Good Bones - General Discussion

[buttersister]

Also, there’s the likability factor—hard to define, but like the judge said, you know it when you see it. I never saw it in Mina or Karen.

[RoxiP]

The Marrs have been in the home renovation business for a lot longer than they have been on television, which hopefully will help them stand the test of time long after their show is over.  As for the Napiers, they weren't in the home renovation business but Erin had a decorating blog that attracted the people looking for talent for the show (Ben had just started his woodworking business and apparently they had some other kind of printing business), and hopefully their stable, long-term relationship will stand them in good stead if the public interest ever wanes (I get the impression that Erin would be just as happy still being a small business owner in Laurel, Mississippi).  

I think being nice people has helped both couples (and Joanna and Chip) continue to grow their businesses.  I have never had a problem with Good Bones but have to admit that I watch it now with a more jaded eye due to the bad press that has come out.

 

[pasdetrois]

On 9/14/2023 at 4:58 PM, carrps said:

And Mina didn't know that any time you're have any kind of food being prepared and sold that all kinds of new and more stringent building requirements kick in???

Didn't Mina intend for one of her businesses to be her office in the back and serve wine or coffee in the front that faced the street? The place was going to have "Karen's Corner" in it.  I swear they talked about food prep regulations in that episode several years ago. I'm involved with an annual charitable event, so even I know that to serve food and beverages we have to get permits.

The HGTV-style makeover of that adorable Victorian cottage was a travesty. Also, I just saw an article that said renovations required one year! The episode implied it was weeks or a few months.

Quote

While Tad is an ass, I'm glad he's coming out of this developing a business for himself.

It's hard to reconcile the immature, impulsive Tad we've seen for years with the notion that he runs a business. I wonder how much of the work will be shouldered by his fiance. And Austin. I would like Austin to further his education and do his own, successful thing. He's smart, capable and mature.

Edited October 28, 2023 by pasdetrois

[bilgistic]

3 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

It's hard to reconcile the immature, impulsive Tad we've seen for years with the notion that he runs a business. I wonder how much of the work will be shouldered by his fiance.

He posted a lovely, heartfelt tribute to the show on his Instagram account. Meanwhile, Mina's trashing her family all over the tabloids and on her podcast.🤷🏻‍♀️

[CruiseDiva]

21 hours ago, buttersister said:

Also, there’s the likability factor—hard to define, but like the judge said, you know it when you see it. I never saw it in Mina or Karen.

So true. Mina is one of the most unlikable people to ever host a show on HGTV. Karen always struck me as silly with no talent whatsoever. The guys were childlike showofffs. The entire cast reminded me of trailer trash hillbillies. JMHO.

[3 is enough]

I stopped watching a few seasons ago. Every episode was the same with the silly demo shenanigans from the crew. This is the problem with HGTV shows- they start off fine but as they get into multiple seasons they become very repetitive and overly reliant on playing up some silly aspect of the stars’ personalities. Even Home Town is overdoing it with Ben and Josh and Jim and their “boys trips” to find a piece of barn wood. The only ones who have seemed to escape it so far are Keith and Evan on Bargain Block but I imagine it will happen eventually. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by 3 is enough

[Angelsmom1009]

On 10/24/2023 at 12:40 PM, CruiseDiva said:

So true. Mina is one of the most unlikable people to ever host a show on HGTV. Karen always struck me as silly with no talent whatsoever. The guys were childlike showofffs. The entire cast reminded me of trailer trash hillbillies. JMHO.

So agree with this. I liked Mina the first 3ish seasons, when the renovations were in smaller houses and were more comfortable and functional, and stayed somewhat close to the character of the house. Then everything got bigger and grayer and more outrageous. And then more news started coming out about them not paying contractors and artists featured on the show, the lead paint issue, and now her very publicly bashing her family when not one of them have said a word about her...yeah, that down to earth vibe has faded. I've always found Karen annoying...some of her crafts were cool but then they got more ridiculous and less functional, and you could tell the potential buyers that would come for viewings felt the same way. And ugh on "the boys," Austin was the only one I liked. I remember one episode when Tad flung a window outside and it shattered, and all I could think of is "whomever buys that house is going to be picking up glass for years." Just reckless for no reason.

