House Hunters Renovation - General Discussion

[irisheyes]

4 hours ago, laredhead said:

Chocolatine, I had the same thoughts about the Denver episode kitchen last night.  I am not a fan of the blue cabinet craze, but the color that was used in this episode was nice.  I think it is a color that could be accented by many others, which the brighter blues cannot do.  I also liked the wood floor stain they chose and that they used wood throughout.  It was a small house and that continuity was needed.  I've already forgotten if that house had a basement, and if it was shown where the laundry was located.  

I agreed about the dark grout used on the subway tile in the bathroom.  It really stood out in the corners.  If they wanted something darker, I would have gone with a medium gray instead of dark gray which looked black. 

When they said they had $30,000 to spend I laughed because there was no way all of those changes would cost only $30,000.  Sure enough they went over by $15,000.  The result was nice, but that is a really small house.  

They went $15K over budget, and they hadn’t even touched the basement. Hope they don’t need that second bath for a while. 

[sheetmoss]

Re: Aurora(Denver) couple - the husband  sounded like Nolan Gould 'Luke' from Modern Family

Too bad they didn't add a frosted  transom/clerestory window in the shower/tub area

Also too, why don't people add under cabinet lighting on these shows esp when the whole kitchen is being rewired?

 

As an aside, just read interior designer Bunny Williams used faux wood  vinyl plank in her UES kitchen because it's durable and low maintenance

, The apartment  is on the market for $4 million

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/realestate/bunny-williams-doyenne-of-cozy-chic-lists-upper-east-side-home.html?mabReward=ACBMG2&recid=11JvjEWkUw0qCVeqnvZR3HINsyA&recp=3&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

Edited March 4, 2018 by sheetmoss

[ByaNose]

Denver couple: While all the cabinets were all blue I still thought it was too dark. I admire the guy for not all white cabinets because it’s been done to death but I still the blue was too dark. Maybe, because it was a galley kitchen?! I’m note sure what the alternative would be though. I wanted to see the outside. It looked like they trimmed the bushes but it still looked kind of dumpy. I guess there was no budget for landscaping. I thought the couple was nice though. They weren’t overly obnoxious and were willing to get their hands dirty. Still what’s the alternative for white or blue cabinets? Light Gray?

[doodlebug]

10 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Denver couple: While all the cabinets were all blue I still thought it was too dark. I admire the guy for not all white cabinets because it’s been done to death but I still the blue was too dark. Maybe, because it was a galley kitchen?! I’m note sure what the alternative would be though. I wanted to see the outside. It looked like they trimmed the bushes but it still looked kind of dumpy. I guess there was no budget for landscaping. I thought the couple was nice though. They weren’t overly obnoxious and were willing to get their hands dirty. Still what’s the alternative for white or blue cabinets? Light Gray?

I agree, the landscaping needed a lot of work.  The house itself was pretty cute from the outside, but the overgrown foliage detracted.  Even after they trimmed some of the hedges and bushes, they were still pretty large and looked to be at least partially obscuring windows.  Aside from the fact that it makes the interior darker, it's a safety issue and those bushes needed trimmed way back.  The yard was a nice size and someone with some talent for garden planning could've really done something special with the front yard.  I hope they've got plans to do that as they get the money.

[ByaNose]

16 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I agree, the landscaping needed a lot of work.  The house itself was pretty cute from the outside, but the overgrown foliage detracted.  Even after they trimmed some of the hedges and bushes, they were still pretty large and looked to be at least partially obscuring windows.  Aside from the fact that it makes the interior darker, it's a safety issue and those bushes needed trimmed way back.  The yard was a nice size and someone with some talent for garden planning could've really done something special with the front yard.  I hope they've got plans to do that as they get the money.

It was funny because at the end they showed the before and after of the front and inside. Then they only showed the after of the inside and not the outside. I guess the front didn't look too much different then before.

[laredhead]

ByaNose, if you are willing to think out of the color box, so to speak, cabinets can be painted any color, or they can be stained in light, medium, or dark shades.  For some reason, stained cabinets have fallen out of favor, but like everything else they might come back around to being stylish.  It seems from looking at home decorating shows on HGTV these days that designers have only 3 colors to choose from - white, gray, or blue in various shades.

Some serious sweat equity in that front yard could pay off big time on the curb appeal of that house.

