Nate And Jeremiah By Design - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Wings said:

It will work for her because she has no need for a living room.  And she can swing and kick the clouds he he he he he he in two places.  Her laugh was annoying.   

She had a seperate living room other than the office, it's where she relocated during most of the construction.

[auntjess]

On 5/6/2018 at 3:01 PM, doodlebug said:

Since the computers weren’t replaced, I doubt Nate and Jeremiah included any sort of plan to hide the various cords and cables that would have to be snaking across the floor to an outlet.

I hadn't thought of that, but they could have had an outlet placed under the table, with a hole for the cords to come through.
And if Jeremiah said "organic minimalism" one more time...
I pictured strewing animal shit on barebones furniture.

[jcbrown]

She said she was a pharmacist/actress, whatever that is. I wondered why she needed three monitors. And I agree with the poster upthread: I couldn't stand her. She was so twee.

[Wings]

13 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

She said she was a pharmacist/actress, whatever that is. I wondered why she needed three monitors. And I agree with the poster upthread: I couldn't stand her. She was so twee.

That was me and yes, twee is the perfect word!.  She appeared to be acting the cliche Asian woman, which I found odd.  

[BradandJanet]

Acting is her other job, so maybe that's the part that requires an office. It's possible she was auditioning a little with this show. too. 

[Wings]

On 4/15/2018 at 6:57 AM, Giuseppe said:

I've always loved Nate since he had his design/talk show a while back. His voice is soooo soothing and he's superhandsome.  Jeremiah's adorable, but I do not like the way he dresses. He looks like he raided a 60-year-old man's wardrobe. A trendy 60-year-old, but still. The no belt look, shirt tucked into just the front of the pants, stretchy cardigans, backless loafers...maybe I'm just out of the loop but none of that looks good to me.

Congrats to the two of them on the new addition!

He is very much in style.   :^)

I think Nate is Poppy's bio dad and Oskar is Jeremiah's.  We will never know that or who the birth mother is.  Just my guess.  

[AUgirl]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

I think Nate is Poppy's bio dad and Oskar is Jeremiah's.  We will never know that or who the birth mother is.  Just my guess.  

Poppy looks a lot like Nate’s childhood pictures as she gets older. This is a question my son (who is not bothered by the fact of the gay marriage/2 dads) wants to know the most. And I told him the exact same thing “we will probably never know” (and I am NOT asking N&J on Twitter because it’s none of our business). 

Edited May 8, 2018 by AUgirl

[lull]

In a podcast interview Nate said Poppy “looks just like Jeremiah but acts just like me.” And how Jeremiah wanted children first. So I’m pretty sure Poppy is biologically Jeremiah’s. Maybe Oskar is biologically Nate’s. Either way, they are both Poppy’s and Nate’s parents.

[meep.meep]

That woman is why I'm glad Nate and Jeremiah spend the client's money.  

That said - where is she supposed to put the soap when she's taking a shower?  Having a niche is not that exceptional or expensive a change.  And there are soft relaxing yellows and pinks and oranges.  They're usually on the inside edge of the color strips - the unsaturated colors.  Grey, white, and taupe are not the only wall colors.

[Ciarrai]

Couldn't stand Peggy. What the hell is a "pharma-tress" or whatever the eff she called herself? I love Nate, Jeremiah and Poppy; otherwise I would have skipped this episode completely.

Also, grow up. That swing fixation was stupid.

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

I think this was my favorite episode so far.  This was a family that really needed help.  And I love how N&J worked so hard to make it a beautiful and functional house.

I have to jump back to the little people episode because I just caught it this weekend.  Oh my, it was my favorite episode too!  When the Mom walked in and she was literally, absolutely, speechless (and the husband said, "you said you weren't going to cry!"), I don't think I've ever seen such a raw, lovely, genuine reaction on reality t.v.  Cue the waterworks!

[Wings]

On 5/8/2018 at 3:40 AM, lull said:

In a podcast interview Nate said Poppy “looks just like Jeremiah but acts just like me.” And how Jeremiah wanted children first. So I’m pretty sure Poppy is biologically Jeremiah’s. Maybe Oskar is biologically Nate’s. Either way, they are both Poppy’s and Nate’s parents.

That makes sense as to who is who’s dad.  Yes, of course, both are their parents.  Or either one could be bio dad to both. 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Wings

[Ynicknan]

I find Nate and Jeremiah to look similar. If someone said they were brothers or cousins I’d believe them. So for me Poppy can easily look like both of them.

