HGTV: Now With a Lot Less "G"

[FormerMod-a1]

This thread is not for specific shows, like Food Network Star, that have their own forums.  It is to discuss the network as a whole, or in general.

 

Do you love HGTV?

Do you hate HGTV?

Do you lament what it has become?

Do you miss any shows?

Are you sick of any shows?

How would you improve it?

Ratings

Other topics

 

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

My thoughts...

Basically, I miss the variety.  For example. I miss the gardening shows.  Landscape shows are fine, but even those are getting rarer, but there's more to the exterior of homes than these big renovations.  Whether it's container gardening or gardening in your own yard, they could sprinkle a few of these in.  If Paul James shows are no more, please create another gardening show.   And while the House Hunting shows (not just House Hunters, but all the others - Buying Alaska, My First House, etc) can be comfort TV for me, they are WAY too prevalent.  They are on so often, it actually makes me watch them less.  I figured they are always on, so I don't have to watch now.  Lastly, I miss actual decorating shows - the kind that are not major renovations.  

 

By name, here are some shows I miss: Gardening By the Yard, Decorating Sense, Sensibly Chic, The Stagers, The Unsellables, Designing for the Sexes, Freestyle.  This is by no means an inclusive list,  

 

Is For Rent still making new shows?  And, if so, will they be aired on HGTV?  

 

[MortysCleaningLady]

Yes!!!!

 

I miss the good designing on a budget shows.  Remember Joan Steffend?  She did interesting things for $500.  Or Matt and Shari on Room by Room?  I guess Sarah Richardson got all her homes rebuilt and then retired.  Or that really tall blonde Canadian lady with no budget?

 

And for gardening, I just watch P Allen Smith and reruns of Victory Garden on PBS.  (Actually PBS is my go to for cooking programs, too.  (Unless, I'm watching for snark worthy reasons.)  I'd LOVE a program on how to urban homestead for those of us who are interested, but still in container gardening. 

 

I'm so over the House Hunters International episodes where expats move to the Carribean or South America.  I feel like that's on every. single. night. (Or regular House Hunters -- "the appliances aren't stainless?  Where's my granite?  This will be MY closet - honey, you can keep your stuff in the guest room.') 

You know what would be much cooler?  People learning to live in less than perfect spaces through creative space usage and nifty storage ideas.

[Gel]

Didn't they used to have craft shows as well? Or am I making that up or thinking of TLC? It was a loooong time ago.

I'm tired of the demolition and remodeling shows, as half the time I find the "new" look worse than the "old" look. I'm convinced that half the trick in making something look good is just stripping out all the clutter of everyday life. That's why they used to have sitting parlors for when company came.

[Bastet]

I miss the good designing on a budget shows.  Remember Joan Steffend?  She did interesting things for $500.

 

I think the best segment of Decorating Cents was the one where she redecorated a room simply by moving things around and swapping out furniture with other rooms of the house.  It gave great ideas on how to make a room look new at zero cost.

 

Or Matt and Shari on Room by Room?

 

They were too hokey for words - a then-colleague and I used to imitate the poses they did at the end of the opening credits - but the basic ideas made the show watchable.

 

I really miss Gardening by the Yard. 

[Writing Wrongs]

There's way too many house flipping shows for my taste.

 

Is Design Star still a thing? 

[DownTheShore]

 

I guess Sarah Richardson got all her homes rebuilt and then retired.

 

LOL!  I thought the same thing!   That was a sweet deal she had going for her.

 

I, too, miss the "G" in HGTV.  I always liked Landscaper's Challenge.  I liked seeing what the different designers came up with for the same space. 

 

I'd like to see them come up with a show for doing a similar thing, but on a budget, because the show was trending toward just straight/gay couples with no kids and  a lot of disposable income toward the end there; it seemed to get away from just making the space look good.  I have a friend who needs her front yard and driveway spruced up but the quote she got from a landscaper put that out of her range.  I'd like to see them have a designer do a full plan for a front yard or a  back yard with all the bells and whistles, and then do one with the bare minimum that the homeowners can tackle themselves.  I don't need to see flaming waterfalls or outdoor pizza ovens (which while neat, have got to be the biggest waste of money).

