, to use as rental properties, for around $45K each. But that was done using a very simple floor plan with no extras, very small kitchen, etc., and again, 12-13 years ago. Unless that couple somehow thought they could get 2-3 of those storage sheds you can buy at Home Depot or somewhere, merge them into one building, and trick them out with a very basic kitchen and bath, I can't imagine how they deluded themselves they could do all that on that small of a budget. 

Haha, try North Jersey! Oy, I have small a 2BR/2 bath condo, in a not particularly sought after area, and that was $230,000.

[Writing Wrongs]

During some stuck in the house bad weather days, I binge-watched a bunch of episodes. My fave parts are Hilary and David's banter and how pissed Hilary gets at the homeowners unreasonable demands.

I don't understand on reno shows why they buy all new furniture for the house. Won't the owners who stay just move their own stuff back in?

On 12/18/2018 at 6:00 PM, topanga said:

Although I find the show formulaic and repititive at times, I still enjoy the overall concept. But I’ll usually watch the first five minutes, finding out what the families want renovated or want they want in a new house. Then I fast forward to the final 7-8 minutes to see the last house David shows the couple (which is usually the Love it or List It choice), and then try to guess if they’ll move or not. I’m not interested in watching Hilary have the same arguments with the homeowners week after week about why certain projects can’t be done on their shoestring renovation budgets. 

I started doing this after a while too. It's funny how David manages to find the perfect house, right at the end of each show. (eyeroll)

[dleighg]

I just watched an episode (don't know how new it is) where the woman had a "pop up accessory store." They walled off the dining room from the kitchen, created a large-closet-sized show room (that pretty much looked like exactly what it was), a pocket-sized "hanging out room" and turned their living room into a dining room. All I could think is, how do you sell this thing to someone else?  Fortunately they didn't have to find out as they "loved it." Hillary also added another door to the long bonus room for "sound insulation." I kept thinking "who would want that in the future?"

Edited February 9, 2019 by dleighg

[suomi]

"10 Things You Don't Know About 'Love It Or List It' Star Hilary Farr

Wait, she was in Rocky Horror?!"

https://www.housebeautiful.com/lifestyle/g20268623/hilary-farr-facts/

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, suomi said:

Wait, she was in Rocky Horror?!"

who would have thunk!

[BookWoman56]

On 1/23/2019 at 2:28 PM, deirdra said:

20/30-something slobs on LIOLI think they want complete open concept, but it is stressful to see the mess in the kitchen when you are trying to enjoy family time 10 feet away.

And when their kids are teens, they will probably be stomping off to their rooms and slamming the door to get away from all the togetherness.

I sometimes imagine the look of horror that would happen if I ever were a client on one of these design shows. I loathe open floor plans with the fire of a thousand suns. I rarely entertain, but when I do, I certainly don't want my guests looking straight into a messy kitchen piled high with dirty pots and pans, etc., and I absolutely do not want guests watching me cook. My downstairs is an open floor plan, but I found it tolerable because at the time I bought this house, my daughter and I were in a 3BR/3BA, 1500 sf apartment when my son, DIL, and grandson relocated here from overseas and lived with us while looking for jobs, and things were extremely crowded. So when I picked out this floor plan, I was happy to have the kitchen plus living room and dining room open to each other as long as they were much larger than the apartment configuration; also, my general dislike of open floor plans was offset by the fact that this house also had a downstairs dedicated office. It's just as well that the main living area is open, because I've had to move my mother into my house, and she's in a wheelchair, so she's able to move freely from her bedroom into the kitchen and so forth because there are no barriers.

Whenever I move again (which will most likely not be until after my mother's mobility issues are no longer a factor), I want to find something that has defined spaces rather than an open concept; that is, if the kitchen is open to a family room or something, then there will have to be a separate living room and dining room, and I want a dedicated office and/or library. From watching this show and other design shows, it seems as if wanting anything other than an open concept is blasphemy in the view of the designers. 

[deirdra]

On 2/9/2019 at 4:48 AM, dleighg said:

I just watched an episode (don't know how new it is) where the woman had a "pop up accessory store." They walled off the dining room from the kitchen, created a large-closet-sized show room (that pretty much looked like exactly what it was), a pocket-sized "hanging out room" and turned their living room into a dining room. All I could think is, how do you sell this thing to someone else?  Fortunately they didn't have to find out as they "loved it." Hillary also added another door to the long bonus room for "sound insulation." I kept thinking "who would want that in the future?"