[carrps]

22 hours ago, Angelsmom1009 said:

And ugh on "the boys," Austin was the only one I liked. I remember one episode when Tad flung a window outside and it shattered, and all I could think of is "whomever buys that house is going to be picking up glass for years." Just reckless for no reason.

Yeah. Austin just seems so down to earth and reasonable. Probably after the first season we just started ff-ing through all the demo parts. And I would always moan about Tad breaking glass -- he'd do it almost every episode. Why make more work for yourself??? Just tape it up, remove it, and put it in the dumpster.

But I can remember when the Property Brothers started with their hijinks during demo. I think the HGTV execs tell them to do it to keep their shows. But, then, who is the demographic for this nonsense?

 

[KeithJ]

On 10/26/2023 at 1:20 PM, carrps said:

Yeah. Austin just seems so down to earth and reasonable. Probably after the first season we just started ff-ing through all the demo parts. And I would always moan about Tad breaking glass -- he'd do it almost every episode. Why make more work for yourself??? Just tape it up, remove it, and put it in the dumpster.

I'm really surprised nobody ever got seriously hurt during their demo days.  I'm not a contractor but they just seemed very reckless while doing it.

[RoxiP]

I did notice on a recent episode that Austin created the floor plan for one of the renovations...perhaps he is getting an education but is keeping his personal life personal?

[RoxiP]

Wow, the further along I get in this season the more obvious the friction is between the family members and crew.  Tad (who obviously is only on the show to promote his own company - and I like the new, more responsible Tad) shows up as little as possible and there is almost no interaction between him and Mina, Karen and whomever is appearing with her in her little craft segments seem hell-bent on doing whatever they can to sabotage Mina's current project, the guy who appears in Karen's spot (sorry, his name is escaping me right now = Cory!!!) is mostly just throwing out ridiculous ideas and sarcastic comments, and MJ is pretty much there just to look pretty and rubber stamp Mina's ideas.  It is all very passive-aggressive.  

You could tell Austin was kind of sad to be laid off but I'm sure he will be happy working with Tad again.

I just watched the episode where she was going to build a duplex and carriage house with efficiency apartments and once again there was an expensive mistake made, and so she just built the carriage house (which had a concrete apron but I'll be darned if I saw a driveway up to the apron - are people supposed to drive through the mud?).  I actually thought the efficiency apartments turned out fairly well although I thought the bathrooms were disproportionately large and would have taken some of that space for a larger bedroom area.  And where were the entrances to those apartments?  Inside the garages?  I was very confused.

Edited November 10, 2023 by RoxiP

[quirkygal]

I'm catching up on the last season.

Curiosity and Google led me to the Airbnb listing for the house featured in season 8 episode 4 Money Pit Mishaps:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/861378280159779503?source_impression_id=p3_1700697284_PpaEcOixDi6pHlLX&guests=1&adults=1

 

season 8 episode 4

 

Prices seem to range from $350-500 per night. 

Overpriced IMHO but I was raised thinking Days Inn was the swankiest of swanky.

[bilgistic]

13 hours ago, quirkygal said:

Overpriced IMHO but I was raised thinking Days Inn was the swankiest of swanky.

Y'all got to go to Days Inn?

[carrps]

Yeah, we had to sleep in the car!

[quirkygal]

11 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Y'all got to go to Days Inn?

Once when my grandparents were paying. ;)

[Ohmo]

HGTV’s Good Bones to Return for Surprise ‘Limited Season’ — Find Out When

[retired watcher]

I thought the whole season was going to be about the lake house renovation. 

[LoveIsJoy]

I was confused by the finances.  First, the sale of the office fell through.  That was the money they were going to use for the lake house renovation.  Then they were suddenly able to rent out the office for 18 months.  Did that rental down payment give them enough money for the renovation?

Because at first they said the renovation would have to be put on hold, and they only could paint the exterior and surprise Steve with the electric fireplace and staged room where the chairs faced the bed instead of the lakeside views.  Then a few scenes later they were redoing the whole downstairs.

Also, Mina said she had to close the store because it wasn’t making or losing money.  Is she selling it or renting out?  And the one property they have is still a work in progress, and not generating any income yet.  And whatever became of the Charlotte Hall venue?

Then at the end of the episode they’re off to buy another store in the suburbs.  Where’s that money coming from???  Totally confused.