 

I want them also to explain to me whether or not the people who own the houses have to take the cushions off all that outdoor furniture when it rains, and where do they store it?  And those sheer curtains they love to hang outdoors - don't they mildew and/or get all stained from dirt splashed up by rain?  Show us the latest in fencing styles, and compare them to older styles.  Show us which works better with various architectural styles.  Teach us about various architectural styles - what differentiates a Queen Anne from a Victorian, a Georgian from a Colonial, etc.  What defines a mid-century modern and show us comparative examples from the leading architects whose work defined the style.

 

Get back to basics and give us a true gardening show, where people actually plant and grow vegetables.  Teach us what type of soil mix is best and what grows best in which climate.  There's a reason why The Victory Garden on PBS has been going strong since Jim Crockett's days.  Promote community gardens as an additional way of providing food to local food pantries - that way we learn how to create and participate in one, and shows how it can benefit not just the gardeners and their families but the community as a whole.

[mbutterfly]

Didn't they used to have craft shows as well? Or am I making that up or thinking of TLC? It was a loooong time ago.

I'm tired of the demolition and remodeling shows, as half the time I find the "new" look worse than the "old" look. I'm convinced that half the trick in making something look good is just stripping out all the clutter of everyday life. That's why they used to have sitting parlors for when company came.

They did use to have craft, sewing, quilting, etc. shows -- shows that demonstrated pretty professionally. And it was similar with some of the gardening shows. I was still working full time and was looking forward to when I wasn't and could watch all of them. By the time I retired they were pretty much gone. 

[DownTheShore]

You have to watch the Create channel now, to see those craft, sewing, painting and gardening shows.  That's the only channel that fully carries that type of programming.

 

http://www.createtv.com/

[friendperidot]

I have pretty much stopped watching HGTV & I used to be glued. I loved the craft shows, the budget decorating, wasn't much for gardening but that's just me. I do get to see Paul James occasionally on the local news because he's local. I enjoyed him and Rebecca something on the Tournament of Roses. Now it's just promos for HGTV shows. What I don't get is why is everything been turned into competitions? Will people not watch just to see how something is done unless there is a stupid contest? I answer with my remote and don't watch.

[ParadoxLost]

I've never really cared for the House Hunter type shows except on a "it costs how much?" kind of way.  That comes from living in one of the more affordable areas of the country.  The one show that I did actually like I don't think lasted more than a season.  People who had there homes for sale called in an agent because the home wasn't selling.  The agent would then take them to see comps to disabuse them of their inflated opinions of their own homes value.  It amused me.  The housing market falling apart effectively killed the show I think.

 

The one show that actively irritated me was one based on the Shabby Chic decorating style.  That was mostly because I presume to previous owner of my house must have loved it which led to a drawn out process where I painted every inch of the interior of my house.  You really don't need to put brown glaze on everything that was white.

Edited August 1, 2014 by ParadoxLost

[Taylorh2]

Bastet,  I totally agree with you that Matt & Sherri were "too hookey for words"  lol

 

I  sometimes move stuff around from room to room to change things up. 

[BabyVegas]

Full disclosure, I actually work in real estate, so I probably have a lower tolerance than most of the country, but I was watching an episode of Flip or Flop and the homeowner buys a house in a subdivision and starts painting the exterior. Then he finds out his print color isn't on the approved just and gets all shirty about it. I was dying. What kind of real estate doesn't know that the first thing you do when painting the exterior of a house in a subdivision is to check the CC&Rs? Honestly, I really hope that was staged or I'm going to be worried.

[LJonEarth]

Does anyone know the official story behind them completely dropping all of their popular design shows? At one point they were showing 10 hours (at least) marathons of Love It or List It ever single day. The switch was really sudden.