I had exactly the same thoughts while watching this episode. Even though they love it now, they will eventually have to sell it.  Why not use furniture like armoires & bookcases to temporarily wall-off a room?   An old show I liked was for apartment dwellers and used a lot of creativity to adapt a place temporarily to your needs for a reasonable cost. 

Edited February 23, 2019 by deirdra

[BookWoman56]

I watched a couple of episodes tonight that I'm sure were reruns. First was the house that the wife had bought from her family when her grandmother died. While Hilary did a good job of reconfiguring that house, I get tired of her default solution to every house problem being to replace the kitchen cabinets and tear down walls, generally to open up the kitchen into what was originally a dining room. I did have to laugh at the wife having a fit when she and her husband dropped by to see how renovations were going and discovered that Hilary was removing the fireplace. At that point, the wife insisted that a fireplace was a must-have, and I couldn't help thinking that if Hilary was going to rip out a fireplace, that's a decision that should have been run past the couple before doing it. Presumably Hilary goes over things like color choices and so forth with them before implementing those changes, but at times it sounds as if she just did her own thing without consulting much with the couple. I would give a lot for just once, the couple to come back to the renovated house and announce they hate it. With this house, I thought it was completely  unfair to David that the couple decided they wanted a pool, which he told them meant they would have to go over their original budget, but they still wanted the pool. So he found a great house with a pool and then their reason for loving the original house was that the other house was over budget. Morons. I understand to some extent wanting to hang onto a house that has sentimental value, but nothing about that house was really special. ETA: I don't remember if they said when the house was built, but from the outside especially, it looked like a carbon copy of a house that was built across from my parents' house around 1968-69, and which sold at that time for $19K. The interior also looked from about the same time period, and I may be alone in my decor preferences, but I didn't see anything horribly wrong with the living room furniture. There's just this assumption that the couple is always going to want brand new contemporary-styled furniture, which bugs. Not everybody likes that style, and some people prefer more traditional furniture styles. As part of my mother's stuff that I had to move into my house when I moved her in with me, I now have custody of my grandmother's Duncan Phyfe-style sofa. It desperately needs to be reupholstered, but it's a beautiful style that I love. And I would be fine with having an entire living room in that style, with a family room done in something more casual. 

The other episode had a house that I thought was more or less perfectly fine in terms of overall layout, but just needed an additional bedroom. This was one where it really seemed to be 75% of why the husband hated it was not the layout per se but just that clutter was spilling over. The kids were doing their homework on the dining table instead of in the play room, because the play room (or whatever they called it) was overflowing with toys and crap.  They were using the bed in the master bedroom to fold laundry because there was no folding table in the laundry area. The first issue can be solved with getting rid of the clutter in the playroom and setting up a work table in there. As for where they fold laundry, I would guess the vast majority of people don't have a laundry room big enough for the washer, dryer, and a table for folding, so I don't have a lot of sympathy there. But the biggest WTF moment came when the couple noted that they're tired of the kids having to use the master bathroom, because the plumbing in the kids' bathroom wasn't working. Are you fucking kidding me? You don't need to take part in a renovation TV show to understand that you need to get a plumber over to fix the damn bathroom so it functions. If they have the money to sink $100K or so (I forget the exact reno budget, but I think it was $115K) into renovating the house, why hadn't they already spent a few hundred dollars to fix the plumbing in the kids' bathroom? That was the point at which the couple lost me entirely. 

Edited February 24, 2019 by BookWoman56

[ML89]

16 hours ago, BookWoman56 said:

The other episode had a house that I thought was more or less perfectly fine in terms of overall layout, but just needed an additional bedroom. This was one where it really seemed to be 75% of why the husband hated it was not the layout per se but just that clutter was spilling over. The kids were doing their homework on the dining table instead of in the play room, because the play room (or whatever they called it) was overflowing with toys and crap.  They were using the bed in the master bedroom to fold laundry because there was no folding table in the laundry area. The first issue can be solved with getting rid of the clutter in the playroom and setting up a work table in there. As for where they fold laundry, I would guess the vast majority of people don't have a laundry room big enough for the washer, dryer, and a table for folding, so I don't have a lot of sympathy there. But the biggest WTF moment came when the couple noted that they're tired of the kids having to use the master bathroom, because the plumbing in the kids' bathroom wasn't working. Are you fucking kidding me? You don't need to take part in a renovation TV show to understand that you need to get a plumber over to fix the damn bathroom so it functions. If they have the money to sink $100K or so (I forget the exact reno budget, but I think it was $115K) into renovating the house, why hadn't they already spent a few hundred dollars to fix the plumbing in the kids' bathroom? That was the point at which the couple lost me entirely. 

