This article... I don't know. I read it yesterday and this person is clearly a gifted writer in that she can make her dislike of HGTV into a piece of poetry. But she seems to be missing the forest through the trees. HGTV has a lot of faults but leading to the housing crisis or leading to flipping which led to the housing crisis is not its fault. HGTV like all consolidated corporate media takes one trendy thing and runs it to the ground. It's a problem with food network, DIY, CNN, MTV, really any channel on cable. It's a problem with the entertainment industry in general. Today it's flipping houses on HGTV tomorrow it will be house decorating competitions (esp since Trading Spaces is coming back). Before flipping houses HGTV was obsessed with staging houses for sale (remember all those shows?). And really our obsession with all things house started with Trading Spaces on TLC back in 2000 and America hasn't really turned that spigot off yet regardless of the flux of the housing market.
Chip and Joanna are getting a Target line too. I mean, I have to give it up to them for being savvy business people. Capitalize while you can.
Sometimes I wonder if those bloggers from Richmond (Sherry I want to say her name was) get frustrated watching the Gaineses take their playbook and do it better.
I think Chip and Joanna are way better at what they do than YHL ever was. Mostly because I think regardless of what I think of them, they have more relevant knowledge and have an actual, specific style and don't stray from it that much. YHL never was my thing but they did a lot more stuff based solely on budget and had really weird design choices that didn't seem to work together. I also don't think they knew much at all about real estate or construction or even design. They just kind of fell into it because they were good at selling themselves and had fairly basic taste that appealed and their blog took off. I think that's why Chip and Joanna are much more successful long term plus they also have way more business in general (their silos, furniture, etc. - YHL never could have developed those types of partnerships or businesses imo).
YHL is doing just fine though. They have paid off their mortgage and bought two beach houses over the past year (in cash). Both have needed significant renovation (well they just bought the one). Considering how risk averse they are with money I am sure they are paying cash for all the renos. Plus they did a significant kitchen renovation this year that they hired out a large portion of. Between buying the houses, renovating the first one and the kitchen of their current house, and buying everything from light fixtures to beds for the one beach house it wouldn't surprise me if they've dropped $500,000 in cash this year.
Post by bernsteincat on Sept 21, 2017 11:18:03 GMT -5
Open concept houses are not my style at all, so I don't covet the little I do happen to catch on HGTV. About the only thing I really enjoyed watching was Rehab Addict because I love old houses.
I think Chip and Joanna are way better at what they do than YHL ever was. Mostly because I think regardless of what I think of them, they have more relevant knowledge and have an actual, specific style and don't stray from it that much. YHL never was my thing but they did a lot more stuff based solely on budget and had really weird design choices that didn't seem to work together. I also don't think they knew much at all about real estate or construction or even design. They just kind of fell into it because they were good at selling themselves and had fairly basic taste that appealed and their blog took off. I think that's why Chip and Joanna are much more successful long term plus they also have way more business in general (their silos, furniture, etc. - YHL never could have developed those types of partnerships or businesses imo).
YHL is doing just fine though. They have paid off their mortgage and bought two beach houses over the past year (in cash). Both have needed significant renovation (well they just bought the one). Considering how risk averse they are with money I am sure they are paying cash for all the renos. Plus they did a significant kitchen renovation this year that they hired out a large portion of. Between buying the houses, renovating the first one and the kitchen of their current house, and buying everything from light fixtures to beds for the one beach house it wouldn't surprise me if they've dropped $500,000 in cash this year.
OOOO! Are we on to blogs now? I feel like house blogs are the MLMs of the blogging world. Everything is perfect on the outside, meanwhile they're up to their eyeballs in debt while spinning another story. (I honestly don't know about YHL, but this is a feeling I get from a lot of blogs. Specifically since the blogging industry is tanking.)
