Good Bones - General Discussion

[3 is enough]

I don't understand why people are so fixated on Carerra marble countertops.  It's porous, soft, and an absolute nightmare to maintain. When we redid our kitchen 5 years ago I had a couple of stone contractors come to give me estimates, and the first thing they asked was "You don't want marble, do you?" When I said no they were visibly relieved.  Besides, you can get quartz that looks like marble.

Agree that all the houses are starting to look the same.  I understand that people tend to gravitate towards a signature style, but it does get stale after a while.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, 3 is enough said:

Agree that all the houses are starting to look the same.  I understand that people tend to gravitate towards a signature style, but it does get stale after a while.

I think what has surprised me most about the houses is that they all seem to be "shotgun" style which I always think of from NOLA! I realize that all of the lots are extremely narrow and deep but is all of Indy like that? or at least downtown Indy? Anyone from there know?

[dleighg]

Mina said it could be a downsizer house? With the master and all bathrooms upstairs?

and it would drive me bonkers to have to climb up and down those three stairs just to get from the living room to the dining room and kitchen. I see why they did it but man....

Edited July 31, 2019 by dleighg

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love the quartz they're producing now.     It has a pattern throughout the entire slab that looks like natural stone, and marble, has great veining, and is bulletproof.     I would never consider anything for my house but sealed granite, or my first choice quartz.      Why didn't they use the back splash from this house for the fancier house from last week where they used something that looked like the clearance rack?  

Also, I know they wanted to do the stamped concrete for the duplex/townhouse porches, but I wouldn't use stamped, because some that I've had to walk on was hideously slick when it was wet.   I think the wooden porch and railing looked better on the house anyway.  

That townhouse/duplex before was hideous, and disgusting.     I know they said they always test for lead, but that paint was scary looking.   I hate leather pulls in the kitchen, and really hate the book shelves with leather straps.   The back splash was really nice, and I liked the tile on the bar.  I liked the look of the stair rail, but it's going to make getting taller items upstairs very difficult.  

Why would a grown woman crawl into a kitchen sink?   I loved the kitchen, except for someone sitting in the sink.    That was ridiculous.  I liked the two house hunters, and I wondered if they bought it?    

[dleighg]

4 hours ago, deepfriedcake said:

Last night I started shouting "No, no, no!" the second they showed the leather handle straps in the teaser. Although I would enjoy visiting the leather shop, it does look cool. But how do you clean those? What happens when something dribbles all over one of them?

totally agree

And wouldn't it make buyers nervous to be buying a townhome that was sharing a wall with something that still looks kind of bombed-out, with wood-covered windows and doors?

And I do not understand having bar seating IN the kitchen plus a dining table PLUS more bar seating at the half-wall. Wouldn't it be better to use some of that bar seating area for more cabinet space????

Edited July 31, 2019 by dleighg

[sheetmoss]

On 7/31/2019 at 12:15 PM, suebee12 said:

I think what has surprised me most about the houses is that they all seem to be "shotgun" style which I always think of from NOLA! I realize that all of the lots are extremely narrow and deep but is all of Indy like that? or at least downtown Indy? Anyone from there know?

Narrow lots aren't  not uncommon in older cities - as I said upthread, the average Chicago lot is 25 x 125ft.  My house is only 18ft wide.

On 7/31/2019 at 12:20 PM, dleighg said:

Mina said it could be a downsizer house? With the master and all bathrooms upstairs?

and it would drive me bonkers to have to climb up and down those three stairs just to get from the living room to the dining room and kitchen. I see why they did it but man....

There was a walkway  from LR to DR on the left - remember, the washer/drier went  under the stairs.

As I said previously,  they should have made the kitchen smaller and put the pdrm--and laundry, on the back exterior wall. Big miss there

ETA: I wonder if eliminating downstairs pdrm was just to save $$?

Edited August 1, 2019 by sheetmoss
Changes right to left

[MaKaM]

22 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Narrow lots aren't  not uncommon in older cities - as I said upthread, the average Chicago lot is 25 x 125ft.  My house is only 18ft wide.

