Selling a fixer-upper

[LolaB]

I watched the show for the first time and couldn't believe how "not good" (trying not to hurt peoples feelings here) it was. How someone could be a stager with no knowledge or any display of a good sense of style... The society is really not doing any favours to anyone praising the people who totally went in a wrong direction in their profession. There is a huge difference in thinking that you are good in something compare to actually be good or at least decent in it.
So many decorators, designers, stagers etcetera are not even able to properly display art, to buy correct sizes of a rugs, many are not aware of space, scale, or proportion in furniture placement to make the homes welcoming and pleasing to the eye... but let's not hurt anyone's feelings because we are all equally good (wait, what?). If all of us start to be honest (not rude or mean) and stop pretending, then maybe, just maybe, people will choose their professions which are more suitable for them.

[Urban Cowboy]

You do realize that much of what you are complaining about is completely subjective don't you?

I dare you to put two designers in a room and have them agree on how to decorate it.

In my line of work, I've been into more than enough homes where I say to myself, what were they thinking, but then I'm not the one who lives there and has to like it.

[Grandan]

I watched the show for the first time and couldn't believe how "not good" (trying not to hurt peoples feelings here) it was. How someone could be a stager with no knowledge or any display of a good sense of style... The society is really not doing any favours to anyone praising the people who totally went in a wrong direction in their profession. There is a huge difference in thinking that you are good in something compare to actually be good or at least decent in it.
So many decorators, designers, stagers etcetera are not even able to properly display art, to buy correct sizes of a rugs, many are not aware of space, scale, or proportion in furniture placement to make the homes welcoming and pleasing to the eye... but let's not hurt anyone's feelings because we are all equally good (wait, what?). If all of us start to be honest (not rude or mean) and stop pretending, then maybe, just maybe, people will choose their professions which are more suitable for them.

I too shake my head when I watch these shows. Unfortunately we have a whole generation who seems to be needing constant praise and no matter how bad it is, it needs to praised. As a consequence, what we end up with is mediocre.
Instead of constructive criticism, praise is ladled out in copious quantities.
It is not just the decorative elements of texture, colour and form, it goes deeper with construction techniques and room layout.
A kitchen design that is so inefficient as to be a source of conflict comes to mind. We see parks and town squares, promenades and so on that don't make sense from any angle.
It can take a lifetime to get really good unless you are a natural and they are few and far between.
Lot grading and driveways are a source of angst for me. Driveways that are ski jumps when there was an alternative to be had comes to mind. Houses designed for level ground are thrust into a hillside and simply do not work on any level. Houses not oriented to the view. Houses with no proper access to the exterior to make indoor outdoor living possible.
Entry ways and hallways into a house that are so narrow or crowded that you can barely turn around or put the groceries down or take off your coat. It is all design and poor decoration cannot destroy that because it remains funtional.
A paint colour can make you gag but at least the layout works. Tastes are so variable I cannot fathom how they arrived at the final scheme. Is it poosible that some people have lived with miss-matched decor for so long they think it is normal?

[kgcayenne]

I think also that the 'industry standards' keep changing to stimulate continued business, and other reasons, perhaps.

One of the things that has me rolling my eyes is this trend of painting cove mouldings and baseboards the same colour as the walls. It was explained to me that it gives the impression of a taller room. Fine, I get the single colour would achieve this, but when I first saw it in a townhouse I bought, it looked cheezy and that the painter was a lazy sob who didn't want to go through the trouble of cutting in AND painting trim in an accent colour. I find it easier to believe that a true sense of height and super-clean lines would be better-achieved by removing the cove moulding at the ceiling (which might hide some shoddy drywall work), removing the baseboard trim (hides drywall issues and flooring edge), and making all windows drywall-return style. I can see drywall & finishers either absolutely hating it, or loving the extra work.

[Urban Cowboy]

Drywall returns is a bad idea and I wish it would be banned in the building code.

The only reason for it I can think of, is so a few bucks in lumber can be saved, but the downside is that drywall in that location is simply a poor idea for a number of reasons.

A wood framed window has a higher chance of actually being straight, compared to drywall which I can almost guarantee you will never be, as much depends on how well the stuff was installed in the first place, plus how good the taping/mudding turns out.

You won't find out until you go to install something like blinds, that there isn't much in the way of backing support, so you run a good chance of the drywall moving to where screw heads pop up. This isn't an issue with wood frames.

Over time, especially in cases where venetian blinds are used, you can actually see drywall eroded from the blinds going up and down regularly.

In older homes I've even noted degradation of the window frame drywall due to moisture from the windows.

[kgcayenne]

Excellent information! I’m a fan of contrasting trim, and this firms-up why.

[squash junky]

We watch a lot of HGTV and just tried to watch the SAFU
Couldn't make it to the end :(

[alanjh595]

Drywall returns is a bad idea and I wish it would be banned in the building code.

The only reason for it I can think of, is so a few bucks in lumber can be saved, but the downside is that drywall in that location is simply a poor idea for a number of reasons.

A wood framed window has a higher chance of actually being straight, compared to drywall which I can almost guarantee you will never be, as much depends on how well the stuff was installed in the first place, plus how good the taping/mudding turns out.

You won't find out until you go to install something like blinds, that there isn't much in the way of backing support, so you run a good chance of the drywall moving to where screw heads pop up. This isn't an issue with wood frames.

Over time, especially in cases where venetian blinds are used, you can actually see drywall eroded from the blinds going up and down regularly.

In older homes I've even noted degradation of the window frame drywall due to moisture from the windows.

Therefore; wood is just delaying/masquerading a moisture issue. If the "frames" were granite, the evidence would never be noticed. The frames/materials/blinds are not to blame. It is the moisture and cold-air infiltration that are responsible for the the condensation.

[Urban Cowboy]

Drywall returns is a bad idea and I wish it would be banned in the building code.

The only reason for it I can think of, is so a few bucks in lumber can be saved, but the downside is that drywall in that location is simply a poor idea for a number of reasons.

A wood framed window has a higher chance of actually being straight, compared to drywall which I can almost guarantee you will never be, as much depends on how well the stuff was installed in the first place, plus how good the taping/mudding turns out.

You won't find out until you go to install something like blinds, that there isn't much in the way of backing support, so you run a good chance of the drywall moving to where screw heads pop up. This isn't an issue with wood frames.

Over time, especially in cases where venetian blinds are used, you can actually see drywall eroded from the blinds going up and down regularly.

In older homes I've even noted degradation of the window frame drywall due to moisture from the windows.

Therefore; wood is just delaying/masquerading a moisture issue. If the "frames" were granite, the evidence would never be noticed. The frames/materials/blinds are not to blame. It is the moisture and cold-air infiltration that are responsible for the the condensation.

I thought I fairly clearly pointed out more than just a moisture issue which I don't dispute.