 

Was it a contract thing with the talent? Are these flipping and shopping shows that much cheaper that they would go down to only 3 or 4 original shows at one point (LIOLI, shows with the twins and HH)?

 

I went from watching a few to several times a week to now where I haven't turned to the channel in 6 months. DIY, Public Television and Pinterest are filing the void.

[DownTheShore]

I don't know what's going on but I, too, have noticed that in the evenings it's either Flip or Flop, one of the Property Brothers incarnations, or LIOLI, with some HH thrown into the mix.  They really need more variety in the evenings and more design, less reno shows.

[auntjess]

It has been speculated that Hilary and/or David know where the powers that be at Scripps buried the bodies. 

Beyond that, I can't think of any reason.

[zillabreeze]

Buy this, buy that... Just call it the Real Estate channel and be done with it.

 

The few remodel shows have become more drama and very little instruction/how-to.  I used to watch this channel a bunch, and now it's almost never.

[peggy06]

I won't lie, with all my complaints HGTV is still my most-watched channel. I go back to the Room by Room days. Matt and Sheri made me cringe sometimes, but I liked the basic concept. Their ideas seemed like something I could realistically do. There was also a show I liked where three homeowners were in a contest for who got the best return on their investment for renovating or redecorating a single room. The judging was done by interior designers, and it was amusing to see the homeowners getting huffy when their home was critiqued. The valuations on the renos didn't seem like funny money, the way I feel about LIOLI.

 

I don't ever remember many gardening shows, but I would love it if they had some shows with do-able ideas for your average homeowner or - gasp - renter.

 

I do like the House Hunters type shows, though I would like them more with a more varied type of home.That's why I am enjoying some of the other shows like Property Virgins and Selling Alaska. Selling Alaska is definitely different! Saw it for the first time the other day, and could not believe people looking at properties without indoor plumbing or toilets - or even running water in some cases!

 

As for reno shows: Although I like the couple on Flip or Flop, all the houses look the same, and their renos look very similar as well. Same, really, with LIOLI. That show just drives me crazy with the arbitrariness of the final decision. People will supposedly elect to stay in a house where big bucks went on a new basement redo, or open concept first floor, when the upstairs and bathrooms remain cramped and out of date. I can only really stand to watch the last 15 minutes for the "good" house and the reno. I rarely watch the Property Brothers shows any more.

 

House Hunters gets name-checked on other TV shows, and almost everyone seems to know the show. So I can see why they are so heavy on shows of that type. It would be great to see more old homes that weren't redone to open concept or finished cheaply. More vintage, less beach, is what I say.

Edited August 30, 2014 by peggy06

[txvoodoo]

Sarah Richardson's show is coming back in October! Or, one of her shows - I don't know what the name of it is. 
Wait, found the instagram - it's called "Sarah's Potential"

http://instagram.com/p/sc4PoNJLiv/

 

Tommy's in it!

 

I think there's also a new Cottage show for her? 

[shok]

Ewww. Can't stand snotty Sarah Richardson.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Do you love HGTV?

 

Not really.

 

Do you hate HGTV?

 

Nope.

 

Do you lament what it has become?

 

Somewhat. There's not a lot on there anymore. Sometimes I watch House Hunters for the lols, since there are a lot of uber rich folks who complain about the smallest thing on there. Or you get others who end up getting shown houses that have 'little' leaks... and they get blown off by the real estate agent when they are even the littlest amount concerned about it.

[auntjess]

To me, DIY is my go-to station, with some forays to HGTV and elsewhere.

I don't care for Genevieve, haven't since Trading Spaces, although she doesn't seem to dress as trashy now.
I watched this woman design a nursery with so many ruffles on drapes and elsewhere, that you'd have to launder everything weekly.   Common sense trumps design style.

There have been several design style winners or finalists who are better, Danielle Colding is one.