There was a walkway  from LR to DR on the right - remember, the washer/drier went  under the stairs.

As I said previously,  they should have made the kitchen smaller and put the pdrm--and laundry, on the back exterior wall. Big miss there

ETA: I wonder if eliminating downstairs pdrm was just to save $$?

I think they could have eliminated one of the three steps either in the kitchen or in the family room and stuck a small powder room in the space saved.

[pasdetrois]

The narrow duplexes that we see on this show are all over urban America. Many were built during and after WWII. In my DC metro neighborhood most of them do not have a bathroom on the first floor, which is a serious problem in my opinion (one of my previous homes was a duplex with no 1st floor bath). If you have enough setback you can bump out the back to include a bath or other space. I don't understand why Mina didn't provide at least a powder room for guests during entertaining, as well as for aging downsizers whose knees don't want to go up and down stairs just to use a bathroom.

Mina definitely thinks like a developer in touch with trends that sell, but I question some of her choices, like this one.

The leather pulls will absorb oils from fingers and the color will get splotchy, unless there's some kind of protective finish I don't know about.

I don't think any of the potential buyers are actual potential buyers.

Is production prodding Karen to get weirder? She's smart and experienced; they should cut it out.

Kudos to the poster who reminded me earlier that wood has to season before it can be primed and painted. That's why we see the unpainted porches.

Edited August 2, 2019 by pasdetrois

[sheetmoss]

Didn't like the other half  of townhse/duplex flrplan  - great it has a downstairs bathroom, but guests have to go through you bdrm to use it.

Edited August 7, 2019 by sheetmoss

[Andyourlittledog2]

The couple with two kids didn't want the duplex because it was too small. Gee, ya think?  Once again for the sake of a downstairs master and an extra bedroom (attract families) they have shrunk the public space to fit a single person or a couple at best. No dining table at all, just a prep table/island that seats two. For a three bedroom house. A living room with an ugly ass 'wall of old doors' (no personal paintings of your own can go there now, sorry, Karen needed to futz it all up in her own style) and a tiny living room with room for a sofa, an end table and maybe, if you squeeze it in, a chair. 

In their desire to 'design' these flips they make them so that they don't work for most people in either size of public space or permanent fixtures and colors they have chosen for them. I don't think it needs to be bland but at least make it something a buyer can put their own stamp on. I'm kind of hating all their renos lately.

[palmaire]

The front of the duplex looked like a badly sewn patchwork quilt. As an owner, I'd much rather have the siding and design carry through across both sides rather than live in a place more suited to Wonderland.

The master bedroom may technically have space for a king sized bed but one side doesn't get an end table. The master bath is mini with (horrors!) a single vanity.

Mina and Karen frequently cheap out by not including shower doors. Flimsy vinyl curtains are cool in $250K+ houses!

I think the pace of completing so many flips for the show is burning them out. Their little spat about the porch railings was not value added for me as a viewer.

[ByaNose]

That was some ugly staging last night. Where did Mila buy the stuff? Flee Market? Target? Nothing matched. I can understand why the couple was like, um, no thanks. It was such a small house and I didn't like the outside or the inside.

[pasdetrois]

Agree that the frantic combination of making a big push into multiple neighborhoods (while the timing is right) + being on the show  + Mina's pregnancy are overwhelming the gang. The little spat was not pleasant but realistic.

If I was a business owner and project manager with a tight budget, Karen's ideas and antics would annoy me. As I watched the latest episodes my mind was counting the ways her projects were time-consuming and impacted budget. There are always unexpected costs (the crumbling foundation and rotten porch beam) and every penny counts.

Quote

The front of the duplex looked like a badly sewn patchwork quilt. As an owner, I'd much rather have the siding and design carry through across both sides rather than live in a place more suited to Wonderland.

I personally agree, but in my community the individual owners of these small duplexes want individual designs to distinguish the separate ownership of the two (joined) properties. Mina called them townhouses, but to me they were duplexes.

Loved the farmhouse. A nice change from what we usually see on this show.

Once again Mina quotes a sales price ($500K) that is ultimately reduced - I think they said the house sold for $405K? My DVR cuts off.

