Let me ask you something, are you a fan of home makeover shows? I used to watch them all the time. It’s really cool to see what the creative team on those programs envision for the homeowners.
But aren’t you curious about what happens after the show is over? Do the makeovers make sense or even last? Well, that’s exactly what one Redditor wondered when he asked , “People who’ve been on a home renovation or remake shows, how’s the house holding up?” So let’s find out.
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This Tile Mishap
“Plumbing and remodeling company I work for did plumbing for an HGTV show about 10 years ago. We did the hook-ups for the new laundry room. The homeowners picked some fancy Moroccan tile for the floors at some upscale NYC boutique and the host of the show decided it would look better without grout…which went about as well as you’d expect. Filming wrapped, and we were called back out a few weeks later to replace the fancy tile that immediately chipped and became dangerous with some boring tile. Had to sign NDAs, etc.”
Haha! I could have told you that.
This One-Week Home Build
“Remember Extreme Makeover ? A show where they build or hugely remake a home for a needy person/owner? They did one here in my town (won’t say for privacy) and my brother, a builder was approached to help build a home in the dead of winter. Bros couldn’t help but our friends, the neighbors to the home, volunteered and the home was completed in one week. In heavy rain, and cold, they built it, and now the home has a number of problems too. The owner went back on Extreme Makeover to fix everything, and was told, ‘you got this for free, fix it yourself.’
Wow! That’s not nice.
This Mural Failure
“My family was on a home renovation show when I was a kid, in the late ’90s or early 2000s. I think it was Changing Rooms or possibly another show by the same cast and producers. It was one of those shows where they do 3 rooms in the house and mine was one of the rooms they decorated. It looked so pretty, they decorated it to look like a fairy woodland with huge tree murals on the walls and a night sky of stars hanging from the ceiling. But it held up really badly, all the murals on the wall peeled off and it looked bad pretty quickly. I had fun shooting the show though and it was a cool story to tell my friends at school.”
Ah, that’s too bad.
This Spouse Surprise
“My sister’s master bedroom got a makeover on a ‘surprise your spouse’ show. The designer was going for an ‘Arabian nights’ romantic vibe but it ended up pretty weird looking with all the closets hidden behind yards of draped fabric. They took it all down and painted the room a neutral color within months. They also took the ceiling fan out and replaced it with a giant tree branch wired up with twinkling lights. Not too long afterward half the lights went out and it was too hot in the room without the fan, so that got put back as well. On the bright side, it didn’t cost them anything and was a fun experience, and they got a couple of new furniture pieces out of it but in the end, they didn’t keep any of it the same.”
Haha!
This Hotel Hell
“I stayed in a room that was made over on Hotel Hell . It was poorly done. The paint lines were terrible and some of it was on the ceiling. The decorations they used seemed like just really cheap stuff from TJ Maxx (not really hotel-quality stuff.) They didn’t touch the out-of-date bathroom but they didn’t put that part on the show. The hotel also didn’t keep the fancy linens in that room because I’m sure that was a pain to wash and keep track of one special set of linens. Basically, it looked great on camera but in person, it did not look professionally done.”
I can’t say I’m surprised.
This Raw Deal
“My countertop company was hired to fix cabinets and countertops for a house after a Property Brothers episode. Like I’ve seen others comment, the show filmed around all the problem areas so on the episode it looked great. The homeowners were livid after the show just picked up and left and we were stuck dealing with them. Not a fun few weeks.”
Oh, man. That sucks.
This Sad Reality
“I work for one of the construction companies that was contracted to build the new house on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition . This was like 10+ years ago when the show was at the height of its popularity. Anyways, it was a huge nice house built for a widowed mother with several kids (father had recently died, hence why she was on the show…). Even though the house was ‘given’ to her, she couldn’t afford it after a year or so (property tax, electricity, water, upkeep, etc…) and put it on the market. Simply owning a home of that size is very expensive and she couldn’t afford it.
“Edit: the obvious follow-up question here (I get it all the time…) is what are the legalities of selling that house, especially that quickly? Does she get to keep the $$ from the sale? My answer is: I have no idea.
“Another popular question: Did your company have to donate anything to be on the show?? Yes, but I have no idea what was donated. I have heard rumors that labor was donated and the show paid for the materials, but I have no real confirmation of this.”
Interesting, huh?
This HGTV Happy Ending
“I was on Listed Sisters on HGTV about 3 years ago on Season 2. It’s been great. The quality of work held up and it is still pretty stylish. I moved so I Airbnb the house now and the HGTV aspect seems to sell it well. Nothing bad to say at all. HGTV chipped in for some repairs as well since my ceiling fell in during the reno.”
Ah, finally some good news here, huh?
This School Upgrade
“I volunteered on a site that was renovated by the show School Pride (which lasted one season). This show went into run-down public schools and renovated some of their spaces. Noble work, but the condition of the schools was shameful–should never have gotten that way in the first place.