[ByaNose]

13 minutes ago, laredhead said:

ByaNose, if you are willing to think out of the color box, so to speak, cabinets can be painted any color, or they can be stained in light, medium, or dark shades.  For some reason, stained cabinets have fallen out of favor, but like everything else they might come back around to being stylish.  It seems from looking at home decorating shows on HGTV these days that designers have only 3 colors to choose from - white, gray, or blue in various shades.

Some serious sweat equity in that front yard could pay off big time on the curb appeal of that house.

I still have builder grade fake oak cabinets in my townhouse. I've been there almost 20 years. This is why I watch HH Restoration. I need to vent. LOL!!!

[CruiseDiva]

55 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I still have builder grade fake oak cabinets in my townhouse. I've been there almost 20 years. This is why I watch HH Restoration. I need to vent. LOL!!!

My kitchen oak cabinets and family room birch cabinets were built in place 30 years ago and I wouldn't trade them for anything. It doesn't hurt that the dining table and antique cabinets in my kitchen's breakfast area are oak and blend in well with the cabinets. I had the furniture pieces before we bought the house and was delighted with the cabinets.

[chocolatine]

14 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Still what’s the alternative for white or blue cabinets? Light Gray?

I saw a listing for an apartment in Brooklyn a few months ago that had mint-green kitchen cabinets. It's definitely a very specific color and you'd have to decorate around it, but they looked very pretty and could be an option if you want a lighter color.

[aguabella]

On 3/4/2018 at 11:32 AM, sheetmoss said:

Re: Aurora(Denver) couple - the husband  sounded like Nolan Gould 'Luke' from Modern Family

Too bad they didn't add a frosted  transom/clerestory window in the shower/tub area

Also too, why don't people add under cabinet lighting on these shows esp when the whole kitchen is being rewired?

 

As an aside, just read interior designer Bunny Williams used faux wood  vinyl plank in her UES kitchen because it's durable and low maintenance

, The apartment  is on the market for $4 million

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/realestate/bunny-williams-doyenne-of-cozy-chic-lists-upper-east-side-home.html?mabReward=ACBMG2&recid=11JvjEWkUw0qCVeqnvZR3HINsyA&recp=3&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine

Had the same thought about the transom in the bathroom.  WRT both that and the lighting, it's probably cost.  IIRC, these two had a "budget" of 30K.  Don't know for certain but when homebuyers say that, I assume they're looking for a freebie (100%).  (30K is often quoted as their 1099 amount, including the (free) designer, (free) contractor and some materials.)  If that's the deal, my contractor friends would cut a few corners.

Thanks for linking Bunny's info.  IIRC, I checked out the listing previously and Bunny didn't even include photos of the (fairly) small galley kitchen!  The remainder of the home had beautiful, original floors. 

In that price range, who cares about the kitchen?  Location, location, location ...

[aguabella]

On 2/25/2018 at 10:20 AM, sheetmoss said:

Re: Silver Lake couple

Argh - why couldn't   that gorgeous rosemary plant be given away or shaped up and put in a container?

Also, I could see enclosing that covered outdoor area  and turning it into indoor space to increase sq footage.

 

Good ideas, sheetmosss.  It's quite possible they shared their plant slips with neighbors and/or friends but, if filmed, those scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.  (Oops, pun not intended!)

Anyone else think the guys'  acting was a little off?  Don't know if they're still together (not my business) but they listed the home for rent a week or so before (IIRC) the episode aired.

Assuming they planned in advance to rent it, I'm not sure they needed to build out the patio.  Good idea, however.  To properly integrate the space, they should have worked with the designer. 

Anyhow, after filming the episode, they continued working on the home.  Lightened up the patio and set up that small garage / annex as a guest room, sans bathroom facilities.  (Ugh!)

Listed at $4,700 / home, increased it to $4,800 and took it off a few weeks later.  Probably rented it.  

Looking at the map, it appears that home was on a busy corner.  Not convinced they ever wanted to live there.  (What do you guys think?)  Here's the listing: 

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2920-Reservoir-St-Los-Angeles-CA-90026/20738792_zpid/?fullpage=true

 

Either they hired a designer for their condo or the guy had skills but the rental staging???  Personally, I'd start by removing at least 50% of the knick knacks, closet contents, etc. and then reassess.

Edited March 8, 2018 by aguabella

[aguabella]

On 2/25/2018 at 10:38 AM, Empress1 said:

I think it was a thousand square feet, and it might have been the biggest house they saw. They saw one that was about 750.

