Home Town - General Discussion

[Grrarrggh]

I wonder if that house flooded a lot as it was at the bottom of a sort of bowl in the earth. 

[pasdetrois]

Quote

Can Erin ever let Ben finish a sentence?

I posted about this in an earlier season. It's annoying in real life and it's annoying to watch on TV.

I hope this little family will be happy in their new home. It's not my favorite of the series, but I'm assuming Ben and Erin knew their friends' tastes and acted accordingly. As Erin said, it's an all-white house so she tried to add some color drama in the dining room (which I thought was horrid).

I noticed Erin's little tummy and wondered about a new pregnancy.

[sheetmoss]

15 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

What a boring house. Outside of the dinning room it was too cookie cutter for me. 

Re the DR

I think Erin should have painted the ceiling black, another color  in the wallpaper, or _______

I kept thinking about the ID Alidad, and what he said, paraphrasing, if you are going bold, go bold!

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by sheetmoss

[65mickey]

I would have picked the Tudor house hands down. Much more interesting. 

[Dehumidifier]

NVM

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Dehumidifier

[absolutelyido]

18 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I wonder if that house flooded a lot as it was at the bottom of a sort of bowl in the earth. 

I would never have bought the house for just that reason. Laurel is only a couple of hours from the coast. It seems like the house would be very vulnerable to flooding (or a mudslide) if a hurricane brought torrential rains to Laurel.

[3 is enough]

I would never buy a house in a hollow like that.  Erin said they put in French drains and there is most likely no basement to flood, but given the torrential rains they get it just is not worth the risk.

Erin did say that the show is on Sundays now in an Instagram post explaining the new Discovery Streaming Channel.

[nb360]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:58 AM, irisheyes said:

I think that of all HGTV shows, Home Town is probably the closest to that. Their budgets are usually around $200K or less. 

Yes, this is one of the reasons why I'm drawn to this show. I do think the budget for some of the renovations are extravagant but the low cost of the house kinda makes up for that.

[Kemper]

Home Town is about the only show on HGTV where all the redesigned homes look individual; each one is geared to the owner's wants and needs.  It is nice to actually see some color and individuality and thought put into the final product.

 

[DonnaMae]

5 minutes ago, Kemper said:

Home Town is about the only show on HGTV where all the redesigned homes look individual; each one is geared to the owner's wants and needs.  It is nice to actually see some color and individuality and thought put into the final product.

 

I totally agree with you.  It's my favorite renovation show because they are older homes that don't look like the house next door, and I love that Erin uses color in the rooms.  I'm so tired of the gray/white/black look.  And it's nice to occasionally see the kitchen cabinets painted in a color.  

[MoreCoffeePlease]

On 1/4/2021 at 7:06 PM, 65mickey said:

I would have picked the Tudor house hands down. Much more interesting. 

Totally. And it still had decent space. Wasn't there an episode of Fixer Upper way-back-when where Joanna and Chip showed a house but the couple didn't choose it, but Joanna loved it so much that she did it anyway as a flip or a business venture? If I were Erin and Ben, I would have done that with the Tudor. I know Hometown isn't a flipping show (thank goodness!), but they could still shake it up once in a while.

I will say that I liked the big great room of the chosen house. I can see the whole, even extended, family spending lots of time in there. Some people watching TV, other people playing games, kids playing with toys, etc.

Erin still loves her green, doesn't she?  I don't mind. I love it too.

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, MoreCoffeePlease said:

I will say that I liked the big great room of the chosen house. I can see the whole, even extended, family spending lots of time in there. Some people watching TV, other people playing games, kids playing with toys, etc.

Erin still loves her green, doesn't she?  I don't mind. I love it too.

I didn't like that they painted the living room white to match that big great room. And I'm not a big fan of that shade of green that she used all over, though maybe it looked different IRL. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I've always believed that the homeowners get a lot more input than we're told about colors, and design.    Even if they don't I'm sure Erin spends a lot of time, and gets to know what the person's taste is, and things like the green shade they used so much seemed to be a favorite of the wife.      

[RoxiP]

Chip and Joanna's bed and  breakfast was a home they had shown earlier.  I think Erin and Ben have a questionnaire that the homeowners fill out and they meet together and discuss it.

[Dehumidifier]

Wrong show!

Edited January 8, 2021 by Dehumidifier

[Gam2]

On 1/3/2021 at 11:26 PM, Grrarrggh said:

What a boring house. Outside of the dinning room it was too cookie cutter for me. 

I’m sure you know that the correct spelling is “dining” room. 

