12 Important Things You Need to Know About Home Improvement Shows
TV home makeover shows are seriously killing my vibe. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy seeing stunning room transformations, and shows about house flipping as much as the next design junkie. But surely people today are savvy enough to know that much of what is featured is staged for entertainment purposes, right? Wrong.
Never in a million years did I think conversations about ‘the way things are done” on some popular television makeover shows would come up so often with new design clients. Of course, I anticipate and try to prepare myself to deal with the topic. But if I hear one more person compare the advice I give them to HGTV I’m going to scream!
In an effort to add a dose of reality (and humorously vent my frustration), I took the matter to my Instagram stories. There, I covered 10 unrealities of TV show renovations. The feedback I received from people who had worked on such television shows, or been a guest on one of them was AH-mazing! In this post, I’ve added two more points not previously discussed in my IG stories. Keep reading to get all the deets.
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Manufactured “Realities” of Home Design Makeover Shows
Extreme home makeover shows are a great source of inspiration for home decorating ideas - if you know how to manage your perception of what is real and what isn’t. Home renovation shows have made an enormous leap from their humble beginnings to become an “authoritative” source of information for many. As a result, some homeowners are left with an often grossly distorted view of what is really required to execute a successful renovation or room makeover.
Below are the 12 ways home improvement shows could derail YOUR next home project before you even get started.
1. Unrealistic Timelines
Many renovation reality shows would have you believe that it only takes a few short weeks (or days even) to pull off dramatic transformations in some of the most complicated rooms of a home like bathrooms and kitchens. There’s a reason why these two areas can make or break the sale of a home - they’re complicated to renovate properly. Often, the televised timelines for executing full home flips is severely compressed for production purposes.
2. Impossible Budgets
Speaking of kitchens, have you ever wondered how HGTV is able to pull off a $10k renovation on a kitchen, complete with new appliances? The supposed budgets that many shows claim to be working with can have you thinking that you’re not making good life choices.
The answer to that mystery is sponsored goods. Yep, many of the brand name lighting, faucets and appliances you see featured have been donated by manufacturers vying for a place in the spotlight. The goal is to get you, the homeowner, to think about their brand on your next purchase.
3. The Hidden Cost of Labor
A good rule of thumb when budgeting for labor costs is to multiply the cost of materials by 2 or 3. Depending on where you live this number could be slightly higher or lower. Whatever the number, know that labor (good, skilled labor) is not cheap. So how do renovation networks manage their labor costs? Answer: they hire the trades outright, either via contracts or by placing them on the payroll.
4. Cost of Materials
Unless you’re purchasing materials in bulk, or can receive a contractor’s discount, plan to pay a premium for your project materials. It’s easy to see why home renovation networks wouldn’t have this problem. Normal folks like you and I can’t compete with that.
5. Availability of Contractors
It might appear that I covered this in point number 3, but there’s another side to working with trades. If, like most homeowners, you aren’t able to hire a slew of contractors to work SOLEY on your project, be prepared to wait. Tradespersons (plumbers, painters, fabricators, electricians, handyman, etc) are not beck-and-call-boys-and-girls. They do not arrive to work on your project when you are ready. They come when they are available.
“Tradespersons (plumbers, painters, fabricators, electricians, handyman, etc) are not beck-and-call-boys-and-girls. They do not arrive to work on your project when YOU are ready. They come when they are AVAILABLE. ”
All too often a renovation reality show will feature a contractor who patiently waits for a homeowner to can’t seem to make a decision on a backsplash. If you pulled that stunt in real life, it could result in losing your contractor for long periods of time - or even for good. These skilled men and women have families and responsibilities too. They can’t make a living waiting idly for indecisive (or underfunded) clients.
6. Apparent Rush to Judgement Decisions
Do you know anyone who purchases ALL of their furniture at one place on first sight? Of course there are exceptions. Normally, however, a few considerations are lined up or presented by a designer or decorator.
