Windy City Rehab - General Discussion

[NJMom]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

Going to watch just for comic relief.

Her fake tears were too much. I hope this is going to be a train wreck.

[buttersister]

5 hours ago, NJMom said:

I hope this is going to be a train wreck.

It can't be anything else. 😉

[buttersister]

Because I was slow to reach the remote, I saw a preview of next season. LOL! She is so throwing her crooked contractor former partner under the bus. Guessing she'll feel betrayed. And outraged. And vowing to rip out the old good stuff, troll the restoration stores and install giant stovetop hoods in the future!

Hope the City Dept. of Permits is paying attention and I can't quite imagine anyone but friends of friends pretending to be buyers. Her reputation is shot. Do better, HGTV.

[CrazyInAlabama]

From what I've read, this is actually footage they filmed during the original season.    I hope the producers realize that if the raw footage still exists, that the suing homeowners will try to get access showing incriminating statements.     I've read the articles about the lawsuits, and I hope the buyers get every single penny they paid for those homes.      I feel so sorry for the neighbors, who are now living next to homes that are almost double in size, and have had to cope with trash, and filming for a long time because of this show.  

I wonder if only her narrations are new?   Either way, HGTV should have passed on this one. 

Edited August 23, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[NJMom]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

From what I've read, this is actually footage they filmed during the original season.    I hope the producers realize that if the raw footage still exists, that the suing homeowners will try to get access showing incriminating statements.     I've read the articles about the lawsuits, and I hope the buyers get every single penny they paid for those homes.      I feel so sorry for the neighbors, who are now living next to homes that are almost double in size, and have had to cope with trash, and filming for a long time because of this show.  

From the previews I saw, this looks new. She is definitely throwing her partner under the bus as someone else said and then she puts on the fake tears.

[juliet73]

After reading this article, she is definitely throwing him under the bus.  Even if he's guilty of doing what she claims and she was truly oblivious to what he was doing, that just shows what an awful business woman she is.  However, I pretty sure she knew exactly what was going on and is pissed SHE got caught!

 

https://people.com/home/windy-city-rehab-premiere-why-hgtv-allison-victoria-split-lawsuit-stop-work-order/

[Kemper]

I can't believe there is a new season.  The network should cut their losses and run the usual marathons of other shows; why would they want to be associated with a person/company who has been accused of shoddy work.

[Broderbits]

20 minutes ago, Kemper said:

why would they want to be associated with a person/company who has been accused of shoddy work

Given the general level of competence on some other HGTV shows, I don't believe those in control care much about shoddy work. But one would think they'd want to avoid being associated with lawsuits and code violations.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I read they filmed season 1 and 2 at the same time, so most of the shut down happened after filming finished.      I bet some of the talking heads were updated or done recently, to show more of the issues.         I see the partner is being thrown under the bus, and blamed for everything.   

 

[Grrarrggh]

I wouldn't care so much about the drama and lawlessness if only the designs were interesting. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

You mean you don't want to see the same strange hood vent every week?    And the same cabinets, and everything else too?   I really don't care about the behind the scenes on the first season either, since they left out the building code violations, and shut downs.     

A friend who's watching this episode just called me, and said I had to turn it on.   Just in time to hear her trashing Donovan, blaming him for everything, and I hope she can prove everything she said in court.       

She just told a man to paint the outside of a lovely original brick home, flat black paint.  (Apparently, it wasn't original brick, but it fit into the neighborhood before painting it, after it looks hideous)  She turned something beautiful into a featureless black box   It looks like a jail.       And doing interior walls black around a beautiful, ornate carved chest, after she built it into the niche, so "it looks like furniture".   No, it doesn't look like furniture, it looks awful.   She keeps whining that each expensive build is a different LLC, that's standard from what I've heard.   

I think the one before this s$&% show is a clip show, of a season one episode.      

