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Post by Kao on Apr 25, 2022 21:33:19 GMT
Windy City Rehab: This episode is basically a recap of what Alison has gone through since the last season, along with a cute rehab of an 4-flat. I believe the 4-flat was one of the projects that she got sued by investors about so it was very nice to hear at the end that she satisfied their requirements and she didn't owe them anything. The 4-flat is in Ukrainian Village, a cute neighborhood south of Bucktown (her preferred stomping grounds) that has a heavy immigrant population with a lot of 3 and 4-flats (and sometimes 6-flats), apartment buildings, and some very lovely A-line worker cottages, bungalows, and single family homes. There's also the Ukranian Museum of Modern Art and quite a few beautiful old churches. It used to be a working class neighborhood until I would say 15 years ago (when people priced out of Wicker Park and Bucktown started to move there instead).
She did an amazing reno job and even though I personally think $2500/month for a 700ft 2 bedroom is too much for the area, the extra Alison touches make it worthwhile and they can easily get someone who is willing to pay just for the amenities of having an in-unit washer/dryer, lots of storage space, a back porch to bbq on, and cute architectural details. There's parking available but really isn't needed because that area is serviced by a few bus lines running overnight, plus it has major grocery stores as well as stores catering to those from the Old Country, and the great restaurants on Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue are a nice walk away. Plus, certain streets are just lovely to walk down because of all the beautiful architecture, plus people tend to go all out with their gardens too so you see all these nice splashes of color. It's a very cute, relatively safe area of the city to live in, and Alison made all four of the apartments unique (with the best details on the top floors, of course.
Sad detail: Alison's dad died during the middle of all her mess with Donovan and you can tell she's still torn up about it.
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 25, 2022 21:44:26 GMT
Windy City Rehab: This episode is basically a recap of what Alison has gone through since the last season, along with a cute rehab of an 4-flat. I believe the 4-flat was one of the projects that she got sued by investors about so it was very nice to hear at the end that she satisfied their requirements and she didn't owe them anything. The 4-flat is in Ukrainian Village, a cute neighborhood south of Bucktown (her preferred stomping grounds) that has a heavy immigrant population with a lot of 3 and 4-flats (and sometimes 6-flats), apartment buildings, and some very lovely A-line worker cottages, bungalows, and single family homes. There's also the Ukranian Museum of Modern Art and quite a few beautiful old churches. It used to be a working class neighborhood until I would say 15 years ago (when people priced out of Wicker Park and Bucktown started to move there instead). She did an amazing reno job and even though I personally think $2500/month for a 700ft 2 bedroom is too much for the area, the extra Alison touches make it worthwhile and they can easily get someone who is willing to pay just for the amenities of having an in-unit washer/dryer, lots of storage space, a back porch to bbq on, and cute architectural details. There's parking available but really isn't needed because that area is serviced by a few bus lines running overnight, plus it has major grocery stores as well as stores catering to those from the Old Country, and the great restaurants on Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue are a nice walk away. Plus, certain streets are just lovely to walk down because of all the beautiful architecture, plus people tend to go all out with their gardens too so you see all these nice splashes of color. It's a very cute, relatively safe area of the city to live in, and Alison made all four of the apartments unique (with the best details on the top floors, of course. Sad detail: Alison's dad died during the middle of all her mess with Donovan and you can tell she's still torn up about it. She only had one investor on this project. Never said investors, always referred to this person as an investor. James Gramenos died on January 4, 2021. At times Alison came across a bit whinny, a bit like a victim, but if you didn't know the circumstances a viewer would not notice. I know a lot of folks don't like Alison as she does come across very strongly but I give her a lot of credit for creating a business and working in construction with big beefy guys. After finishing my landscaping project I learned as a female if you don't push and don't insist, and don't stand your ground you will not get what you want. Also as a female, guys in the trade are more than happy to take your money and give you a subpar work and materials.
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Post by Kao on Apr 25, 2022 21:54:31 GMT
I've noticed that a lot of people take assertiveness as being aggressive (especially in women) and that's not the case; if it were a guy people would just say he's handling things and has "decisiveness" instead of aggressiveness. I've never had an issue with Alison because she would get mowed under if she wasn't forward and assertive in her line of business, and she has shown herself to be very clearheaded and willing to listen to good advice (as she showed with her partnership with Michael Holmes on another show).
