Good Bones - General Discussion

[pasdetrois]

Quote

I think it is also significant to note that if my windows were open my neighbors across the street and all the people who walk in my neighborhood would have a perfect view inside my bedroom - which is why the blinds are rarely open. 

I have the same issues - I'm surrounded on all sides by close-by houses. I love top-down bottom-up blinds for this reason.

Regarding the bowling alley look in the former shotgun house - my relatives and I lived in shotguns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and they are small but very charming. All of that appeal disappeared when Mina created the bowling alley.

In brief photos of Mina's home, it appears she built up and back and she towers over her neighbors' small houses. I bet they were not happy. My home's in the shadow of a McMansion and I had to re-do my garden there thanks to going from blazing sun to shade. No more fresh veggies. My house's interior is slightly darker now, too, and I lost my sight line to the sunset.

Edited June 20, 2020 by pasdetrois

[RoxiP]

On ‎6‎/‎20‎/‎2020 at 8:38 AM, pasdetrois said:

I have the same issues - I'm surrounded on all sides by close-by houses. I love top-down bottom-up blinds for this reason.

Regarding the bowling alley look in the former shotgun house - my relatives and I lived in shotguns in Louisiana and Mississippi, and they are small but very charming. All of that appeal disappeared when Mina created the bowling alley.

In brief photos of Mina's home, it appears she built up and back and she towers over her neighbors' small houses. I bet they were not happy. My home's in the shadow of a McMansion and I had to re-do my garden there thanks to going from blazing sun to shade. No more fresh veggies. My house's interior is slightly darker now, too, and I lost my sight line to the sunset.

It does appear that Mina builds in transitional neighborhoods where everything is either being torn down or built up - an unfortunate effect of a neighborhood being close to a downtown area desirable to young urban professionals and/or empty nesters who are wanting the convenience of being closer to downtown amenities.  

Here in Dallas there was a huge luxury high-rise glass townhome building built on the edge of downtown and the reflection of the sun off of it ruined one of the sculpture gardens attached to a museum it was located adjacent to.  Sometimes progress isn't a good thing.

[LittleIggy]

Didn’t baby Jack have red hair when he was younger? He’s a doll. Karen was hilarious “shopping the hoard.” Hey, if those boots appeared new, why not? Just shoot them up with Lysol!

I mainly liked what they did with the house. I guess the fireplace was nonfunctional since the wood floor went right up to it.

Edited June 24, 2020 by LittleIggy

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm glad they had to replace the sewer and water lines on last night's house.    The old lines looked awful, and rotten.    I like what they did with the useless fireplace.      If they used porcelain tile for everything, and stopped wasting money on marble for the baths, and back splashes, and sometimes counter tops, then they could make a better profit.    Also, the upkeep on marble can be bad, especially for a rental house.   

Remember when Mina built the new house?  It was the empty lot next door to her previous house, and Karen also lives very close by on the same side of the street.  

Edited June 25, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[RoxiP]

Not sure about baby Jack's hair color, but he is absolutely adorable.  Right now I would say that it was strawberry blonde-ish.

They didn't show the downstairs bath - did I hear her say they got rid of the laundry room downstairs?  Is there a laundry room in the house (if not I would not be moving in!)?

Why didn't they put in a drawer-type microwave in the cabinet instead of putting that stupid tiny microwave on a shelf?  Of all the things to cut corners on appliances should not be one of them.

[Kohola3]

6 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

They didn't show the downstairs bath - did I hear her say they got rid of the laundry room downstairs? 

I heard that as well and thought the same thing - that was not a smart move.

Seems to me that they waste a lot of money on fancy, extremely expensive chandeliers. Of course, it's my taste but I don't like that kind of thing and it seems to me that some of that money would be better spent - like on a better plan for the microwave!  Who wants to get down on their knees to cook a frozen dinner.  And I believe most people use their microwaves a lot.

