Re: Anyone else have this perspective?

software · ‎06-08-2016

It's my experience, that most people I know who have the big open concept homes don't use their kitchen for much. It's easy to keep clean when all you do is get something to drink & eat take out most of the time or use the microwave to cook.

And the more upper class folks cater big dinners, which is not that much more expensive when you factor in the shopping, cooking etc. Their kitchens stay pristine as well.

It's not my style but to each their own.

In my family, dinner was a process which started with the cooking.

@sweetee2 wrote:
HGTV is on my channel flipping route and I very rarely see anything I like. I think it's my age. Back in the day you wouldn't want your kitchen visible from your front door then you had to keep it spotless all the time. Now it one big room. I'm not sure they clean like we do anymore.

tedEbear · ‎03-22-2015

@ptagirl You reminde me of our Thanksgiving Dinner for 30 plus family members. Our LR/DR was 9 ft wide x 25 long. Kitchen just off the side. Everyone started outside,came in kitchen, to DR,picked up plate and food. Then shuffled to far end of room and back to DR to sit. They made made an oval, lining the LR wall. If anyone wanted 2nds, plate was passed to the person closest to the table. EVERYONE HAD TO HOLD PLATE IN LAP. Those were fun days!!!! Lots of family living, working and playing togethr

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

HGTV is also on my flipping channels route, however I have watching less of it, because the programming is so stale-same shows over and over. I live in the Midwest and for 500,000 here you could have a mini-mansion, no kidding!While I do like a lot of the redorating, some of it is not my style,I did notice on Property Brothers they do tend to decorate more modern than say Fixer Uppers. I pretty much like most of the remodeling on Flip or Flop. I think they stage those homes really well......

CANDLEQUEEN · ‎03-09-2010

@software wrote:
It's my experience, that most people I know who have the big open concept homes don't use their kitchen for much. It's easy to keep clean when all you do is get something to drink & eat take out most of the time or use the microwave to cook.

And the more upper class folks cater big dinners, which is not that much more expensive when you factor in the shopping, cooking etc. Their kitchens stay pristine as well.

It's not my style but to each their own.

In my family, dinner was a process which started with the cooking.

@sweetee2 wrote:
HGTV is on my channel flipping route and I very rarely see anything I like. I think it's my age. Back in the day you wouldn't want your kitchen visible from your front door then you had to keep it spotless all the time. Now it one big room. I'm not sure they clean like we do anymore.

So true, I have a girlfriend and once they bought their Neew house and had their kitchen remodeled, it was gorgeous, but she came right and said I will bake in here, but no cooking and I want it to look and stay this way from now on......How crazy is that??? We aren't very close anymore so I am not sure if she is still like that after 4 or 5 years, but I couldn't imagine spending all of that money for a remodel for it to just sit and look like a model home!!!!!!

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

@HB glamma wrote:
Goes to show that your perspective largely depends on where in US you live. We watch all the HGTV programs and think, 'gee I'd like to be able to get a house like that for only $500K', or whatever the price is as it's undoubtedly lower than California and West Coast real estate! We see some lovely homes on HGTV that are in the 100-200K range and we just drool.. ha!

Yes to this! I grew up in California and my father builds homes there. When I traveled to other states, I used to grab up those home sales magazines at the grocery stores and just marvel and the fact that you could get a house with 2 acres of land for a fraction of the price a small lot would sell for in CA.

Sometimes when I visit my dad, he takes me out to see the properties he's working on and it just amazes me when he shows me a home that sold for $1M and my only question is "Dad, where's the rest of it?" because the house is so small.

I teased him a lot years ago because he bought a lot with a literal shack on it - a broken down, boarded up, condemn this now shack on a lot full of dry yellow weeds. He paid $1.3million for that shack and the lot it came on. Now the lot has a condo with 8 or10 units and each unit sold for somewhere between $800,000 and a million. They're luxury condo units blocks away from the BART station with easy access to San Francisco and they're close to shopping, dining, and offices. Now who's laughing, right?

Click here for Forum Tips

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

@Mominohio

Many times when I see this type of show, I definitely feel I'm inside my little bubble here in WV, and this is the way the world is "out there". Foreign is exactly how I feel about many of these home improvement shows.