And, how long, on average, does it really take for homeowners to locate, bid and purchase a home in their budget, desired neighborhood, and with their desired features? According the National Association of Home Builders, 61% of homeowners search for 3 months or longer before finding a home. So how do shows like House Hunters get the home buying process done so quickly? The answer again is timeline compression. In many cases, the homeowners featured on this show have already purchased and moved into their homes. They’re merely reenacting the search for your entertainment pleasure.
7. Boring, But Important Steps Omitted
This is where some homeowners get into trouble. Many home repair TV shows don’t show the full processes of pulling permits, proper budgeting, and pre-project design planning phases, etc. The result is that some homeowners jump headlong into a project without fully planning it out. Or worse, they give their designer or decorator a hard time during the “boring” process of planning and sourcing for furniture, fixtures and equipment because, in the homeowner’s eyes, “nothing is being done”. Planning is hard work and should never be discounted.
Proper project planning is like practicing for the real thing. Consider this: Would you be excited to view a performance of the Cirque du Soleil knowing that they had not properly planned and practiced the most difficult, death-defying parts of the show? Likewise, anyone who has not properly planned their home project - even a small one - should plan to fail.
8. What’s Really Included?
Ahhh this is where things get a little sticky. For a quite a while I wondered why Joanna Gaines of the hit show ‘Fixer Upper’ always went to her own storage warehouse to look for furnishings in her full gut home renovations. Imagine my surprise when I learned that homeowners don’t get to keep the staging furniture. You mean the furniture is not always included in the price? Nope. Howeowners who cannot afford to purchase the furniture package must return it to the production company after filming and photography are complete.
Additionally, guest participants of other home makeover shows who do get to keep the furniture should expect to pay taxes to the IRS on those gifts at the end of the year. An extreme renovation by one of these house remodeling shows could cause your taxes to be reassessed at a rate you can no longer afford. Something to think about also before you apply to win that next Dream Home sweepstakes.
9. What the DIY’ers are REALLY Doing
House Crashers, Kitchen Crashers, Backyard Crashers, and all the “Crasher” series feature homeowners who “help” the lead contractor (and host of the show) as s/he executes an over-the-top gut renovation of their space. First of all, if homeowners were truly DIY’ing, there would be a flood of injury lawsuits against the show. The liability risk here is just too high.
Second, have you ever had to teach someone how to do what you do, while you’re doing it? If so, you know it takes a long time. In TV time “a long time” is an eternity. So the work-around is to record a 2-minute video of a homeowner taking a sledgehammer to a wall or painting a baseboard. After the take is approved, the homeowners are dismissed and a crew of skilled workers are brought in to finish the job. Tons of people have seriously jacked up their homes because DIY shows have made them believe they could get the job done.
10. Things Take Longer Than They Say
Even the most meticulously laid plans are subject to delays. People get sick, lose their jobs, and have a change of plans. Communication breakdowns and misunderstandings between all of us error-prone humans is also a factor in delays. And as we have seen, a pandemic can throw a major wrench in the plans. It’s good to prepare your mind for these possibilities so that you’re not caught off guard. If you’ve planned properly, you’ll have the ability to come up with a plan B more quickly than if you had not planned at all.
11. Major Design Changes Can Be Made Easily
So you’ve decided that you want that open concept after all. No problem, just ask the contractor to knock out the walls you don’t want. Not so fast! A renovation project is like a row of spaced dominos. One action triggers another and another. In real life, a major design or structural change usually means that a whole lot of money is about be drained from your account. It will also lengthen your timeline.
12. Projects Can be Started Right Away if You Hire an Interior Design Professional
Contrary to popular belief, working with a designer will actually lengthen your project timeline. Why? A skilled designer takes the time to properly source, budget, and plan your renovation, and to communicate details to the various tradespersons required to complete it. Being thorough takes time.
But even with the extra time, a design professional will still save you money, ultimately source better materials, and get your project completed in much shorter time than you might if you did it alone.
Would you like the assistance of a design professional who can help you count the cost before getting started on your next project? Feel free to complete my questionnaire to get started.