[dleighg]

she said they got rid of the laundry room and the half bath. So not only do you have to go upstairs to go to the bathroom, but no laundry room. That is NUTS. Unless they somehow put a stackable somewhere and just didn't show it.

[Kohola3]

1 minute ago, dleighg said:

she said they got rid of the laundry room and the half bath. So not only do you have to go upstairs to go to the bathroom, but no laundry room. That is NUTS. Unless they somehow put a stackable somewhere and just didn't show it.

Probably why that young couple took a hard pass on that one.  Plus the adjoining unit was a dump.

[3 is enough]

I am watching last night’s episode, and having read the comments I paid close attention to the plans.  There is a stackable washer/dryer on the second floor. Lots of people prefer to have the laundry on the same level as the bedrooms.

I guess they can’t show everything, but it was there.  

[RoxiP]

16 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

I am watching last night’s episode, and having read the comments I paid close attention to the plans.  There is a stackable washer/dryer on the second floor. Lots of people prefer to have the laundry on the same level as the bedrooms.

I guess they can’t show everything, but it was there.  

I'm glad you saw that (and I agree that it makes sense to have the laundry close to the bedrooms).  I THINK that when they were discussing their plans they talked about having a half bath on the bottom floor but they didn't show it last night.

My office has microwaves that are situated in the cabinets just like a drawer and although I think they are a little less easy to use than one over a stove or on a countertop they certainly look better than a shelf with a microwave on it (all I could think of was how dirty it was going to get on either side of it).

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, dleighg said:

she said they got rid of the laundry room and the half bath. So not only do you have to go upstairs to go to the bathroom, but no laundry room. That is NUTS. Unless they somehow put a stackable somewhere and just didn't show it.

I totally agree. Of all things, why would they get rid of a downstairs half-bath and laundry.

 

[3 is enough]

When they were showing the house to the potential buyers Mina said there was a trim kit for the microwave so it could be enclosed more. Why it was not installed is beyond me. 
I am used to a microwave over the wall oven and I would not like having one below counter height. But to be fair, there was not a ton of space to work with in that kitchen. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by 3 is enough

[RoxiP]

31 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

When they were showing the house to the potential buyers Mina said there was a trim kit for the microwave so it could be enclosed more. Why it was not installed is beyond me. 
I am used to a microwave over the wall oven and I would not like having one below counter height. But to be fair, there was not a ton of space to work with in that kitchen. 

I did wonder why they didn't utilize the area underneath the stairs.

[dleighg]

5 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I did wonder why they didn't utilize the area underneath the stairs

usually that's headroom for steps to the basement-- they didn't show a basement, but I assume there was one?

[RoxiP]

1 minute ago, dleighg said:

usually that's headroom for steps to the basement-- they didn't show a basement, but I assume there was one?

Maybe we will see more when they renovate the other side of the house.  I did notice that it was a brick wall which seemed a little odd to me because it was an interior wall.

Edited June 24, 2020 by RoxiP

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Probably why that young couple took a hard pass on that one.  Plus the adjoining unit was a dump.

Plus think of all the noise and stuff when they reno the adjacent unit.

[Kohola3]

49 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Plus think of all the noise and stuff when they reno the adjacent unit.

Since they bought the whole place it's a bit of a head scratcher as to why they wouldn't just do both sides at the same time.  It's not like those renovations are a couple of days long.

[RoxiP]

Back to whining about design choices - to me the exterior of this duplex did not in any way match the way they designed the interior.  The outside kind of looked like a country house and the inside was "Chelsea Loft"?  Furthermore I think painting both halves differently is ill-advised.

[3 is enough]

I suppose they could do the reverse on the second half- white body and blue trim.  That might look nice.  

I was surprised there was no dividing railing on the front porch, but maybe they have to wait to fix the second half first.

[3 is enough]

8 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I did notice that it was a brick wall which seemed a little odd to me because it was an interior wall.