 

On 2/25/2018 at 11:34 AM, Pickles said:

Thanks for the info! I am always pretty stunned by the CA housing prices and the small square footage. And then the money needed to renovate. Yikes. 

Yep, it was 1,000 sq. feet.  The rental listing indicates 1,100 but they probably added 100 for the small garage.  (It magically increased by 100 sq. feet between the sale and rental.)

Sorry guys, I'm fairly certain a good appraiser would assign a small amount of value to that uh, shed, but not include the sq. footage.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Silver Lake couple: I loved the partner's voice ... he should do radio or voiceover work.

My bold prediction is that one day a designer will recommend that the base cabinets be painted a deep ..... GREEN!  (Or just some color other than blue.)  HGTV really is ridiculous with creating and killing trends.  OT: I have deep green cabinets in my basement bar that we got at Lowe's.  Love, love, love the color.  When shopping at Lowe's, they had a red cabinet sample.  I wonder how many of those they sell?

[Thumper]

I think tonight's ep was "Midwest to West Coast Reno."   I didn't like the black kitchen with the brass hardware and the subway tile.  Brass hardware is so hard for me to accept; trying to eliminate it in our own home now.

I was sad they just threw out the cabinets in the kitchen -- could they not have saved them and donated?

[chessiegal]

3 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I was sad they just threw out the cabinets in the kitchen -- could they not have saved them and donated?

No kidding! Habitat for Humanity would be happy to take them. Makes them look tone deaf to those who don't have a $800K plus budget. We were laughing at her hatred of "honey oak" wood. The horror!

[chocolatine]

10 hours ago, chessiegal said:

No kidding! Habitat for Humanity would be happy to take them. Makes them look tone deaf to those who don't have a $800K plus budget. We were laughing at her hatred of "honey oak" wood. The horror!

The honey oak was much easier on the eyes than the black cabinets and the busy floor tile. And the wife claimed the kitchen looked “lighter and brighter” after the reno. In what universe is black “light and bright?”

[twinks]

Did you just love the bathroom floor "tiles"? That bathroom was a hot mess. Considering the amount of work they wanted to do, their budget was ridiculously low.

[answerphone]

Wow, someone actually left white tiles on the counter top. 

I thought the entire world only approved of granite or quartz. ?

[Thumper]

22 minutes ago, twinks said:

Did you just love the bathroom floor "tiles"? That bathroom was a hot mess. Considering the amount of work they wanted to do, their budget was ridiculously low.

I kind of missed that -- were they stick-on tiles that looked like contact paper thickness?

[twinks]

51 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I kind of missed that -- were they stick-on tiles that looked like contact paper thickness?

Yes. I'd love to see how well that holds up.

[sheetmoss]

I wondered about those floor 'tiles' as well - I know they have something like contact paper to  put over laminate counters to mimic stone. I wonder if it's something like that?

Found this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078783MCM/ref=asc_df_B078783MCM5399861/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395009&creativeASIN=B078783MCM&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241982869883&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2425510407953148082&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9021721&hvtargid=pla-419805970303

Sad too about destroying the kitchen cabinets  - donate or leave curbside

    Ironic too, I think existing cabinets were better than new. 

          Too bad they couldn't have made the one end of the island (banquette side)  with an overhang for a stool.

I wish they would have added the antiqued mirror to the pantry doors - such a Candice Olson move that would have made the kitchen more custom

Have to agree about the HO and honey-oak stain, it's awful! - esp when it oranges w/age and looks like you have smokers in the house.

Edited March 11, 2018 by sheetmoss

[ByaNose]

At least, the Midwest West Coast didn’t use white or blue shaker cabinets. For that, I give them a thumbs up. That said, the tile in the kitchen has been used over & over on HGTV. It’s way too busy for me. Two steps forward.....two steps back. They were so close. LOL!!!!! The round kitchen table was cute but way too small. I also hate banquets. The bathroom wasn’t horrible. I thought the couple was cute. A little wacky but cute. 

[CruiseDiva]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

The honey oak was much easier on the eyes than the black cabinets and the busy floor tile. And the wife claimed the kitchen looked “lighter and brighter” after the reno. In what universe is black “light and bright?”

She was such a bitch with her badda-bing and badda-boom dislike for honey oak. At the end of the reno when they were standing in front of the staircase with the foyer behind them there was a chest near the front door that looked like (wait for it!) honey oak.

I had a good laugh at the husband installing those peel-and-stick tiles on the bathroom floor. The stuff he was using was so thin it looked like contact paper.

