1411 replies to this topic

[gina61]

I haven't seen another thread about this show, so I am starting this.
If there is another thread, I apologize.

Doug (Prison of Love) from Trading Spaces is hosting this show.
He came off rather sensitive and caring. In a Dougish sort of way.

Three families/homes are featured. Two of the couples have a contest to take out the largest loan and max out their credit cards. The third person is evil to the world of Doug because she loves pansies. And she is moving from the largest house into an apartment. (Downsizing? Sacrilege!)

In a Designed to Sell twist, the previous owners come back about four months later to see the changes the new homeowners made. The new home owners get the watch the reactions via monitor, and comment on the
comments.

This is a show with excellent addictive potential.

And the homeowners get to reject Doug's decorating tips!

[outfoxed]

To tell you the truth, I thought the promos/premise so lame that I couldn't be bothered to watch it. Same with Town Haul (as stupid a name as they could come up with.) If anyone else watched I hope that s/he will weigh in because Saturday viewing has been a wasteland since TS became unwatchable (about 1 year ago for me).

[Jennlee]

I watched it and thought it was kinda interesting - in a "not bad if there's nothing else on and nothing else to do" sort of way. I liked the idea of them bringing the old homeowners back so they could see what changed.

The people surprised me a lot. I can see wanting to make a home yours, but the rate they were throwing out the money (or building up their debt) was amazing. I don't know why people want to put themselves under that kind of stress especially when they're first moving in.

The youngest couple were annoying - they were both bitchy. I had to laugh when she wanted "expensive-looking" furniture and it wouldn't fit up the stairs. And the guy was bitchy about not letting the people moving out leave their trash for the next week's pickup. Chill out, dude. It's a week.

The older woman was funny. So she liked pansies, Doug. Get over it. Her house looked better than most of the crap done on Trading Spaces.

I have kitchen-envy over what the other couple created. But OMG what a project and stress. Hope they get a lot of use out of their expensive appliances. And keeping your placenta? Ew. Oh, and that dining room? Bizarre. Badly located and wtf was with that gigantic hotel chandalier?

The only thing I really came out of the show with is "Some people must have a shitload of money - why don't I??!?"

[queasy]

I thought it was okay, but mostly because I'm nosy about other people's decorating styles, so seeing any kind of transformation is fun for me. I agree that having the previous owners come back is an odd conceit -- and Doug was obviously goading them to say something mean during the final tour -- but it didn't really bother me.

I had to snicker when even the much-maligned pansy lady chided the "bad handyman skills" couple for their shoddy work on the new balusters (and she was right; the nail holes weren't patched and it was a sloppy paint job). But then, this was the wife who was proud of that godawful tile work.

I nearly didn't watch because I dislike Doug so much, but since he wasn't doing the design, he didn't bother me that much.

And yeah. There's nothing else on.

Edited by queasy, Jan 30, 2005 @ 3:36 PM.

[kenziegirl]

I watched this episode cuz I was bored, but what I found hilarious was that the $10,000 stove lady's husband made a crack that she doesn't really cook much, or something to that effect. The hubby better have a good job or the kids' college funds will have to be tapped to pay for the second mortgage they took out to build that McMansion Dream kitchen.

[joyly]

Well I tivo'd this and watched this afternoon. I love this show! It's probably because it kinda hits close to home. We cannot afford the sort of renovations that those two couples did but we are slowly fixing up our townhouse. During the course of our projects are alot of... 'wtf were they thinking?' and 'they couldn't have thougt this looked good.'
The middle couple annoyed me but I understood about dealing with someones elses shoddy work.
I thought it was funny that the HOs barely took any of Dougs decorating advice. His personality is definitly suited for this kind of show.
I am so so so jealous of that kitchen. Quite a bit tension with that couple, I wonder if they patched things up. Mr. joyly and I always fight during DYIs but recoginize it as being apart of the stressful process.
All of them sure had money to burn! That Ethan Allen stuff was expensive. I've seen alot of that furniture featured in their mini-catalogues.

[Gibbie]

I liked it. I often wonder what the previous owners of my ouse would think of the changes to the house. By this summer we'll have removed the last vestiges of them from the house. I'd love to have them back and see what they think. They'd absolutely complain about the weeds in the yard. In fact I had my own "stained glass moment" with them. Just after closing the wife told me that she'd left the shower curtain in the upstairs bathroom because it "matched." It did, and it was hideous and it was the first thing I took out and threw away. The second thing I did was paint that bathroom.

I worry about the couple with the kids in this show, they certainly look like they're headed to divorce court. I wonder who will get the house? The kitchen looked lovely but I don't think it fit in the home at all. I wonder if they've now renovated the house past the value of the neighborhood.

I too question the wisdom of doing everything at once. How can you buy a house for as much money as these are running and then drop another 50-60k into renovations right away? We've been in our house three and a half years and are changing things slowly and piece meal. No, you don't get the immediate showplace but you also aren't bankrupt and divorced.