[BennyB]

 

I don't care for Genevieve

Me too.  On one show I saw her make over a woman's dining room using a barn door for a table and 12 different chairs that looked like she went out the night before trash day to pick over the stuff people left on the sidewalk.  I thought the woman was going to start to cry.

 

 

There have been several design style winners

Is there going to be a design star show this year?

[auntjess]

I don't there's been one for the past couple of years.
I only started watching it because I saw them pick the house for one year, on one of those selling multi-million dollar home shows, probably the only one I ever watched, but I felt I had a stake in seeing what was done with it.

I miss the handyman challenge, which wasn't on last year either.

[selhars]

I also go waaay back with HGTV. Think:

-- The Carol Duvall Show

-- CIndy Piccolli on Decorating with Style

-- Kitty Bartholomew

-- Chris Casson Maddon

-- Joan Sterfend on Decorating Cents

-- Matt and Shari Hiller on Room by Room

-- Michael Payne - Designing for the Sexes

-- Before and After - a whole house remodel show Pat Simpson

-- Fix It Up - Pat Simpson and Jodi Marks

-- Help Around the House - Henry Harrison

-- Weekend Warriors w/ Chris McWatt

-- Gardener's Journal

-- Gardening By the Yard w/ Paul james

-- Landscape Smart w/ Ken Bastida

-- Outer Spaces -- and Surprise Gardener w/ Suzie Coelho

-- Room to Go w/ Peter Fallico

-- This Small Space w/ Susan Crenshaw

-- Homes Across America w/ Joe Ruggiero

-- Fantasy Open House

-- Dream House (followed one family or owners whole house makeover all season long)

-- AND there WAS a "helpful Hints" type show that had a heavyset woman host who remade things out of scrap, or told you how to get paint off of something, or things things like that. She did all kinds of household hints. And I can't think of the name of it. It was sort of like a "Hints from Heloise," but it wasn't her. I think it aired early in the morning and waaaay back when it might have aired before or after Carol Duvall's show

 

Those were BEFORE: Save My Bath, Spice Up My Kitchen, Awesome Interiors with Jennifer Convy, Room for Change w/ Joanne Liebler, Designers Challenge, Landscapers Challenge, Curb Appeal, Design on a Dime, Designed to Sell, Sensible Chic, Double Take, 24 Hour Design and Rate My Space both w/ Angelo Surmelis, Kenneth Brown, ANY of Sarah Richardson shows (Sarah,s House, Sarah 101, and others), Debbie Travis, House Hunters, Small Space, Big Style, Holmes on Homes, Holmes Inspection, Divine Design, Candice Tells All

 

And WELL before: Design Star (I only watched the first season), Genevieve Gorter, Color Splash w/ David Bromstad, The Antonio Project w/ Antonio Ballatore, Bang for Your Buck, Curb Appeal the Block, Flea Market Flip, Love it or List It, Property Virgins, The Property Shop, Income Property, and the G-d awful Myles of Style w/ Kim Myles, Yard Crashers, House Crashers, Bath Crashers, Kitchen Cousins. Cousins on Call, Flip or Flop, Brother vs Brother, Handyman Challenge

 

And these are just what I could think of off the top of my head. I WAS ADDICTED to HGTV. Those first shows got me HOOKED on it. Now it's barely an after thought. Too much real estate not enough interior design and reasonable gardening shows.

Edited September 28, 2014 by selhars

[Writing Wrongs]

Netflix has added a bunch of HGTV shows to its instant streaming.

[DownTheShore]

Anyone watching that Beachfront Bargain show, and are you as sick of seeking cookie-cutter, shoebox-shaped condos as much as I am?

 

And wondering why a family of 4-8 people would choose a one-bedroom unit?

