Designed To Sell

The BF and I watch this show frequently on HGTV. Designed To Sell is your basic $2,000 budget-per-show re-do that helps the lazy, unmotivated, clueless homeowners get the maximum dollar amount for the home they are planning to sell.

First off, you have to catch the episodes with carpenter Steve Hanneman (left); he's quite the cupcake. He's not on the show's website, so I'm not sure where he went and what he's doing now. But his personal website is "under construction" - so that's a good sign. He's still not as hot as Carter Oosterhouse (or The BF for that matter), but then few are.

But I digress.

The show is good enough. I mean I watch it when it's on. But the thing I don't like about this show is the host, Clive Pearse. He more or less just gets on my nerves. He was apparently a big deal on the BBC, but over here he's just annoying. He fails at being "spontaneously" funny, and he moves and stands uncomfortably, especially for a host of a television show. He tries to disguise his doughy shape with too-large shirts, yet keeps an open collar to show off his collection of jeweled neckwear. Besides all that, I hate the way he says the word "plants".

In sharp contrast to him is Designer Lisa LaPorta. On the outside, she is the combination that usually makes me roll my eyes to the back of my head: short, female, perky, overachiever. But in spite of all that, I really like her. She's not a bit overbearing, and I've never seen a design of hers that I didn't like. She's creative without being condescending.

Aside: sometimes, Lisa gets a little strange. During one of her "Lisa LaPointers Moments" (cute huh?), she was imparting wisdom on how to maximize the curb appeal of your home: Step 1, take down the dilapidated old mailbox from your house. Step 2, paint the mailbox -- and then a 3 minute commercial for suspense -- Step 3, put the mailbox back on the house. Step 4, stand back and admire your work and the value it has added to your house. I mean. Come on. Really?

But as much as I watch and like the show and hate the host, I also sometimes have a problem with the budget unveiling. On one episode, they said they only spent $30 of their weekly $2,000 budget on paint; that's $30 to paint two rooms, one of which was at least 14x30 and already painted slate blue. There's no way only $30 of paint did the trick. I just painted my 10x12 bedroom and it cost me $52. Also, on a recent episode, they added stainless appliances to update a kitchen, but the items failed to make it into the budget at the end of the show.

Still the show does teach and explain well, so it does its job. I just wish they would get rid of the awful host. The designer, however, can stay. Oh yeah - and bring Steve back too!
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