[chocolatine]

2 hours ago, ByaNose said:

The round kitchen table was cute but way too small. I also hate banquets.

I want to scream every time I see a round table with an L-shaped banquette (this show has been guilty of that more than once). It's so inefficient! At most two people can eat comfortably that way. Everyone else is too far from the table and/or has to sit at an awkward angle.

Edited March 12, 2018 by chocolatine

[CatS]

The honey oak hating couple...I thought it was hilarious that they were debating between laminate and engineered hardwood while standing on REAL hardwood floors. Just refinish it. They did tile on the kitchen floor anyway. 

[laredhead]

I was impressed with the DIY skills of the couple who chose a split level on the latest episode just outside of Boston.  They had lived with her mother for 3 years saving for a house, and then bought a house just down the street from the mother.  That house was small, and while they removed a wall between the kitchen and living room, they also removed some counter and storage space.  While that counter top height table might serve as some extra counter space, it won't store anything below it.  I would have replaced the wall with some bottom cabinets and counters, and the open concept would have still been in place.  Again another dark color on the bottom cabinets and white on the top.  I'm really over the white counter tops and back splashes.  I want to see some color for a change, and blue bottom cabinets don't count as the color I want to see.  

In the bathroom, it certainly did look better after it was redone, but where are they going to store towels, linens, etc?  That was not a large house and I would think storage space was at a premium.  I saw a couple of towels rolled up in a basket, but I bet that was for staging purposes.  Do people really manage to exist with only a couple of towels?  Where did they put everything else?  I'm one person, and I have a full linen closet, which I probably could clear out a bit, but I still want at least 2 sets of sheets and enough towels to last me a week w/o washing them.  

The downstairs portion of the house will be nice when they get around to finishing it.  Maybe they will be on a HHWATN episode in the future.  I appreciated the fact that they worked well together, had reasonable expectations about what things would cost, and there were no dramatic meltdowns.   

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

I was impressed with the DIY skills of the couple who chose a split level on the latest episode just outside of Boston.  They had lived with her mother for 3 years saving for a house, and then bought a house just down the street from the mother.  That house was small, and while they removed a wall between the kitchen and living room, they also removed some counter and storage space.  While that counter top height table might serve as some extra counter space, it won't store anything below it.  I would have replaced the wall with some bottom cabinets and counters, and the open concept would have still been in place.  Again another dark color on the bottom cabinets and white on the top.  I'm really over the white counter tops and back splashes.  I want to see some color for a change, and blue bottom cabinets don't count as the color I want to see.  

In the bathroom, it certainly did look better after it was redone, but where are they going to store towels, linens, etc?  That was not a large house and I would think storage space was at a premium.  I saw a couple of towels rolled up in a basket, but I bet that was for staging purposes.  Do people really manage to exist with only a couple of towels?  Where did they put everything else?  I'm one person, and I have a full linen closet, which I probably could clear out a bit, but I still want at least 2 sets of sheets and enough towels to last me a week w/o washing them.  

The downstairs portion of the house will be nice when they get around to finishing it.  Maybe they will be on a HHWATN episode in the future.  I appreciated the fact that they worked well together, had reasonable expectations about what things would cost, and there were no dramatic meltdowns.   

I wondered about storage and counter space in both the kitchen and bathroom. I'm one person too and I have a full (small) linen closet. I don't think the closets in that house are particularly big so I wondered where they were storing everything. And they did lose a lot of counter and cabinet space, which is huge to me as someone who owns a lot of dishes and someone who has very little counter space in her current kitchen.

[biakbiak]

12 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

And 

they did lose a lot of counter and cabinet space, which is huge to me as someone who owns a lot of dishes and someone who has very little counter space in her current kitchen.

I hated the solution of the dining table as extra prep space because it was far from the main triangle. I mean my kitchen table is my main prep space but it works because it's near the stove, sink and fridge but theirs was on the other side of the space. There was also a lot of wasted floor space, so it looked weird. They could have easily put in an island and still have room for a decent sized dining table.

Edited March 19, 2018 by biakbiak

[sheetmoss]

Re: MA couple

I thought the kitchen was a  miss, they needed an island of some sort to fill the void - you take down a wall and literally create wasted space. Quite the feat!

Also, not sure if vaulting the kitchen  ceiling made enough of a good change to warrant the $$.

Curious, they gave a figure of $4300 for rewiring, since husband was an electrician, would supplies cost that much considering he'd probably pay contractor prices?