I think Chip and Joanna are way better at what they do than YHL ever was. Mostly because I think regardless of what I think of them, they have more relevant knowledge and have an actual, specific style and don't stray from it that much. YHL never was my thing but they did a lot more stuff based solely on budget and had really weird design choices that didn't seem to work together. I also don't think they knew much at all about real estate or construction or even design. They just kind of fell into it because they were good at selling themselves and had fairly basic taste that appealed and their blog took off. I think that's why Chip and Joanna are much more successful long term plus they also have way more business in general (their silos, furniture, etc. - YHL never could have developed those types of partnerships or businesses imo).
YHL is doing just fine though. They have paid off their mortgage and bought two beach houses over the past year (in cash). Both have needed significant renovation (well they just bought the one). Considering how risk averse they are with money I am sure they are paying cash for all the renos. Plus they did a significant kitchen renovation this year that they hired out a large portion of. Between buying the houses, renovating the first one and the kitchen of their current house, and buying everything from light fixtures to beds for the one beach house it wouldn't surprise me if they've dropped $500,000 in cash this year.
Yes! YHL is doing so well. In 10 years they have purchased 5 houses (6 I guess if you count the new duplex as two). What they have shown of their beach house, it looks really good. They have improved their design game. And while their blog was getting to be boring, they took that long hiatus and came back with the podcast which IMO is everything you would hope HGTV would be. I love it!!
I can't stand Love it or List it. Those hosts are so annoying and fake. And the concept is even more bananas than flipping houses in Vegas. "I'm not sure if I want to sell and buy a new house or reno my current one so I'm just going to try both out and then decide at the end of an hour long reality show." :/
I could never be married to someone like Chip. He is Fucking annoying. He is always on. He is like a todddler with a hammer. How does JoAnna put up with him? And their vanilla designs are boring and formulaic. But I saw a recent episode with them doing a flip for their own investment purposes and I thought that was a little more interesting since it was their money on the line instead of someone else's.
Post by oregonpachey on Sept 21, 2017 11:39:11 GMT -5
I didn't watch HGTV until we moved (it was too depressing living in a 720 sq. ft. house when everyone was saying 2000 feet was too small) and now I hate watch. The people on House Hunters are ridiculous. I know it's completely staged and formulated but the couples never agree and they all want freaking open concept. Some people want room division thank you!
I watched a few episodes of a tiny house show and I wondered if any of those hipsters dropping $120k on a portable shack have ever heard of a RV? You can get a luxury pull behind RV for under $35k...with a full bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, built in storage, etc. I had a really hard time understanding why, in choosing to lead a minimalistic lifestyle, they were investing so much in something that would never be worth anything.
Usually you're paying for the land and such, not just the structure. So while I'm sure they could buy an RV for that cost, they need somewhere to put it.
I think Chip and Joanna are way better at what they do than YHL ever was. Mostly because I think regardless of what I think of them, they have more relevant knowledge and have an actual, specific style and don't stray from it that much. YHL never was my thing but they did a lot more stuff based solely on budget and had really weird design choices that didn't seem to work together. I also don't think they knew much at all about real estate or construction or even design. They just kind of fell into it because they were good at selling themselves and had fairly basic taste that appealed and their blog took off. I think that's why Chip and Joanna are much more successful long term plus they also have way more business in general (their silos, furniture, etc. - YHL never could have developed those types of partnerships or businesses imo).
YHL is doing just fine though. They have paid off their mortgage and bought two beach houses over the past year (in cash). Both have needed significant renovation (well they just bought the one). Considering how risk averse they are with money I am sure they are paying cash for all the renos. Plus they did a significant kitchen renovation this year that they hired out a large portion of. Between buying the houses, renovating the first one and the kitchen of their current house, and buying everything from light fixtures to beds for the one beach house it wouldn't surprise me if they've dropped $500,000 in cash this year.
Yeah I think they are doing just fine which isn't my point. My point is they have a different skill set and that $500k is chump change compared to the Magnolia behemoth. I doubt they even compare themselves to Chip & Joanna and my main thought was that they would never be Chip & Joanna. The initial post I responded too was about whether they see all that the fixer upper people have and that it's similar in some ways to them but better - I don't think there are that many similarities and I think there are a lot of reasons Chip and Joanna are significantly more successful and on a much larger scale.
