Good Bones - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run.

[suebee12]

http://starcasm.net/archives/345483

[outtahere]

Just watched the second show of the second season and wow what a change from the first season.  The second season is almost unwatchable due to all the giggling, high fives and family interaction nonsense.

There is hardly any construction/rebuilding content at all and such a waste of time.  It seems that some of these new shows start with such an interesting concept and evolve into utter nonsense due to the "perceived" notion that the lead characters are so "adorable" that you will continue to tune in.

I'm out!

[azshadowwalker]

I haven't caught the new season yet. I really liked the first season, so it disappoints me to hear that it has changed so much. Will still give it a whirl. 

[MrPissyPuppy]

I floved that turquoise built-in bookcase they did on the upstairs landing in last night's (Woodlawn) episode. 

[Hotel Diva]

Some random thoughts:

- For Episode 1, the duplex was as dirty as heck and I loved how they changed that into a beautiful newly renovated home.

- For Episode 2, I wonder why they would look at a partially built home. That isn't really "renovation". That's just tearing the walls down and adding new walls. I agree with MrPissyPuppy, that bookcase was beautiful and I loved how they incorporated it into their home.

- There was some silly nonsense going on about the Indy 500, and I didn't understand how Karen got to ride the other machine and said it was better than the Indy 500.

[Hotel Diva]

I think Karen and Mina are okay. But they both have some very annoying traits. Karen laughs too much that she would get the hiccups on TV, and Mina almost always wears a hat, which makes it exhausting to watch her.

[Gam2]

Why would Mina wearing a hat make it exhausting to watch?

[suebee12]

I like both of the women! They might kid around a lot but they makes me smile and smiling is good! I wish I looked as good in a hat as Mina does and she needs one for two reasons IMHO; one to keep her hair out of her face and two to keep the sun off of her fair skin. In fact, with all of her freckles, she should have worn more hats in her lifetime!!

[suebee12]

I finally saw the beginning of the show(I was busy sewing and wasn't paying enough attention while the show was on). I think they bought the new build for two reasons...it was near the neighborhood that they like to renovate and they had someone they thought would love the house. What they did to make that house work was exciting. If it had been finished like it was begun, it would have been dark and boxy. Adding the french doors let in so much light in the living area and I loved how they decorated it. The bedrooms were great and that area by the stairs was breath-taking! Loved the built-ins and the colors. The office was in back where one could work in peace and do laundry at the same time if need be! The side yard was great...not big but probably all the outside work that the buyer would want to do and it was easy to get to from the kitchen. All in all, a good show. I hope that this was a one time deal but it was interesting to see what they could do with a new build.

[Gam2]

I really like this show and Mina and Karen. They're good at what they do and have fun with each other. 

[Hotel Diva]

Episode 3 - nice! I like how they came back to being Chip and Joanna's imposters rather than finishing a partially built home that was not theirs. The "office" sounded big, I wonder what each room was like before it was turned into a home. Tad and Jenny would have thought, "Wow, this is a very nice home", rather than building up and sharing publicly. Did they renovate the basement? I wasn't paying attention.

[TresGatos]

I did not like how the handles the house/office/house conversion. I much preferred the charm of the original room shapes to the open concept they came up with and I thought the mirrored bits they did on the fireplace was awful. I would have liked to see what they did with the basement because it was such a horror show before.

[Tracer34]

I'd like this show a lot better if there was less cackling from Karen.  Not everything deserves a minute-long guffaw.

[Sup wit dat]

I really love the reno/flip shows and want to like this one so badly, but the mom is so irritating.  She acts like a little child.  The daughter is awesome and I'd continue to watch if it was just her but with the mom I can't do it.  It's like the mother/daughter roles got reversed.  I guess their excessive TH's are supposed to be cute?  And the mom's laugh sounds horrible.  Good thing there are lots of other flip shows to watch cuz this one's off the list.

[Wentex]

Karen's constant laughing drives me crazy! So annoying.

[Jeeves]

I'm going to hang in with this show for another episode, at least. But, yes, Mom just grates, and I could do with less time spent on half/step brother's demolition antics. A little of that goes a long way.

I do like that the show is specific about the locations of their flips and provides some neighborhood information. I also like their specializing in the older parts of town. Of course they are in it to make a profit, but they are taking on old houses in challenging neighborhoods and it's interesting when the show sheds light on the issues that factor into their decisions as to renovation costs, pricing, etc. 

[dleighg]

I truly hate the pink walls they did. I think that is a very specific taste.

[Pickles]

The mother and the laughing. I can't watch this. They showed a scene of the mother using a big circular saw and no protective eyewear!