    I wonder if he was able to charge back his labor against  the $25k production reno 'gift'

Edited March 20, 2018 by sheetmoss

[CruiseDiva]

6 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Re: MA couple

I thought the kitchen was a  miss, they needed an island of some sort to fill the void - you take down a wall and literally create wasted space. Quite the feat!

Also, not sure if vaulting the kitchen  ceiling made enough of a good change to warrant the $$.

I thought the kitchen was a hot mess. An island would have been an improvement. Those tall dining tables aren't easy for everyone to sit at. My neighbor has one and children and oldsters find the chairs difficult to navigate. I also questioned whether vaulting the ceiling was a wise move. It made the adjacent living room look odd with its normal height ceiling.

I thought losing the linen closet in the bathroom was okay because they gained a larger vanity with storage and still had a second linen closet right outside in the hallway. But NO! They removed that closet as well. Duh.

That home ended up with a serious lack of storage.

[laredhead]

CruiseDiva, I finally decided they were just storing everything downstairs.  As I said in an earlier post, that house was very small, and to give up any storage space would have been a no go for me.  I agree with you about the tall table.  I have a back problem, and having to climb or step up to that table height to eat would be uncomfortable for me.  I also prefer a back on my dining chair, and the stools on one side of that table were backless.

[chocolatine]

As if the dark bottom/white top cabinet trend wasn't already bad enough, they also used different textures - flat on the bottom and shaker on top. As soon as the decorator opened her mouth, I knew her judgement couldn't be trusted. She sounded like someone who believes they've been abducted by aliens.

I agree that completely opening up the kitchen made it less functional, plus the tabletop - which looked to be gray-stained wood - is much less durable than a stone countertop if used regularly as a prep space.

Edited March 21, 2018 by chocolatine

[chessiegal]

New episode tonight. I HATE open kitchen shelves. They are useless. Give me cabinets for storage. If I moved into a house with them, I'd rip them out and replace them with cabinets.

[twinks]

Again with the blue cabinets and busy backsplash. For the most part I think they did a nice job. I would have to watch it again to really pick it apart!

[biakbiak]

4 hours ago, chessiegal said:

New episode tonight. I HATE open kitchen shelves. They are useless. Give me cabinets for storage. If I moved into a house with them, I'd rip them out and replace them with cabinets.

Stuff also gets dusty! We have a lot of "open storage" because I live in a apartment with not a lot of cabinets and we frequently need to wash things before using them.

[laredhead]

The Burbank episode last night was drama free and I liked the HH's.  There certainly was a lot of honey oak in all of the houses they looked at.  I kept dozing off, so I may have managed to mix up some of the interior features of each house with the others, but I did see the reveal.  I liked that they put some sweat equity into the renovation, and were good natured about it.  When he rolled that carpet over her, I was sympathy sneezing at the thought of all of the dust and stuff in it.  The only thing I wished they had done was replace the spindles on the staircase with some type of iron or metal to update it a bit.  Even with the white paint, it still looked a bit old fashioned to me and didn't fit the house.  A little picky on my part, but other than that, I thought it was a good episode, and they did not go over budget too much.          

[juliet73]

The blue cabinets were way too dark for that kitchen!  The range hood was awful!  It looked unfinished!  The tile would have looked better as a backsplash on the stove wall instead of behind the shelves.  Horrid brass fixtures!  3 different countertops?! They should have installed upper cabinets and not the stupid open shelving!  There was absolutely NO storage!  The entire kitchen was a complete fail, IMO.  There was a ton of (ugly) overhead lighting in the kitchen, but barely any in the living room or dining room.  

The french doors were a good call.  The LR and DR were both very limited on space and furnishings.

The guest bath was lovely. The master bath was nice too, but they went $30k over budget for it and it wasn't anything special.  I was irked that the wall mounted TV in the master bedroom still had the cord exposed!  They spent $100k on a reno and couldn't fish tape the cord through wall or move the receptacle up?!  After seeing the TV on the patio was done correctly, I was even more annoyed!

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, juliet73 said:

The guest bath was lovely.

I really liked the tile in the bath/shower. A little different but not OTT.

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, juliet73 said:

I was irked that the wall mounted TV in the master bedroom still had the cord exposed!  They spent $100k on a reno and couldn't fish tape the cord through wall or move the receptacle up?!  After seeing the TV on the patio was done correctly, I was even more annoyed!