I'm still pulling for these folks and hope they are successful. I like seeing a true family business helmed by two smart, real women (not bimbos).

ETA: did we see the entire 2nd floor? Or the back yard?

Edited August 7, 2019 by pasdetrois

[Minivanessa]

I'm also not a fan of that duplex - either side of it. 

I agree with @Andyourlittledog2 about the lack of dining space. I think the editing monkeys had to work hard over that "here's this kitchen island with two stools" when they were showing the house to a couple with two kids - and that *was* the whole dining area. I bet there were some "WTF?" facial expressions we didn't get to see. 

I think they were really spitting in the wind in marketing that "townhouse" (duplex half) as a family home, especially when they couldn't even figure out how to stage it with dining space for more than two people. 

Did we ever see the upstairs bathroom in the final reveal last night? IIRC they only showed us one of the bedrooms up there. 

Interesting final disclosure that after listing the "townhouse" (or as I'd call it, one half of a duplex) at $250,000, they sold it for $200,000. Mina said they sold both units to the same buyer, who intends to live in one and rent out the other. I don't know what the sales price of the other half of the duplex was. 

While I understand the desirability of exterior finishes/colors that differentiate the halves of the duplex, I think their choices somehow misfired. It did look like bad patchwork somehow, vs. a nice exterior that made clear there were two units in that duplex. 

As for last night's duplex, IMO it's a dud as a home for a family of four, but good as a starter home for a couple or singleton with no kids. It would also be great for housing roommates who probably don't sit down for meals together, so the small island will usually be plenty of seating. If I were a young person there, I might buy it, take the master suite for myself, and get roommates for the upstairs bedrooms. 

I do think they've been overstretched with all those projects. What was with all the stuff about the contractor and Karen vs. Mina The Boss? Are we supposed to believe the contractor guy is a hopeless doofus? And that Mina, who seems to be a serious and intelligent project manager, would keep him around if he were? I think it's made for TV drah-mah perhaps based on a couple of true minor incidents. 

[pasdetrois]

Is "Tooey" a family member? I think that's a nickname and his real first name is Cory. He works on a lot of their projects.

Edited August 7, 2019 by pasdetrois

[Grrarrggh]

I'd forgotten how much I hated what they did to the house they flipped with Josh. They took out all that lovely wood and transoms for an open plan nightmare. 

[sheetmoss]

Re the duplex

One of my hobbies is looking a Toronto real estate listings on YouTube.

   Many of the homes are townhouses or duplexes  and are similar in size to the ones on Good Bones.   One thing I noticed is, the staircase is along the  wall  instead of  having a turn,

Just think if they would have  rebuilt the staircases, how it would open up the space--esp the unit  they just fished,   That open area could accommodate  a dining table and make the whole first flr look bigger.

[suebee12]

Have been thinking of this episode for a couple of days...I actually liked the doors that were incorporated on the wall. You might not be able to decorate with pictures, and such, but could have a decorative wreath. I did wonder why we only saw one upstairs bedroom and no bath....must have been a reason. I did not like the "patchwork" front and back of the house. I think it should have been the same siding, etc. Maybe a bit of difference in paint color? The one thing I noticed though was the ugly wall across the street..who wants to stare at an ugly gray wall? I went searching for Zillow photos and did find this link where you can see the neighborhood. This is the listing for the right-side duplex. You can see the photos, etc and then you can click on the street view and look around(at the ugly gray wall!!!!) and the rest of the houses in the area.

https://www.estately.com/listings/info/1242-south-talbott-street

[CrazyInAlabama]

The big gray (ugly) wall on the other side of the street in front of the house must be blocking something icky.   Either railroad, industrial building, or an elevated road, or something.      At least they seem to take out staging furniture and the rooms aren't so cluttered after filming.      If they wouldn't use giant paintings, maybe the rooms wouldn't look so small either.       

Once again, expensive farm house sink, but butcher block counters.   No way I would ever spend that much for a house across from that big, gray wall.   The counter tops I would have to replace on Day 1.   

I'm amazed at the price on a 2 bed/2 bath home.  