[suebee12]

Just finished watching the white house on the hill and the finished product was amazing! They really used all the space wisely and I loved it! I do wonder why they did the roof on the porch in a different color...did I miss something? One thing about their renovations is that appear to be well done...no corner cutting and no complaining when things didn't go quite as well as they wanted.  I thought that there was not as much giggling in this episode so that was good. Not even too much Tad this week!

Did anyone else notice the Little Free Library box? These had just started in Sarasota right before I moved and I donated many books. A great way to share books. The ones I used were in small parks so lots of folks were walking through. I was glad that all of my books were being read and shared since I could not move them all.

[ByaNose]

The kitchen cabinets boggled my mind. The put cabinets on top of each other to the rafters. How in the hell is someone supposed to get up there? Keep a ladder permanently in the kitchen? So dumb. It was a cute little house with a nice back patio area. They "sold" the house for a sale price of $200,000 with a profit of $40,000. It's okay show but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it.

[LazyToaster]

The office house - did you notice that the half bath was about 2 ft. from the dining room table?  Now, I live in a 3 bedroom, 1 bath house - so I wouldn't turn up my nose at a nice convenient half bath; however, that was a bit too close to the dining room for me.   Can you imagine being at a dinner party and whispering to the hostess "may I use the bathroom please?" and have her point you toward the bathroom that is right THERE?  Ha! 

That house looked so cute on the outside when done - like a beautiful doll house. 

I have to say I like Mina and Karen - I work with someone who laughs nervously at anything and everything - so, I'm probably (Lord help me) used to it.

[dleighg]

I am watching the house on the hill, and did anyone else notice that they had two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, and a third bedroom that gets nothing upstairs, and a HALF bath on the main floor. So if you've got a kid, or a guest, in the upstairs bedroom, they have to walk through someone's bedroom to take a shower...... I checked by rewinding, there is no hall access to either full bath.

[Former Nun]

On 6/8/2017 at 2:32 PM, azshadowwalker said:

I haven't caught the new season yet. I really liked the first season, so it disappoints me to hear that it has changed so much. Will still give it a whirl. 

I haven't even noticed the poster's complaints.  I like the show and appreciate the talent and camaradarie of the mother and daughter.

On 6/19/2017 at 6:57 AM, Sup wit dat said:

but the mom is so irritating.  She acts like a little child.

Small price to pay for watching what seem to be genuinely kind and happy people.  She's just a leftover Flower Child.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Former Nun

[Former Nun]

Occasionally, when there are shows and participants I like...I forget that we're here to SNARK!   Oh, if the name had only remained "Television without Pity," I might have remembered!

[saylubee]

I found the listing for the giant house they did since I was interested to see what it sold for - $339,000 in the beginning of June.  They first put it on the market in May 2016 though!!!

[Hotel Diva]

Karen and Mina seem waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too impressed with themselves, but they are ok.

[Hotel Diva]

They filmed Good Bones around Christmastime.

I have a little task for you. Click on each one of the websites and see which one has the most information.

http://www.hgtv.com/shows/good-bones

http://www.inquisitr.com/2916857/good-bones-is-the-latest-home-flipping-series-for-hgtv/

https://www.popsugar.com/home/Facts-About-HGTV-Good-Bones-41166197

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bones

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones

Thanks for all support throughout and followers.

[WildPlum]

I like both of them and, unlike a lot of TV, I don't find them overly affected - for the most part they aren't just acting. Although I think both of them are likely to have a "diva" side that is a bit less pleasant than what we normally see, but I like them better than any of the other "flip" hosts I have seen. The setup of "well, we are working on this house for a specific person who has not yet agreed to buy it" is quite odd, but they really want to be able to give someone the tour, so I guess it works.

 

I like that not everything is white on white on white, that the renos are somewhat budget-constrained (the one I watched last night, the "new construction" (next to a boarded up neglected old beauty), had a tile shower in the master bath but a much less expensive 3 pc fiberglass shower/tub in the guest bath.

Not sure I parse the relationships, though - Karen is Mina's mother. Mina is the half-sister of the often "all brawn and no brains" Tad, via their father. The contractor is Tad's step-father, but no relation, by blood or marriage to Mina or Karen. Ooookay.

[Mondrianyone]

34 minutes ago, WildPlum said:

Not sure I parse the relationships, though - Karen is Mina's mother. Mina is the half-sister of the often "all brawn and no brains" Tad, via their father. The contractor is Tad's step-father, but no relation, by blood or marriage to Mina or Karen. Ooookay.

I didn't know that the contractor (Lenny?) was part of this whole family web, but if he's married to Tad's mother, who was once married to the father that Mina and Tad share, then it would make sense that he isn't a blood relation of Mina or Karen--and related by marriage only in the sense that he's married to an ex of an ex, no?  (I had to read that sentence three times.  I'm glad my family deal is a lot simpler.)