So with you on both points. I had a house with that famous "folding table" thing in the laundry and I used it to put the basket on and some of the other laundry stuff....and folded things on the master bed. I still do, I don't get that at all. 

I remember the kids' bathroom not working too and just staring at the screen. Seriously, a plumber is way less than $100k. I remember this a couple of times on the original Toronto version and I would stare at the TV at these crazy people thinking "call a plumber. It's not hard." My gold standard for "are you serious" was one family in Toronto who had a LEAK IN THE ROOF that was crumbling everything inside with mold and they just ignored it. Then there was the group whose house was so cold that they slept in their coats but didn't bother to fix things. Or the "master bed upstairs, only bathroom downstairs" couple who'd put up with that for fifteen years. Are people just addicted to living in misery? It's not like they didn't have money to get out or have something fixed.

[deirdra]

I remember those two Toronto shows.  And the morons were "surprised" that they had to pay an extra $10,000+ for the new roof that they should have had redone 10 years earlier.  They probably thought "the show" would call in favors and do their deferred maintenance for free.

The other thing that bugs me is when they promise all walls down with no posts without checking where the HVAC & plumbing runs are or which way the floor joists run.  Usually they have already ordered all the kitchen cabinets & appliances and huge extra costs result that could have been avoided if they had changed the layout to work with major plumbing & HVAC runs early in the planning.

Edited February 24, 2019 by deirdra

[toodywoody]

Season 7 episode 24, Jill drove me insane being pissed about the fucking garage that was a junk pit and kept saying Hilary wasn't giving them any more room. Uh, she was converting your fucking garage into a living room. And then her being obsessed with the damn play room for the kids. I loved Hilary's response that their kids would have their own rooms, why would they need a play room. And then one of the first houses that David showed them, the bedroom her mom would be in wasn't going to be big enough. Like GD. If I was both Hilary and David I would be pissed off every day with these people, it is like none of these people do their research on how much shit costs. 

Hell, I had my sewer back up and when the clean up crew came they discovered asbestos under the floors and I still did my research even though some was covered by insurance.

Now I'm onto another one and the guy says, this isn't enough light for my office. What! Just turn the damn light on.

Edited March 16, 2019 by toodywoody

[suomi]

On 2/24/2019 at 2:04 PM, ML89 said:

So with you on both points. I had a house with that famous "folding table" thing in the laundry and I used it to put the basket on and some of the other laundry stuff....and folded things on the master bed. I still do, I don't get that at all. 

I have a long dresser in my bedroom that has three top drawers and it's right next to a TV and an armoire-type computer desk with a comfy chair in front of it. Before I grab a load from the dryer in my "little nothing" laundry room I open those top dresser drawers; the load I fetch goes "on" one drawer and I use the other two for folding and stacking, while seated in my comfy chair. This system is especially enjoyable when it coincides with a laundry room/laundry folding mention while I'm watching this show. 

[shok]

Finally getting the new Vancouver (well actually Kelowna) shows on HGTV these past couple of weeks and I have wo wonder about the time line of the shows being produced and aired. One segment is filmed while there is snow on the ground and the next in spring when they're running around in t-shirts. The Okanagan is very temperate so yes, you can get a good dump of snow one day and it's melted in a couple of days but their continuity seems all out of whack. The photography is all over the place too and isn't making the city look as beautiful as it it.

Had a real shock last night when I tuned in and recognized the client. At first I thought it was a show I had already seen and then realized it was my oncologist Dr. Khoo!!!!!! His first name is Kong and he is just a fabulous doctor and every bit as pleasant and lovely as he appeared on the show, as obviously his wife is too. Jillian and Toss seemed to absolutely love them too. I have an appointment with him in three weeks and can hardly wait to ask him about it!

Think they made a mistake on their choice of their house though. Their original house was gorgeous with those million dollar lakeviews enhanced by the new windows Jillian put in. Can't imagine them putting containers together and getting the brightness and space they wanted. So anxious to talk to him to see if he'll spill any of the details of the whole process. Hmfff, he'll probably want to be professional and be the best oncologist in town, but he'll be pleasant about it as he's always so cheery and friendly. I love that man!