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 26, 2022 0:43:48 GMT
I've noticed that a lot of people take assertiveness as being aggressive (especially in women) and that's not the case; if it were a guy people would just say he's handling things and has "decisiveness" instead of aggressiveness. I've never had an issue with Alison because she would get mowed under if she wasn't forward and assertive in her line of business, and she has shown herself to be very clearheaded and willing to listen to good advice (as she showed with her partnership with Michael Holmes on another show). There is such a double standard for women in business. I have worked for many female managers and they can be as incompetent and difficult as men. Managing people is an art and the majority of people do not have a clue how to do it.
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 28, 2022 22:13:34 GMT
Christina Haack aka El Moussa is now Christina Hall and recently married to realtor Josh Hall, 41, after a year of dating.
Well I guess the divorce will be in April 2023.
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 30, 2022 2:45:57 GMT
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 30, 2022 3:01:01 GMT
Windy City Rehab Season 3 Episode 2 - - April 28, 2022
Well the house ended being torn down and new construction done. It was Alison's signature style. I did like the butler's pantry with the dark blue cabinetry, the blue tile walls, brass covered open shelving, antique brass lighting, new stained glass window. The pops of color are really play off well against the cool white of the walls in the entire house. Again Alison used huge swarths of cabinetry and tile and other materials to make statements with of course the antiques sprinkled in.
Again at the beginning of the episode there is a narrative showing Alison having her first online meeting with an astrologist who tells Alison how strong she is and to expect big changes in September (2021). Next week's previews show Alison heading out to LA now that she had finished with all the houses she had been partnered with Donovan. It is unusual for an HGTV show to have previews and makes it read as if we are watching scripted TV mmmm...
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Post by newsboi on Apr 30, 2022 11:43:39 GMT
Alison is really just a bad businessperson. She makes terrible decisions. She makes out of budget choices based on her aesthetic and not on what it brings to the project. $900 French streetlamp chandeliers in a rental unit? Why? They'd have gotten the same money for the building with a $200 fixture. Her tile is expensive and is time consuming to install adding to the cost. Everything she adds could be done for much less money, but she won't because she designs for herself. That's not to say that her finished product isn't beautiful, it is, but from a profit margin perspective its bad decision making.
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Post by waywyrd on Apr 30, 2022 12:28:03 GMT
A meeting with an astrologer is not what I expected to see on this show. It seems there's a whole lot of personal stuff this season, and I'd rather just see some houses being renovated. That said, I did like the new construction she did this week. Colors and tile were pretty, baths and kitchen were beautiful. I don't know why she kept going on about the stained glass piece being such a "risk," it looked pretty normal to me. It was just a tree.
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Post by nennie on Apr 30, 2022 13:07:11 GMT
I watched about the first 5 minutes of Windy City rehab. Those houses are so close together I am trying to figure out how they got in between them to brick them or put siding on them. I can't imagine living that close to someone in a stand alone house.
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 30, 2022 20:09:30 GMT
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Post by Bearcata on Apr 30, 2022 20:15:31 GMT
Alison is really just a bad businessperson. She makes terrible decisions. She makes out of budget choices based on her aesthetic and not on what it brings to the project. $900 French streetlamp chandeliers in a rental unit? Why? They'd have gotten the same money for the building with a $200 fixture. Her tile is expensive and is time consuming to install adding to the cost. Everything she adds could be done for much less money, but she won't because she designs for herself. That's not to say that her finished product isn't beautiful, it is, but from a profit margin perspective its bad decision making. The tile is not a problem for me, I see a lot of hexagon and penny tile ... but yeah some of the antique choices do confuse. I would luv to see the lighting budget on these renos. After watching the season two episodes where Alison has her accounts person go through the budget I think she has a better business head then you think, she just had terrible luck with her partner. However, many chandeliers I have seen on other reno shows they do run between $1000 to $2000 especially if they are the led kind, so two $900 French street lamps are a good price. They do look better then some of the less then $29 brass lighting my builder put into my house. To be fair her demographic is aimed at those folks who can afford a nice place. If she used cheap ass fixtures they would not be selling to the higher end market.
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Post by nennie on May 1, 2022 1:02:15 GMT
I figure Ant sees a big child support check. He's been displaying his relationship with Renee all over the place.
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Post by newsboi on May 1, 2022 11:33:21 GMT
"I figure Ant sees a big child support check. He's been displaying his relationship with Renee all over the place." ^^^^ That.
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Post by Kao on May 1, 2022 12:19:25 GMT
All of this is awful. He's been making potshots at Christina ever since she got remarried, and using your kids in this way is awful. She's absolutely right; if he really was concerned he would have opted for mediation instead of running to TMZ. Even with the ugliness of their divotce Tarek never said she was less than a good mom, and that's saying something.