ETA: I don't follow YHL and never really have but I have never gotten the impression they wanted something similar to the Magnolia behemoth. I mean I am sure they want to be successful but in my limited reading about them I didn't think that was what they wanted (that level of success or that type of success).
HGTV was mindless TV during maternity leave. The only show I didn't totally hate-watch was Love It or List It because I like David and Hillary and it's interesting to see what they do with the current houses, so it doesn't seem as formulaic to me.
But the whiny "acting" is so funny though. YOU BETTER TELL HILLARY SHE NEEDS TO REDO THE MASTER BATHROOM WITH FIVE BUCKS OR ELSE.
Yeah, the faux drama on Love It or List It always brings all my eye rolls. This stuff requires permits, audience – there's no way they're really deciding at the last minute to ditch the deck plans and convert the garage into a music studio with a bathroom.
YHL is doing just fine though. They have paid off their mortgage and bought two beach houses over the past year (in cash). Both have needed significant renovation (well they just bought the one). Considering how risk averse they are with money I am sure they are paying cash for all the renos. Plus they did a significant kitchen renovation this year that they hired out a large portion of. Between buying the houses, renovating the first one and the kitchen of their current house, and buying everything from light fixtures to beds for the one beach house it wouldn't surprise me if they've dropped $500,000 in cash this year.
OOOO! Are we on to blogs now? I feel like house blogs are the MLMs of the blogging world. Everything is perfect on the outside, meanwhile they're up to their eyeballs in debt while spinning another story. (I honestly don't know about YHL, but this is a feeling I get from a lot of blogs. Specifically since the blogging industry is tanking.)
OOOO! Are we on to blogs now? I feel like house blogs are the MLMs of the blogging world. Everything is perfect on the outside, meanwhile they're up to their eyeballs in debt while spinning another story. (I honestly don't know about YHL, but this is a feeling I get from a lot of blogs. Specifically since the blogging industry is tanking.)
"This Old House" is great if you really want to learn something about renovating, latest home technology, small projects, money saving tips, etc.
That's my H's favorite thing.
The only show I really liked on HGTV (I think?) was Renovation Realities because I like watching people fuck up. Because I am a terrible person. Like when that guy put his leg though his roof or when the one couple got NOTHING done in a month and then had to hire a professional anyway.
There was a show I used to watch on BBC America where they just redecorated a house with some stuff they brought & stuff the people already had lying around. It spoke to my crafty self.
Why are we comparing Fixer Upper to YHL? YHL doesn't flip houses. They turn their personal houses into blog material. Apparently YHL has been offered TV deals but they have turned them all down. Anyway their blog was super stale as all shelter blogs are but their podcast is fresh. This AM I listened to an episode on how to organize my pantry. And instead of acting all know it all about pantry org, they interviewed two organization experts. This is basically what their weekly show has been for a year now. It's great!
Me neither (I don't seem to watch most shows that are popular on these boards so I usually feel lost in pop culture discussions).
I followed the YHL blog for a while but dropped off at some point.
I'm a very lazy homeowner. My apartment before I moved in with MH had bare white walls and a futon. I always tell him that, if I wasn't married to someone who enjoyed decorating and mowing the lawn and stuff, I'd be in that same bare apartment. Or in a condo or something where staff took care of the maintenance for a fee.
"This Old House" is great if you really want to learn something about renovating, latest home technology, small projects, money saving tips, etc.
That's my H's favorite thing.
The only show I really liked on HGTV (I think?) was Renovation Realities because I like watching people fuck up. Because I am a terrible person. Like when that guy put his leg though his roof or when the one couple got NOTHING done in a month and then had to hire a professional anyway.
There was a show I used to watch on BBC America where they just redecorated a house with some stuff they brought & stuff the people already had lying around. It spoke to my crafty self.
Oooohhh, I loved that one. In college I used to commandeer DH's dorm room at lunch time to watch it. What was it called? And there was another one called House Doctor or something?