 

----

 

I was watching that Vacation For Free show a couple weeks ago and they were redoing a house on Long Beach Island NJ that the couple planned to rent out for most of the season, and my sister and I were laughing over how completely wrong they did the place if they wanted to get season-long rentals at that location for the price they were asking.  My sister has a place down the shore that she rents for most of the season, and we've rented down there since I was a kid, and that place with its lack of storage space and lack of sleeping spaces is not going to be a hot property.  That backyard seating area was crappy, and the wide spacing between the boards on the fencing surrounding the hot tub negated its privacy factor.  I didn't notice any air conditioning or heating (other than that modern-style fireplace), so that limits the rental period at the beginning and end of the season, and will be hell on the days when the temperature is in the 90's and the humidity levels are skyhigh.

[BearCat49]

Sarah Richardson's show is coming back in October! Or, one of her shows - I don't know what the name of it is. 

Wait, found the instagram - it's called "Sarah's Potential"

http://instagram.com/p/sc4PoNJLiv/

 

Tommy's in it!

 

I think there's also a new Cottage show for her? 

 

For any Sarah fans, HGTV is airing 2 new episodes of Sarah Sees Potential at 11am ET/PT and 11:30am ET/PT next Tuesday, 10/7.

 

I've heard this is another RE show, i.e. a knock-off of the other current RE offerings HGTV favors and doesn't include Tommy Smythe.  Haven't heard much so who knows??  We'll find out Tuesday so stay tuned, lol! 

 

Don't see anything on the schedule after that.  Sounds like fill-in programming, in a lousy time slot.

[DownTheShore]

I thought she wouldn't be back again, after she managed to take advantage of doing her own home.  That usually seems to be the swan song for hosts - after they make sure their assistants get their homes taken care of.

[txvoodoo]

For any Sarah fans, HGTV is airing 2 new episodes of Sarah Sees Potential at 11am ET/PT and 11:30am ET/PT next Tuesday, 10/7.

 

I've heard this is another RE show, i.e. a knock-off of the other current RE offerings HGTV favors and doesn't include Tommy Smythe.  Haven't heard much so who knows??  We'll find out Tuesday so stay tuned, lol! 

 

Don't see anything on the schedule after that.  Sounds like fill-in programming, in a lousy time slot.

 

Thank you! I can get those on the DVR :)

 

I thought she wouldn't be back again, after she managed to take advantage of doing her own home.  That usually seems to be the swan song for hosts - after they make sure their assistants get their homes taken care of.

 

She's continued to do shows in Canada, they just haven't aired them here :( 

[auntjess]

There are Sarah 101 shows listed on the HGTV schedule tomorrow, 10/7, from 7:30 AM until the Sarah shows mentioned above.

[roseha]

 

Anyone watching that Beachfront Bargain show, and are you as sick of seeking cookie-cutter, shoebox-shaped condos as much as I am?

 

And wondering why a family of 4-8 people would choose a one-bedroom unit?

 

I admit to watching that show as a kind of a guilty pleasure, but it does drive me crazy.  I have to wonder if this show is faked.  You have a family with kids insisting on "room for entertaining" though they are maybe hundreds of miles from their home, and an "Indoor pool" like it's  a deal breaker.  Then they expect their kids of both sexes to share the same bedroom? Is this all just a fraud to show off these condos for the program?

[BearCat49]

I admit to watching that show as a kind of a guilty pleasure, but it does drive me crazy.  I have to wonder if this show is faked.  You have a family with kids insisting on "room for entertaining" though they are maybe hundreds of miles from their home, and an "Indoor pool" like it's  a deal breaker.  Then they expect their kids of both sexes to share the same bedroom? Is this all just a fraud to show off these condos for the program?

 

I only saw part of 1 episode but got the distinct impression that the show was much faker than HH - and HH is almost entirely fake, IMHO!  Moreover, I believed that the show was produced by and for resort operators and/or the travel industry.  And, in general, reality television is fake, lol. 