Also, both of the duplexes lacked a dining room?    Even if I don't use a dining room, some people would use it for an office, or something else, so where are the people supposed to eat?    Two or three bar stools just won't work.  

Edited August 10, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[car54]

I can't see the point of a 3-bedroom with such a small living room and no real eating space--and when they told the people touring it that "the island isn't fixed in place---you can move it or put in a table"---seriously?

I did love the wall of doors--I thought it was creative and gave the house some character--I might have painted them all the same depending on the decor.  

[sheetmoss]

Look at how this place looks so much bigger than a lot of the ones on Good Bones - esp the duplex w/the stirs running up along the wall.

Edited August 11, 2019 by sheetmoss

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're showing a marathon of first season episodes (Lenny's on here and I think he was only the first season?).     They really have increased the amount of furniture, and accessories in every room in the seasons after this.  And all of the first season houses have a real dining room, or nook. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm watching the first season total tear down, where they already had part of a wall fall on the neighbor's house, and then they just keep going.    I hope they actually had bought that neighboring house, because otherwise I can see a really big bill in their future.  They did say part of the wall hit the neighbor's house, and then later they say it didn't.  I think it did. 

They do like to buy multiples on the same street if they can to fix up the neighborhood, Fixing one house as a loss leader, and then the other houses are worth more with each renovation.  Mina and Karen talked about it on several episodes this season, and I hope it's working.  

Edited August 12, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[outofbounds]

I just watched the rerun of the episode where they redid the house and her younger sister bought it.

The staging?  OMG I was dying.

So ugly.  And way too much crap for a house that was already low on space.

Sometimes I wonder what they think when they stage.

[pasdetrois]

I'm watching repeats of season 2 now. They all seem a bit more energetic than in the newest season. And where did their contractor (Caliber Construction) go? I like hearing from very senior construction managers.

[3 is enough]

Maybe tomorrow is the season finale?

[pasdetrois]

I suspect that the houses purchased by the younger sister and the carriage house tenants (season 2) were already a done deal, and the show tried to pretend that they didn't decide to buy until the houses were finished.

In the tear-down house with the kiln, Karen explained how she's sad when old houses get torn down. I'm with her on that, but that old house was a true ruin and needed to come down. The excavator operator was truly skilled, tearing down a house in that tiny space. Did Karen save the wicker settee?

Loved the brief glimpse of her garden. I assume she did all of the work herself.

Doggies!

I like that we see the thought that goes into floor plans. I like seeing them problem-solve.

I wish the edits lingered longer on full rooms and less on product placement (miles of pillows and tchotchkes).

Edited August 13, 2019 by pasdetrois

[3 is enough]

3 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I wish the edits lingered longer on full rooms and less on product placement (miles of pillows and tchotchkes).

Totally agree!  I really don't want or need a lingering shot of a metal sphere.

[izabella]

My biggest peeve about all the reno shows on HGTV is they give a bare two minutes to the finished product, and it's all cut up with zooming camera shots so we do not ever get a good look at it. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I just watched the version of the show that is older episodes with bonus scenes, and little comments.   They did the Victorian that was previously owned by Brandy's grandparents, and they were interested in buying it.   At the end it turned out that the family couldn't swing buying it, and Mina and Karen actually only broke even on it.   A couple of fellow realtors from her brokerage bought it.     It's the one that they painted purple, and had the plaster medallions on the wall.    It's also the one where Tad hid in the well or whatever the hole in the back yard and when Karen opened it, she almost croaked on the spot.   

[GingerGirl]

On 8/8/2019 at 7:34 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

The big gray (ugly) wall on the other side of the street in front of the house must be blocking something icky.   Either railroad, industrial building, or an elevated road, or something.      

It’s railroad tracks -slightly elevated - so not only will they see the wall, they see (and hear) the trains. On the other side of the tracks is a building for part of city government and an auto auction lot. I-70 is two blocks north. It’s still a challenging neighborhood.

For the person who asked if all lots in Indy were so narrow - the near-Southside, where the show is done, is just about the oldest part of the city. Lots there are definitely smaller and the houses closer together than is other neighborhoods.

