TV shows that make your job harder

[Sofar]

As for painting, next time you paint, please remove all the hardware in the room, switch plates, light fixtures, hinges, even the doorknobs. Remember to open and shut all the windows every few hours for a few days after the paint dries. If your windows have lead glazing bars, don't try to paint those. Remember, those crappy vinyl-framed windows you installed can't take paint, so don't try. Do all this because I will be living in your house after you move out and I don't want to have to fix all your mistakes.

And if you have any woodwork on which you don't want any paint to fall, apply a coat of vaseline to the wood. Not only will it keep any paint from sticking, but it's good for the finish.

[Ms. Pounce]

That was Clean Sweep - they do this all the time - makes me cry.

Oy... I stopped watching Clean Sweep after the host(ess?) spent the entire show trying to convince the homeowner to get rid of his dogs ashes. >_<

[lordlundar]

Oy... I stopped watching Clean Sweep after the host(ess?) spent the entire show trying to convince the homeowner to get rid of his dogs ashes. >_<

Oh, they try something like that with me, and the second they reach for it, they pull back a bloody stump.

[Reyneth]

Oy... I stopped watching Clean Sweep after the host(ess?) spent the entire show trying to convince the homeowner to get rid of his dogs ashes. >_<

Yikes, that's horrible.
One that really got me was the competition they had at the yard sale, the item the guy was competing for was a wooden snake his grandfather had hand-carved for him when he was little. Is NOTHING sacred to these people? I was so furious when I saw that. Thank goodness the wife had compassion - even though she won, she gave up her prize so he could keep that wonderful piece of sentimental family history.

These "designers" are so into creating a product that they forget that real people have to live with the results.

And I'm totally on board with everyone else who hates seeing good woodwork destroyed by painting it. My grandfather had a workshop in his basement and my childhood headboard along with the dressers I now use, jewelry boxes, and on and on were all made by his hands. There's going to be a fight over the knotty pine curio cabinet he made my grandma. Society as a whole does not value these things, so when tv shows paint them or otherwise destroy them without a thought, it makes it harder for the real craftsmen out there to get respect for what they do.

[DesignFox]

Unfortunately, in our cheapy cheap world, fine craftsmanship in anything is no longer appreciated. People don't want it to be nice, they want it to cost less. Quality is a dying thing and it is really sad.

As for TV making people's jobs harder, I feel bad for the police! If your house ever gets robbed, just reassure your detective that you don't watch CSI. He'll be very relieved that you don't expect him to pull out some magic machine that pulls dust out of the air and gives you the name and address/life history of the guy that just ripped you off....

Those poor guys...when the one came to dust for prints, he said, "It's not really exciting...it's nothing like CSI..." We reassured him that we don't watch that show and that even if we did, we're smart enough to realize that that crap is A) totally made up or B) what technology DOES exist for finding bad guys isn't going to be squandered on something so trivial as finding a few stolen electronics...

All the cops that showed up that night and the next day or so felt the need to repeat that they can't do that thing on CSI... I feel REALLY bad for them!

They also mentioned that those stupid crime shows are starting to make the criminals smarter...so its harder and harder to get evidence in the first place...

[XCashier]

One that really got me was the competition they had at the yard sale, the item the guy was competing for was a wooden snake his grandfather had hand-carved for him when he was little. Is NOTHING sacred to these people?

My grandpa made wood carvings by hand, too. I've got a lovely wall hanging he made, a carving of two Mississippi Kites ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Kite ). If any family member ever trashed, painted or yard-saled any of his stuff, I'm sorry, I'd have to beat them senseless.

[protege]

Unfortunately, in our cheapy cheap world, fine craftsmanship in anything is no longer appreciated. People don't want it to be nice, they want it to cost less. Quality is a dying thing and it is really sad.

Exactly. These people bitch and moan about how expensive good furniture, art, or whatever is...so they'll buy the cheap stuff. Then, that stuff, which is usually shit, breaks...they bitch and moan about having to replace it. Uh, wouldn't it have been better to spend a *bit* more, and just have to buy the thing once?

That's exactly why I've held onto the family heirlooms. They're much better than what's available today

[Catwoman2965]

My favourite home renovation show? Holmes on homes.

I just discovered him in the US on Discovery Home...he's awesome! He really seems to know what he's doing, and yes, i also enjoy his ranting about the previous shoddy work. My parents bought a house in VA about 2 years ago, about 20 years old, and their next door neighbors built new. Guess who has the better house? And the new build was NOT cheap, if i had to guess, 400K plus, but lOTS of cut corners and problems from it.

Slightly OT, did you see the episode with the two guys who bought a condo in a renovated church, and their heating/cooling was all out of whack? what a job, but what a gorgeous place they had!

[Catwoman2965]

My apt is furnished in what my mom calls "early, middle and late attic", and i have some nice pieces - not valuable, but have sentimental value. I have an armoire, dresser with mirror and dressing table that were my grandparents when they first got married in the 1920's. I also have a wooden coat rack my grandfather made in HS shop class, aroud 1912 or so.

