Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Living on the Cheap.
We’ve all seen the home renovation shows where the nice young couple buys a decrepit home with a kitchen so ugly even 1960 wouldn’t take it back. In 30 or 60 minutes, that ugly house becomes a veritable dream home, with every detail perfect, down to the color-coordinated stand mixer and coffee maker in the now gorgeous kitchen.
This is today’s reality TV, at least in the home renovation space. But is it reality?
“We live in a world of home improvement as entertainment,” says Angie Hicks, founder of Angi, which provides referrals and reviews of contractors. She loves watching home remodeling shows, but she knows that they don’t give a complete picture. “A lot of steps get left out in that entertainment because obviously it would be kind of boring.”
Boring steps that are usually left out include the homeowners’ research before they decide what renovations to make, drawing up plans with architects, consulting engineers on structural issues, getting estimates from multiple contractors and then choosing one and getting permits from local building officials, all of which can add months to a project.
“It’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. That part doesn’t make good television,” says Christy Biberich, an interior designer and remodeler in Los Angeles, where she worked on the HGTV show “Brother vs. Brother,” in which twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott lead two teams of renovators competing to raise property value. But, she says of the early planning, “That’s something that is so important to the results of your project.”
“It’s apples and oranges for sure,” she says. “On a television show, everything is already set up.”
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