[Grrarrggh]

3 hours ago, Gam2 said:

I’m sure you know that the correct spelling is “dining” room. 

Maybe for the others of planet Earth, but I, personally, will only take my meals in the dinning room. It blocks out the voices in my head 😉

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love the transitional house for women, and children leaving bad situations that they redid tonight.    What a great resource that is, and such a lovely house.  Since it's a temporary house, I like they did open shelves in the kitchen.    I love the color palette Erin and Ben used.   For $100,000 budget all in it's a spectacular home.   I love that Lisa named the house in honor of her mother.  

Like they explained on some of the vacation home remodeling shows, for temporary residents, open shelves make things easy to find.  

If you go to the Laurel Mercantile site, there's a link to Erin's blog, and I recall they had a link to the buying guide that lists the sources for each house.   There is a collection in the Laurel Mercantile shop for the house, but under Home Town, they usually have a Source Guide, with the paint, and other items they use, but I didn't see one for the Helen house yet, or the others this season.      I think with the counter edge, they don't get everything finished, and keep working on it after the reveal is filmed.    Erin's journal post about the house explains more of the story behind the house, and the projects the couple that bought the house, and had it remodeled are doing to support their mission.  

I'm watching the rerun of the Brooke, and Ronnie's house, and I like the house they bought, but I hope that someone buys the Tudor and redoes it.     The kitchen on the Tudor was bizarre. 

Edited January 15, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[3 is enough]

I thought they did a lovely job with the house.  One small nitpick- it looked like the edges of the kitchen counter were unfinished.  Did anyone else notice that, or was it just me?

[nb360]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I love the transitional house for women

I liked this house, too. I wish I knew where to find the rug and curtains in this house. The house was very "welcoming."

[CrazyInAlabama]

On their FB page for the episode, they posted a resource guide.   Its called the Cochran house:

https://www.rtrmedia.com/the-cochran-house/?fbclid=IwAR2gQKCV059-b2_snK3dWMTpe13y2muFmmmqkJMZIj8o4gID4KxNTH_vY0k

This is the list of all resource guides by season, and then the house name:

https://www.rtrmedia.com/productions/hgtvs-hidden-potential/suppliers-hgtvs-hidden-potential/hgtvs-home-town/

The kitchen counter top edges were painted or stained very dark.    

Edited January 18, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Quote

 I love the color palette Erin and Ben used.   For $100,000 budget all in it's a spectacular home.

Absolutely. The pale yellow was so pretty. Loved the floral curtains, the rug, the redone chairs, the color of the kitchen cabinets, the artwork ... everything!  The couple was so sweet too. What a great project. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're having a preview episode of Home Town: Ben's Workshop with Chris Lane (Country music star) tonight 13 January, from 8 to 9 p.m. Central on HGTV.  

All of the Ben's Workshop episodes are supposed to be on the streaming service, but I hope they'll eventually be rerun on HGTV.     

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Spunkygal]

The transitional home episode was brilliant. Bravo for the low budget and how they made such a welcoming, healing home. I, too, am a chair fanatic and love to search for chairs in antique malls to have refinished and recovered.  I was hoping to see Matt, the caning guy, actually weave the cane. I am a big fan of The Repair Shop on Netflix and it is fascinating to watch their caning expert weave the cane. On that show, she does not apply it as a big sheet like Matt did. She weaves it on the chair itself. But perhaps each piece is restored differently. I am fighting myself to not go to the antique mall tomorrow. 

[buttersister]

Happy for Ben that he has a workshop show on D+, previewed tonight. Lots and lots of details about making wooden boxes and mic stands. No interest whatsoever in paying to watch it.

[3 is enough]

I watched last night.  I liked what I saw but it was hard to get a real sense of Ben's Workshop because they just showed segments of the episode mixed in with Home Town clips.  I would watch if it was on HGTV, but I am not going to pay an extra $7 a month to access it.  There are only 4 episodes and I can't see him doing a full season's worth because he just doesn't have the time.

Can I just say I really hate this new trend of premium screening services?  When they started promoting Discovery+ it was advertised at $4.99 per month and now that it has launched I am seeing a price of $6.99 quoted.  It's fine to say cut the cord, but if you are paying for 10 streaming services at $7-8 per month (or more like Netflix) are you really saving a lot?  Plus, a lot of internet packages have data caps and if you stream constantly in addition to your other internet usage you risk overages which are really expensive.  I just wish cable companies would offer a la carte channel selection.