[rocketinu]

That race car bed. Yuck. While I realize a lot of little boys would like it,those tires would smell. 

Also the house looked to almost sit on that street. I also think I spotted a school across the street. During school hours the traffic would be awful.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, rocketinu said:

While I realize a lot of little boys would like it,those tires would smell. 

That was my first thought! Stinky old rubber is not pleasant! But that room would be great for a boy but for a girl, no way Jose! I actually liked what they did overall...really a different layout this time and the exterior was quite different looking also. Wonder why it took them a year to start the work on it...that was $40,000 just sitting there doing nothing! But at least, it had a nice sized backyard and Mina mentioned a garage out back so there were some nice "extras"!

[msmarjoribanks]

4 hours ago, GingerGirl said:

It’s railroad tracks -slightly elevated - so not only will they see the wall, they see (and hear) the trains. On the other side of the tracks is a building for part of city government and an auto auction lot. I-70 is two blocks north. It’s still a challenging neighborhood.

For the person who asked if all lots in Indy were so narrow - the near-Southside, where the show is done, is just about the oldest part of the city. Lots there are definitely smaller and the houses closer together than is other neighborhoods.

They look a lot like Chicago lots to me.  Do you happen to know if there's a standard size in the area?

[Andyourlittledog2]

I call bullshit. In every house they just happen to stumble upon some 'treasure' that Karen can oooh over and turn into a craft project for the finished house. EVERY house. There is always a great chair that just needs a new seat. There's a loose door that is amazing just lying around to find. Tonight there is an old album of Indy pics.  Seriously. I will bet money that they place this shit in the house to 'find' as part of Karen's shtick. I am soooo over Karen and her 'finds'.

[Andyourlittledog2]

And once again we have a three bedroom two and a half bath home with an office and yet a teeny tiny compressed living room area with room for a sofa and a cabinet and not much else. If they had left off the office space they could have had some additional living room area on the side but they had to cram everything in there as tight as they could. There is that 'living room loft' area between the two upstairs bedrooms that make little sense to me as living space but they do that in all their houses. 

I don't know, I just feel like for all their gab they really don't design these things with people in mind, just square footage and real estate selling points. Number of bedrooms they can cram in, number of bathrooms they can cram in, etc.

[2727]

It was interesting that a projected profit of $60K on the purple house turned into "break even." That was one of their larger houses, too (although it still only had room for a small dining table in the middle of the kitchen).

Maybe don't paint your houses purple, ladies? Or believe that $400K is a reasonable asking price in a rundown neighborhood, "up and coming" or not?

I don't understand the staging details. The BTS episode said Mina and Karen try to stay under $10K for staging. Are they (as I believe) paying a company to do it? Are they actually buying furniture and accessories for every house? Then what ... reselling it or jamming it all in storage? Is it borrowed or rented from the stores we see on the show? 

It was probably a mistake for me to rewatch all the previous seasons recently; it only highlighted the repetitiousness of the houses and designs.

That race car bed was a tragedy as far as getting it or out and didn't even look that good, says this non-Indianapolis person.

[Minivanessa]

9 minutes ago, 2727 said:

That race car bed was a tragedy as far as getting it or out and didn't even look that good, says this non-Indianapolis person.

No lie. I also agree that those "real racing slicks" would be stinky. OTOH it was a great and memorable gimmick. Although much more difficult to get rid of than other recent gimmicks. Remember those poor live fish trapped in bowls macramae'd to the wall? Or that fugly mashup of Karen's dad's chemistry set beakers, LED lights, and live plants? The hits misses just keep on coming. 🤣

OTOH, I watched a few shows from Season 1 on Hulu last night. In either the first or second episode, Karen kept some "rocks" they found on the property during demo. Apparently they were geodes; she split one large geode and used the halves as lamp bases. Those actually weren't something I'd throw in the trash immediately after taking possession of the house. Although they'd be annoying AF to dust . . . 

[CruiseDiva]

43 minutes ago, 2727 said:

It was interesting that a projected profit of $60K on the purple house turned into "break even." That was one of their larger houses, too (although it still only had room for a small dining table in the middle of the kitchen).