Oh, and I thought the reveals were boring.  Not ugly, not gorgeous.  Just fresh, new, and bland.  Well, I thought the dining chairs looked like baseball mitts. And I didn’t understand why the Adirondack chairs were facing the house instead of the lake.

[SHERMDOG]

Not quite thru the first episode yet, but....seriously Mina!??? Your "compromise" for the fireplace is  removable mantle!??? My GOD!! Make your hubby happy with a permanent mantle. If will look better with one anyway!!

She seems VERY controlling this time. 

(JMO)

Edited August 15 by SHERMDOG

[KeithJ]

I don’t really understand trying to buy property with a fraudulent check / account.  It’s not like you’re meeting someone from Craig’s list and giving them a bad check for their Air Jordans. Just seems very strange.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 8/15/2024 at 12:15 PM, LoveIsJoy said:

I was confused by the finances.  First, the sale of the office fell through.  That was the money they were going to use for the lake house renovation.  Then they were suddenly able to rent out the office for 18 months.  Did that rental down payment give them enough money for the renovation?

Because at first they said the renovation would have to be put on hold, and they only could paint the exterior and surprise Steve with the electric fireplace and staged room where the chairs faced the bed instead of the lakeside views.  Then a few scenes later they were redoing the whole downstairs.

Also, Mina said she had to close the store because it wasn’t making or losing money.  Is she selling it or renting out?  And the one property they have is still a work in progress, and not generating any income yet.  And whatever became of the Charlotte Hall venue?

Then at the end of the episode they’re off to buy another store in the suburbs.  Where’s that money coming from???  Totally confused.

Oh, and I thought the reveals were boring.  Not ugly, not gorgeous.  Just fresh, new, and bland.  Well, I thought the dining chairs looked like baseball mitts. And I didn’t understand why the Adirondack chairs were facing the house instead of the lake.

Charlotte Hall is either renting or trying to sell.  Good luck getting either one in a residential neighborhood with no parking lot.    District Co. closed in Indy on the same street HQ and a bunch of their short term rentals are on, and moved to that other town.   Remember District was about half bar too, with bar stools on the front sidewalk, don't know if that ever worked out.      I think virtually everything was remodeled as short term rentals in the later seasons, either for Mina to keep and rent, or for the buyers who were going to rent out the houses. 

Edited August 22 by CrazyInAlabama

[bilgistic]

On 8/15/2024 at 1:15 PM, LoveIsJoy said:

I was confused by the finances.  First, the sale of the office fell through.  That was the money they were going to use for the lake house renovation.  Then they were suddenly able to rent out the office for 18 months.  Did that rental down payment give them enough money for the renovation?

Because at first they said the renovation would have to be put on hold, and they only could paint the exterior and surprise Steve with the electric fireplace and staged room where the chairs faced the bed instead of the lakeside views.  Then a few scenes later they were redoing the whole downstairs.

Also, Mina said she had to close the store because it wasn’t making or losing money.  Is she selling it or renting out?  And the one property they have is still a work in progress, and not generating any income yet.  And whatever became of the Charlotte Hall venue?

Then at the end of the episode they’re off to buy another store in the suburbs.  Where’s that money coming from???  Totally confused.

Oh, and I thought the reveals were boring.  Not ugly, not gorgeous.  Just fresh, new, and bland.  Well, I thought the dining chairs looked like baseball mitts. And I didn’t understand why the Adirondack chairs were facing the house instead of the lake.

Literally none of the show made sense. She said she'd scaled down to renovating "a couple" houses a year. There's no way a family of four is surviving on that little income while also having an employee. (Steve is a "personal trainer". By the way, WHAT is up with his hair?)

IIRC, HQ was on the market for a long time. Suddenly having a buyer that "fell through" seemed awfully convenient for the show.

Mina comes off as very entitled about how she's been "wronged". Any time I glance at her Instagram account, she's always pissed about something or another and feels the need to explain why she's pissed. She was talking this week about how people didn't get correct permits or some such and it cost her $5,000. Like??? If you don't trust people to do their jobs or the people who you hired to do something didn't do it, just do it yourself. You'll be happier in the long run. I don't know.

I'm actually shocked Austin helped her with the house. I know he's working with Tad on his home reno business. Austin's a better person than I am because Mina's used her podcast to trash-talk everyone to whom she's related and with whom she's ever worked. I just don't get it.

I came away thinking that she'd gotten in WAY over her head with everything she did with Two Chicks and turned around and blamed everyone and everything else for it.