Since it was a duplex maybe it was a fire wall?  Was it between the two units?

Our first house, built in 1984, was a semi-detached, or duplex.  There was a concrete block wall between the two units, as per the building code.

Edited June 25, 2020 by 3 is enough

[CruiseDiva]

19 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

When they were showing the house to the potential buyers Mina said there was a trim kit for the microwave so it could be enclosed more. Why it was not installed is beyond me. 
I am used to a microwave over the wall oven and I would not like having one below counter height. But to be fair, there was not a ton of space to work with in that kitchen. 

I though they were going to put in one of those microwaves that pull out like a drawer that are made for under the counter. Without a trim kit that dinky microwave sitting on an under counter shelf looked sad and cheap.

[bilgistic]

On 6/24/2020 at 12:39 AM, LittleIggy said:

I guess the fireplace was nonfunctional since the wood floor went right up to it.

This was perplexing. They didn't specifically say the existing fireplace was unusable. I don't get covering it up. People like working fireplaces, even where I live in the South, where it hardly ever gets cold enough to use them.

[mojito]

Quote

My home's in the shadow of a McMansion and I had to re-do my garden there thanks to going from blazing sun to shade. No more fresh veggies. My house's interior is slightly darker now, too, and I lost my sight line to the sunset.

This is exactly the thing that I found tragic when the windy city woman built up her homes. I would be furious if my house lost its sun and my garden became shaded.

The potential buyer barely oohed and aahed over the house. I'm guessing she wasn't at all impressed with that small kitchen. Like her, I did like the white appliances, though.

I normally don't care about these things, but since Mina brought it up....why, when her son is still in diapers, not even standing up, was she concerned about not already having gotten pregnant again? I mean, I get when a few years have passed, and nothing. But a year or so and you're fretting over your fertility? Somebody help me with this one.

[Gam2]

5 hours ago, bilgistic said:

This was perplexing. They didn't specifically say the existing fireplace was unusable. I don't get covering it up. People like working fireplaces, even where I live in the South, where it hardly ever gets cold enough to use them.

We had a wood fireplace in our house on our farm in East TN. We kept it going almost all winter as it gets really cold here. My sister and BIL have a fireplace in their house in Destin,FL which they use while running the AC-ha. Everybody to their own thing, I guess. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm sure the fireplace on Tuesday's house was not operating.      It turned out when Mina was having issues concieving baby #2, they consulted the doctors, and it turned out they did have issues, and are very lucky to have baby #2 on the way now.    If she had waited any longer to consult the doctors, she might never have had this baby.   

I thought the house this week was not worth the price.   The kitchen was so small, that even if you don't cook regularly, it would still be inadequate, and there's no way a family would be happy with it. 

I absolutely hated the wallpaper on the island, and stair front of each step.    I can't see wallpaper in those locations holding up too well to dirt, and abuse.   

Edited June 27, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[RoxiP]

I'm also thinking Mina is in her mid-30s - perhaps maybe early 30s - but not at an age where she wants to delay having children too much, especially if she has fertility issues (not saying older women shouldn't or can't have babies - I had my only child at 38).

[pasdetrois]

Quote

We had a wood fireplace in our house on our farm in East TN.

I use my wood-burning fireplace in the winter. It's cozy and uplifting and warms my living room on cold windy days that defeat my drafty old windows.

WB FPs began to go out of style when it became understood how much energy they waste. So I understand the reason for not using them. It's just weird to leave them in as a design feature. I assume it's cheaper to do that than cover or convert them.

[mojito]

Quote

 It turned out when Mina was having issues with baby #2, that she did have issues, and was very lucky to have baby #2 on the way.    If she had waited any longer to consult the doctors, she might never have had this baby.   

Are you saying that Jack is baby # 2? Or are you saying that she had problems getting pregnant the first time?