[saylubee]

I thought Lenny was the first husband of the stepmother that married Mina's father after Karen and the father divorced.  The stepmother and father had Tad and a few other kids, the stepmother passed away fairly young, and Tad moved in with Karen to finish out high school.  I'm not completely certain though.

[Gam2]

The family relationships are so complicated that I surely can't figure them out but they all seem to get along. That's more important than anything else to me. I like Mina, Karen and this show a lot. In fact, I like it much more than any of the other "fixer upper" shows. Although I still like Chip and Joanna's show too. 

[MrPissyPuppy]

Mina's dad has apparently been married multiple times.   I remember on one show, they referred to Lenny as being married to Mina's dad's third wife's (don't hold me to the number/sequence of wife/husband) first and fourth husband or something like that - I remember that they had remarried each other.    There needs to be a flow chart or something to explain relationships!   They all seem to get along pretty well - Karen was at Mina's dad's house visiting with current wife (Missy I think) and the kids out of that relationship when they redid that home. 

 

They did do this video, but it doesn't really explain all the wives/husbands for dad.  

http://www.hgtv.com/videos/good-bones-family-tree-0277218

Edited July 18, 2017 by MrPissyPuppy

[Oldernowiser]

They seem likable enough, but wow don't they play fast and loose with safety basics. The stepson was doing demo without eye protection and when he pulled that chimney down...yikes.

But please, HGTV...stop with the same promo over. "Eyesore" does not rhyme with nicer. And the stupid "teamwork makes the dream work" shtick is making me stabby.

[Mondrianyone]

16 minutes ago, Oldernowiser said:

They seem likable enough, but wow don't they play fast and loose with safety basics. The stepson was doing demo without eye protection and when he pulled that chimney down...yikes.

No kidding.  Did you see the one recently where the really big guy on the work crew tore his arm open trying to pull part of a wall down by jumping up and swinging on it?  Had to be stretchered off to the emergency ward.  And then the idiot's rewarded when he comes back by being named Safety Officer.

Speaking of demo (and I can only speak for myself, but I'm probably not unique in this), I sort of get that it might be fun, once or twice anyway, to smash stuff up, if you're the one doing it.  What I really don't get is why HGTV seems to think that viewers (mostly women, I'm guessing) love watching other people destroy things, all the time.  They must, because it's a feature of every makeover show.  Do they think we think it's sexy?  Not me.  What I really think is sexy is watching someone say, "Let's save these cabinets (or these appliances, or whatever) and donate them."  Or even sell them on eBay?  There's a big market for vintage stoves and colored bathroom fixtures, etc., so even selling stuff is better than smashing it to bits.  I love that kind of thing on the rare occasions we see it.  I'd think that a crew headed by two women would be tuned into that notion, but not here so much.  Sorry, rant over.

[WildPlum]

I haven't seen all the episodes of this show, but the couple that I have seen, the cabinets weren't in any kind of "donor" shape. They weren't even worth re-purposing as, say, garage counters/cabinets. When I got new kitchen counter tops, I made desk tops for a custom desk out of the old formica, which worked really well. Of course, the formica that I kept was in really good shape (not all of it was, but enough to make a good-sized "L" desk).

 

All of the shows like to kick in drywall, which doesn't happen in real life. I suppose they think it looks dramatic, but it makes a huge mess. A GOOD contractor cleans the interior worksite every day (maybe not the yard or the dump pile) and it just makes a lot more work to make that kind of mess.

 

The vintage tile in bathrooms doesn't generally come out intact, as it was usually put in to last forever.  I was watching, I think, Vintage Flip and they tried to save a vintage bath fixture and the metal and wiring crumbled apart as they took it out. They did have someone custom make a fixture to hold the vintage glass.

Edited July 18, 2017 by WildPlum
added

[Oldernowiser]

Mondrianyone, you are me. Maybe it's because I've done enough DIY work to know how much effort goes into creating what they're destroying, but watching them gleefully rip everything apart in ten minutes and create a giant dumpster load destined for a landfill for all eternity...it just depresses me.

[suebee12]

Okey, Dokey..normally I do not mind Karen and her "over-the-topness" but I draw the line at her keeping things she finds in the houses. Furniture is ok but yuk to that thing she put around her neck and wanting some of those clothes last week. I would leave a house like that until the boys cleared it out! And I have had two children but I would nothing to do with that vile toilet!

The final renovation tonight was really great although the cabinets always tend to be really high(heck, Lenny was standing on the counter while putting them up) so what normal person could reach them? That addition really added so much space in that teeny little house so all in all a great reno!

[AuntiePam]

I just heard about this show so I don't know if the "tiny Victorian" that aired tonight is new or old -- and I missed the first half.   The house was purchased for $40K, and when the reno was complete, they intended to market it for $400K.  I thought the reno was overdone.  It seemed that they could have made a darn fine little house without spending that much, and they'd have ended up with an affordable house.  It's Indianapolis -- not San Francisco. 

