<p>I love Curb Appeal…Some of the episodes are filmed in my area and by all reports John Gidding and Kimberly Lacey are really as nice as they appear on camera. It really does seem like everything is real estate focused now…and like many of you I am really tired of the 25 year olds who live at home and have no real job but insist on stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, etc in their “starter” home!<br>
I wish HGTV had more good gardening shows. Seems like they used to a few years back. Now they have stupid things like “Yard Crashers”…Who would do that?</p>
<p>I was initially drawn the shows about how to achieve some higher style, liked many of the ideas. (And there were shows that covered technical details- not the Holmes level, but how-to talks related to decorating.) But, to keep an audience, so much became about the backstory- or some wacky ideas. I like the work of Jeffrey Alan Marks, who used to show up on Million Dollar Decorators. Right now, I get my fix by watching Million Dollar Listing, on Bravo. Not always, but sometimes. I turn down the sound, wait for the pictures. No, I do not have a million dollar budget. It’s my eye candy.</p>
<p>Its good to know how Rehab Addict raise the house and redid the foundations. That move is not for the faint of hart and I had an opportunity to make such a decision. I ended up not raising it and I think it is a right decision. To raise the house like she did will be very very costly and the risk associated with that is not for a novice.</p>
<p>I like Design Star. It might get old, but I didn’t see the first few so it’s still fresh for me. I like seeing different ideas for one space. There used to be a show on HGTV that I liked, but I can’t remember the name. A couple would be presented with three different plans from three different designers and they got to pick the one they liked best. I do like House Hunter’s International and am always amazed at how granite countertops are a world-wide obsession … is there enough supply to countertop the world?</p>
<p>We’ll be (hopefully!) retiring soon so I am interested in seeing what home buyers are looking for these days. It seems like tops to china hutches are out now and the modern taste uses only the bottom. </p>
<p>Now that every new house has granite counters and SS appliances, the style will start to change soon. What do you all see as the next must-have thing?</p>
<p>^^^^A lot of new high end homes have the carrera marble counter tops. But they stain easily, and I’m a messy cooker, so not for me.</p>
<p>I like the look of the quartz counters, too. Are they pricier than granite?</p>
<p>Love Candace and Sarah. Waiting for new shows from them. Another fan of Scott M, too.</p>
<p>I just compared the price for quartz counter tops vs granite. The actual material cost is going to be similar, the low end of the granite is cheaper, but the high end of the granite is close to quartz. For example, I bought the low end granite for my kitchen for about $250 whereas the same size quartz in white is around $450. But the cost granite varies a lot, so you can pay the same $450 for granite.</p>
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I think we’ll see more green products, like recycled glass countertops and bamboo flooring.</p>
<p>If I hear the words “open concept” one more time, I will blow my brains out.</p>
<p>When did the term “master bathroom” become “en suite”?</p>
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<p>Yes, but one of my favorite House Hunters was a handy guy and his girlfriend looking for a fixer upper in depressed areas of Detroit for under $100k. They’d open doors and they’d fall off hinges. There was little talk about granite versus marble countertops, flow, or how stainless steel appliances are looking outdated. I think they chose something for around $50k.</p>
<p>If I were an SNL writer I’d do a sketch called Homeless House Hunters. They’d never get to 2 or 3. “You mean it has running water, four walls and a roof? I’ll take it!”</p>
<p>As long as we’re talking alternatives, I’ve become a fan of ID Discovery. It’s all one hour murder documentaries. “Jack, a minister, and his high school sweetheart, Jill, had a picture perfect marriage, until Jezebel came to him for counseling. What came next was a steamy affair and Jill’s body turning up in the local koi pond.” Somehow I find that very relaxing and good to nap to. And when I wake up, as with HGTV shows, the last few minutes tells all. </p>
<p>Someone mentioned DVRing House Hunters and watching it in fast forward. I’m a big Jeopardy fan, and I’ve discovered I can watch a recorded episode in about 10 minutes.</p>
<p>“When did the term “master bathroom” become “en suite”?”</p>
<p>It’s always been “en suite” in Europe so I think TPTB just decided it has more of a “chic” factor because it’s European.</p>
<p>I figured the “en suite” was a Canadian thing.</p>
<p>I think the difference of Master Bathroom and en suite is that Master Bathroom does not have to have be connected to a Bedroom whereas en suite must. In the show, I notice they call other attached bathroom/bedroom “en suite”, it does not have to be Master.</p>
<p>A master bath is always an ensuite but an ensuite is not always the master bath. Any bedroom that has a bath exclusively for its use has an ensuite.</p>
<p>I googled for “en suite” and here is a simplified definition</p>
<p>[en</a> suite - definition of en suite by Macmillan Dictionary](<a href=“en-suite]en definition from Macmillan Dictionary: Free British English English Dictionary Online with Thesaurus”>ENSUITE (adjective) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary)</p>
<p>It’s a new term for me in the last year or two. I can appreciate that it might be a Canadian thing. We had a neighbor from Canada who called napkins serviettes. I thought it was charming.</p>
<p>I’ll be the lone wolf here and say Love It or List It is a guilty pleasure. The people drive me nuts, but I’m entertained. It’s interesting to me to see what people think they must have and then what they find they’re really willing to live without after all.</p>
<p>I really wanted white cabinets with butcher block counters, maybe with white appliances-- anything but stainless. Almost every house we looked at still had stainless appliances even though the kitchen hadnt been updated otherwise in 30+ years. Lots of laminate counters on dark cabinets. We ended up buying a house with white cabinets (the only one we saw with those), black granite, and stainless steel appliances. I’ll replace the counters and appliances someday. I don’t think I’ll catch up with the times any time soon. I don’t like the “industrial” look.</p>
<p>VH, it’s not just a Canadian thing. When we bought our place in Hilton Head a few years ago, ensuite was an often-used term in the listings. In fact, when my parents sold their home after I finished college, the ensuite bathroom for the master bedroom was included in the listing brochure. I know that because I was recently going through some old boxes of ‘stuff’ and found it! And that was in NJ in the mid-70s, although maybe the realtor was Canadian!</p>
<p>Serviette, although it’s derived from the French language, is actually a British thing. It’s usage is fairly common in Canada, but usually more with people in our parents’ generation. :)</p>