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, mojito said:

Are you saying that Jack is baby # 2? Or are you saying that she had problems getting pregnant the first time?

she is currently pregnant (I gather that those who follow her on social media are in-the-know on all this)

[chessiegal]

There's a promo for the show that has a voiceover from Mina saying so much is changing right now, then shows her holding a pregnancy test that says +preg.

[3 is enough]

So I do follow Mina on Instagram. She is 32.  She is currently pregnant, due in September.  The baby's name is Charlie, but she has not revealed the results of the ultrasound. I suppose Charlie could be short for Charlotte.

The story is she got pregnant with Jack with no issues.  When Jack was born they started to try for #2, almost right away, and when nothing happened after a year they decided to be proactive and see a fertility specialist. They had all the tests and ultimately tried IVF, which was unsuccessful. They were told they were lucky to have Jack and that another round of IVF was not advised.  They got a second opinion from another doctor who tried intrauterine insemination as a last resort, and it worked.

Edited June 27, 2020 by 3 is enough

[CrazyInAlabama]

I mean that Jack, their first adorable kid was conceived normally.   Then when they decided to have baby #2, they went for help, and that's how baby #2 is on the way now.      I think it was very generous of Mina and Steve to share their issues with the viewers.        

[Grrarrggh]

I think about all the money Mina and Steve spent that could have gone to raising a foster or adopted child. 

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I mean that Jack, their first adorable kid was conceived normally.   Then when they decided to have baby #2, they went for help, and that's how baby #2 is on the way now.      I think it was very generous of Mina and Steve to share their issues with the viewers.        

I don’t really care about their fertility issues. Not why I watch.

[SusanwatchingTV]

On 6/24/2020 at 8:41 AM, dleighg said:

she said they got rid of the laundry room and the half bath. So not only do you have to go upstairs to go to the bathroom, but no laundry room. That is NUTS. Unless they somehow put a stackable somewhere and just didn't show it.

I thought I saw the laundry on the plans. It was moved upstairs and in a closet with stackables.  I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive I saw it.  I'm not going to go back and rewatch, though.  It was only in the one quick scene where they went over the plans.

I totally agree about it being stupid to get rid of the room and half-bath downstairs, though.  I would have moved that to the back of the house and made the kitchen a little smaller to accommodate it.

[Grrarrggh]

43 minutes ago, SusanwatchingTV said:

I thought I saw the laundry on the plans. It was moved upstairs and in a closet with stackables.  I could be wrong, but I'm almost positive I saw it.  I'm not going to go back and rewatch, though.  It was only in the one quick scene where they went over the plans.

I don't like the  idea of laundry on a higher floor. If your washing machine breaks that water is going to ruin a lot more than if it had been on the main level or in a basement. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I loathe stackable laundry, even the full size ones.   The smaller, attached stackables aren't very big either.     Plus, they are very expensive, so the front loader full size is the better option.    I still like first floor laundry, and a laundry room, not a laundry closet.   

I watched the rerun where Mina and Karen were competing against each other with the expensive duplex. "Battle of the Two Chicks" where they made the left and right side of the townhouse/duplex look different.   They looked too different, not like they were two separate sides of the house, but like they didn't belong connected.   They did a much better job on other duplexes, where they were different but the same color schemes.     It just didn't look right. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[3 is enough]

Personally, I like a bigger laundry room with a sink and storage and a place to fold the clothes, but obviously that is not an option in a smaller house.  I don't particularly like stacked units either, but my son and his wife have spent the past 4 years in a small apartment with 2 kids and a coin operated laundry in the basement.  A stacked unit in a closet would have been heaven for them.

[LittleIggy]

9 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Personally, I like a bigger laundry room with a sink and storage and a place to fold the clothes, but obviously that is not an option in a smaller house.  I don't particularly like stacked units either, but my son and his wife have spent the past 4 years in a small apartment with 2 kids and a coin operated laundry in the basement.  A stacked unit in a closet would have been heaven for them.