[suebee12]

40 minutes ago, AuntiePam said:

The house was purchased for $40K, and when the reno was complete, they intended to market it for $400K

Just double-checked my recording to be sure I remembered correctly. They did pay $40K and they put in $200K for reno but the selling price was $300K giving them a potential profit of $60K. They seem to get what they ask because they seem to have a good reputation in the area. They stay in a fairly small area of Indianapolis that they are trying to save..(they live in this area btw).

[AuntiePam]

Thanks for the correction.  $300K is more reasonable. 

I wish they could have left some of the gingerbread on the exterior -- or added something.  It was so plain.

Did they explain why they added that tall fence?  When they talked about sitting on the porch and waving to neighbors, I wondered "How can you even see the neighbors with that fence?" 

[Former Nun]

Is the staging/decor in every renovation starting to look alike?

[suebee12]

Well, the super high cabinets that they usually use will be put to good use tonight...that guy was really tall!

1 hour ago, Former Nun said:

Is the staging/decor in every renovation starting to look alike?

I think they add different things in each week...tonight's was a mix of old and new(and I had to laugh because the suitcase they used  under the coffee table in the living room was my first luggage all those years ago!) They seem to mix things up at least to me. Those were really expensive rugs and I wondered if Andy was going to keep them. Did anyone else notice that the painting on the bedroom wall matched the "kaleidoscope" rug? I am still scratching from the poison ivy(I'm one of those who can look at it and break out!) but I loved the new trellis. In fact, it would have been really pretty without any vines on it. Not too sure if I liked the outdoor furniture though. Too much I thought. Heck, I would settle for a picnic table with an umbrella and a few lounge chairs but that is just me. All in all I liked the changes. BUT I would have liked to have seen the other side of the duplex. Wonder what it looked like?

Edited July 26, 2017 by suebee12

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, Former Nun said:

Is the staging/decor in every renovation starting to look alike?

It does look it's being used over & over. Maybe, they save money that way. Overall, the inside looked nice. Small but nice. Both bedrooms turned out great & each have their own en suite which is a big plus. The outside deck & entertainment area looked nice but the bar looked like junk. I know it was junk wood but it really looked like crappy junk. I would burn it up the minute the ladies left the premises. The only thing I truly hated was the outside color. Their is no way I'm living in a purple house. No way! No how!

[twinks]

10 hours ago, ByaNose said:

It does look it's being used over & over. Maybe, they save money that way. Overall, the inside looked nice. Small but nice. Both bedrooms turned out great & each have their own en suite which is a big plus. The outside deck & entertainment area looked nice but the bar looked like junk. I know it was junk wood but it really looked like crappy junk. I would burn it up the minute the ladies left the premises. The only thing I truly hated was the outside color. Their is no way I'm living in a purple house. No way! No how!

Loved the house, but the color was a tragedy.

[suebee12]

The thing is, the guy wanted the purple didn't he?

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, suebee12 said:

The thing is, the guy wanted the purple didn't he?

Yeah, I think he was all in for the purple. To each is own. If he's happy who am I to complain. LOL!!

[Former Nun]

18 hours ago, ByaNose said:

20 hours ago, Former Nun said:

Is the staging/decor in every renovation starting to look alike?

It does look it's being used over & over. Maybe, they save money that way.

I didn't really mean same furniture/paintings/rugs, etc.   Same taste--same general look.  You could walk into a room and say, "Did the Good Bones ladies decorate?"   It's always well done and attractive.

Edited July 26, 2017 by Former Nun

[Tahitigirl]

I generally like (or at least appreciate) their renovations but there were several things that bugged me about this one. First, I would never live in a house where you have to walk from the living room through the kitchen to get to the dining room. I don't want my guests to see my cooking mess as they're walking to the table. Secondly, the stove was butted up against the sink. In my city, building codes require at least 12" of counter between appliances.  

I did like the trellis and the light purple siding didn't bother me until I saw the neon purple porch paint. The upstairs master was lovely. 

Overall I like their transformations but the lack of emphasis on safety during demo really bugs. They unnecessarily damage things, injure themselves (remember the huge gash in someone's arm?), often don't use eye protection or dust masks. I don't know if it's all to show off for the cameras but it annoys me. 

[dleighg]

On 7/26/2017 at 10:09 PM, Tahitigirl said:

Overall I like their transformations but the lack of emphasis on safety during demo really bugs. They unnecessarily damage things, injure themselves (remember the huge gash in someone's arm?), often don't use eye protection or dust masks. I don't know if it's all to show off for the cameras but it annoys me. 

and in this last episode (even before the clippers on the live wires) they were ripping the ceiling down around a LIT ceiling fixture. I mean, don't encourage people to do such stupid things!