I wonder if anyone bought her $2 million dollar home from the episode tonight?    I wonder if they ripped all of the expensive finishes, and antique features out of this one too before they tried to sell it. ?    So she's been whining about this house being financed from her personal funds?   So how were all of the others financed?    Would anyone really finance a dozen remodels, and additions for them?   Now I'm supposed to feel sorry for someone stealing a $5,000 toilet from the building?     

Edited September 16, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Scatterbrained]

I know that *I* watch this show for “the biggest kitchen island ever”.  /sarcasm

[buttersister]

Ha, HGTV, which specializes in fake home hunts anyways, is now the network of lawsuits and lies between this hot mess and Selling New Orleans. 

My channel guide had a lot of Allison tonight--wondering if they'll also do an update episode about all the newspaper stories on her bs?

Edited September 16, 2020 by buttersister

[DanielleBowden]

12 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

She just told a man to paint the outside of a lovely original brick home, flat black paint.

The original house on that lot was torn down, so the lighter brick was new construction.  But, the black paint was an awful decision.  I really don't think that black paint, a (ruined) antique chest, a wine room and a built in coffee maker pushed that house to $2m.  I did like the iron/glass closet doors though.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Since extras have been removed before sale before, I wonder if the iron/glass closet doors were there when it sold?     (The super expensive door knobs on the house from last season were removed before the showings). 

I fixed the brick statement I made, I didn't realize it wasn't original.   If she wanted dark brick, then she should have bought dark brick. 

She not only threw Donovan under the bus, but ran over him a few more times too.     

Edited September 16, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[irisheyes]

Loved the closet doors, everything else was stupid. I don’t care how rich you are (or aren’t), why would you get rid of a pantry for a “coffee station”?

Pretty sure this season will be “I don’t understand how Donovan took advantage of me?!??!  Waaaah!!”

[absnow54]

57 minutes ago, irisheyes said:

Pretty sure this season will be “I don’t understand how Donovan took advantage of me?!??!  Waaaah!!”

All the bad press and reputation was obviously Donovan’s fault. I mean Alison was telling various friends and associates in front of a camera that she was totally innocent, and a victim too, so it must be true!

[Broderbits]

I don't recall seeing anything about Donovan implicating her in the shady goings-on, but I find it difficult to believe she's totally innocent in all of this and merely incompetent. I wonder if he will make a statement about her involvement, and if not, is HGTV paying him to keep AV out of it?

[3 is enough]

As far as the house goes, I hated the black paint, the front door looked awful, and who paints an antique?  It was not my taste but it wasn't a piece of Goodwill furniture that you pick up for $20 with the intention of refinishing.

I would love to know what really happened with Donovan.  The whole scenario is shady as hell.  They really threw Donovan under the bus.  Maybe he needed to pay fines from the city or mortgage payments on properties that have not sold.  But I really cannot believe Alison was blindsided.  She seems like such a control freak that it is improbable that she wouldn't know what was going on.

Alison has to be the most unlikable personality on HGTV.  As I understand it both seasons 1 and 2 were filmed simultaneously so I guess the network wants to recoup their investment, but the show is a hot mess.  If I wanted drama I would watch Real Housewives or Big Brother.  

[tinderbox]

First time ever watching this show but I did see AV on the show Best on the Block so I was a bit familiar with her personality and design aesthetic.  Meh.

I hate that she chose to paint the beautiful exterior bricks black.  I thought the front door was beyond hideous.  Painting the niche and antique chest black was also a terrible mistake.  (I didn’t necessarily like the chest painted or not...to be honest.)  This woman has a thing for the color black!  The overall feel to this completed home is.... blah blah blah.  Monotone.   I wasn’t overly impressed with anything about it except the beautiful closet doors.  Every room felt exactly the same.  I realize rooms within a house should flow but this was ridiculous.

Have all her designs looked like this?

Edited September 16, 2020 by tinderbox

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, tinderbox said:

Have all her designs looked like this?