[bilgistic]

I watched Karen's episode yesterday. She's retiring in Wilmington. I figured out where her house is. My in-laws live in Wilmington and Kure Beach. It's an expensive place to live.

She has split with Roger, her FOURTH husband.🥴 I had to look that up because she kept saying the house was "her" dream and she would be "alone" there.

I was so worried about the contractor's skin. He has so much sun damage; his face was almost purple.

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

It's an expensive place to live.

We considered moving to Wilmington when we retired. We visited and spent a day with a real estate agent. We couldn't get over how inexpensive it was compared to living in the DC suburbs!

I watched a few minutes of the show with Karen. She comes across as a real flake.

 

[bilgistic]

I live in NC. Compared to other places in NC other than the Charlotte and Raleigh areas, it's more expensive. I can see it being less expensive than other medium- to large-sized cities in the U.S. though.

Karen said she paid $71K for that falling down dump. I actually gasped at that. The market has been WILD here. We bought our home in March, and were lucky to find our 2BR/2BA 30 minutes outside of Charlotte for $190K. Our mortgage interest rate is 7.6%.😭😭😭

[chessiegal]

We were looking at Wilmington over 10 years ago. We were living in a 1450 sq. ft. ranch built in 1949, 3 BR, 2 1/2 BA, small everything, in Bethesda, MD. We could get a new build 4 BR, 3 1/2 bath in Wilmington for around $500K. We sold our little house in Bethesda for $695K. Location, location, location.

[pasdetrois]

I think they were all living beyond their means, and their reality TV bubble burst. Mina was overextended. I think the confusing episodes are due to lazy editing - no concern for editing continuity. Perhaps because the show was going to be cancelled...production crews are perceptive, figure things out, and act accordingly. They may have had interns doing a lot of the work.

[MMEButterfly]

7 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I watched Karen's episode yesterday. She's retiring in Wilmington. I figured out where her house is. My in-laws live in Wilmington and Kure Beach. It's an expensive place to live.

She has split with Roger, her FOURTH husband.🥴 I had to look that up because she kept saying the house was "her" dream and she would be "alone" there.

I was so worried about the contractor's skin. He has so much sun damage; his face was almost purple.

What is the name of this episode, please?

[bilgistic]

7 hours ago, MMEButterfly said:

What is the name of this episode, please?

"Karen's Beach Bungalow"

[carrps]

On 8/23/2024 at 6:11 AM, bilgistic said:

Karen said she paid $71K for that falling down dump. I actually gasped at that. The market has been WILD here.

Holy hell, you couldn't buy a doghouse for $71K here (Los Angeles County). I heard about a week ago that the median price for a house here was a little over $1M, and I was a bit shocked. Then, a realtor's ad came in the mail yesterday, and there were old 1950s houses like the one I grew up in (and we were hanging on by our fingernails to the middle class) were going for, like, $1.75M. Insane. No wonder millennials are mad as hell.

P.S. The house I grew up in has a zillow value of $2.25M. Insane!!!

[bilgistic]

When we were looking last year, there was an actual burned-out husk of a house on the market in Charlotte for $200K. They called it "an investor's special".🙄

[pasdetrois]

In some communities, like mine, it's all about developing new monstrous ugly houses that sell for millions. My county government, once supportive of saving old homes, amended the zoning regs to eliminate single-family-housing only zones, allowing multi-family dwellings to be mixed in. It was marketed as moderately-priced housing (for teachers, police, etc.) and instead has turned into a developer feeding frenzy. They are putting in apartments that will rent for the market rate (e.g., $2500-3000 1 bedroom) and houses for at least $1.5M, many more than that. It's market-driven, essentially allowing only the prosperous to rent or buy. There's a lawsuit because no thought was given to effect on our already-aging infrastructure.

Edited August 25 by pasdetrois

[bilgistic]

This is happening all over the U.S., and it should be illegal.

[RowdyCam]

Neither Mina nor Karen came across as very likable in these strange episodes, which clearly they agreed to do (separately) as a money grab to help finish projects they couldn't otherwise fund.

[Ohmo]

5 hours ago, RowdyCam said:

Neither Mina nor Karen came across as very likable in these strange episodes,

I actually thought Karen came across as likeable, but that's just me.  She wants to do her own thing with her own money, so hey, go for it.

