<p>For me, the point of these shows is to see what housing is like in various places and what you get for your money. I also like seeing the design differences. </p>
<p>Selling LA is rather notoriously more fake. There are websites devoted to the lack of actual deals done on the show and that most of the “clients” aren’t actual clients, etc. Selling NY actually deals, much of the time, with real places. Selling London seems to be more like Selling LA but more fake.</p>
<p>Did anyone catch the show last night? The guy only had $40K for a place in Atlanta. Was that for real?</p>
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<p>Both of those shows look fabulous on HD tv. I enjoy seeing those beautiful homes, so hearing that it’s fake doesn’t really bother me all that much. </p>
<p>I recall seeing the stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in model homes almost twenty years ago. That look seems to be still going strong. We will probably be putting our house on the market soon and we would have a very hard time selling in our neighborhood had we opted not to put in those features when we built the house 13 years ago.</p>
<p>^ saw that toledo - was amazed at the nice townhouse he got for less than 40K.
H and and I are long term HH watchers - though only as a default show now. At first we watched it eagerly but got really, really tired of the people who had to have granite counter tops, hard wood floors in a particular shade, stainless steel appliances, etc. etc. We began to call it the ‘whiny show.’ Most of the people who want those things seem to pitch their voices high when they make their complaints. The really insidious part it the aesthetic necessity created by this show - has put a lot of money in the pockets of the show sponsors. This is nothing new, one of our older houses had what we called the working man’s arts and crafts kitchen - it had the look but very much low end materials.
We never really thought HH was totally ‘real’ - how could it be? But after telling him about this thread my H now call is the ‘liars and cheaters’ show - lol. We are still watching!</p>
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<p>Yes, although in very upscale markets (like the apartments in Selling New York), you’ll notice that marble is the new look. Granite is considered pass</p>
<p>I enjoy HHI. It is interesting to see how people live and what housing cost in other countries. I am surprised that people go on the show without receiving some financial benefit. </p>
<p>Selling New York is my favorite (love the Kleiers) and I DVR all of the new episodes. Selling LA and now Selling London are also fun to watch. I understand why someone selling their home would want it shown on the program but what do the buyers get for going on the show???</p>
<p>Someone mentioned in an earlier post they wanted Candace Olsen to decorate their house . I want Sarah Richardson and Tommy to come and decorate mine. :)</p>
<p>The current design trend is back toward white cabinets and white surfaces. Not going to last. White cabinets show dirt. Every finger print near a piece of hardware. All the oil from fingers. All the dust with just enough grease in it to stick. These kitchens are for people who don’t cook. That is why they’re on design shows: the people don’t really cook in them or they’ve been professionally cleaned for TV.</p>
<p>White counters, unless they’re quartz, will look old. Marble, even if it’s sealed, can stain and it may discolor if you put a hot pot on it. The whiter quartz composites have become much nicer. They will chip in small places but should continue to look decent.</p>
<p>I think white cabinets are never going out of style…my grandmother had white cabinets, my parents did…i do right now. I like them.</p>
<p>30 years ago…oak cabinets were in…then maple cabinets (which I had and liked)…then cherry cabinets…</p>
<p>I have no idea what is in now or going to be in style in the future…</p>
<p>I like granite…whether granite is in style or not.</p>
<p>^^We installed a “white” kitchen in 1988 in a 100+ year old home and I love it still today. We have a large Viking stove and have used the kitchen way more than most people with steam, splatters, grease and all the normal kitchen things. I love my white cabinets. They are wood and I haven’t noticed any finger printing problems and I haven’t noticed that grease impacts them any different than stained wood cabinets. The counter tops are also white, but I love them because they show crumbs and stuff so everyone is good about wiping them off. At our vaca home we have speckled Bella Rosa granite and nobody…I mean nobody wipes those off because they can’t “see” any spills, crumbs, etc. and when the sun shines you can see streaks. The stainless knobs and appliances constantly show sticky fingerprints. From a visual cleanliness and maintenance perspective I actually prefer my 24 year old traditional style white kitchen to the granite modern one and I’m starting to see more and more white kitchens in the design mags and have decided my white kitchen is traditional enough that it might pass for timeless.</p>