[AZ Curls]

So that shower niche looked really short width wise but super tall height wise, it really made no sense and why the heck did it cost $1000!?  Why were there giant rocks in the bathroom sink for the reveal?  Is that part of that Organic Minimalism bull that they were trying to create?  Also, her bedroom had hardwood floors but they pulled them up and painted the concrete instead??  That made no sense and that room needs a rug, those floors must be cold to walk on.  Agree with everyone that the table in the middle of the office made no sense and will be full of clutter in no time.  And also agree that that lady is a basket case and would not want her filling my prescriptions. 

[auntjess]

I guess it was for tall for bottles.
The cost may have been because some of the tiling and framing had to be changed, to get it added in after the wall was done.
And rugs and carpeting are out apparently.  Me and my dog are happy we're old, and have nice, comfy carpeting to walk on.

[Wings]

22 minutes ago, AZ Curls said:

Also, her bedroom had hardwood floors but they pulled them up and painted the concrete instead??  That made no sense and that room needs a rug,

I deleted so I can't go back and see.   If it was hardwood that they removed there must have been good reason.  I have never seen that done.  It might have been laminate or so damaged it could not be refinished.  Anyone remember why?

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, Wings said:

I deleted so I can't go back and see.   If it was hardwood that they removed there must have been good reason.  I have never seen that done.  It might have been laminate or so damaged it could not be refinished.  Anyone remember why?

I thought they said they painted the hardwood but I don't understand doing that, either.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

I thought they said they painted the hardwood but I don't understand doing that, either.

I looked online, the did paint a patern in shades of gray.  I find that odd too. 

[doodlebug]

11 minutes ago, Wings said:

I looked online, the did paint a patern in shades of gray.  I find that odd too. 

Yeah, they specifically said they were painting the hardwood.  I don't see the point myself and would much prefer a patterned rug next to the bed.  Maybe the hardwood was in bad shape and painting it was cheaper than refinishing it?  I doubt it, but I suppose that might be the reason.  Problem is, if she doesn't like the design or the colors, sanding and refinishing that floor is going to be an ordeal.

I also do not understand why it would cost a thousand bucks to put a niche in a shower.

[biakbiak]

16 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Maybe the hardwood was in bad shape and painting it was cheaper than refinishing it?

Yes that was exactly the reason they gave.

[friendperidot]

tonight's episode, where they did a gathering room in a youth homeless shelter, I didn't pay too much attention, but I was sad to see them cover the wall art, but I guess their point is to provide some "good design" to teach the youth that they are valuable. But before the reveal, they were standing in front of a large shelving unit, they were talking about the books being donated, that they could be taken by residents to their rooms for reading, that they were inspirational, blah, blah, blah, but all of the spines were turned to the back. I hope that is because they don't want to show and advertise which books are there not because it's a design feature to make all the books look the same. I personally hate when I read "design" tips and that is one of them. I love the colorfulness and the irregularity of books, that is the design feature I want to see, they are books, they have covers.

[ams1001]

10 minutes ago, friendperidot said:

tonight's episode, where they did a gathering room in a youth homeless shelter, I didn't pay too much attention, but I was sad to see them cover the wall art, but I guess their point is to provide some "good design" to teach the youth that they are valuable. But before the reveal, they were standing in front of a large shelving unit, they were talking about the books being donated, that they could be taken by residents to their rooms for reading, that they were inspirational, blah, blah, blah, but all of the spines were turned to the back. I hope that is because they don't want to show and advertise which books are there not because it's a design feature to make all the books look the same. I personally hate when I read "design" tips and that is one of them. I love the colorfulness and the irregularity of books, that is the design feature I want to see, they are books, they have covers.

I thought the same thing about the books. That always bugs me. I did think it might be just that they can't show the titles on camera for some reason (especially when they showed the single book on the table from the same angle). I doubt the staff will leave them that way since they're meant for the kids to read. Also not a fan of the framed art blocking parts of the shelves. I guess it looks neat if your shelves are just for looking at but not very practical if you want to be using the things on them.

[Nordly Beaumont]

I was wondering about the books, too. Like was it copyright issues? How do you select a book if you can't see the title? The one guy said he saw books he wanted to read, so they must have turned them around for practicality.

What was up with the sketched horsies? I hated them they looked childish.

This is the first I'm really seeing of Nate's or Nate&Jeremiah's style. I've been watching this season because it's after Trading Spaces. I'm finding I don't care much for their style. It's classy for sure, but dull and lifeless to me. I would have liked to have seen some color in that room. Would homeless kids feel more comfortable coming into a place that is warm and inviting, or sophisticated and sterile? The space didn't seem welcoming or comfortable to me at all.