She said she's been doing some lawyering, so maybe she's still making some money.

What I thought was REALLY odd was how she talked about her grandchildren.  She mentioned her son's four children and Kelsy's new baby---five grandchildren in Indy with no mention of Jack or Charlie.  That feels like something that Mina would dictate, not Karen.  I don't get the sense that Karen would want to exclude any of her grandchildren like that.

Whatever beef Mina has with her, it must be quite serious.

[Ohmo]

Mina Starsiak Hawk Explains Why Brother Tad is Missing From New ‘Good Bones’ Episodes
 

Quote

 

Mina featured her family’s lake house renovation in the first episode of the series, “Mina Takes the Lake”, on Wednesday, August 14. A week later on August 21, she shared a post to promote the first of two episodes focusing on her mother’s Wilmington, North Carolina renovation.

After one fan commented on her post to ask, “Yay, I missed Karen on the episode last week. And where is Tad?” Mina replied to explain, “he declined to participate in Moms and I only share that bc she already answered the question on her post, so not letting any new cats out of the bag. lol. He was not asked to be part of mine with where our relationship stands.”

 

Quote

 

Karen, for her part, didn’t give much of a reason behind Tad’s absence from her episodes of “Good Bones: New Beginnings” (her Wilmington renovation will conclude in the August 28 episode, airing at 9 p.m. Eastern), though she did confirm it in an August 20 post.

After one fan commented, “Can’t wait to watch. Hope Tad will be on your show,” Karen replied, “sadly,.for reasons I completely understand, but which are not mine to share, Tad did not join the fun.”

 

 

[65mickey]

Mina said in an interview that she is not on good terms with Tad, her mom and has a nonexistent relationship with another brother.  I guess the one with the 4 children. Seems like Mina might be a big part of the problem. 

[bilgistic]

Mina, there's the saying that if you run into an asshole in the morning, you've run into an asshole; if you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole.

Wasn't there supposed to be a "final episode"?

[RoxiP]

So weird - the lake house episode just now popped up on my streaming channel (Discovery +).  I actually kind of enjoyed it and she actually made a joke about how everybody hates her.

[LoveIsJoy]

I watch on Hulu, but haven’t seen it yet.  Was curious if it would ever be shown.  Maybe it’ll show up sometime.

[Mindthinkr]

Just started the series featuring Karen and her dream house. (I’m streaming it on Max) The one that she is building in Wilmington, NC. My jaw dropped on episode 2. One of the contractors she hired (Corky) is the same guy that rebuilt a kitchen for me. He has also done work for other members of my family. Corky and his crew did an excellent job. I’m interested to see if he and the other contractor named Sean (never heard of him) can save that shell of a house. 

[Mindthinkr]

Some insider info. Corky, the guy who came in with the main contractor Sean Powell, worked on that house for weeks. Even though he spoke some words on the show he didn’t get a SAG card and walked away with no pay for all he had done! He wasn’t impressed on how they ran this show. 

[bilgistic]

The final episode finally showed up on Max and I watched it. It was another special on Karen's Wilmington house. I don't remember the contractor's name, but I was once again very worried about his skin.

Mina, Steve and their kids were nowhere to be found.🙃

[RoxiP]

Karen's house would give me a headache with all those bright colors but, as she said multiple times, it is HER house.  The bones of the house are really nice though (but why did she only put in two beds upstairs when she has a lot more grandchildren than that, plus their parents and an infant? - why do I think about these things when I know perfectly well that this is staging to look good on tv?).

I couldn't make sense of the mural but I did like the bench being painted to blend into it.  Would make a good photo op. It reminded me of something Scott M would use in Vacation House Rules.

I too wondered what happened to Karen's husband so thank you for whomever figured that out.  And that poor contractor's skin - his nose became darker with every shot!  I hope he has a good skin doctor.  

Speaking of which, how old is Karen?  Her skin is also not serving her well.  She has wonderful eyes but her face, neck and arms are really showing her age (so are mine by the way).

Perhaps Mina and Steve generate a lot of passive income from rentals.  I know some of the Good Bones houses were retained for their rental income business and if managed properly that can be a good source of income.  I thought their huge rock wall needed a mantel although that temporary one looked rather insignificant - IMO it needed a big chunk of wood, perhaps raw edge, for a mantel.

Edited December 5 by RoxiP
another thought.