please stop designing your house to look like home renovation shows

I think the Gaines’s style was unique when they hit the scene. She really introduced and brought the farmhouse style to the forefront. It’s not my personal aesthetic nor is the completely open floor plan. However, her creativity and personal design style can’t be denied. The problem was when HGTV realized the influence she had creating that style or trend. Then the spinoffs began. And all of them copying that style and format so now it’s what people perceive as the norm. And they don’t know how to develop their own sense of style.

Completely agreed. I’ve noticed that most designers decorate their homes collectively and full of beautiful colors. Trends are just trends.

I have enjoyed seeing my childhood home go through changes with different homeowners. Can’t say I think they made great choices, which is part of the fun. Who would put Italian style granite and backsplashes into a classic mid-century modern home? Just a sample of the foolishness I saw, including only a partial Italian update to the bathroom that had 1950s pink tile in it. They left a lot of the pink tile. What a hoot! But they seemed to be a really sweet family, and enjoyed my childhood home for many years before becoming empty-nesters and moving on. The new owners are a suspicious lot, 🤣, But they did restore a functional renovation that was quite the eyesore from the nice family.

I agree with this 100%! I was told over and over again not to change our dining room into the primary bedroom so we could have an en suite. "What about when you sell it? People will want a dining room" I am so glad I didn't listen and decided to make the home work for us now and not worry about anything else

Recently I discovered a show (No Demo Reno) and I liked it precisely for that. The designer doesn't demolish walls, instead she transforms the homes with paint, maybe new tiles and new furniture. Instantly my mind clicked with a "Hey, that's more approachable. I can glue some mouldings and paint a room, and LOOK how fancy the change is!"

It comes down to this: do you want to live in your home or do you want to live in a house like you are in a 20 year long rental? Worry about resale when you actually sell. Your home is not primarily a store of value. It is shelter and a place to live.

Paige, there is a show on HGTV that shows "unique" homes -- and, they call it, "The Ugliest House in America!" Also, something that drives me crazy is that many people are ripping out hardwood floors -- that either look fine or just need refinishing (easy and inexpensive thing to have done) -- and putting in "luxury vinyl." I have seen on Facebook groups where women have said they are on their 3rd kitchen reno -- in the SAME HOUSE!!!! We are, after 30 years, getting around to finally doing that, but it won't be a reno, just an update. I haven't done it yet because my kitchen works -- and, if something works, why be tearing out things and changing things? It's clean and functional, that's what's important.

Hi, I enjoyed your video but disagree there’s nothing unique on hgtv. My favorite shows are bargain block with Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, and Unsellable Houses with Lyndsey and Leslie twins. Especially Keith, infuses their renovations with personal style and unique touches. The twins use lots of patterns and bold colors. I do agree most everything else is pretty bland and same

These are great points, thanks Paige. It would be also great to mention the crazy impact on the environment, climate change, landfill from these kind of renovations.

HGTV isn’t entertaining anymore- because they rip out everything and replace it with the EXACT same style every time.: bland, beige, boring. You already know the magic trick before the magician starts his act…

And I’m so sick of people knocking walls down and doing renovations I can’t do that in my life I’ve never been able to do that in my life I just want to see decorating ideas I wanna see furniture placement ideas I want to see the vignette ideas the old decorating shows that most normal people can appreciate how many of us are honestly doing full renovations

I think people like the hotel look because it’s the opposite of their childhood when they were broke. They associate the sterile clean lines look with success and luxury. I prefer some character as well. I can’t deal with the stark white.

I see what you are saying. I still like the look of the neutrals though, but pushing back against everything being so open. What if I don’t want company to see my dishes in the sink when they first walk in? I’m more for semi-open. Sometimes adding a wall gives more functionality.

While I completely agree with you and complain about this sort of thing all the time, I'm also kind of torn because I really like simplicity in my home space. I grew up with a rather clean and clean-looking home with white or beige walls and minimal decor. I love navy blue, white (especially furniture) and grey, and use those colors predominantly in my home. I definitely believe in having a home that you can feel relaxed and comfortable in, so that is a priority for me—but I've also found that I can sort of balance this approach with carefully curated décor and accessories. For example, I have bird illustrations from Audubon and Gould, other early 1900s bird illustrations, Murano art glass pieces, minimalist brass/hand carved wooden deer, dramatic photography, textile art, a navy blue Persian-style rug, a reindeer skin rug in my bedroom (all-seasons)... I like to think that as long as a space isn't too visually cluttered, it should still have unique elements that show what kind of person you are. (And, if you like the visual clutter, enjoy as much as you like!) I hope other people can also feel this way about their space, because it's not about what value it has to others, it's about what value it has to you.