Yep. That's why I don't believe anything she says. Period. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

In my opinion, yes all of her designs look alike.    The 'signature' kitchen piece is some variation of the huge, ugly stove vent.     

Then she has the marble, or marble look everywhere.    There is nothing original about her designs.   

Edited September 16, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[KeithJ]

Did the show rehab Navy Pier?

I live in the Chicago suburbs and worked downtown for 20 years and, as far as I know, Navy Pier only has one ferris wheel yet they showed two on the show (images attached).  Did they really CGI Navy Pier?

If I didn't live and grow up near Chicago, I probably wouldn't watch this show.  Allison really really bothers me.  She's so full of herself and so not too swift.  How long ago did she buy those closet doors (and how much did she spend on them) and she just realized when they got them to the house that they opened inward?  Is it wrong that I'm glad she lost over $90k on the Wood house?  At least this house didn't have the "largest island we've ever done".

I was also so glad the house sold for under $2 million.  I know it was just under $2 million but for as many times as she said it was a $2 million house, I was happy it didn't hit the mark.

Edited September 17, 2020 by KeithJ

[CrazyInAlabama]

That's really strange about the Ferris wheels.     

I forgot to mention how hard I laughed at her admitting to losing over $90k on that house.   I may be a bad person for that, but it's so funny that she's blaming it all on Donovan.    They must be playing with the timeline, because next week Donovan's back.   I don't see why she was irritated at losing over $90k on that house, when she has so many others that never even hit the market.  

They just had a commercial, and called her the best designer in Chicago.    🤣

Edited September 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[deannanikki]

My favorite hate-watch is back, lol. Honestly, the drama from this episode is just what I needed and I kinda liked knowing more about what happens behind the scenes financially. However, I am just dumbfounded at how out of sync Alison and Donovan are with each other and their projects. Not knowing your business partner already spent over $700K on a house that's roughly 50% done? Insane. Also, I'm not buying that Alison is all innocent in this whole thing no matter how much she whines about Donovan. Not one bit.

This house ended up looking nice, but I question whether or not some of those finishes were worth it (the answer is no since she lost $$ on the house). I did like the closet doors in the front, but that ox blood dresser? For her to just paint over it, I felt like she probably could've gotten something cheaper and it would've had the same effect. Oddly enough, I didn't mind the black exterior.

As someone who lives in Chicago, I do look forward to the next episode as I'm curious to see what they'll do in Bridgeport, ha. I never thought they would look at something in the south side.

[buttersister]

Quote

LOL!!! 
To paraphrase Capt. Picard, there is ONE ferris wheel!

Show can't stop lying about everything.

[sadtvjunkie]

The picture is time lapsed. If you look closely it's the same people walking. They just didn't scrub out the ferris wheel.

[cameron]

I'm so over AV saying how she grew up in the Hancock Building when the family actually moved to Lincolnwood when she was age 7 and don't get me started on those Groucho Marx eyebrows of hers.

[KeithJ]

1 hour ago, sadtvjunkie said:

The picture is time lapsed. If you look closely it's the same people walking. They just didn't scrub out the ferris wheel.

I see that now but that still doesn't explain the ferris wheel being duplicated.  The ferris wheel doesn't move.  The camera does slightly pan out (not left and right) during the shot but that wouldn't cause the duplication.

[cameron]

She lives a block away from the house on N. Wood and its only taken her this long to notice that the faucet plumbing is missing in the master bath along with people not working on the project.

[cameron]

11 hours ago, deannanikki said:

My favorite hate-watch is back, lol. Honestly, the drama from this episode is just what I needed and I kinda liked knowing more about what happens behind the scenes financially. However, I am just dumbfounded at how out of sync Alison and Donovan are with each other and their projects. Not knowing your business partner already spent over $700K on a house that's roughly 50% done? Insane. Also, I'm not buying that Alison is all innocent in this whole thing no matter how much she whines about Donovan. Not one bit.