[chessiegal]

25 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

it was advertised at $4.99 per month and now that it has launched I am seeing a price of $6.99 quoted. 

What I read is that it's $4.99/month with commercials, $6.99 without commercials.

I'm not paying for it either. I like my cable and have no interest in cutting the cord.

[CrazyInAlabama]

This is definitely a different house on tonight's new show.    They had to evict a buzzard (named Ricky) from the house, and the studs in the wall are totally gone from water leaking in for years.    The homeowner is redoing his dad's cabin, it was built by a friend of his dad's.     The man is a music producer in Nashville, and I really wish he would have opted for the solidly built place in town.   They really had to redo almost everything. 

That cabin remodel is spectacular!    They did such a great job rebuilding it, and everything they did to it is so beautiful.      

Edited January 18, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[3 is enough]

Holy crap that house was bad. The homeowner is a lot braver than me.  I would worry that they didn't find all of the rot and mold.  

The finished product looked great- I especially liked how the kitchen counters turned out.  

There is a lot less commenting this season- I wonder if the change to Sunday nights has something to do with it.

[chessiegal]

I never watch it in real time. I record it and then forget to watch. Sounds like I need to watch the latest one.

[RoxiP]

I knew he was going to renovate the cabin - this was about restoring a connection to his dad - not about the house...and it was a lovely outcome (although sign me up for the other house if I was inclined to move to Laurel...LOL!).

[Barlowe]

Ben and Erin seemed out of their depth on the producer episode because they kept worrying that Kevin would be resistant to the prices or repairs needed like most of their clients would and he clearly didn't care about the money costs especially in comparison to the sentimental value.  Plus he already owned the land and it seemed secluded so he doesn't have close neighbours with potential noise complaints. I think the other estimates he got were probably far more expensive than the 100K all in that the show quoted especially with all the custom work and it seemed like a passion project for him with a very loose budget.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Lilacly

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was very worried that when they found all of that damage, that they wouldn't be able to save it, and remodel.     The finished product is lovely, and classic, and it was great work by Ben and Erin, and the rest of the crew that made that house secure, and beautiful.   

[nb360]

I didn't like the episode with the "insurance guy" who was primarily interested in the price per sq. ft. I understand the need to make a good investment with a home purchase... but he seemed a little too capitalistic. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) I just like seeing people who are trying to buy their forever homes.

Edited January 19, 2021 by nb360

[Doublemint]

OK I'm sticking my neck out here.   The episode where the house was a transitional residence for Moms & children.    I wouldn't want to see it six months later.   It was not set up for hard living and little cleaning.  It could have been very nice done in a more practical way.

[3 is enough]

3 hours ago, Doublemint said:

OK I'm sticking my neck out here.   The episode where the house was a transitional residence for Moms & children.    I wouldn't want to see it six months later.   It was not set up for hard living and little cleaning.  It could have been very nice done in a more practical way.

Well, to be fair, the furnishings and decor don't stay in the house unless the owners choose to buy them.  And I can't see the couple forking out $$$ for that unless it was part of their budget.. The desks and bench Ben built, and the chairs Erin recovered will stay I guess, but unless the vendors choose to make donations the rest of the stuff will not.

Evidently the owners have a charity shop so they will probably use items from there to furnish the house.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I just read an announcement that a local custom bed maker will be on the show soon.     His work is wonderful, and it will be a great showcase for his products, and I'm sure who ever the home owner is will love his work.  

[pasdetrois]

I love the color palette in the transitional house. I have those colors in my home. They are so cheerful on dreary days.

There is a huge transitional house in my neighborhood, and the nonprofit really struggled to raise the funds. My friend founded one in DC and she also struggles to keep it open. I wish more wealthy folks would consider supporting these projects. To put it in a crass way, there is real return on investment for society. Children have stability - shelter, food, therapy, school, health care - and their little roots can grow into something beautiful.

Every time I see the show's media company's name I think Roll Tide Roll (RTR).

 

[3 is enough]

On 1/22/2021 at 7:33 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I just read an announcement that a local custom bed maker will be on the show soon.     His work is wonderful, and it will be a great showcase for his products, and I'm sure who ever the home owner is will love his work.  

I think he is making beds for Helen's "big girl room".  Both Erin and Ben talked about it on their Instagram stories.  He said the reveal would be coming soon-maybe it will be featured on the show.

Also, it looks like after tomorrow's show they will be taking a break until February 28.  I guess they are still filming season 5 and are waiting for more episodes to be completed.  Plus they were periodically filming in Wetumpka.  They just wrapped that up yesterday.