I also wonder about the comment Nate made about the style being timeless so they won't have to redo in ten years. I'm sure they will. At least a fresh coat of paint and probably new furniture. I live alone and a paint job doesn't last ten years (closer to three). And there's going to be a lot of wear and tear on that furniture. It's unrealistic to think "timeless style" (is there such a thing?) means "done forever."

[Wings]

I jumped to the end, it didn’t interest me enough to watch the process.  Yes, the book spines were turned away from the camera for some production reason.  The place was very brown!  I heard the logic but there should have been some color.  It was very dull and reminiscent of a 1955 mens club. 

ETA.  I don’t care for their style either.  The Property Brothers have a style I love. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by Wings

[biakbiak]

I typically like their design but it felt like a furniture showroom not a functional space. I think puttimg the books spine side in is merely so the different colors of the book covers dont distract from the design when filming/photographing the space its common on design shows and design magazines, if you look closely in some of the 2 week later shots you can see they have been flipped. 

I was curious about the work that Jeremiah had done at Covenant Houses previously, turns out it was an Oprah sponsored project.

His story about living in his car made me wonder about hus upbringing, there have been several jokes about Nate's family but I can't remember them mentioning Jeremiah's family but I didnt watch the first season.

etb: A little googling made me see Jeremiah’s  “It Gets Better” video and apparently he was late realizing he was gay but his family was very supportive and they are in close.

Edited May 13, 2018 by biakbiak

[sheetmoss]

I seem to recall in a design forum a conversation about books being page side out--Jo does it on Fixer Upper,  the consensus was there aren't any legal issues w/showing spines of books - it's just aesthetics.

I do agree w/biabiak - it is a cleaner look  to  have just the  white of the pages showing.  I've also seen  books all have the same dust jackets too.

As for Jeremiah, I  think he went to LA at 19 to follow his dream and probably didn't want help from family - or they refused to help because they wanred him to come back home.

Madonna did similar w/she went to NYC w/little   $ to follow her dream.

Edited May 13, 2018 by sheetmoss

[BradandJanet]

Jeremiah wrote on one of his social media pages (can't remember which) that the books were turned in because of lack of clearance from the publishers to show the spines. In some quick final shots with the staff, the books appeared to be turned correctly.

[meep.meep]

I keep wanting to buy them socks.

[spunky]

On 5/7/2018 at 1:37 PM, AZChristian said:

Not really.  When he was first divorced (over 30 years ago), he had a tidy apartment that was nicely (if inexpensively) decorated.  His ex-wife wasn't much on housekeeping.  The hoarding started when he developed going to yard sales and thrift stores as his Saturday habit.  We often joke that - considering he's an atheist - he probably has more Christmas decorations than the store room at the local mall.  

This is just a suggestion. Do you think he'd be open to a psychological evaluation? The hoarders I've encountered either had undiagnosed mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety.

[auntjess]

On 5/12/2018 at 11:13 PM, friendperidot said:

tonight's episode, where they did a gathering room in a youth homeless shelter, I didn't pay too much attention, but I was sad to see them cover the wall art,

Yes, it may not have been great art, but it might have been lovingly painted by someone.
I think the room turned out fine, but what really bothered me was the ceiling.  As a Mike Holmes fan, I was screaming at them to cover those light fixtures, and make sure there were no live wires.
A lot of times, drop ceilings are there to allow access to things to which access may be needed.  I'd like to think they had the wiring checked, but don't have a lot of faith that they did.

Edited May 15, 2018 by auntjess

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, auntjess said:

Yes, it may not have been great art, but it might have been lovingly painted by someone.

They specifically requested it be removed in their audition interview and than reiterated they wanted it gone when they met with Nate and Jeremiah before Nate and Jeremiah said anything.

[AZChristian]

47 minutes ago, spunky said:

This is just a suggestion. Do you think he'd be open to a psychological evaluation? The hoarders I've encountered either had undiagnosed mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety.

I'm not sure that would help at this point. The collecting will not continue, as he no longer has transportation. And the doctor confirmed last week that he is exhibiting signs of dementia. We have to deal with today's reality now instead of historical behavior. Sigh.

[auntjess]

30 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They specifically requested it be removed in their audition interview and than reiterated they wanted it gone when they met with Nate and Jeremiah before Nate and Jeremiah said anything.