Maybe don't paint your houses purple, ladies? Or believe that $400K is a reasonable asking price in a rundown neighborhood, "up and coming" or not?

IThat race car bed was a tragedy as far as getting it or out and didn't even look that good, says this non-Indianapolis person.

I call BS on asking $400K as an asking price in a neighborhood with houses that have boarded up windows.

With their tight budgets I question why they spend money on crap like a race car bed that would appeal to very few few buyers. Impractical at best.

[pawsodoom]

Realistically, what young girl would want an Indy race-themed bedroom with a race car for a bed? Not many, I suspect. I knew at that moment that dad wasn't going to buy the house. He had a "WTF?" look on his face (as did I). 

[Writing Wrongs]

I don't understand their decisions. They skimp on basic stuff and then spend money like crazy on accessories. Won't most buyers move in with their own stuff? That all just seems like a waste.

The living room and kitchen were too small for a family house. What's wrong with just keeping 2 beds and 2 baths? They always try to shove more in. I was surprised that it went for full ask price.

[2727]

4 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

I call BS on asking $400K as an asking price in a neighborhood with houses that have boarded up windows.

An abandoned one was right next door, too! That alone would put me off buying. Ideally it's also on some flipper's to-do list.

3 hours ago, Writing Wrongs said:

The living room and kitchen were too small for a family house. What's wrong with just keeping 2 beds and 2 baths? They always try to shove more in.

IMO Mina and Karen's insistence on a downstairs master is the wrong decision much of the time, especially in these narrow houses. Stairs will for sure dissuade a certain pool of people, but the majority of buyers' knees are fine and they'd much prefer adequate common space and somewhere to put a freaking dining table! Jeez.

Be interesting to see a list of buyers for these houses ... my guess is single people or young couples who work in the city and are willing to trade convenience for space. None of the confirmed buyers we've seen over the years have had kids, as I recall.

I'll have to rewatch to see how Mina configured the house she built for herself.

Edit: Mina's own house does have a downstairs master. It's 2800 sf, though.

Edited August 14, 2019 by 2727

[dleighg]

34 minutes ago, 2727 said:

IMO Mina and Karen's insistence on a downstairs master is the wrong decision much of the time, especially in these narrow houses. Stairs will for sure dissuade a certain pool of people

I completely agree. A downstairs master is something most of us don't even think about until we are 50+. (My husband and are are 60ish and we'll think about that for our next house, but we're perfectly fine with our standard "bedrooms upstairs" home now-- it's only an issue for OUR parents) They ought to settle on who they are building for (young singles or couples) and make it work properly for them.

[chessiegal]

I'm 68 and my knees don't do stairs anymore. A first floor master is a must.

[3 is enough]

First floor masters are a regional thing.  They are very popular in Texas, for example.  When we moved to Texas our kids were still young and we wanted our bedroom to be on the same floor.  The majority of homes we looked at had first floor masters.

I am not familiar with Indiana, but maybe it's a thing there.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My guess is the boarded up house next door also belongs to Karen and Mina, since they try to buy multiple houses in one neighborhood.     I think they rent so many because that gives them a good income, and it also gives them time to rehab other houses on the same street, or neighborhood, so when they sell the prices are higher.  

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I'm 68 and my knees don't do stairs anymore. A first floor master is a must.

I'm 44 and have painful, arthritic knees. I wouldn't want stairs in my home. I have six(?) in my apartment building.

As for the racecar bed, it was stupid, but my niece owned and played with Matchbox-type cars when she was little and would have loved it. Yes, my NIECE, a girl.

I have a hard time believing that Mina and company actually paid for the bed. I imagine it was on consignment/loan like the furniture they stage, and the prospective home buyer could buy it or not.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Or the bed was donated by the company, as publicity.   I bet they have a lot of interest in their beds now.  

[bilgistic]

1 minute ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Or the bed was donated by the company, as publicity.   I bet they have a lot of interest in their beds now.  

Yes, or that.

[irisheyes]

I’m pretty sure that whenever they go to a company and we hear the name, it doesn’t cost them anything (or very little).