“For the project I helped with, they brought in a bunch of IKEA furniture for a student lounge. It looked cool and I am sure it helped their budget go farther, but I wasn’t sure if the stuff they chose would hold up really well to a bunch of high school students using it.
“I have not been back to know how the school has fared since the renovation; I will be thrilled if someone shows up here from there, but any of the students that would have been there when it was new would have graduated by now.”
And now I’m curious too.
This Unfortunate News
“I interned for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in the early 2000s. Yes, their taxes go through the roof. Tons of the families on it end up selling everything that was put in the house (computers, appliances, etc) to help pay the property taxes.”
Oh, my gosh! That’s not great news, huh?
This ‘Love It Or List It’ Success Story
“My friend was on Love It Or List It . She said that they did great quality work at a fraction of what it would have normally cost (the homeowners in this show have to pay for the renovations). She did say that her family was told to be all dramatic and have little arguments about the renovations to add spice to the show.”
Ah, I’m happy to hear that.
This Cheap Reno
“FIL is a contractor. His team helped with a build for a home makeover show shooting in Las Vegas. He said they were told to work fast and cheap, which throws quality out the window. There would also be moments where the crew would finish something, then the producers would bring in the ‘volunteers’ to hammer the last nail and act like they did the project.”
What a sham, huh?
This Great Experience
“My parents (and me, as a baby) were on a home renovation show called Makeover Wish . You would send in a heartfelt story and they would choose you and come renovate your house for you and leave it a complete surprise for you. About 6 or 7 years before I was born (I’m 15 now), one of my mother’s kidneys was failing. She was in the hospital constantly got extremely sick, and lost vision in both her eyes. My dad, being the hero he is, decided to donate one of his kidneys. Although it’s not too rare for people to donate kidneys nowadays, back then this was a huge deal and there’s been several newspaper articles and news broadcasts about their story. My parents ended up winning the Makeover Wish renovation for our house. The episode is actually on YouTube. Search Makeover Wish: The Donor (I have a cameo in it). Apart from the master bedroom, everything is pretty much the same and we’ve lived here ever since, and I hope to for years to come.”
Wow! What a great story. Am I right?
This Sweet Deal
” DIY SOS worked on a house just a few doors up from me a couple of years ago and it still looks amazing. The guy was disabled and they made him his own little house at the bottom of the garden and it looks great. Was pretty cool walking to school and casually walking past Nick Knowles and the rest of them haha.”
Ah, that’s nice.
This Truthful Statement
“I work for a high-end custom home builder. I’ve signed NDAs so I can’t say who we’ve built for but let’s just say we’ve built for the owners of…..Smunder Sharmor and the owner of….shmamazon. And even with the type of work we do where everything is top-notch materials and craftsmanship, we still have to go back year after year to fix things. Houses settle, paint cracks, homeowners drop things on tile floors etc. and these are houses that take us THREE YEARS ATLEAST to build from the ground up or renovate. I can’t stand those shows who ‘remodel’ in like 2 weeks lol there’s just no way to do so without issues down the line.”
Okay, that makes total sense, no?
This Happy Rebuild
” Extreme Makeover came to my town in like 2013-14, and did a demolition and new build of a house for my family friends. Luckily, they had the means to keep the house (property taxes went WAY up). It’s still a really nice house, and a few people I know have even gotten married there. The house held up super well.”
I like to hear that.
This Total Rebuild
“Friends were on a show a few years ago. It was a super intense three weeks of filming and the redesign looked great on camera. In reality, it was literally things stuck together with staples and tape. After the show, my friend took two weeks off work to rebuild everything properly.”
Yikes! I can’t even believe that.
This Odd Bathroom Reno
“My sister had her bathroom remodeled for a show. They took two back-to-back ancient 1970s-styled bathrooms and made one giant bathroom with a walk-in, no-door shower and a bathtub that fills from a faucet in the ceiling and marble sinks. They paid for all the materials while the show paid for the design and labor. Still, the show said ‘you have to buy these two sinks. Uh, they are $1500 each. …. yes buy them.'”
“She did further renovations later, but rents that house out now because they bought a new place. I think the bathroom certainly brought a wow factor from the renters. If it were me, having two back-to-back bathrooms with updated fixtures and paint would be worth a lot more than one giant bathroom with a separate walk-in shower, huge 50-gallon tub and a single toilet (and two marble sinks) because practically speaking only one person can use that at a time and it feels like you’re pooping in a living room or something, it’s so big. In any case, I think the renovation certainly added appeal and value to the house for sure.”
Which one would you choose?
Wow, quite the stories here, huh?
I have to admit I’ve always wondered about all those home renovation shows. Something told me that even though it looks good on TV, most shows must cut some corners, and now I know.
I feel bad for those folks who thought they would get quality work but ended up with a poorly done reno. However, the few success stories do make me feel happy. What do you think of these shows?