Yes, that was just those three people, wasn't it?  I'm just wondering if it had a history, and if the people in charge, wanted it gone.

[biakbiak]

14 minutes ago, auntjess said:

Yes, that was just those three people, wasn't it?  I'm just wondering if it had a history, and if the people in charge, wanted it gone.

It was the wishes of the organization they were just representing them on the show. 

I used to work at a similar organization where a corporate donor partnered with Vern Yip to redo our community room and we did surveys with the people who used it to come up with our wishlist the number 2 requested item was getting rid of a horrible mural. It would not surprise me if they did something similar here.

Edited May 14, 2018 by biakbiak

[Tosia]

I love these guys,  but it looked like a furniture store showroom.  Needed some warmth somehow.

 And ONE FREAKIN' COLOR--like a bright yellow here and there.  Or a bright coral.  Or soft orange.  A pillow, a throw,  a spray of flowers. Maybe a big plant or two....I don't recall any plants.  

[nightowl]

I just fear the redesign isn't practical.  They said it was a 170 bed facility and movie night was really important to them.  You could see the large number of folding chairs stacked against the wall.  There is just no way the half dozen couches and armchairs provided adequate seating even if the residents were willing to rearrange them weekly.

The same thing goes for executive meetings.  Unless it was just for show we saw a large group of people meeting around 6 folding tables, the long conference table installed didn't look like it could accommodate everyone.

The design is great if the intention of Covenant House is to turn the room into a hang-out, conversation room (and they did call it a family room).  But the executive directors said it was mainly used for meetings, training sessions and movie night.  Those types of activities often require big open spaces and the need to continually move the big furniture seems impractical.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I typically like their design but it felt like a furniture showroom not a functional space.

"Furniture showroom" is exactly the same thing I thought. Also, if I'm not mistaken, they covered up a big double-door exit to that room with one of the giant bookshelves. I wonder if that might make it inconvenient for getting in and out of there, depending on where you are. I was scanning the room to make sure there was still at least one other door (there was, at the side) but all I could think of was "fire hazard!"

[doodlebug]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

"Furniture showroom" is exactly the same thing I thought. Also, if I'm not mistaken, they covered up a big double-door exit to that room with one of the giant bookshelves. I wonder if that might make it inconvenient for getting in and out of there, depending on where you are. I was scanning the room to make sure there was still at least one other door (there was, at the side) but all I could think of was "fire hazard!"

It might also be against the fire code.  I really like Nate and Jeremiah as people and their daughter is adorable; but I find their aesthetic to be boring; too plain, too bland and colorless.  There needed to be more color and life in that room.  It looked like it was filmed in black and white. 

The design itself did look like a furniture warehouse with multiple living room/family room groupings; all of them looking pretty similar.  If there were ever occasions when most of the 170 residents needed to gather there, there was no way they'd all be able to sit, let alone participate in the same event.

The beanbags and folding chairs might've been aesthetically displeasing, but they were probably very functional for that space.  Unless Nate and Jeremiah built a cupboard/closet of some sort to hide them, it was likely a design fail.  I also thought the 'vestibule' or whatever they called it near the entrance was a waste of space.

[spunky]

23 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I'm not sure that would help at this point. The collecting will not continue, as he no longer has transportation. And the doctor confirmed last week that he is exhibiting signs of dementia. We have to deal with today's reality now instead of historical behavior. Sigh.

I'm so sorry to hear that. Dementia is such a horrible disease. I wish there was a cure for it.

[iMonrey]

I also thought $100K was excessive for that space, but you have to figure they got to that number because everything they used was from some high-end designer showroom. Nothing in there was from Ikea or Nebraska Furniture Mart. When one of the workers said someone had generously donated $25K and N&J said they'd need far and above that I really cringed a little bit. For one thing I'm sure money is very precious at a shelter like that and maybe they wanted to use at least part of that donation for something else than design. For another thing the fact that N&J don't even bat an eye at the thought of throwing that kind of money at a redesign shows how out of touch they are with the real world. It's one thing when they're going into some millionaire's house to update his mansion but when they're throwing money at $3000 sofas and chairs for a homeless shelter it doesn't feel like something that's anywhere near their wheelhouse. 

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

his mansion but when they're throwing money at $3000 sofas and chairs for a homeless shelter it doesn't feel like something that's anywhere near their wheelhouse.

They didn’t actually spend $100k that was the value of the items they got donated plus the $25k.