The only show I really liked on HGTV (I think?) was Renovation Realities because I like watching people fuck up. Because I am a terrible person. Like when that guy put his leg though his roof or when the one couple got NOTHING done in a month and then had to hire a professional anyway.
There was a show I used to watch on BBC America where they just redecorated a house with some stuff they brought & stuff the people already had lying around. It spoke to my crafty self.
Oooohhh, I loved that one. In college I used to commandeer DH's dorm room at lunch time to watch it. What was it called? And there was another one called House Doctor or something?
I don't remember! I only remember it was in a block with Perfect Housewife. That show is the reason I can fold fitted sheets.
"This Old House" is great if you really want to learn something about renovating, latest home technology, small projects, money saving tips, etc.
That's my H's favorite thing.
The only show I really liked on HGTV (I think?) was Renovation Realities because I like watching people fuck up. Because I am a terrible person. Like when that guy put his leg though his roof or when the one couple got NOTHING done in a month and then had to hire a professional anyway.
There was a show I used to watch on BBC America where they just redecorated a house with some stuff they brought & stuff the people already had lying around. It spoke to my crafty self.
Have you seen Flea Market Flip? It's not super formulaic and it's a good combo of 'nicely done' projects and 'WTF who would buy that for $300 much less $1?' projects.
There was another show that I liked for a bit that showed estate sales....can't remember what it was called. It was okay but a little depressing bc the estate sales in our area are INSANE. Like you have to line up on a Thursday morning when they open, and be prepared to pay top dollar.
We used to grab stuff off the side of the road and fix it up all the time. I love bringing new life to old things.
Sarah Richardson is fantastic, but I never know when her show is on. I wish they had more real designers on HGTV, I'd watch those.
I watched a few episodes of a tiny house show and I wondered if any of those hipsters dropping $120k on a portable shack have ever heard of a RV? You can get a luxury pull behind RV for under $35k...with a full bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, built in storage, etc. I had a really hard time understanding why, in choosing to lead a minimalistic lifestyle, they were investing so much in something that would never be worth anything.
Usually you're paying for the land and such, not just the structure. So while I'm sure they could buy an RV for that cost, they need somewhere to put it.
They were putting it in their parent's backyard. lol
Why are we comparing Fixer Upper to YHL? YHL doesn't flip houses. They turn their personal houses into blog material. Apparently YHL has been offered TV deals but they have turned them all down. Anyway their blog was super stale as all shelter blogs are but their podcast is fresh. This AM I listened to an episode on how to organize my pantry. And instead of acting all know it all about pantry org, they interviewed two organization experts. This is basically what their weekly show has been for a year now. It's great!
Someone said it on the first page and I responded to it because I thought they weren't really comparable.
Usually you're paying for the land and such, not just the structure. So while I'm sure they could buy an RV for that cost, they need somewhere to put it.
They were putting it in their parent's backyard. lol
Oooohhh, I loved that one. In college I used to commandeer DH's dorm room at lunch time to watch it. What was it called? And there was another one called House Doctor or something?
I don't remember! I only remember it was in a block with Perfect Housewife. That show is the reason I can fold fitted sheets.
While You Were Out! At least that's the one I'm thinking.
That was quite a black hole of British home renovation shows on Wikipedia....
ETA: No, that wasn't it, but it was similar. This is going to drive me nuts.
I didn't watch HGTV until we moved (it was too depressing living in a 720 sq. ft. house when everyone was saying 2000 feet was too small) and now I hate watch. The people on House Hunters are ridiculous. I know it's completely staged and formulated but the couples never agree and they all want freaking open concept. Some people want room division thank you!
I actually watched an episode of House Hunters this summer with a young husband and wife and the wife said she absolutely wanted a house with NO open concept and a 70s kitchen. I had to rewind the episode to make sure I caught exactly what she was saying because I was like, "WTF, don't they all want open concept?" And she literally did say "70s kitchen."