 

Haven't done any research whatsoever but that was the vibe the BB production gave me -

Edited October 7, 2014 by BearCat49

[Maverick]

 I haven't watched this channel in forever.  I hate the real estate shows (fake, I really don't care what a house costs in Peoria or what works best for hipster douche couple of the week), over the flipping shows (how much but it, manufactured drama, oh wow made a huge profit, rinse, repeat can you take) and don't like any of the hosts (I find the Property Brothers creepy and they're everywhere).  They're no design, no gardening, no holiday specials (maybe they do but I wouldn't like any of the hosts).   It's just all buying and selling, ALL THE DAMN TIME.   The channel has gotten so far away from design, they don't even do Design Star anymore.  Even Food Network manages to keep The Next Food Network Star conceit going.

[DownTheShore]

That's true.  I don't actually learn anything from HGTV anymore, which I used to do when the shows were more design-oriented and landscape-oriented.

 

I can't stand that show where the host picks up someone at Home Depot and re-does their backyard.  It's all fast video cuts and hyper-hosts and homeowners.  Put in a pergola, put in a water/fire feature, create some specialty dining table or seating area, and install a big grill.  Rinse and repeat.

[auntjess]

 

Put in a pergola, put in a water/fire feature, create some specialty dining table or seating area, and install a big grill.

Yard Crashers was better when Ahmed Hassan was the host.  He's a landscaper and gardener, and know plants, and what works where.

Now it seems to be place all the freebies the manufacturers have given us.

I like Kitchen & House Crashers OK, but I think Bath Crashers is just way over the top.

 

[DownTheShore]

I want just one of those homeowners to say they want their yard to be mainly a vegetable garden...

[Amethyst]

I want them also to explain to me whether or not the people who own the houses have to take the cushions off all that outdoor furniture when it rains, and where do they store it?  

 

OMG, I wondered about this, too!  I just assumed they put plastic tarps over the upholstery.  Or it's all for show.  :(

 

I agree that HGTV is nothing more than a real estate network now, and that's sad.  I've been watching the channel for several years, just beginning on the tail end of when it started to suck.  I remember some of the design shows, like Sarah's House, and Design on a Dime, but they're long gone now.

 

I wonder if Scripps puts so much focus on buying and renovating to encourage viewers to buy real estate instead of rent, in a poor effort to boost the economy and help home improvement retailers like Lowes, HomeGoods, etc.  Thousands of homes were foreclosed on during the recession and the result of that was a massive spike in renting, college kids staying at home, and of course, many empty houses and condos.  What they're ignoring is that many people still can't afford a mortgage, even now with the prices being low, because with the cost of living, people have just enough to live day to day.  But since you can't tear down walls, poke holes and add stainless steel appliances in a rental, it puts a damper on which retailers will spend their advertising dollars with HGTV because they know the channel won't cater to their viewers who can afford a mortgage.  I remember a few years ago, laminate flooring was advertised almost non-stop on the channel, now it's gone, because apparently, laminate is awful.

 

Despite being called Home and Garden TV, there isn't a single show devoted to renting except for For Rent, which was problematic in itself, because one of her answers to any issue was "It's nothing a fresh coat of paint can't solve!"  Unfortunately, most rentals don't allow painting, so we're stuck with builder grade white walls.  While I know it wouldn't bring in the same amount of money, I would absolutely tune in to a show that focuses on decorating in a rental where you have limits to what you can do, or designing in a smaller space, because we all don't have 2000 square feet and a yard to lounge in.  Same with gardening.  Like other posters mentioned, how awesome would a show about container gardening be?  Vegetables, flowers, herbs...so much possibility than another stale home buying series.

 

At this point, HG is nothing more than mild variations of House Hunters.  HH International, Flip or Flop, Property Brothers, Love it or List It, Love it or List it Two (because we so desperately needed another one!) are run around the clock and are basically the same show.  Even novelties like Living Alaska and Hawaii Life are losing their luster because they follow the same formula. 

 

Now I admit, I loved Bang for Your Buck, before they changed it.  At least these people knew they were spending money on wasteful crap and loved it, as opposed to HH, where they whine because they can't afford full slab granite.

