Watching
television makes buying a home, renovating, living in it, and selling
it, easy and beautiful. There is something so seductive about the shows
that inform us that a New York apartment, (probably within memory
available for $400 a month or less rent, has been "updated" and now
sells for a million and a half or more--or can be rented for $20,000 per
month. Looking at such real estate is mesmerizing and can be expensive, if you don't keep reminding yourself that it is not really the way things are...it is the essence of television--that is to say, it is pornography for consumers.
 |
| The renovated kitchen of an apartment featured in Selling New York |
There are attractive realtors and renovation experts who make the process look a breeze, even if it involves an expensive renovation and all that is left of the original property is a shell that has been deconstructed and rebuilt to retain nothing of its character. There are realtors who can find us a replacement for the home we chose years ago but whose quirks no longer charm us.
 |
| Twins Drew and Scott, one of whom (guess which) is a realtor. |
There are contractors who ambush buyers at the "home improvement store" and take over the project of remodeling that they were only thinking of maybe doing eventually. There are the genuine "old house lovers" who buy and restore properties...and there are the flippers who have figured out how to monetize the crash in the housing market by buying low, making changes, and selling high. All this makes the face of "reality" on television a bit suspect, but when you're actually thinking about a move, as I was six months ago, the shows are more and more convincing and the rewards seem that much more delicious. I am a fan of houses built around the turn of the 20th century, maybe because I grew up in one, and hate to see them demolished and replaced by the pasteboard Disney version so prevalent in today's world. When I find a TV show that celebrates antiques, yard sale finds, and the restoration of a dilapidated wreck of a house, I am hooked. It doesn't hurt if the host is cute, male or female.
 |
| Nicole Curtis, hostess of Rehab Addict |
Now that I'm three weeks into the renovation of the Victorian in Kingston, I've got the television set to the channels that feature these shows. I am compelled to check them out and compare notes, I know not why, as I never find one that matches what I want to achieve here. So much of my house is usable as is, and all that is being completely redone is the kitchen and the bathroom--standard for any home purchase in this day and age. I want to keep the 1890 character in both rooms although of course those are the rooms which need modernity in order to function at all. And I don't want this house to look like either "Grandma's house"--which of course it is--or a museum. I've saved bits of decor from so many homes that it's an autobiography of a house. And I'm having fun filling it with new stuff that fits and doesn't look as if it was bought by a designer. I hope.
Best wishes on your remodeling quest! We finished a dramatic change to our house a few years ago ... and celebrated by replacing our antenna TV with cable. So now my wife (and me to a lesser extent) are watching so many of these home (and cooking) reality shows. I hate the unreality and incomplete jobs that so many of the time-hurried shows have. But Nicole Curtis' rehabs look darn good for vintage properties. The main thing, I gather, is to find excellent, fair contractors who do quality work ... and have the patience (and finances) to do the job right. I still celebrate several times a day my decicion to splurge on gorgeous door handles rather than the cheapies our kind contractor suggested, who was aiming to save us money.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this, Mary Lois! I love those shows, which I watch to see the decorating. The idea of buying a fixer upper and renovating it (Property Brothers) was unknown to me. What kills me on that show and Love It or List It is that when the interior designer asks house owners what their budget is to fix up the house, she/he never says, "Understand that in a renovation on an older house, it's not unusual to find problems during renovation that can be very expensive to fix, and which must be repaired before reconstruction can proceed. You should have at least $10,000 more in reserve to cover that."
ReplyDeleteInstead, they design spectacular makeovers that use all of the budgeted money, and then have the drama of telling the homeowners that all the wiring has been eaten by mice, or the basement has serious water damage, or termites have totally infested the garage. The owners respond by getting angry because the money to fix the problem means no kitchen remodel, or heaven forbid, no media room! It's predictable that there will be scenes like these in every show. That's fine, but it makes me think twice about renovating!
So, I will gladly follow the updating of your house, experiencing vicariously a real renovation through your Facebook and blog posts. I would appreciate pictures, or even a video, if that is possible!
That's what I mean about making things that are stressful and difficult look easy! The homeowners just want to get the project started and are willing to okay anything to make that happen. And I suppose the unpredictable is what adds drama to "Love It or List It." At any rate, Hilary's renovations always look spectacular. My favorite of the designers is Candice Olsen, altho she hasn't been on much lately. The new show "Fixer Upper" can be fun, thanks to the affable Chip and his cute wife "Jo-Jo." The home prices in Waco are amazing, and I always laugh at the end when Chip is actually honest and tells the homeowner how much value they've added to the house with the renovation. You can almost imagine them saying, "I thought it would be much more than THAT!"
ReplyDeleteWhen I get the reno done here, I'll be much less interested in the shows to which I'm now addicted. I hope!