Edited April 9, 2019 by shok

[UsernameFatigue]

On 4/9/2019 at 3:30 AM, shok said:

Finally getting the new Vancouver (well actually Kelowna) shows on HGTV these past couple of weeks and I have wo wonder about the time line of the shows being produced and aired. One segment is filmed while there is snow on the ground and the next in spring when they're running around in t-shirts. The Okanagan is very temperate so yes, you can get a good dump of snow one day and it's melted in a couple of days but their continuity seems all out of whack. The photography is all over the place too and isn't making the city look as beautiful as it it.

Had a real shock last night when I tuned in and recognized the client. At first I thought it was a show I had already seen and then realized it was my oncologist Dr. Khoo!!!!!! His first name is Kong and he is just a fabulous doctor and every bit as pleasant and lovely as he appeared on the show, as obviously his wife is too. Jillian and Toss seemed to absolutely love them too. I have an appointment with him in three weeks and can hardly wait to ask him about it!

Think they made a mistake on their choice of their house though. Their original house was gorgeous with those million dollar lakeviews enhanced by the new windows Jillian put in. Can't imagine them putting containers together and getting the brightness and space they wanted. So anxious to talk to him to see if he'll spill any of the details of the whole process. Hmfff, he'll probably want to be professional and be the best oncologist in town, but he'll be pleasant about it as he's always so cheery and friendly. I love that man!

I didn't realize that the Vancouver (or as you say, Kelowna) shows had started, so luckily was able to see the show you have referenced On Demand. How cool that you know the husband! They did seem like a lovely couple. I live in Kelowna, so was even more interested that I am in the Vancouver shows. The Khoo's home seems to be in West Kelowna judging from their view. 

I don't know where the first townhome was that Todd showed them (and I thought it was ugly!) but the last home they showed is just up the hill from me, in the Widen subdivision. It is right on the corner of a main road of the subdivision, so can't imagine that they would have found it appealing even if it had all the green features they wanted. 

I was wondering as well when this may have been filmed. I check to see when the house last changed hands, and it last sold in July of 2018. And Jillian gave birth to her daughter in October of 2018. So I would guess this was filmed in early 2018 when we still had snow, and into the spring of 2018. 

I hope you are able to ask Dr Kong if they actually did sell, and buy the container home? I thought it was a big mistake too. I would think it would be hard to find a lot as well. Most lots are in subdivisions like Wilden and The Ponds, and they would not allow a container home there. I would love to know if they did buy, where it was! But personally, I would not give up my lake view! 

[UsernameFatigue]

I just watched the first episode of the Kelowna shows, and enjoyed it as well. I love trying to figure out where the home owners live (looked to be past Sunset Ranch golf course), and where the homes they are viewing are. I really liked the redo (especially the kitchen cabinet colour!) and like that Jillian usually puts colour in her renos, rather than white on white on white which seems to be so popular these days. I found the Kong's reno to be too white and bland for my taste, but I think that may have been Mrs. Kong's preference. 

I forgot to add in my last post Shok, good luck in your upcoming appointment! I always love coming across fellow Okanagan Valley posters on these threads. Also, I love your avatar - big kitty fan here! 

[UsernameFatigue]

So, did anyone watch the Kelowna show featuring Charmaine and Cam? The problem (or advantage for the viewer?) of having a show in a relatively small city like Kelowna, is that you can often identify the neighbourhood. For those who know Kelowna, their house is on Lake Ave, and the house they wanted to move to is on Abbott Street. According to B.C. Assessment as of late last year though, neither home has been sold in the last three years. So either they changed their minds, or maybe the Abbott house never was for sale? There was no sale sign on it when Todd showed it (that I saw), and googling the address does not show that it had been for sale. (Usually the address will come up as having been for sale, but no longer current either because it sold or was taken off the market). It is listed though online as a seasonal B&B which was interesting. 

I am spending way too much time investigating properties on the Kelowna version of this show - lol. 

[shok]

Ok, I got to see my doctor today who (with his wife) was on the second episode this season. I thought I wasn't going to get a chance as he started right in on my chart when he walked in the door but at the end, as he was leaving, I asked if I could ask a question and he stayed and chatted for a good ten minutes!  😁

They haven't moved and they're still in their house but his wife is still looking for property where they can build a new super energy efficient house. They're concerned about finding an area that has a good school system for their son to go to middle and high school though plus he doesn't want to commute anymore from West Kelowna. That lake lot Todd showed them is still available but is one of the prime locations in Kelowna, in fact it's only a few blocks down the street from the cancer centre, but he laughed and said the price was way over the $750,000 quoted on the show, like over $1,000,000.