[selhars]

 

I would absolutely tune in to a show that focuses on decorating in a rental where you have limits to what you can do, or designing in a smaller space, because we all don't have 2000 square feet and a yard to lounge in.  Same with gardening.

If you've only been watching for several years, when it STARTED going down hill, you might have already missed the shows: "This Small Space" (with Susan Crenshaw and Peter Falico) -- and "Room to Go" with Peter Falico, and "Gardening by the Yard" (with Paul James).  

 

"Room to Go" (YEARS old reruns of course) on Ion Life channel. So is "Design Rivals" Steven Sabato and Chris Hindeman's second show after the did "Designer Guys."  (which also aired on HGTV for a while)

 

Also as for 'design" HGTV had a show called "The Stagers" which I loved. It aired from about 2008-2010. The main stager was named Matthew.

[jjj]

I turned to HGTV last night just to see what might be on, and because I had not looked there for so long.  What a disappointment.  The shows used to be individual, and related to many levels of creativity and home ownership (except HH, which was just so staged).  Now, everything feels like a formula and LOUD and the same thing over and over. 

[DownTheShore]

Not to mention that most of the evenings programs consist of Drew & Jonathan, Hilary & David, or Tarek & Christina - or else all of them one right after another.  There's no variety.

 

As someone who has lived in an apartment for most of her life, and will probably continue to do so, all the emphasis the channel now places on buying and renovating homes is virtually meaningless to me because I can't do any major remodeling where I live.

[selhars]

Any one seen the newest fake-ass show on HGTV "MOVE IN OR CASH OUT" -- two brothers -- who do exactly what the Drew and Scott the "Property Brothers" do on in Atlanta. UGH.

 

I just happened to stumble across it this morning. It's a cross between Love it or List it...and Property Brothers....and it sucks....

There are the unexpected construction problems of LIOLI,,,and the brothers of PB.....nothing new and it's bad,.....and fake.

I don't trust that the couple is a real couple...that the houses are really fro sale....I don't trust anything about premise of the show.

 

I hate that there's no real GOOD place to discuss HGTV anymore. This site is about the only place. And so few few people are interested the thread doesn't really get much traffic. The HGTV message boards used to be so busy.....event he TWOP site had more posts. 

Edited October 11, 2014 by selhars

[DownTheShore]

I caught part of that Atlanta show.  It was a horrible and fake mishmash of Property Brothers and LIOLI, as you said.  Those brothers were so fake with their competition, and the buyers were the most clueless people I've ever seen - to the point where I was wondering too if they were really a couple.

 

The one brother gets the people to buy the house telling them that a wall can be removed to give them the open concept that they want - and it turns out the wall is filled with plumbing, heating and electrical runs - AND HE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT?  Didn't anyone ever look in the basement or in the crawlspace (don't remember which the house had) to see what's what with the plumbing and electrical, etc.?

 

That's the point where I said, "I can't watch this garbage" and turned the channel.  I don't even know how it ended.

[suedehead]

 

The HGTV message boards used to be so busy.....even the TWOP site had more posts.

I agree, but how many times can people post comments about the same crappy fake-ass shows that air over and over again? I like Fixer Upper because they're a cute couple that appear genuine and the renovations seem realistic. I'll watch Hawaii Life, the one in Alaska, or HHI just to see different locales. I used to wade in the shallow end and watch cousin Anthony Carrino because I think he's purdy. But, since I read what a douchebag he was to his neighbor in the Jersey City building he owns/lives in, and the bad rep his company has, that's no longer fun.

[Taylorh2]

My favorite show was 'Design On A Dime with Lisa Laporta. She was good.

[BearCat49]

My favorite show was 'Design On A Dime with Lisa Laporta. She was good.

 

Lisa was "Design to Sell" but that's o.k.  She did a good job but hasn't been on for years.

Stumbled across this article, looking for something else.  If you cursor down to the comment section, you'll find many postings from people who claim to have friends or relatives who've appeared on HGTV.  They relate all kinds of different experiences about the various HGTV programs.

