Hometime Shocker

[MikeS]

Some Shows Recycle

I think I've pointed this out before, but the only renovation show that seems to make an attempt at recycling old appliances and furniture is "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." I don't know whether Ty Pennington and company do it for every home, but they do try to give usable items to Habitat For Humanity or other groups, and use recycled/environmently friendly products where possible. It's not a perfect solution, but at least it's a start. Have other shows followed suit?

 

[danemodsandy]

Oldhouseman:

Greg:

Glad to see you back. You were missed. I'm in Iowa now; moved up here last month. Hope all is well with you.

 

[bugsyjones]

estatesale_gary

I have to say that the room DID need a little work. But just a little. I don't like the greenish wall color they did or the BEIGE CARPET! I also don't like the flat-screen monstrosity that they mounted by the fireplace.

The author said about the linoleum: "After I saw these I imagined that the original owners, the people that built the house, were probably really into Bonanza and had a country western motif in their den. Can't you just see a wagon wheel coffee table and horseshoe wall sconces? I am sure they looked great with the naugahyde couch sporting wooden arms. Eecchhh!"

My sitting room is southwestern style, bi*@h.

I've got the tacky 70's wooden furniture, and other vintage 'touches' such as two-tier lampshades and a covered wagon TV light. A wagon wheel coffee table would complete it perfectly.

I say "Eecchhh!" to HER new room...that bi*@h.

~Tim

 

[mattl]

Come on, that basement was a dump, no way around it. The update is OK, but I hate the dark stain. If it was me I'd have ripped out all the paneling and simply done dry wall.

That is exactly what I'm going to do this winter with my basement. It's truly a blast from the 70's. REAL oak paneling, I remember my mother labeling each sheet as to where it should go so the graining was correct. Good quality Mediterranean style cabinets that will get a coat of paint and new hardware, and an alcove with red velvet Naugahyde on the upper portion of the wall. Plus it's furnished with a full set of black Naugahyde furniture -sofa, love-seat, rocker/recliner and chair with ottoman. The floor is a dark brown Armstrong Corlon in the Mediterranean tile motif.

I'm planning on drywall over all the walls, going a soft green and cream look. Not much I can do with the floor, but large area rugs will help. I'm sure some here will not agree with my plans, but there is nothing truly special about dated looking spaces.

 

[tolivac]

I am glad that the Extreme Makeover folks now recycle-I have some of their shows on DVD and they show the Extreme Makeover team BLATANLY trashing the old appliances on one of the jobs-lets see throwing a dishwasher thru some sliding glass doors-guess they were to be demolished anyway-and some good overhead sledgehammer shots on a vintage stove.Thats a show I quit watching after seeing those DVD recordings of their show-their renovations are just too EXTREME for me.And a suit was filed against them when one of their makeovers boosted the homeowner into a higher tax bracket on the home after the Extreme Job was completed and tax apprased.

 

[mayguy]

I saw that Hometime show, and I was wondering how many of you guys were cyring/scream when the oven got chucked into the dumpster.

I agree, the new cabinet results did not have a "WOW" look.. it still had the dark 70's brown! Only wow for me was better lighting, and new counter top.

 

[sudsmaster]

I didn't get a good look at the oven before they dumped it. Did you? If it was a GE, then shame on them.

 

[bajaespuma]

Thank you for this thread; I so agree

I want to figure out how to get in touch with these TV production companies so we can have a chance to save these appliances. .

...and, by the way, whoever uttered "Fish-eyed Fool", bless you. You made my morning.

 

[cadman]

Responsibility

This really gets my dander up. Unfortunately, most people are pretty short-sighted when "updating" a room. All they see is a dated space and don't realize their renovation of $6 per sheet drywall over original wood paneling is the bigger date stamp. Once it's done, there's no going back; those vintage materials simply do not exist anymore.

As collectors, recyclers and enthusiasts of appliances, we tend to have an eye towards preservation, but I'd wager the general public buying a unique used home doesn't see themselves as stewards. Instead of living with the home, getting to know its bones and making evolutionary changes to align with their personalities and lifestyles, they set forth to turn it into something it's not. There's more individual character in a row of thousand square foot ranches than in today's vinyl clad, drywall boxes, differentiated exclusively by what appliances you have (and maybe the shade of your granite countertops). At least in the 50's when rec rooms were springing up and VCT or VAT was going down the end results were uniquely individual.

Thankfully, there are those dutifully keeping blogs on how they're restoring interior spaces such as these back to original spec- I whole-hearted applaud their efforts and dedication.

Yes, that room needed some work, and yes, it's entirely the owners' right to change the house as they see fit, but some of these renovations are akin to taking a classic car and chopping, hacking and customizing until the vehicle is no longer recognizable...and they aren't building any more '58 Buicks. -Cory

 

[toggleswitch2]

There is no accounting for taste, now is there?

oooh honey the only taste she has is in her mouth!

Honest to G-d, I'm goona go learn Fung Shui so that any room I "do over" will have that comfortable feel to it that just reeks of good asethetics.

Then I can take whatever I have to work with (of any era) and make if *FABULOUS!*

Momma always said the fucntion of all human beings is to maximize their talents and charms and work within their given limitations. This is good advice for everything in life, I'd say.

And BTW not everyting OLD is an "antique" or worth saving. SOem of it is jsut CRAP! We also have to look at how much of "preervation" that is acutally just those of us who are againg and desperately trying to hold on to the past. Nessflash: The future is coming, like it or not!

 

[danemodsandy]

Cory:

"Yes, that room needed some work, and yes, it's entirely the owners' right to change the house as they see fit, but some of these renovations are akin to taking a classic car and chopping, hacking and customizing until the vehicle is no longer recognizable...and they aren't building any more '58 Buicks."

I agree wholeheartedly - things are only original once. What is really crazy is when something that has been "remuddled" finally gets back into the hands of a sensitive, sympathetic owner. The Bay Area's Eichlers are a good example - now that they're hugely popular(and wildly valuable) midcentury icons, owners are having to spend megabucks putting back features obliterated by years of DIY remuddling. In many cases (like the sheet-lauan panelling found in original Eichlers), replacement materials are hard to find in the first place, and often against code in the second (stuff left in place from when a house was new is usually grandfathered).

Today's "big-box" DIY stores are a great resource for many things, but they have a lot to answer for when it comes to putting inappropriate materials into the hands of the insensitive.