[gforce2002]

I thought pretty well all the HO's on this show were completely obnoxious. Only the husband with the kids seems like someone I could relate to. Surest way to marital distress? A bunch of money worries - which after spending $50K on a kitchen are not going to go away anytime soon, unless these people really are loaded. I didn't get that impression, though, because the husband seemed pretty distressed.

Likewise with the couple moving in together, she apparently is of the idea that compromise means her getting her way about everything. A long time that relationship is going to last, I'm sure.

The older lady who seemed like a Wal-Mart border lady clone was a little more reasonable. She did ultimately relent that it was fine whatever they did to her old house, since it wasn't hers anymore.

But the thing that wigged me out most about the show was the wife with the kids saying, and correct me (please) if I misheard this, but that she brought her placenta (from her recent birth, I guess) with her to plant under a tree in the backyard. The husband immediately said "I have nothing to do with this!". Is it just me, or is that just a little weird???

[TexasTallGal]

I only saw a very little bit of this but I laughed at the couple with the major kitcen redo. Didn't they both admit they don't cook? Why do people who don't cook spend big bucks on high-end appliances?

[gina61]

Didn't they say that the average appliances that came with the house were "tacky"?

The woman that kept saying, "I don't love you today." to her husband bugged me. They tossed the baby in the sling to each other like it contained a sack of poo. I thought they were trying to show what great taste they had, and push through a major remodel of the house. I wonder which of the homeowners orignally applied for the show.

The unmarried couple might be well suited for each other. He didn't seem all that bothered by her tossing his stuff. And he kept going on about what great taste she had.

Pansy lady had the only child I saw smile and laugh.

[shd]

Here's an interview with Doug from this past Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times:

http://www.suntimes....ws-lunch30.html

[joyly]

Cindy Crawford buried her kids placentas under a baby tree in her yard. She said something about the placenta nuturing the tree that will grow along with her children. Its just gross to me but still not as bad as that British family that cooks and eats it. ewwwww!

I wonder if the show pays money to the HOs and that in turn helps pay for some of their expenses. Though any money from the show probably wouldn't put a dent in that kitchen bill for the placenta couple.

[FunGirl]

Its just gross to me but still not as bad as that British family that cooks and eats it.

HUH? Could you elaborate because I am dumbfounded.

[toot toot]

Eating placenta? EEEEWWWWWWW!

I'm still undecided about this show. I'll watch at least one more episode before forumulating an opinion.

The unmarried couple bugged. Didn't really care for them at all, but I do appreciate the work the boyfriend put into the place. Props to his girlfriend's sister for painting the bedroom furniture nicely.

The married couple bugged me as well, although I really felt for the husband. I thought the wife was a total bitch. I have to wonder about their motives for doing the show, especially considering they just had their second child before moving. If I'm not mistaken, the husband made mention of how they paid for their $50K kitchen . . . he told Doug he'd write the checks out and tell the contractor/painter, etc. when the check would clear. As stated upthread, he definitely appeared under a lot of stress. Didn't Doug's voiceover say the husband was an insurance executive or something along those lines and the wife stayed at home with the kiddies?

The woman who downsized turned into the most likeable, for me anyway . . . pansy love and all.

Before I forget: Doug Wilson . . . I would really appreciate your making an effort to find other shirts to wear on TLC-related shows and personal appearances. Why you insist on wearing the same multi-colored striped shirt is beyond me. Thank you.

[vix]

Hi, all. I don't have cable so have been trying to follow along on a couple message boards. One I frequent gets tons of people doing high-end renos (50-60K is typical), but for some reason the thread about the show got people who were slagging the high-end kitchen couple. [I'm waiting for the proverbial shit to hit the fan down the line if some regular poster gets insulted.]

ANYWAY, the woman from the high-end kitchen [this is the one with the baby & toddler] showed up to defend herself and give some more info on the show. It's either her or someone who needs to get a life!

Here's the link to the thread: That Home Site Kitchen Forum

The THS forum doesn't archive topics, so it won't be up long. Here's a snip where she plays the editing card:

So if anyone here thinks that they can do a show like this, completely renovate eleven rooms in a house in five weeks, plus a major kitchen gutting, with a two week old and two year old and can come out better than we did during what was obviously a harsh editing, well then god bless you. It was stressful and hard and they edited out 199.5 hours of us being nice and sweet and getting along to show the .5 hour of us fighting because that's what they thought would make a good show...


And when you the newer shows that will be coming out, we shot the pilot episode and had only five weeks to do all that and the new people filming have four to five months to do their renovations. So if we look worse than other people, its the time schedule we were forced to endure...

[On the new owners of their old house] The irony is, is that they were so high and mighty about how well they were going to do things and they added a bathroom and other significant renovations in the basement which is in a flood zone. So they did all this work in the basement, and the hurricanes this past summer wrecked it all.

[toot toot]

Thanks for the link, vix.

ETA: Morbid curiousity made me view the placenta recipes. Now I must vomit.

Edited by toot toot, Feb 2, 2005 @ 10:28 AM.