FWIW, we have an open concept main floor and I do really like it, but we saw plenty of divided main floors when we were house shopping and they were fine too. We didn't have much of a preference. I don't know why I even mindlessly watch HGTV because I just cry at the cheap housing prices and all I focused on during our search was having a dishwasher and an in-house washer and dryer (none of which I had ever had in my life before our current house). I was pretty easy to please.
Post by downtoearth on Sept 21, 2017 13:54:05 GMT -5
I liked the article, but I also am having a hard time connecting HGTV to another housing bubble. I don't think the influence of HGTV's flipping and house hunting shows really can measurably have anything to do with the housing bubble pop of 2007ish or a potential future one. If anything, appraisers and realtors had more to do with that then HGTV, but the majority of the problem came from stagnant wages and "creative" mortgages and predatory lending by big banks. Flipping or renovating for a profit/business was around years before I saw it on HGTV - I knew flippers who did that back in college with their dads, but they were called "developers" or "GC contractors" at the time.
As for some of the other comments... Tiny Houses is one that my kids and I watch together. It's ridiculous with the prices sometimes, but way more reasonable as a "starter home" for millennials and the next iGen since we haven't fixed stagnant wages and they are more leery, so I'm not against it (as long as they have the right water and wastewater systems). We probably watch 2-3 episodes a month on a night and the kids like the idea of their own little house/space that can travel somewhere when they move around. It's kind of a cool concept that the next generation of HGTV-ers are looking at being more mobile and global. Oh and I know someone who built one herself (with her family's help) for about $38k - put it on land (another $20k) and had to add a septic and well (another $4k). She lives there now and will turn it into a "cabin" for her family when/if she decides to move on that life phase. So they aren't cheap, even if you do keep them closer to a RV cost.
We've always done our own renovations, and I watch some HGTV - maybe 5 hours a month total - and get jealous at their timelines, but don't really copy their ideas either or feel like I need to upgrade all the time. I might be an outlier HGTV watcher. The planning, permitting, prep/buying supplies, and putting things back in the right way with DH and I doing the majority of the work takes FOREVER in real life (think 6+ months for a bathroom reno). I also follow some home improvement blogs and they are pretty much dead - I haven't listened to YHL podcasts, but they are marketers by trade and figured out when to pop out of blogs and into podcasts and I give them some credit for that.
I like HGTV and didn't bother to read the article. I know that most of the disagreements between the parties buying the houses are probably made up to have some sort of 'depth' to the show. I also know that it's unrealistic that people look at three houses and have to choose one. Obviously it's a TV show and there's got to be some formula to it. I mostly like looking at the homes all over. I'm fine with Chip and Joanna, though I think Chip is childish, but whatever. I like Property Brothers. I don't really take any of their renovation or house budgets to heart as the math on these shows don't always make sense. I'm enjoying the new Fixer Upper Atlanta show as I went to college there and love to see homes in different neighborhoods.
HGTV was mindless TV during maternity leave. The only show I didn't totally hate-watch was Love It or List It because I like David and Hillary and it's interesting to see what they do with the current houses, so it doesn't seem as formulaic to me.
But the whiny "acting" is so funny though. YOU BETTER TELL HILLARY SHE NEEDS TO REDO THE MASTER BATHROOM WITH FIVE BUCKS OR ELSE.
Yeah, the faux drama on Love It or List It always brings all my eye rolls. This stuff requires permits, audience – there's no way they're really deciding at the last minute to ditch the deck plans and convert the garage into a music studio with a bathroom.
HGTV was mindless TV during maternity leave. The only show I didn't totally hate-watch was Love It or List It because I like David and Hillary and it's interesting to see what they do with the current houses, so it doesn't seem as formulaic to me.
But the whiny "acting" is so funny though. YOU BETTER TELL HILLARY SHE NEEDS TO REDO THE MASTER BATHROOM WITH FIVE BUCKS OR ELSE.
Love It or List It and HHI are the only 2 shows I like. Oh, and the lottery dream home one.