They did, in fact, do a bunch more work on their house after LILI were finished and changed all their other doors and windows too. He was so pleased with his solar system and bragged that his total electric bill for last year was only $300 after all their changes. I was madly thinking about how I could ask him how the finances worked on the show and I mumbled a question and he said, oh no, the homeowner pays for all the furniture and the fixtures and the labor and construction work. The show paid for the interior designer (teehee, Jill doesn't do it - pros are hired) and he thought it all cost about $25,000 and he seemed quite pleased with the deal.

(Going to post this page so I don't lose it all by hitting some strange button which I have a tendency to do 😄 )

[shok]

He said he got a really healthy discount on the additional doors and windows they bought which seemed to please him greatly, plus the same carpentry crew stayed on and did additional work for them. He was very pleased overall with how everything was done, and he really liked both Todd and Jillian and said they were a lot of fun to work with.

What he wasn't quite so pleased with, although he wasn't complaining, he just kind of had a wry smile about it all and shrugged his shoulders and said he realized in the end they were putting together a tv show, was how they edited all the footage and much of what he said wasn't included. Turns out he and his wife are real climate change warriors and have talked for years about building a house with as small a footprint as possible. His wife saw the blurb in the paper or on tv about LILI looking for homes to redo and she said she was going to send their name in and he just laughed at her. Two weeks later, there was a producer at their door wanting to discuss it with them! When the plans were all set, he said it took six weeks to complete and get their house keys handed back to them although they had to do several after shots to talk to Todd and Jillian. He also said they only did one 'choice' shot. They didn't do one each of 'love it' or 'list it' as I've heard rumoured, they talked about it a lot and genuinely chose 'list it'.

Oh, to clarify the edit I referred to, as I said the Khoo's are real climate change warriors and he said a lot of discussions were had about the subject and he was quite fervent in his statements in front of the cameras but they were all pretty much cut out - apparently the producers were very careful about not allowing anything that might tick off the sponsors and advertisers, even though Dr Khoo is the sweetest man and I can't imagine him saying anything that might be offensive to anyone.

I'm not sure if the length of time they've stayed in their old house is normal for the show. Dr Khoo had some health problems and was off work for three months last summer which would have been shortly after they did the show. They still plan to build a house and he is still very intrigued by the modular units and may well use them or something very similar. Whatever, it will be extremely energy efficient.

I think that's most of it. If I remember any more tidbits, I'll edit my post. 🙂

[UsernameFatigue]

Thanks for posting all of that info, shok! Very interesting! I have always wondered if the reno budget included materials and labour, as often it seems too low to include both. I also assumed that the homeowners would pay for the furniture, but would imagine there must be some kind of a discount (and possibly for renos too) as what would be the advantage for the homeowner to do the show unless it benefited them somehow financially? Also interesting that Jillian is not the decorator as the show seems to present her as such. I have always thought she has such great taste! 

I thought the show did a good job of presenting your doctor as a climate change warrior, so while he may not have thought they did I thought it came through pretty clear. And the fact that they chose the energy efficient (and very ugly IMO!) home also points pretty clearly to that. I am not surprised though that the lot on Abbott was way more money than what was stated on the show - $750,000 seemed very low for lakefront in a prime location. Heck, some lake view lots in subdivisions are selling for more than that. 

Your doctor does sound like a sweetie, and so nice of him to take the time to fill you in! I hope the rest of your appointment was just as positive! 

[toodywoody]

Omg, the couple who had a huge house and had the downstairs bedroom and she was doing business out of the freaking formal dining room, just needed to clean their freaking house. Move the shit out of the formal dining room and make it her office. And why do kids need play rooms, go outside and clean up the freaking bathroom. She drove me insane from the get go. Her business room was cluttered and inorganized like the rest of the house. Just clean and declutter the freaking house and there would be a ton of room. There was all this space that was cluttered with shit.

Omg, the couple who had a huge house and had the downstairs bedroom and she was doing business out of the freaking formal dining room, just needed to clean their freaking house. Move the shit out of the formal dining room and make it her office. And why do kids need play rooms, go outside and clean up the freaking bathroom. She drove me insane from the get go. Her business room was cluttered and inorganized like the rest of the house. Just clean and declutter the freaking house and there would be a ton of room. There was all this space that was cluttered with shit.

