HGTV Shows

Zillow Gone Wild: It's like "The Ugliest House in America" but with unusual houses/living spaces for sale on Zillow, plus each week there's a semi finalist chosen that will later compete for the title of "Wildest House on Zillow." The converted missile silo from last week was kinda awesome, and this week had a lady who is selling her bright pink Hollywood Regency style home that used to belong to the Gabor sisters. It's pure 60s, plus the Gabors installed a rotisserie oven in the kitchen, lol. This week's winner is a beautiful home made out of wood, rock, and stone inside with a grass lawn and vegetable garden literally growing on the roof of the house; apparently the whole house was built around a giant stone boulder on the property and the architect decided to make it a design feature inside? It's only a 30 minute show so if you're in the mood to see some truly wild, unusual, (and fun) real estate it's a great watch.

I love this show and wish I had the money to buy the pink palace.  I absolutely love that house.  The only thing I would change is to add blinds in that bathroom window.

To give you an idea of how ridiculous she's being (as well as a price range of what properties go for in that area of the city) I believe she paid around 475k for that warehouse. While there's no denying it's a beautiful property...well....good luck with selling it, sis!

I loved the rainbow house at first then it got to be a little much. I found myself wishing for a white room, and I am one that dislikes white rooms. The store/restaurant/bar was meh. I did like the church, though.

I think they picked the right one this episode.

Zillow Gone Wild: a lot to love this week, as I enjoyed all three houses for different reasons.

Berkley, CA: Mod house that looked like a saxophone outside? Built in 1996, th original owner was a musician that had the house custom built. Lots of glass and open space with a glass atrium in the living room. Lots of huge windows showcasing the hills outside. The house is symmetrical with staircases on both sides (which are inside the saxophone-shaped columns) and a circular master bedroom. The interior is white with gold accents, and looked chic. I quite liked this weird ass house, lol.

Joshua Tree, CA: This home would have looked quite at home on Tatoonie in Star Wars. It literally looked like someone molded interesting shapes out of clay and decided to turn it into a house, lol. Made out of earth and clay, lots of domes with interlocking areas comprise a living space and studio with 3 “outer domes” elsewhere on the property. Inside was really soothing; I noticed a built in bed in a type of carved out nook in the wall that looked cozy as hell and that the owner called “the bed womb.” Kitchen was small but cozy, and overall the house had a nice flow. I liked this space as well.

St. Louis, MO: At over 100 years old, this house legit looked like a smallish German castle, lol. Lots of turrets and gas lanterns outside, very ornate inside and a step back in time. This house has been in the owner’s family since the 1940s and had a lot of old furnishing handed down by family members. Very storybook.

This week’s winner: The dome of course, and as of now I’m rooting for it to take the whole competition, lol.

After a year on the market and a couple price reductions, Anthony and Michel's Rock the Block house is finally pending:

2531 Southwind Rd, Berthoud, CO 80513


Looking back over the pics, I still don't like it.

Zillow Gone Wild: This week veered off into extremely strange territory.

Las Vegas, NV: Deceptively simple on the outside, this home is like a pirate’s ship interior on the inside. The owners have a friend who is a retired set designer who helped develop the look of the house. Details include a master bedroom that looks like a castle interior, an old fashioned ship steering wheel in the living room, a “adventure room” with a treehouse inside and a tavern/bar room with ship sails on the ceiling and a Davy Jones Locker feel.

Alhambra, CA: This house literally sits on top of a bridge. While there’s no garden, this 462 sq ft studio has a a rooftop terrace. The space is dived into 3 areas; the kitchen, bathroom, and living area. The owner (a retired history teacher) recently purchased it and is still deciding what to do with the space, so it’s pretty bare bones.

Pick of the Week: Pirate’s Booty ( I understand, but the shabby chic house was RIGHT THERE. Ugh ).

Battle on the Beach - someone please explain to me how that winning kitchen was remotely "beachy." The burgundy island with orange-y cement tile backsplash wasn't terribly pretty, either. Meh.

Alison's team's kitchen was okay, but there was too much of that white foam faux rock, and I don't love waterfall counters, especially in butcher block.

Taniya's team did okay, but nothing really stood out.

Lots of sloppy workmanship and lots of Ty yelling at us, but that's what this show is, I guess.