Yeah, I can relate! I would love in apartment stackables!

[absolutelyido]

On 6/18/2020 at 10:31 AM, bilgistic said:

I didn't understand all the consternation about the house being "Mina's personal property". Tad, not Mina, had been living there (paying rent) and it obviously was being kept to just liveable standards, not any kind of upgraded/updated state. Mina owns all of the houses they renovate (buys for the specific purpose of renovating to sell), and they are all in some state of disrepair when they start renovation.

Further, they took this house down to the studs/framing. They kept the staircase and precious picture rail (but painted them, instead of restoring them), so again, I don't get the "sentimentality".

The tombstone "backsplash" was hideous. Also, I HATE gold fixtures. They look like 1970s-1980s, and will always look like that to me. There's no redeeming them. I don't care if there's a new "trend". Keep them away from me.

The only place where I see people using a lot of gold fixtures is on design shows. I haven't seen anyone use them in real life.

On 6/27/2020 at 11:47 PM, LittleIggy said:

I don’t really care about their fertility issues. Not why I watch.

Me either. Sorry, not interested.

I can't stand Tad and Austin. They're a little to impressed with themselves and their antics. I like Cory.

[CrazyInAlabama]

So since Karen is stepping back, but just doing her bizarre looking projects, and Mina is doing a lot of appointments, that means instead we get Cory, Austin, and Tad?   I can live with that, it gives me a chance to get to see others doing projects, and some of the craftsmen that do such a great job.     However, on the second side of the duplex/townhouse, that Juliet balcony is useless, especially since it's next to an alley.   There is no way I would live there, and ever open the doors to the Juliet balcony, no screens, and if it's an active alley, lots of dirt flying by.   

The black stair railing and treads are going to show ever speck of dust.   

I hated the half bath, with the wallpaper, paint, vanity, and floor that all were totally different, and didn't coordinate at all.  I thought the half bath was hideous.   

 I do like that they picked a kitchen tile back splash that was cheaper to purchase, and install, and looked wonderful.      Between that and the bathroom tiles, they seem to be recognizing that they can save a lot, and still have quality finishes. 

I guess that only about 20% of the 'potential buyers' that do the tours buy or rent the house, and a lot of them are people that they actually did everything to that person's taste.  I'm guessing that some are pre-sold and those buyers get a lot of input into the finished product.    I wouldn't buy the nicest home in a 'transitional' neighborhood, or do they call it "up and coming".   You never know when a neighborhood will really improve or not.  

I could have lived without seeing the how to on injecting fertility drugs.      If this is only the early rounds, then this will be a long season of medical information that doesn't interest me at all.     I wonder if it dawned on anyone at the show that some people are very needle-phobic, and they won't watch the show again?   

Edited July 1, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So since Karen is stepping back, but just doing her bizarre looking projects, and Mina is doing a lot of appointments, that means instead we get Cory, Austin, and Tad?   I can live with that, it gives me a chance to get to see others doing projects, and some of the craftsmen that do such a great job.     However, on the second side of the duplex/townhouse, that Juliet balcony is useless, especially since it's next to an alley.   The black stair railing is going to show ever speck of dust.   

I didn’t like the black staircase either. I agreed with Karen that the vaulted ceiling would have been a better use of the budget than those French doors to nowhere. Why is it call a “Juliet balcony”? Juliet had a real balcony, damn it! 😏 I like the woven light fixture Karen made. I think they should have kept the original porch railings where they were. I liked the design. BTW, do the people they are shown showing the house to ever buy it? 

[sheetmoss]

On 6/28/2020 at 11:00 PM, Grrarrggh said:

I don't like the  idea of laundry on a higher floor. If your washing machine breaks that water is going to ruin a lot more than if it had been on the main level or in a basement. 

There is that...

MY idea laundry would be next to the kitchen, if you're stuck cooking, you can do a few loads at the same time

     I also wouldn't mind a laundry dumbwaiter in the scenario too.