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<p>Me, too, tututaxi! I adore her style (although Candace would be my second choice 
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<p>^^^patsmom, I agree Candace would be my second choice too!!</p>
<p>I know people who have extremely porous countertops and love them. I know someone with a concrete counter and floors; everything breaks when dropped. He loves it. Not my point. We are all individuals. We all have our individual likes and experiences. The point is that fashion moves in the aggregate. Most people like the idea of white cabinets more than the reality. They want what’s “in” now. </p>
<p>We had white cabinets. I liked them. My wife thought they were always dirty. She won so we refaced them with maple. </p>
<p>Granite stands for hard surface. I don’t see hard surfaces going out of style. Not many people are going to go to softer laminates if they can afford something that wears better. </p>
<p>Stainless appliances have the advantage of not changing with color preferences, so they’ll stick around. I expect more of the higher end look to come downmarket, meaning more cabinet faced appliances, mostly fridges of course, with panels that can be changed. I thought that would have happened already but I didn’t see the explosion in appliance sizes and the shift to multiple doors. They’re now pushing over 30 cu ft fridges. That’s 10 cu ft more than a formerly large fridge and nearly double what a large fridge was when family sizes were larger. Ranges are also getting bigger; the standard seems to be moving toward 36". I suppose that’s better than building ever bigger houses with more bathrooms than people.</p>
<p>To be clear, we have a blue quartz counter, maple cabinets and a stainless steel backsplash. Not a usual look. I assume it would be tough to sell.</p>
<p>I always had kitchen-envy during scenes in Lynette’s kitchen on Desperate Housewives… if I could combine that with Gabby’s bathroom I’d be in heaven. :)</p>
<p>We’re expecting to have to redo the kitchen when we find a home to purchase, and I haven’t decided what I like yet. I do like white cabinets best and always have, but I don’t really seem to like any of my choices for the countertops-- definitely not white, I could live with black but I don’t like it. The wood looking ones are pretty but I can’t imagine they’re practical.</p>
<p>Sarah’s House was a great show. Good advice and realistic and honest with the budget. Hope it comes back for a new season. But Sarah Richardson may be busy with a baby.</p>
<p>^^^ Is she pregnant with her 3rd child?</p>
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I saw that show too. I couldn’t believe you could buy any housing for $40K. </p>
<p>I’m continually surprised by the age of the people that are willing (and I guess able!) to pay $400k and up for their first house. Our first house was on an acre in the country and cost about $6,000. We furnished it with all second hand stuff that our parents gave us.</p>
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<p>Sarah’s new show, Sarah 101, is on now. I hadn’t heard she was pregnant. I saw her not too long ago and she didn’t look pregnant.</p>
<p>I’m floored that people pay ~$1M to live in one Caribbean place when they could live in others for less than half and get very much the same thing.</p>
<p>"Granite stands for hard surface. I don’t see hard surfaces going out of style. Not many people are going to go to softer laminates if they can afford something that wears better. " </p>
<p>If you want to splurge on granite for the look, do so. But don’t fool yourself into thinking that cheaper laminates don’t wear well. Mine are almost 20 year old, doing fine. I like them ok. There are other folks that WISH their laminate counters would wear out because they are tired of the old look.</p>
<p>I agree about laminates. I grew up with them. The counters stayed the same for decades. But people don’t think that way. </p>
<p>I was in a little house for an estate sale. It had a custom made blue 1950’s curved sofa and the kitchen had pink laminate counters with absolutely flawless stainless steel edges. It looked like a movie set. Real pity the house was to be gutted. Maybe even replaced with something 3x as large.</p>
<p>My wife had a friend growing up whose house was completely pink and gold, with heavy pink and gold drapes, pink carpets and, of course, French Provincial furniture in pink and gold. Her mother smoked heavily and had a tiny poodle. It looked like an art director’s totally over-the-top dream for some bizzaro movie.</p>