My trucker daughter has been quite surprised at real estate prices across the country, and often sends me pictures of the homes that seem most outrageously priced. She actually sent a picture of an AZ ranch home, same exterior design as ours, vinyl siding not brick, no garage, and on a much smaller lot that was listed for $849,000.

I know the appraised value of my home, and while it is considerably less than the figure above, I still feel incredibly blessed to have what I have, right here in my little corner of the world. I would not be able to have all this in AZ, CA, etc., but I can sure enjoy the heck out of it here in WV! My closest neighbors are family; I'm surrounded by mountains covered in millions of trees, everything is lush and green from our abundant rainfall, and the air is clean. I wouldn't sell my place for a million dollars, and am thankful every day that God opened my eyes here in West Virginia.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@RedTop I feel the same way about my little corner of the world in Florida.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

I watch some HGTV but I'm not that fond of the Scott Brothers. I watched a few times and every house they remodeled had a sliding barn door in it. That must be the latest craze. I also watch Flip or Flop and they often repeat the same things over and over in the design of these homes as well.

I like House Hunters but not so much House Hunters International unless they are in a country that appeals to me like Italy or France. Last week they were in Croatia, which I'd love to visit, so I did watch.

Last night on House Hunters, the couple was in Austin looking for a home and I believe their budget was in the $350,000.00 range. I nearly flipped when they were shown a 750 square foot house right along the metro rail line, on a busy corner lot! $350,000.00 in my neck of the woods would get you a very nice home. 750 square feet is so tiny, it's hard to imagine living in something that size.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@RedTop wrote:
@Mominohio
Many times when I see this type of show, I definitely feel I'm inside my little bubble here in WV, and this is the way the world is "out there". Foreign is exactly how I feel about many of these home improvement shows.

My trucker daughter has been quite surprised at real estate prices across the country, and often sends me pictures of the homes that seem most outrageously priced. She actually sent a picture of an AZ ranch home, same exterior design as ours, vinyl siding not brick, no garage, and on a much smaller lot that was listed for $849,000.

I know the appraised value of my home, and while it is considerably less than the figure above, I still feel incredibly blessed to have what I have, right here in my little corner of the world. I would not be able to have all this in AZ, CA, etc., but I can sure enjoy the heck out of it here in WV! My closest neighbors are family; I'm surrounded by mountains covered in millions of trees, everything is lush and green from our abundant rainfall, and the air is clean. I wouldn't sell my place for a million dollars, and am thankful every day that God opened my eyes here in West Virginia.

@RedTop

You phrased that perfectly, 'inside my little bubble'!

I would certainly hope wages keep pace with home prices in some of these areas or there are many lower income people that will never own a home in those regions.

One of the great assets to living in the center of the country is how much land and house one can have for such a reasonable price.

I sometimes imagine living in other areas of the country that we have traveled to and visited, but in reality life is good here, and I'm grateful for what we have. I enjoy our country property and your area is indeed one of the most beautiful places on earth. There is something about the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia that simply draw one in, and the people are great too.

september · ‎03-09-2010

@ChynnaBlue wrote:
@HB glamma wrote:
Goes to show that your perspective largely depends on where in US you live. We watch all the HGTV programs and think, 'gee I'd like to be able to get a house like that for only $500K', or whatever the price is as it's undoubtedly lower than California and West Coast real estate! We see some lovely homes on HGTV that are in the 100-200K range and we just drool.. ha!
Yes to this! I grew up in California and my father builds homes there. When I traveled to other states, I used to grab up those home sales magazines at the grocery stores and just marvel and the fact that you could get a house with 2 acres of land for a fraction of the price a small lot would sell for in CA.

Sometimes when I visit my dad, he takes me out to see the properties he's working on and it just amazes me when he shows me a home that sold for $1M and my only question is "Dad, where's the rest of it?" because the house is so small.

I teased him a lot years ago because he bought a lot with a literal shack on it - a broken down, boarded up, condemn this now shack on a lot full of dry yellow weeds. He paid $1.3million for that shack and the lot it came on. Now the lot has a condo with 8 or10 units and each unit sold for somewhere between $800,000 and a million. They're luxury condo units blocks away from the BART station with easy access to San Francisco and they're close to shopping, dining, and offices. Now who's laughing, right?

Such a wise man. We didn't make out quite as well, but just recently sold a property we bought in CA as an investment many years ago.

There was a bidding war, and we got much more than our asking price.