And i have my grandmother's couch, which mom had reupholstered for me...as well as her best friend's mom's original 1950's chrome and vinyl kitchen chairs. But my favorite has to be this butt-ugly, mottled pea green, large ceramic lamp, circa. early 1960's - my parents didn't want it when they moved, so I took it. I have photos of me as a baby, with the lamp in them (i'm 41 now).

And the running joke with my parents is that my inheritance is 5 pieces of furniture. I don't care if they leave me nothing else, but get rid of those antiques, and they are in trouble!
Best part: i paid NOTHING for any of my furniture, except my mattress and box spring....

I don't get these shows where they a. compeltely disregard the homeowner's wishes in terms of changing things and b. dont' really take into consideration what's practical and what's not.

Yeah, my stuff may not completely match, but i like it, it suits me, and will last a whole lot longer than the stuff you can buy now, or the cheap stuff so many of my friends have.

[Dreamstalker]

Unfortunately, in our cheapy cheap world, fine craftsmanship in anything is no longer appreciated. People don't want it to be nice, they want it to cost less. Quality is a dying thing and it is really sad.

Indeed. I used to make lovely native-style chokers, using real materials if I could get them (bone, horn, leather, glass, shell...I used the waxed-cotton "sinew", but it still looked great). Tried to sell a few on ebay....no dice. I priced them as low as I could while still covering my costs/time and making a little profit, and I'd get emails "can u sell this for $5"...erm, no. You want one for five bucks, go bid on one of the mass-produced mostly-plastic ones.

[Sliceanddice]

good i hate most people.
We buy alot of cute things that are old.
I have a bed from the 60s and its lasted longer than most bedframes and headboards ive seen made today.

Im pimping Design on a Dime again because how they care.
You wanna keep the cheap 7 foot tall mirror? They frame it!
Love your antique cherry four poster? They buy matching antiques!
You love your couches and chairs? They build a few pieces and stain to match the wood on them!
Have wicker furniture? They restore it!
Want something that seems weird like a giant white board to help you study? Thet make it!

They are the few people i would let design a room for me, because they listen!!!!

[protege]

Yeah, my stuff may not completely match, but i like it, it suits me, and will last a whole lot longer than the stuff you can buy now, or the cheap stuff so many of my friends have.

My bedroom suite doesn't match at all, simply because nobody sells dark pine furniture anymore. My dresser, an expensive piece of furniture, doesn't *quite* match the bed, nor does it match the nightstand (black metal from IKEA), or even the soon-to-be-stained armoire. Do I care? Not really

One of my more-recent finds...is a 1959 Radio-Flyer wagon. It's pretty beat up, but is in good shape for its age. The floor is still solid, and the tires still have decent tread. Hard to believe that someone had put it out for the trash. Eventually I plan on restoring it, mainly to keep the rust at bay

[myswtghst]

Most of my furniture is cheap-y from Ikea, but it's because I don't intend to keep it forever, but it's good for now, and I've been able to take it apart and put it back together when I've moved.

We have furniture in my parents' house that I would kill someone if they ever tried to mess with it. I was sad when "my" bedframe, which was my mother's when she was in her teens, finally kicked the bucket a few years back.

And the only reason I understand the whole "paint everything white" mentality is because it makes it easier for the next owner to paint it any color they want. My apartment was mostly white when I moved in, so before I moved in furniture, my mom and I painted my bedroom pale blue, and my living room/entry way turquoise/green/blue sponged, so it looks like water (my apartment has a Hawaiian theme). Cracks me up because my apartment is decorated much cuter than anything I've seen on tv, and it was cheap and easy, thanks to my mom.

[BookstoreEscapee]

My mom has an old dresser/desk thing in the basement that belonged to her mother. It has 2 small drawers at the top, 2 large drawers at the bottom, and in the middle has a panel that folds down to reveal 2 more large drawers, and creates a desktop-type platform (I don't know if it's really meant to be a desk but I don't know what else to call it). I want it someday. It's stained really dark and has a huge gouge in the top and has nails for drawer pulls but I want to refinish it and paint it or something. And one of my dressers in my room I've had since I was a baby. It's white and a bit beat up but I'd like to replace the ugly gold drawer pulls and strip it and repaint it. One of these years...

[Gurndigarn]

And the only reason I understand the whole "paint everything white" mentality is because it makes it easier for the next owner to paint it any color they want.

Intellectually I understand that, but I look at my house... pink/red/pale green sponged wall living room... blue-on-blue bedroom... straw yellow with complimenting wainscotting bedroom... mural-trellis-wall bedroom... no, I'm not repainting everything white.

And one of the places I was happy to find was a place that sold unfinished real wood furnature for decent prices with a pretty good selection. Admittedly, your usual wood choices are pine or oak... extra for oak... but it's real wood. Real, real wood. Precccciouuusss wooooodddd....