[toodywoody]

Omg, screened in porch dude and both had to have offices was pissing me off. There was nothing wrong with their house except them and all their unnecessary shit. They had plenty of guest space and office space if their house wasn't a hoarders paradise. And then her getting pissed off when Hilary suggested the guest room be the play room. All they would have to do is clean it up. Why do their kids need that giant space anyway? They had three guest rooms during the walk through. Why not just put the damn kids up in the playroom, as their bedroom and playroom and put the dad in one of the other rooms and make the third bedroom a guest room. Like GD! 

Edited May 6, 2019 by toodywoody

[smg2]

I don't like Love it or List it since they moved it to the US as it was a Canadian show not a US one and should remain that way. David is Canadian and Hillary is US but the show started in Toronto Canada and moved because HGTV couldn't handle the amount of Canadians on the channel. There are only 2 left now Love it or List it Vancouver and Sarah Richardson off the Grid. What bugs me is the unfair amalgamation happened and a lot of our shows content disappeared. HGTV has these ridiculous tourism shows I never watch or Tiny homes or house Hunter renovation show which was ok until they cut the reno part. Don't get me wrong I do like some of the US ones but now it's overtaken the Canadian channel it used to be. Now I can't tell if Property Brother whom have too many shows on this channel are actually in Canada instead of appearing in places they shouldn't be that are already covered by US shows. That flip or flop vegas couple are frauds and let go of original couple who divorced as they are very boring as well. Now back to Love it or list it Vancouver - Kelowna I perked up when Kenny came back as I was going to stop watching. I don't always like Jill's designs they are old and tired everything is always white and this and that. She never get away from it and Hillary is guilty of this too. I find it boring myself and would never have a white on white kitchen. With her preggers again and her fiancee on it was boring me rigid . Now at least with Kenny back I can overlook her repetitive designs. I liked the style of the other show they took off HGTV with the Bryk's she was interesting her designs not all white on white boring stuff. I would like to see a show done from Montreal with a different designer as Vancouver is not the only place in Canada with style. I don't like the new Baulmer show also boring his wife is not a designer either. I liked his show when she wasn't around. I don't like all this family stuff with the shows these days I want to see design not their family drama it's boring enough with owner drama.  The other thing that has bugged me from beginning of Love it or List it is the fact that owners pretend they don't know what is wrong with their homes and blame it on Hillary and Jillian when they know full well and should cough up to fix it when told. You can't live in a home for years and not know your roof is leaking or bits not up to code sorry it doesn't wash no one who owns a home is that dumb. Too much melodrama and not as much fun. I like the Fords but again too much of the same thing even in second season. The Master flip couple are interesting at least and leave their family out of it of which I am very glad. The new Chicago one is interesting but she needs to change it up a bit as sure season 2 will be more of the same but they make a fun pairing and shows ppl more of Chicago. Boise Boys I really like they are fun and interesting a lot of the other shows could learn something from them.

But I do wish the original Canadian shows would come back and all of them except for lumber and tiny show not a fan and include Montreal in the lineup. Cut the 5 minute or less clips in regular line up and lose the tourism shows. House Hunters international was ok but couples were super annoying they must feature some Canadians too in this as they wouldn't say English charm or Irish charm when overseas is a big faux pas.

What about an actual garden show as currently only one and it's not bad the pair are super nerdy for my tastes. But something maybe like UK is doing picking two designers who do gardens like the backyard twosome and someone who does gardens without decks or sheds and see who the owner picks. I don't remember there being any Canadian or American show that does the 2 designer competition since the days of Steven Sabados and his late partner on another channel. Usually it's only 1 designer and 1 contractor a little overdone and maybe 1 real estate person

[topanga]

13 hours ago, smg2 said:

What about an actual garden show as currently only one and it's not bad the pair are super nerdy for my tastes.

What makes a gardner nerdy? LOL 

[smg2]

If you have seen Backyard builds these two are super nerdy. Now have seen latest Love it or List it Vancouver 2019 I thought they were done with fake construction hubby Justin and here he is again. What a let down and Kenny's gone I don't think I will watch again got my hopes up of qualified job I bet this will turn up in the papers under suing couples very stupid indeed.