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Post by Bearcata on May 1, 2022 14:09:13 GMT
All of this is awful. He's been making potshots at Christina ever since she got remarried, and using your kids in this way is awful. She's absolutely right; if he really was concerned he would have opted for mediation instead of running to TMZ. Even with the ugliness of their divotce Tarek never said she was less than a good mom, and that's saying something. Tarek and Christina have always had this sniping, taking potshots at each other relationship but NEVER have they used the kids against each other and it could have been a really bad situation. I am surprised this is happening as Ant came across as the one who had to be persuaded to participate in Christina on the Coast. I don't get the impression that he wanted to be filmed on a reality TV show. Then he was in England with his kids from his first marriage for months during COVID. Now he is back in California, divorced again, in a relationship with a movie star and he is concerned about Hudson when it is very obvious Christina is more than willing to take care of all the kids. I wonder if someone is pushing him to do this? Going public like this is not a good look. See how successful Kanye has been with his relationship with getting ex-wife Kim by airing out of their dirty laundry.
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Post by Kao on May 2, 2022 13:48:32 GMT
I watched the first two episodes of Hometown: Kickstart and while having a different designer on for each town is interesting I miss Ben and Erin.
The projects aren't as big a scale as the original series (each town gets a business, someone who is a pillar of the community with a raggedy house, and a public art project redone as kind of a "kickstart" for the rest of the town) but they are still really nice, and you get to hear about the area and the art projects also incorporate town history as well. In the first episode, Jasmine Roth and Ty visit a town in Wyoming, and in the second episode the Twins went to a small town in AZ. The AZ episode was especially interesting because this town has a lot of people from the Hopi and Navajo Nation living there and they worked with artisans from those communities for the public art piece. Next week, Nate and Jeremian are going to a small town in upstate New York and I'm looking forward to that.
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Post by Bearcata on May 2, 2022 22:32:10 GMT
I watched the first two episodes of Hometown: Kickstart and while having a different designer on for each town is interesting I miss Ben and Erin. The projects aren't as big a scale as the original series (each town gets a business, someone who is a pillar of the community with a raggedy house, and a public art project redone as kind of a "kickstart" for the rest of the town) but they are still really nice, and you get to hear about the area and the art projects also incorporate town history as well. In the first episode, Jasmine Roth and Ty visit a town in Wyoming, and in the second episode the Twins went to a small town in AZ. The AZ episode was especially interesting because this town has a lot of people from the Hopi and Navajo Nation living there and they worked with artisans from those communities for the public art piece. Next week, Nate and Jeremian are going to a small town in upstate New York and I'm looking forward to that. Nice to see HGTV and People magazine partnering together to continue last year's HomeTown Makeover and by picking 6 towns that applied for the Makeover show. If nothing else this limited series will create a bit of a buzz for all the towns involved. I did like that in this week's episode about Winslow, Arizona it was mentioned that they already were working on an economic revival and just needed that extra push.
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Post by waywyrd on May 3, 2022 13:13:37 GMT
Looks like the twins' Rock the Block house is under contract...Jenny and Dave's and Keith and Evan's are still up for sale. 135 Sandy Bend Lane
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Post by Bearcata on May 3, 2022 14:27:18 GMT
Looks like the twins' Rock the Block house is under contract...Jenny and Dave's and Keith and Evan's are still up for sale. 135 Sandy Bend LaneThe house shows well and they are using the staging from Rock Around the Block.
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Post by dagwood on May 3, 2022 19:39:03 GMT
Looks like the twins' Rock the Block house is under contract...Jenny and Dave's and Keith and Evan's are still up for sale. 135 Sandy Bend LaneI loved the twins' house.
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Post by Kao on May 3, 2022 19:57:02 GMT
It doesn't surprise me that Egypt and Mike's house sold first.
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Post by Bearcata on May 4, 2022 1:55:34 GMT
It doesn't surprise me that Egypt and Mike's house sold first. Overall, it had really nice finishes, killer kitchen, killer closets, killer foyer + mudroom. They know what works for the higher end buyer pool.
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Post by Eastcoastmom on May 4, 2022 18:13:27 GMT
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Post by waywyrd on May 6, 2022 11:57:32 GMT
Windy City Rehab - I honestly wasn't looking forward to this one, we've seen plenty of west coast flips and I like watching the Chicago renos for something different. But the Spanish revival they did turned out beautifully. And I get her wanting to leave Chicago (and the drama) for a bit in the middle of winter. The only thing I didn't love was the hot tub on the deck in the front - I wouldn't want everyone on the street looking at me cooking in the hot tub. And her realtor friend's husband was a jerk. Dude, just draw up the landscape plans. I think they mentioned renting it out at the end? I'd love to know how much that monster rents for out there...