My family is looking to buy a house now. My wife is disgusted, to say the least, at these gutted and fully renovated flips that have saturated the market. She is on a mission to buy an older home and save it from being gutted and white washed. You wouldn't believe how many houses do not resemble the time period they were built!

I say decorate you. Bold bright colors your thing than do it. If you're going to sale than repaint it to neutrals and downsize your stuff. Downsize so it appears bigger. I have always been the odd man out. Mainly because I never had the funds to redo everything anyway. Even when young I decorated with what I had or could afford. Still do. Farmhouse and black and white, I do not get it. I had three boys, and they would have needed replaced every couple of years. Maybe months. I cannot imagine the nightmare of keeping it clean with kids. No wonder people are stressed out. I love colors and greens, blues, golds, dark woods and wood tones. Ralf Lauren look. Peace!

How often people are talking about themselves, there values , hobbies, habits, beliefs, families. You know the things that should 100 % be the core for every decision made in home purchase, upgrade, renovation or stuff. Yes i really rarely see the reflection of ovner in the home design 🙈 . SAD.

I am so glad I found your channel and that your'e addressing the obsession with home Reno shows! I live in los Angele and own an old house in echo park. I think I have been brainwashed by the Pinterests and perfect IG's and home Reno shows. I'm never happy in my home and always thinking I need to change something, but I will never achieve that perfection, it's not real anyways! Do you do consulting? I would love to hire someone like you to come give me some ideas for my place that work for it's style!!

I honestly don’t know why people even like to keep buying new homes over and over. Why not just buy one home and stay there, watch your family grow there, decorate it the way you please that sounds so much more attractive to me.

I agree, I find it such a shame when beautiful old homes (100+ year old) are completely modernized on the inside (eg open floors) and all the special nooks and crannies are taken away. Complete agree with you!

People are decorating their homes for re-sale because nearly 100% of them are crowd. They do not have own opinion.

I finally quit watching shows like this .... I've never seen whatever show that the Gaines host - clearly I don't even know the name of it... because they made me feel like I lived in a shack - WHICH I DIDN'T!!!

Late stage capitalism is just in everything😢

I did a bunch of things to my house that help me with my ADD, stuff that everyone told me would damage the resale value. I don’t care. I bought a house to live it, for me to live in, not for the next person that will live in it. 💛

Ok, then we will make our houses like the ones on Pintrest!

these homes all look like air bnbs thats so sad :/ love ur takes!

The problem with older homes is the health issues. Any advice on bringing out character in newer homes that are rigid?

Haha! So right! What are they thinking when they say there should be two sinks in the master suite? I have had three with and three without. Two is a pain to take care of. It also cuts down on counter space and under storage. I love giant mirrors over the whole thing. Two little squatty mirrors just don't cut it. Only have what is useful and practical. I am an artist and like to let my home evolve, not radical redecorating. We moved into our current Florida, furnished home. I combined the past German architects furnishings with my Florida things and my New England items that I just had to keep. I ended up with something with so much character. I have my own quilts, embroidered and paintings. Things that bring me joy and delight visitors. I love my white cabinets but also would have like darker wood. Just love what you have and work with it, Things don't have to match, just go together. Be creative, not a clone. So many tv homes are nice but don't reflect the owner or their past heritage.


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What I find interesting is that people with taste, affluence, or culture have such amazing homes. The hotel look is so tacky to me and screams "I just came into some money and I have no idea who I am anymore." A mix of modern and classic will do just fine. It's OK to be drawn to a piece or art, furniture, or color palate that's doesn't look like a showroom.

Some of these "HGTV aesthetic" rooms look beautiful and calming. Others look flat and lifeless. Some of the before/afters show a clear improvement, and others make me cringe. But that's my aesthetic preference speaking.