[UsernameFatigue]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:05 PM, smg2 said:

If you have seen Backyard builds these two are super nerdy. Now have seen latest Love it or List it Vancouver 2019 I thought they were done with fake construction hubby Justin and here he is again. What a let down and Kenny's gone I don't think I will watch again got my hopes up of qualified job I bet this will turn up in the papers under suing couples very stupid indeed.

I am only watching the Kelowna shows this season, and have (so far) skipped the lower mainland ones. 

I thought Justin was doing the Kelowna shows and assumed Kenny was still doing the Vancouver area ones? Not sure what makes Justin a "fake construction hubby". His father has been a real estate developer for over 25 years building large projects, mainly in Alberta. They have been in Kelowna for a few years now as well and Justin was project manager for a condo development that was built here a couple of years ago, and is starting another this spring. 

[NYGirl]

OMG I saw an episode the other day that annoyed the heck out of me.  The couple was so damn entitled.  They had the largest house I've ever seen...right on a large pond or lake.  There was no way they were listing it.  They had 2 floors with tons of square footage and only one child.  The husband had to have a view of water.  I hated the wife.  lol..just here to rant...move along..nothing to see here.

[BookWoman56]

22 hours ago, NYGirl said:

OMG I saw an episode the other day that annoyed the heck out of me.  The couple was so damn entitled.  They had the largest house I've ever seen...right on a large pond or lake.  There was no way they were listing it.  They had 2 floors with tons of square footage and only one child.  The husband had to have a view of water.  I hated the wife.  lol..just here to rant...move along..nothing to see here.

I think I may have caught about 10 minutes or less of this episode. It was a large house next to water, and the husband was an ass who made snide comments about everything. If it’s the same one, then Hilary ran into the septic tank issue where if they added another bathroom, they would have to get a larger septic tank. That was the point at which I quit watching; I had missed the beginning and didn’t know what was driving the need to renovate. But the husband was obnoxious enough for me to start hoping that Hilary would find a ton of structural problems and then there would be no budget for whatever the hell he wanted. 

[jcbrown]

The thing that always drives me nuts about this show is the script the producers provide that requires the couples to lament that "Hillary isn't giving us" x, y, or z. It's that you aren't paying for it, you morons. She'll do whatever you want her to but you have to provide the cash. I suppose they think this will amp up the drama but I find it annoying. Especially for the couples who ask for, say, a total reno of the kitchen and baths, a garage addition, a screened-in porch, and here's your $30K to do it and then whine that it can't happen.

[dleighg]

What they *really* want is to give her $30k and she improves the value of the house by $150k and then they can move to their over-budget "dream house" LOL.

[Crs97]

And Hillary always finds structural problems that the owners seem to blame her for, or they seem annoyed that their old a/c from the 70’s cannot adequately cool the house with the extra 600 square feet they want her to add on.   I mentioned it before, but my mind is still blown by the couple who gave her $105,000 and wanted her to redo their home AND build a second home on the property for his mother.  If this is completely production-driven, then they need to stop making the home owners look like morons.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Crs97
Because I forgot they only gave her $105,000 !!

[illini1959]

I'd say it's completely production driven as they have the exact issues every episode.

I wonder why these shows can't be more true to life. I realize they probably need to have already chosen a house (like on HH) but to have the same issues, same responses by the same parties (homeowners with crappy attitudes about what can't be done, H & D with crappy attitudes toward homeowners and each other....)

Boring.

Just getting tired of the scripted shows they're airing now in place of the good shows that used to make up HGTV 😞 

[topanga]

4 hours ago, illini1959 said:

I'd say it's completely production driven as they have the exact issues every episode.

I wonder why these shows can't be more true to life. I realize they probably need to have already chosen a house (like on HH) but to have the same issues, same responses by the same parties (homeowners with crappy attitudes about what can't be done, H & D with crappy attitudes toward homeowners and each other....)

Boring.

Just getting tired of the scripted shows they're airing now in place of the good shows that used to make up HGTV 😞 

Totally agree. My enjoyment for this shows comes from 1) Hilary's designs-- I generally like the ideas she has for spaces. Not boring, but not outlandish, either and 2) trying to guess whether the family will love it or list it. And that usually comes down to how good the family's acting skills are. 

[annzeepark914]

I saw the start of a repeat episode the other day & immediately started looking for something else to watch. It was the episode in which the wife needed room in the basement for her art studio. Every house they went to see, the husband maneuvered so he could walk in the door first. So rude. And, of course, he didn't see the need to move. I just could not watch that episode (& that twirpy rude husband) again. Such a jerk.