This house ended up looking nice, but I question whether or not some of those finishes were worth it (the answer is no since she lost $$ on the house). I did like the closet doors in the front, but that ox blood dresser? For her to just paint over it, I felt like she probably could've gotten something cheaper and it would've had the same effect. Oddly enough, I didn't mind the black exterior.

As someone who lives in Chicago, I do look forward to the next episode as I'm curious to see what they'll do in Bridgeport, ha. I never thought they would look at something in the south side.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know which way doors are hinged and they way they swing.  Let's hear it for Alison.

[mojito]

Quote

I can't believe there is a new season.  The network should cut their losses and run the usual marathons of other shows; why would they want to be associated with a person/company who has been accused of shoddy work.

What losses? Most likely everyone here will be tuned in.

[chessiegal]

I won't be watching. Can't stand her. I wonder who she has pictures of at HGTV that she's still on the air.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, mojito said:

What losses? Most likely everyone here will be tuned in.

Us watching, unless we're Neilson viewers, makes no difference. I personally though don't shop with anyone who does commercials during her programme. 

[Bigfatcat]

Her vocabulary is so superficial - "I killed it" "I am taking it to a higher level" but this is what made me laugh: She said "Insanity is doing the same things over and over and getting the same results."  The accurate quote is: “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

She had the sme floor plan, same white walls, same 'starving artist' paintings, bizarre niche, a mish-mash of designs on the fireplace, etc. To be honest I though her decorating was what was trendy 2 or 3 years ago but if this was filmed a while ago that makes sense. Coffee bars were the rage from the Texas couple. Brass had a brief appearance but I think is gone now. Those have to be cheap cabinets! 

I read a bizarre quote from AV today: Put an oversized bed in the bedroom. ????? It always looks so crowded when a bed is too big for the room but I did see in her photographs tonight that she really only has a bed and nightstands in the bedroom.

 

 

[cameron]

8 hours ago, Bigfatcat said:

Her vocabulary is so superficial - "I killed it" "I am taking it to a higher level" but this is what made me laugh: She said "Insanity is doing the same things over and over and getting the same results."  The accurate quote is: “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

She had the sme floor plan, same white walls, same 'starving artist' paintings, bizarre niche, a mish-mash of designs on the fireplace, etc. To be honest I though her decorating was what was trendy 2 or 3 years ago but if this was filmed a while ago that makes sense. Coffee bars were the rage from the Texas couple. Brass had a brief appearance but I think is gone now. Those have to be cheap cabinets! 

I read a bizarre quote from AV today: Put an oversized bed in the bedroom. ????? It always looks so crowded when a bed is too big for the room but I did see in her photographs tonight that she really only has a bed and nightstands in the bedroom.

 

 

And don't forget "that's so sick".  She used that term quite a few times during the show.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I noticed after the burglary, that most of the blurred out box logos were from Wayfair.  

[buttersister]

LOL! Nice of them to blur. Bro vs. Bro is a Wayfair infomercial.

[cameron]

It's usually the subs that haven't been pay that come back and help themselves to parts of the house.

[LittleIggy]

OMG! That bitch painted the two century old Chinese cabinet black!  😱
Okay, finished watching. Another first time series viewer, but I got my dislike of Alison and her style from “Rock the Block.” I still remember Tarek telling her that $4k toilet was a waste of money. 😆

I hated the black painted brick exterior. It looked like a police precinct in a 1900s tenement borough. The front door was ghastly. Hated the cold, joyless interior. Gold fixtures in the bathroom? How Trumpian. 🙄

Why didn’t Alison ask the partner where the money went? Oh, wait, they want to stretch this out. Why wasn’t the financial manager on top of this stuff.

Did the black box sell? I wasn’t clear about that at the end.

Edited September 19, 2020 by LittleIggy

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, the black box sold for a loss of $90,000+, and though Alison kept saying that it was a $2 million house, it was on the market for $1.9 something. 