What strikes me more than my opinions of the rooms is how... similar they are. They're all going for the same style with largely the same colors (or lack of colors) and design cues. Do all the people who get their homes renovated want their houses to look like this? I have a sneaking suspicion some of them had to be talked into it. I don't get the sense that these spaces are personalized, and to the extent that they are, they can't stray too far from the norm.

Designing your home for "resale value" has to be the dumbest thing you can possibly do, at least from an "I want to live here" point of view. If you're well-off enough that you can even afford to own a home in this insane housing market, shouldn't you make it your home, not somebody else's?

This is the best video ever - recessed lighting is such a red flag for me

Very interesting. We bought five years ago and decorated our house according to our tastes. Both houses on either side of ours sold afterwards, and both new owners redecorated with a view to selling, same with a colleague of mine. It's the house equivalent of watch flipping - people buying/living with something they don't actually enjoy, in order to sell. Very sad way to live your life.

Don’t they sell the homes at the end of the episode?

I usually prefer the before over the after on most HGTV shows. I watch very little HGTV anymore. Same with the Food Network you can’t even find anyone cooking on the Food Network anymore.

Indeed, this is like a reality check for home design enthusiasts; it humorously points out how replicating those fancy renovations can be a bit impractical and over-the-top for real life. It's a fun and relatable take on the mismatch between TV fantasies and our everyday living spaces, offering a down-to-earth perspective on home design trends. After watching, you might think twice before adding that unnecessary shiplap!

To be honest I don't look for unique pieces in the houses, I want my house to be minimalist and nice to look at. Since I live in a minimalist house I don't feel stressed, every time I visit my parents, the clutter, patterns and the unique pieces stress me out visually. My parents told me many times "But do you want to make your house look like a hotel?" Yes I do. There are few things that show that it's my house obviously but apart from them I live in a house that could easily be a hotel and it's making me relaxed on my daily basis. I can understand though it could be heavy for other people/

Thank you for this video. I love just how stupid us men are: Hammer! Wall! Watch!

This was really interesting and also, comforting. I saw all these perfectly designed homes and I felt that I could never do that, mostly because I couldn't afford it. Now I feel that I don't have to do that, so thanks.
Also, as a side note, I think that most people decorate similarly because it's safer than using color. I am personally really scared about which colors to use in my home, because I don't want them to not go together and be ugly.

i feel it's maybe a self-perpetuating cycle. people move into a house, redo it all boring and stale, and then in 3 years they want to move. cuz it sucks.
my husband and i just moved a year ago and we're slowly doing things and the more we make it our own the less we want to leave. so resale isn't on our minds because we love it and want to stay. pink living room, brick kitchen, statement tile floor.... i don't care if YOU like it i'm staying! hahaha

on that note though, the show that devol kitchen does (i think on discovery channel?) is great.

These days everyone gets their design ideas from Pinterest 😳

You said you were looking for uniqueness , but not everyone is. most people want a cookie cutter version of Joanna Gaines modern farmhouse anymore, even though it's on it's way out. people lag behind the trends is what i've noticed.

I agree about the HGTV generic look.....It has to have an island, lots of grey (yuk), subway tiles (yuk), a barn door and a butlers(?) pantry!!! Of course they are all brand spanking new, shiny, freshly painted and glittering without a speck of dust. Of course lm jealous! I think youve hit the nail on head (get it?) about the macho demos. Theyre knocking walls down left right and centre without first checking if said walls are holding up the house. Then, somehow it doesnt matter because the poor owners will have to stump up. Usually they have a budget and no contingency fund. The programme should pay for any cock ups because they are too gung ho with the sledge hammers!!!! All this open concept gets on my nerves because theres no privacy and if lm watching tv and hes listening to iggy pop and son is clanging around in the kitchen, opening all the cupboards looking for ham, theres nowhere to hide! 😂😂😅🇬🇧

I actually sobbed when I saw someone on fb marketplace selling multiple Victorian houses they flipped. They stripped all of the character and craftsmanship out of these homes and made them soulless boxes.

Awesome. Thank yoU!

I am totally with you here! So sad to see unique vintage stuff be swapped for ikea/waifair/ amazon bland furniture

I stopped watching hgtv too! 👎 to Joanna Gaines and that blond chick with no talents