[joyly]

Sorry for even putting the thought of eating placenta in people minds. What I saw was one of those Inside Edition type shows about a grandmother and daughter in England. Apparently it was in some of the papers out there (they went on some show there talking about it). The family got alot of backlash and were accused of being cannibals. The young mother kept it in plasic food containers and prepared it with her mom the same way you would liver (which they say it tasted like,)/OT

It makes alot more sense that they now allow the homeowners a couple of months to renovate their homes. If the middle couple woman thought it was too much she shouldn't have done the show. Having a newborn and moving is enough stress by itself.

[TexasTallGal]

From the link that vix gave us (Thanks, vix):

And De, we got a ton of stuff for free. The cabinets, countertops, sink, lighting, cabinet hardware, the handcarved front door, the spindels, two rooms of furniture from Ethan Allen were all free and the appliances, tile, and faucet were all at wholesale prices. So yeah, it was worth it. We shot the pilot episode so we had no idea that the show had a nasty tone. Live and learn.

Hell, I'd do it for all that as well.

[queasy]

I can't help but wonder what the casting process for this show must be like -- in addition to everything else, they must have to actively look for couples whose personal styles are not only completely different but who are planning to renovate right away.

I was sad to see what the colorful/color blind couple did to that poor defenseless house and beautiful garden, but c'est la vie. I do, however, fully expect do see them again at some point on Sell This House.

The architects did a lovely job on their place; I know lime and chocolate aren't for everyone, but I thought the combination was perfect for that space. Not sure about the bamboo on the wall, but good on them for trying something different. The kitchen looked fab, too.

Doug was bugging me something fierce this week. I can't stand him, so it doesn't take much to set my teeth on edge, but his "acting" was even worse than usual, and I hate the way he tries to force conflict during the final walk-throughs.

I will say those were some cute, cute, cute kiddies.

[toot toot]

When Doug told the architect couple that flooring goes on the floor and not the wall, I yelled "Tell that to Hildi, numbnuts! That crazy woman puts crap flooring on the ceiling." At least this couple used better material than peel and stick.

Edited by toot toot, Feb 7, 2005 @ 9:25 AM.

[joyly]

I liked the metallic square look of the hallway and old cloud room but that house came across as cold. I hated what they did in the living room and to the backyard. They could have kept alot more of the plants and still had a patio area. Plus the blue stone they used looked out of palce with all that concrete. But I guess thats just a matter of taste. The architects were pretty funny in calling out Doug and his linear style. I thought it was interesting that he incorporated the squares into the second home. 750,000 for a rancher! It just reminded me that it will be a very long time before we move out of our starter (we live in the same general area). Thought the 450k that my brother-in-law and his wife paid for their brand new Mcmansion doesn't look so steep anymore.

Now the the wife from the first ep said the show covered alot of their expenses. In this ep it seemed that the architects did alot of the work themselves. Did the the middle couple suck up all the money? Maybe the show paid for furnishings or scaled back on picking up the tab.

[gforce2002]

I thought the metallic paint was okay, but there was just way too much of it. It was on every wall. Also, the tearing out of the shrubbery sure didn't make the back yard look any better, or cleaner, or anything that I thought they were going for. It just looked like a lot of cement - cold and bare. But, to each their own, I suppose.

I rather liked the architect's revisions, although I'm not a fan of that colour combination. I can imagine Doug would've loved it, since it looked a lot like some of the TS stuff that he has done.

[hielevation]

750,000 for a rancher!

Was this home in the DC suburbs? Maryland or Virginia? I couldn't quite figure it out. If so, wow, the home prices are unbelievable. The family that moved to Wisconsin must have done well in their new purchase.

Hated the metallic, cold look of the color blind home. Loved what the architects did with their new condo. Their style isn't really to my taste but they did everything beautifully.

Doug's a lousy show host. Period.

[joyly]

Yeah they said DC area. I didn't catch anything else but my guess would be Montgomery County in MD. The house prices around here really are out of control(i live one county over). When we bought our house there wasn't another house in our price range in a fifteen mile radius. Everything was under contract.

Yeah Doug kind of stinks in the intros. But I think he would be fine if he threw away the script and stopped trying to instigate hostility between the homeowners.

[MrsWeeble]

Ok, so I just caught this show for the first time. Am I missing something here? Are they so starved for fresh ideas in how-to surrealityville that this is the best showcase they can come up with for Mr. Wilson's talents?

[truffles17]

I just caught the show for the first time last evening. I like the peeking inside of people's houses aspect, and I'm a sucker for redesign shows. That being said, I think the concept is a little weird and weak.

How about the couple with the daugther named Nirvana? They seemed like poseurs.

[MeerkatNotMink]

This was my first viewing of the show too & yup, that couple definitely struck me as poseurs – the guy’s sunglasses totally gave it away. Although I did like the way the colour turned out in their living/dining room – it’s hard to make red walls work, but that turned out really well.

On the other hand, the other couples rooms just came out looking so empty and devoid of personality… I loved how crushed the wife was that the old owners didn’t see their improvements as improvements.