[auntjess]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Nothing in there was from Ikea or Nebraska Furniture Mart. When one of the workers said someone had generously donated $25K and N&J said they'd need far and above that I really cringed a little bit. For one thing I'm sure money is very precious at a shelter like that and maybe they wanted to use at least part of that donation for something else than design.

Yes, I was hoping that they'd say that everything was donated, and the $25k was untouched.
I see that there are labor costs, but N&J might have paid for those, and taken a tax write-off.

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I also thought $100K was excessive for that space, but you have to figure they got to that number because everything they used was from some high-end designer showroom. Nothing in there was from Ikea or Nebraska Furniture Mart. When one of the workers said someone had generously donated $25K and N&J said they'd need far and above that I really cringed a little bit. For one thing I'm sure money is very precious at a shelter like that and maybe they wanted to use at least part of that donation for something else than design. For another thing the fact that N&J don't even bat an eye at the thought of throwing that kind of money at a redesign shows how out of touch they are with the real world. It's one thing when they're going into some millionaire's house to update his mansion but when they're throwing money at $3000 sofas and chairs for a homeless shelter it doesn't feel like something that's anywhere near their wheelhouse. 

One of the reasons that the shelter needed the room redone was that the furniture that they had was in really bad shape.  It was in that shape - seriously, bean bag chairs deflated from use? - because it got so much use.  Good quality, solid wood furniture, will actually last.  Their clients are teenagers.  Teenagers are hard on furniture.   They flop.   I'm sure that the $100K went into the things that went into the room, especially considering that they put flooring all over the huge ceiling.

I too wondered about the movie nights and the meetings, but they must have discussed the design with the shelter to make sure they knew what was planned.  "Reveals" are staged.

I'm glad they are helping out the shelter.  This episode and the one with the little people family showed them really putting their design skills to work for people who really needed help.

But, socks guys!

[iMonrey]

Quote

They didn’t actually spend $100k that was the value of the items they got donated plus the $25k.

Yeah, I get that, but that number is high because the designers that donate stuff charge big money for their furniture. You're paying for a designer name which is why it's so expensive (if you were paying). If N&J were able to get everything they need from discount warehouses and furniture outlets and lumber liquidators, they could probably cut that number by 2/3. It's just a big, showy number to make it look more impressive.

But, having now caught up on some earlier episodes, I see now that's the gimmick with every episode, where the home owner or whoever only has a pittance to spend and then N&J go "begging" so they can get the home owner more swag and re-do more stuff. And by "pittance" I mean they look down their noses as $50K and say they need at least twice that. They could have redone this room with the $25K that was donated and made it perfectly fine and functional but that's not what this show is about.

[Kiss my mutt]

Did the non biological parent legally adopt both the children. I can see them both “taking turns” using the same surrogate Or just use both and see what nature decides. If they had some eggs left over from Poppy IVF they could select the gender. So many possible scenarios. 

Jerrmiah is beautiful. I can’t stop looking at him. Not in a desirous way just in admiration and appreciation. Poppy is a doll! They should have another girl and name her Milly. That would be cute. 

[auntjess]

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

But, having now caught up on some earlier episodes, I see now that's the gimmick with every episode, where the home owner or whoever only has a pittance to spend and then N&J go "begging" so they can get the home owner more swag and re-do more stuff.

That hasn't happened as much this season, but was in every show last season.

[Sew Sumi]

Before this past episode, they've only pimped out kitchen and bathroom faucets. They haven't done a kitchen or bathroom for a while. 

[Sew Sumi]

I'm almost positive that the kids' surname is hyphenated. Given that we don't know who the bio dads are (and won't know unless N&J choose to tell us),  it's the best choice.

[iMonrey]

I've never heard of terrazzo flooring before and it's all they talked about in this last episode. The kitchen was lovely but this wasn't a typical episode for them - surely there are more desperate people out there with bigger problems. Makes you wonder what the criteria really is for getting on the show.

I wonder if we'll see their new baby next week.

[QuinnM]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I've never heard of terrazzo flooring before and it's all they talked about in this last episode. The kitchen was lovely but this wasn't a typical episode for them - surely there are more desperate people out there with bigger problems. Makes you wonder what the criteria really is for getting on the show.

I’m ok with them not being desperate.  That gets old.  Where everyone has a horrible affliction or has screwed up so bad there is no help. Nice to see someone that just got tired and needed someone with vision to step in.  At least they had the money to do it.  The exterior of that house looked really good.  Loved the front steps.  They’d done a nice job.  And I’m partial to the whole episode since they got a Bertazzoni range.  Which I have and it’s nice to see I’m not the only person in the universe.