This seems to be happening with all kinds of shows- I think filming gets shut down periodically due to a positive test.

Edited January 23, 2021 by 3 is enough

[CrazyInAlabama]

That makes sense about Helen's bed.   I know Erin and Ben redid the kitchen in their house, so I bet it's the same episode. 

This Sunday's episode is a surgeon moving to Laurel from New York, and the craftsman from Reid Classics (owner Andrew Reid)  is making a bed for his home too.     If you want to see the many options of the company's four poster beds, go to Reidclassics . com, and click on the brochure.   It's funny to see how bedding styles, and bed options have changed since the company opened in the 1930's.   There are so many options, and I don't see how anyone picks exactly one style from the many options.  

Edited January 24, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[NYGirl]

Today was a lazy day and I'm not feeling well so I just put on Discovery Plus and watched Home Town.  I started with Season 5 because I haven't seen any new ones lately but there was one house that a widow with her son and second husband picked out where Erin made the woodwork in the dining room black.

After Season 5 I went to season 1 and there it was...the same house!!  I recognized it right away.  I did notice that Erin had a. lot of different changes that she would do though.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, it was a choice, I think for the military couple from the first season.    I could be totally wrong about that too.     If it was a choice for that couple, he worked at Camp Shelby, they moved not too long later, and I think it was the first Home Town house that was resold.

(the two doctors who moved to town, sold and moved, the house where they ripped the carport down are moving to a bigger home, and the carport home is for sale, and the couple that moved from Virginia, where the wife wanted a banquette sold and moved back to Virginia for a job change.   I think there are only four houses that have been sold since the show started,    And I don't know if the former John Combs house was inherited by his relatives, or sold too after he died).

[NYGirl]

Yes it was the military couple.

That's something that not many of the houses were sold.  Definitely not like Property Bros. and Chip and Joanna.

I loved the John Coombs house the most! 

I did notice in Season 1 that Ben and Erin kissed a lot on screen.

[DonnaMae]

I watched an old episode today where two houses without garages were shown.  It seems like a lot of the houses that we've seen in Laurel don't have garages.  I wonder why.  I would never buy a house that didn't have a garage.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Tonight's episode is fantastic.    Andrew Reid (a local here in Dothan AL) making the bed is so interesting to me.    After seeing the segment about building the bed, I can see why it takes two or three months wait between ordering, and receiving.     I think that will only get longer after being on the show last night. 

I love the two choices tonight.   The modern house was spectacular, and the classic house is spectacular in it's own way.   I think either house would have been a great choice.  I hope someone buys and remodels the modern house.    It's nice to see a well built house, without rot for once.  I love how this house turned out.     The Napiers do such a great job with tiny budgets, but they do an equally job with a good budget.  

Edited January 25, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Scatterbrained]

16 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

I watched an old episode today where two houses without garages were shown.  It seems like a lot of the houses that we've seen in Laurel don't have garages.  I wonder why.  I would never buy a house that didn't have a garage.

I think it’s the age of the homes they feature.  Older homes tend to have either no garage or detached garages.  Not everyone had cars back then.  Some homes have had carports.

[DonnaMae]

32 minutes ago, Scatterbrained said:

I think it’s the age of the homes they feature.  Older homes tend to have either no garage or detached garages.  Not everyone had cars back then.  Some homes have had carports.

Good answer.  I guess a carport is better than nothing to protect the vehicle, but I like a garage for storage too if the house doesn't have a basement.

[3 is enough]

I think a lot of the older homes have tool sheds in the backyard.  Plus I am guessing most  have attics.  
I grew up in an area where all homes had basements, but where I live now they are rare.  All of the homes here do have garages though.

There are so many regional differences all over the country.  I have always been baffled by the lack of basements in tornado country, but I guess there is too much risk for flooding.

[DonnaMae]

I grew up in Illinois where basements were normal, although older homes could have dirt basements. That's what we had when I was little.  It was kind of scary, but it was a safe place to hide out during a tornado.

[buttersister]

That bed was, to quote Erin, GOR-GEOUS! I find it amazing that some of her colorful kitchens are so appealing to me (of the white/grey, but from 20+ years ago, thankyouverymuch). Not entirely sure I could live in one, but I love looking at them. Erin, come north! Let's talk! I've got a remodel savings account.

There's something very soothing to me about this show. Maybe it's because there isn't much faux drama/whatta-we-gonna do shenanigans? I mean, they salvaged and dressed up a beat-to-shit cabin in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe that there are just no Scott brothers droning on (and on and on) about creating memories?