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Post by Bearcata on May 7, 2022 2:57:07 GMT
Unsellables - while I like the shows and enjoy the West Coast design styles, the two sisters can be irritating in the way they talk so loudly, over enunciating every word as if the viewers are rather slow three year olds.
I have totally enjoyed the kitchens the sisters created this week and last.
This week's kitchen was a lovely galley kitchen with very nice soft green cabinets that morphed in a corner bench seat. In a small 1100 square foot home this team make a very ugly kitchen into something I wished I had in my house. I do see too many green kitchens in Home Town that I don't particularly like but this one was exceptional.
Last week in a much larger home the twins created a dark on dark kitchen that wowed. The flooring was vinyl product but looked like wide white oak planks. The kitchen also had a very large window and you need the light from the window and the light colored floors to balance the dark grey cabinets, the black leathered counters, and black tile backsplash. It worked and looked great.
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Post by Bearcata on May 7, 2022 3:22:29 GMT
Windy City Rehab - Season 3 Episode 3 - ”Change of Scenery” - May 5, 2022
FYI: The houses from episode 1 and 2 were right next to each other.
When season 3 of Windy City Rehab was announced I wondered how production and Alison would handle the fallout of Alison and Donovan breaking their partnership and all of the lawsuits. Would the show continue as if nothing had happened but with someone new filling in for Donovan?
In a sense episodes 1, 2, and 3 feel a bit like a documentary of Alison Victoria. To cynics it can seem very ego driven based on poor Alison being victimized by her former partner and watching how she dealt with it in Season 2 and how she has overcome and come out stronger and finding her way now in season 3. It is a bit of a hoot listening to Alison narrate it all. The woman does not lack for self confidence, ego, and drive.
It was nice to see Alison in California and watch how she works with other people. Alison seems to have a very good working relationship with Frank the general contractor and Michaela the home owner/investor/realtor/wife. The person causing problems is the other half of the married couple Luis who has his own landscaping business and does not understand that there is a schedule to renovating and flipping a property and comes in and changes things up without telling anyone and feels he can because it is his property. It never fails to amaze how people doing flips basically mess up the process.
Alison works well with Michaela and I like how she does not get upset when Michaela changes the wall design in the master bathroom. I like how the two ladies are on the same page with the design process. Watching Alison at Bahia Design get tile samples, put together the wall fountain, and get light fixtures is fascinating. The final products speak for themselves.
The arches and curved roof/ceiling in that house are divine.
I like how there is no yelling, or throwing things when dealing with Luis.
I personally would never live in that house for all the step downs and ups and having to use a spiral staircase to get to the second floor is just a big no for me. However, the house, a Spanish Mediterranean looked amazing after project was done. The house was built on the side of a hill and toward the back of the property. The transformation of the front yard was incredible. I do think that property was very unique for having very large, very mature trees, therefore having privacy for a front yard hot tub.
Nice to see that Alison maintains good relationships with craftsman such as Ari who did the front door for the house, wanting to get fresh eggs from his chickens and than freaking out when she stepped on some chicken poo.
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Post by Bearcata on May 7, 2022 5:19:01 GMT
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Post by nennie on May 7, 2022 12:36:31 GMT
Unsellables - while I like the shows and enjoy the West Coast design styles, the two sisters can be irritating in the way they talk so loudly, over enunciating every word as if the viewers are rather slow three year olds. I have totally enjoyed the kitchens the sisters created this week and last. This week's kitchen was a lovely galley kitchen with very nice soft green cabinets that morphed in a corner bench seat. In a small 1100 square foot home this team make a very ugly kitchen into something I wished I had in my house. I do see too many green kitchens in Home Town that I don't particularly like but this one was exceptional. Last week in a much larger home the twins created a dark on dark kitchen that wowed. The flooring was vinyl product but looked like wide white oak planks. The kitchen also had a very large window and you need the light from the window and the light colored floors to balance the dark grey cabinets, the black leathered counters, and black tile backsplash. It worked and looked great. I agree they do good design work but it's them that I can't watch so I don't. The "twin win" phrase is overdone. Enough of it. I think that is why I like Erin and Ben and Jenny and Dave Marrs. Very easy going and not obnoxious.
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Post by momrek06 on May 7, 2022 15:07:49 GMT
OMGOSH......100% agree with Bearcata and nennie on the twins on UNSELLABLE HOMES. I really like the show. BUT it's the ladies that are so annoying.
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