Screamed MORROCO! Just NO.

There seemed a huge disconnect with the raw pine wood siding on the top part of the wall and ceiling, then that terra cotta tile which screamed either Mexico or Morroco, than that burgundy island with the black newel posts that were scruffy, plus the gold metal pulls and faucet and add in the huge Mid-Century Modern light fixture over the island, just too much and yuck. 

Alison's Team came across ready to cry oppressed victim. There really was something about their attitude. 

Do you like raggedy, cheap old houses and commercial spaces fixed up while maintaining the original features and charm? Do you like hearing about its history, and seeing designers create looks based on that, but with a modern twist? Are you tired of the beigetrocities HGTV keeps shoving down our throats and long for...COLOR? Well, look no futher; HGTV has a new show called Who's Afraid of a Cheap Old House that ticks all of these boxes!

The premise of the show is "Historic-home experts Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein help homebuyers find old properties sold at ridiculously inexpensive prices. Then they restore these architectural gems to new glory." I watched the first episode, and it was such a breath of fresh air. A couple wanted to upgrade to something bigger, but being artists they wanted a non-traditional space they could convert into something livable. Ethan and Elizabth found two spaces; an old Oddfellows headquarters from the 1800s with beautiful arched windows, high ceilings, a secret "library" room as well as a ballroom on the second floor with a ton of windows that was literally built into a mountain side, and the second was a firehouse/city hall building sitting on the river that was also from the late 1800s with original tin ceilings and walls, beautiful curved windows, a "mayor's office," transom doors inside, and a safe room. than and Elizabeth talked a lot about the history of both places, and once they chose their space the designer gave the buyers 3 different design options to choose from. I loved the fact that the designer and Elizabeth use local artisans in the design (in this case a shop that reproduces old lighting fixtures) and that they explain how thy are reno-ing certain features, and why.

I found this show quite by accident on Discover+ (but I'm sure it's also available on demand) and I'm spacing out watching the episodes because I don't want to watch all of them in one go. This show is definitely worth the watch because it's great; especially if you love seeing old raggedy properties get some love.

Zillow Gone Wild: This week was super fun!

Riverdale, NE: It's Schoolhouse Rock time as a family bought a 11k square ft schoolhouse converted into a 8 bed 3 bath house. The owner's grandmother went there when she was a child, and he let at the opportunity to buy the property. They converted the library into a music room and the kitchen was renoed and looked sweet, and while a lot of the rooms still read "school" (ie: blackboards in bedrooms, auditorium, gym room, etc) they're looking forward to renovating. The family wants to host special events in the space as well as foster dogs, and they definitely have enough space to do so!

St Louis, MO: Deceptively simple on the outside, this 2800 sq foot farmhouse looked like something out of Pee Wee's Playhouse inside. This house was a riot of color and fun features inside that somehow wasn't overwhelming? The bathroom was literally styled like an underwater seascape mosaic that took over 250 hours to make that was incredible, and the dining room floor was a mosaic of a Keith Haring painting. More floor mosaics in the kitchen, and the red cabinetry with yellow walls looked great. I loved this house, lol.

Palmdale, CA: This house is super bizarre, and has to be seen to be believed? It was like...a wooden multi-level Brutalism structure on the outside with trees growing inside, loads of windows, a pond, stone walls. A lot of Scandinavian touches, and the mountain views is incredible. This house brought the drama. Current owner lived here for 37 years and raised his family there and is now looking to sell.

This week's winner: Pee Wee Playhouse (as it should be, lol).

Yeah I don't need three damn laundry rooms and seven bathrooms to keep clean. I did like the look of the exterior, but the inside just wasn't my thing.

In more random HGTV news, Luke Caldwell (Boise Boys) announced that he and his family are filming a new series that will be aired on "another network" that will be about his family and running Timber and Love. Personally, no Clint = no care; apparently he moved back to Texas to be with family and Luke bought out his stake in T&L. Word around the campfire is that the "other network" is Magnolia, and considering their programming this new show will fit right in? Luke's been doing all sorts of random things since he and Clint parted ways; he wrote a book, the T&L empire now has a coffee shop, merchandise and furniture store, vacation rentals, and selling real estate. Goodness.