 

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/home-improvement-shows-how-real-is-reality-tv-191063

[peggy06]

I've been sort-of-watching the Vacation House for Free marathon. Now I normally switch off any HH or HHI in a resort location, but this show has the added renovation part, which makes it a bit more interesting. Plus, the houses I've seen so far are not cookie-cutter. I'm watching one in Marin County and two of the properties are major fixer-uppers. It's more fun than most of what I've been seeing on the channel, and I am drooling over the views from these places, so I will be looking out for this show on the regular schedule. It's the next best thing to taking a vacation, not a bad option as we head toward the gloomiest part of the year.

[HonestlyWTF]

I just saw a couple episodes of "Sarah Sees Potential'. The format is similar to Property Brothers but I like the finished product much better and there's not as much faux drama. The best thing is that the shows are only half an hour, so I'm not as likely to DVR it and just ff to the end to see the results.

[Kitty Redstone]

This is from a post several months ago, in selhars awesome list of old HGTV shows:

 

AND there WAS a "helpful Hints" type show that had a heavyset woman host who remade things out of scrap, or told you how to get paint off of something, or things things like that. She did all kinds of household hints. And I can't think of the name of it. It was sort of like a "Hints from Heloise," but it wasn't her. I think it aired early in the morning and waaaay back when it might have aired before or after Carol Duvall's show

 

That was TIPical Mary Ellen, hosted by Mary Ellen Pinkham.  It was on very early in the morning when I watched, too.  She has a branded starch that the local fabric shop carries (it's very good) but am not sure what else she's up to these days.

 

I loved Jodie Marks (she does spots on the syndicated show Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford), Peter Fallico and Henry Harrison.  Henry saved us several hundred dollars once, when the disreputable owners of the rental condo we were moving out of accused us of breaking the dishwasher.  In reality they had turned off the water shut off valve to the unit, probably in the hopes they could fool us and keep our security deposit.  Luckily we had watched a show where Henry talked about water shut off valves.  So we looked under the sink, turned the valve back on, and the dishwasher worked perfectly.  Withering doesn't describe the look I gave those two that day.  Creeps.

 

Anyhow, I loved those old shows and watched HGTV for many hours of the day and night, but it hasn't been that way for years.  Looking forward to watching a few of the oldies on IONLife, though!

[MonkeyMom]

Wow, I really loved reading all these posts. I stumbled on this forum when I googled "Why isn't Sarah Richardson on HGTV anymore?" We really love all of Sarah's shows and miss seeing her and Tommy.

I miss Paul James ... he was such an awesome host for the Rose bowl Parade; now it's pretty crappy and we've stopped watching. Having non-gardening people as hosts is a waste of my time.

I REALLY miss Joan Steffend. She had her own great program with fabulous decorating ideas, but she was equally fabulous as the host for the HGTV Dream Home and the White House Christmas specials. I miss the extra attention given to the outside artisans and craftsmen showcased in the show when she hosted. Actually, I miss all the holiday programming. So far this year I've only seen the White House Christmas special and it was kind of boring. I miss the annual store window shows and all the other shows that gave you really great holiday decorating ideas.

I'm sick of all the real estate shows!!! Enough already! I'm really glad there are others who feel the same way.

[maplebrew]

What I like about For Rent is that it offers cheap-ish redecoration ideas for both tenants and home owners. While some landlords won't tolerate anything other than eggshell white walls, some landlords are perfectly fine about tenants paying to spruce up an apartment. Agree with the above posts saying that there is a dire need for low cost decoration/renovation shows.

 

True DIY shows are a thing of the past too sadly. Bryan berating a homeowner for being hapless at tiling doesn't teach us how to tile, ya know. 

 

Gardening shows are much needed given the increasing interest in areas such as: organic gardening, veg growing, perennial landscaping, drought tolerant landscaping, gardening for kids and/or limited mobility seniors, etc. Even a gardening show that rotated between climates would be helpful.