[3 is enough]

I am glad they showed the second half of the house right away.  I liked the outside colour.  Balcony was useless, but I did like the fancy woodwork.

Not a fan of butcher block counters.  Just not sure how they hold up around sinks and cooktops.  It seems to make more sense to me to put the wood on the island, since it is going to be used as an eating area, and I don't think it had a sink.

I looked, but it appeared they did not put a dividing railing on the front porch.  I just feel that some separation would be nice. 

[bilgistic]

I didn't mind the black stairs, but I hated the "Juliet balcony". They could've saved money and just not done either it or a vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom upstairs. The ongoing argument about the balcony/ceiling issue between Mina and Karen was so uncomfortable to watch. I am able to understand they are having trouble adjusting to Karen stepping back from ownership/decision-making without half of the episode being about that issue and the fallout.

It's like Chip and Joanna Gaines, who I can't stand to watch. I get that he's an obnoxious jackass without it being shoved in my face every five minutes with his "quirky antics" and "jokes". Dial it back, HGTV.

I also get that some people want to see Mina's (in)fertility journey, and feel she is brave showing it. I...just don't care. They can follow her on Instagram for that. If I wanted to watch programs about pregnancy and babies, I'd watch TLC all day. I guess I'm a terrible person.

And no, indeed there wasn't a divider on the front porch between the two duplexes. A little unspent balcony money could've gone toward that. *side eye*

I didn't hate Karen's Krafts this week! The time and work it must've taken to weave that rope, though! Her kitty was adorable!

Edited July 1, 2020 by bilgistic

[LittleIggy]

Karen’s kitty was so cute getting into the middle of that project. BTW, one could not have that headboard/footboard set in a house occupied by felines. It was one big cat scratching post! My cats would have it shredded in no time flat.

Edited July 1, 2020 by LittleIggy

[CruiseDiva]

37 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I didn't mind the black stairs, but I hated the "Juliet balcony". They could've saved money and just not done either it or a vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom upstairs. The ongoing argument about the balcony/ceiling issue between Mina and Karen was so uncomfortable to watch. I am able to understand they are having trouble adjusting to Karen stepping back from ownership/decision-making without half of the episode being about that issue and the fallout.

It's like Chip and Joanna Gaines, who I can't stand to watch. I get that he's an obnoxious jackass without it being shoved in my face every five minutes with his "quirky antics" and "jokes". Dial it back, HGTV.

I also get that some people want to see Mina's (in)fertility journey, and feel she is brave showing it. I...just don't care. They can follow her on Instagram for that. If I wanted to watch programs about pregnancy and babies, I'd watch TLC all day. I guess I'm a terrible person.

This! I don't watch HGTV to follow Mina's fertility issues and that just makes me uncomfortable. I stopped watching the Chimp & JoJo "Fixer Upper" show because their interactions had become so tiresome with his jackassery and her eye rolling and I'm about to give up on "Good Bones" due to Karen being so obnoxious. Personally, I think the houses would turn out better without Karen's input and her craftiness. They's probably sell for more as well and their profit would be greater if they'd stop with all the expensive marble and use porcelain tile in bathrooms and quartz kitchen countertops instead. Good looking, cheaper to purchase, and less ongoing maintenance for the home buyer.

Edited July 1, 2020 by CruiseDiva
Spelling matters.

[dleighg]

28 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

one could not have that headboard/footboard set in a house occupied by felines. It was one big cat post!

That was the most enticing cat-scratching-area that I've ever seen

[dleighg]

those potential buyers were SUPER excited about everything.... a bit over the top! Look at that WINDOW! (it's just a window) Look at this sink in the powder room!!!! (It's just a sink)

[bilgistic]

Yet they didn't buy. Again. I'm beginning to think the walkers-through are just people Mina knows (doesn't she always know them?) and are just being shown the houses for the TV show.