Ha!  I didn't watch it, but that would have annoyed me, too.  The first thing I do to prepare for a wall-mounted TV is put in a new outlet that will be hidden behind it (and any wire/cable that needs to go to an AVR or speakers gets run behind the wall).

[ByaNose]

Did.not.care.for.the.3.different.countertops.at.all. The blue cabinets (again!?!?!) looked too dark but the owner brought it up even before the designer did. The open shelving (again?!?!) looks like a dust collector.i don’t have them but I have regular shelves in my house and they collect dust. That said, they aren’t where my dishes & glasses are. Why is it so hard to just to have continuing uppers? The fireplace was surrounded was okay as were the double doors. It was a smart move to add the master bath. It wasn’t huge but really needed. Overall, it wasn’t a horrible renovation but it something that’s been seen to death on this show. I guessing 20 years there is going to be a lot of blue cabinets with brass pulls on the curb or in landfills. Gut job indeed!!! 

[Empress1]

On 3/24/2018 at 11:02 PM, chessiegal said:

New episode tonight. I HATE open kitchen shelves. They are useless. Give me cabinets for storage. If I moved into a house with them, I'd rip them out and replace them with cabinets.

Totally agree. My need for/appreciation of storage, especially in the kitchen, is well-documented. The husband was like "What about ..." and the wife overruled him.

[chocolatine]

Does the show dictate that the HHs have to accept whatever the designer's "vision" is? Because the kitchen with two cabinet colors, three countertops, two backsplashes, and open shelving was ridiculous, and I don't believe it would be any home owner's choice. It's like the show needed to clear out a warehouse of leftover materials from several different projects, and they dumped everything on the poor HH couple.

[biakbiak]

There have been a few episodes where they have rejected at least parts of the design.

Edited March 26, 2018 by biakbiak

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, chocolatine said:

Does the show dictate that the HHs have to accept whatever the designer's "vision" is? Because the kitchen with two cabinet colors, three countertops, two backsplashes, and open shelving was ridiculous, and I don't believe it would be any home owner's choice. It's like the show needed to clear out a warehouse of leftover materials from several different projects, and they dumped everything on the poor HH couple.

I will say after a second watching I was even more horrified. I didn't catch the white marble (might be wrong on the stone) between the sink and the wood countertop. OMG!! That was beyond ugly. I can't even imagine coming up with that concept. I usually complain that they use white on white too much but I would have much preferred a white countertop and island.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I didn't catch the white marble (might be wrong on the stone) between the sink and the wood countertop. OMG!! That was beyond ugly.

Yeah that really did not work.

[chocolatine]

7 hours ago, biakbiak said:

There have been a few episodes where they have rejected at least parts of the design.

I haven't been watching religiously but it seems like the person who didn't like certain aspects of the design always "comes around" at the end. I assume since the show contributes to the renovation budget they have a say in the end result. It can't be a coincidence that so many renovations involved blue kitchen cabinets. On the regular HH show, not once has anyone said that they wanted a blue kitchen. 

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I haven't been watching religiously but it seems like the person who didn't like certain aspects of the design always "comes around" at the end. I assume since the show contributes to the renovation budget they have a say in the end result. It can't be a coincidence that so many renovations involved blue kitchen cabinets. On the regular HH show, not once has anyone said that they wanted a blue kitchen. 

There have definitely been people who haven't come around, they then flip the script at the end and have the designer marvel how much better the homeoeners choice was than their original design. 

[CruiseDiva]

When we moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1980 we rented a house for a year. It had (gasp!) navy blue kitchen cabinets. The house was built in the '70s by an interior decorator, but as you can see from the photos here, today's buyers would be shouting Gut Job the instant they saw it. We still laugh about the navy blue cabinets with not one, but two patterns of plaid wallpaper. After we'd lived there for a few months I really appreciated that kitchen. It had white appliances that worked just fine and even a built-in microwave and trash compactor. The counters were white laminate and the "backsplash" was the same white laminate. I loved the little desk and the intercom system on the wall above it. I wish I had better photos, but I didn't have the foresight to realize that the cabinets would be in fashion over 40 years later. At the time we just thought they were odd.

 

 

[laredhead]

CruiseDiva, I live in Baton Rouge.  Do you still live here?  That is a true 70's kitchen!  I do love the wall clock.

[chessiegal]

OMG! I put up that same plaid wallpaper in our new build we bought early '80s. Yikes - what was I thinking?