I thought it was hysterical that one item that was stolen was a $5,000 toilet.   Who spends $5,000 on a toilet?   What 'burglars' steal toilets?   My guess is the person who said someone didn't get paid, and did some self help was right.    

Edited September 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[CrazyInAlabama]

So this article explains where some of the money was coming from.   The litigants invested $3 million for 50% of a certain number of the projects.     The allegations of the plaintiffs is losing $2 million, but they found out about the code violations, and mismanagement from watching the show.     The plaintiffs say A.V. pointed the finger at Donovan, saying she's just the designer.    

https://deadline.com/2020/06/hgtv-windy-city-rehab-faces-lawsuit-over-bungled-house-projects-1202962311/

Edited September 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[quirkygal]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So this article explains where some of the money was coming from.   The litigants invested $3 million for 50% of the projects.     The allegations of the plaintiffs losing $2 million, but found out about the code violations, and mismanagement came from watching the show.     The plaintiffs say A.V. pointed the finger at Donovan, saying she's just the designer.    

https://deadline.com/2020/06/hgtv-windy-city-rehab-faces-lawsuit-over-bungled-house-projects-1202962311/

I'm not a lawyer - and I've never played one on tv - but I have worked as a litigation paralegal for eons.  I have yet to see a "but I'm just the talent" argument succeed anywhere in any venue. As a director of the LLC, business partner, and or real estate agent you have a fiduciary duty to your investors and the most basic of those is **knowing where the money is going.**

I'm sorry these folks got swindled but I'm sure enjoying the downfall.

 

[Terrafamilia]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So this article explains where some of the money was coming from.   The litigants invested $3 million for 50% of the projects.     The allegations of the plaintiffs losing $2 million, but found out about the code violations, and mismanagement came from watching the show.     The plaintiffs say A.V. pointed the finger at Donovan, saying she's just the designer.    

https://deadline.com/2020/06/hgtv-windy-city-rehab-faces-lawsuit-over-bungled-house-projects-1202962311/

Egad, there are people commenting on this article about how they just love her designs. 🙄

[cameron]

8 minutes ago, Terrafamilia said:

Egad, there are people commenting on this article about how they just love her designs. 🙄

I think that she is posing as anonymous and others or has her friends posting the positive reviews.  Tried to post  a contrary opinion and couldn't get in.

[irisheyes]

22 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 

Yes, the black box sold for a loss of $90,000+, and though Alison kept saying that it was a $2 million house, it was on the market for $1.9 something. 

 

I don’t even trust that it sold at all. They spent all of last season lying about how the houses sold when they were still owned by AV. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

We know some of them sold, because two buyers are suing AV and Donovan.   This  buyer alleges a lot of construction defects, including spending $100,000 on the garage issues.   The garage was a big issue because the woman homeowner wanted the garage converted to fitness studio space, and was going to do classes from there: 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-windy-city-rehab-lawsuit-alison-donovan-ermin-hgtv-20200415-6mdnhtvcpjhqhgyb4t5mkcdbhy-story.html

Another lawsuit:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-windy-city-rehab-lawsuit-alison-victoria-gramenos-hgtv-20200130-3scgph5p7nhqhik475zwko7i2m-story.html  (Since it's the Chicago trib, it has a pay wall) .

Here's another article about the investors, and their allegations:

https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2548506/hgtvs-windy-city-rehab-stars-have-been-hit-with-another-lawsuit

Edited September 20, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

I also hated the “ masculine wine room.” Why would anyone want to go into a small featureless room to drink wine?  Plus those bottles on that wine rack (?) on the wall looked as if they were about to roll off.

[Gam2]

I think VA needs to sue the person who did those hideous eyebrows. Now, THAT would be a worthwhile lawsuit!

[CrazyInAlabama]

I bet you can't guess who is one of the designers on Ty Pennington's new show premiering next Spring?    Fortunately, I never liked Ty too much.