Are you a home show addict?
I had mostly managed to wean myself off a steady diet of home television shows, figuring my time would be better spent actually improving my home instead of wondering how much the latest gray-blue and brown bathroom from Candice Olson cost. I'd lapse from time to time with a "House Hunters International," even though it never failed to annoy me when some pampered soul complained about there being no granite countertops in their future island paradise. But mostly I was off the stuff.
But a spring cold had me in couch grouch mode, tissue box in one hand and remote control in the other. Medication left me without the attention span for anything substantive, so I took refuge in home-improvement and decorating shows. I was in the mental state where I found the "Antiques Roadshow" stop in Bismarck, N.D., endlessly fascinating. (Really? How many thousand for Grandma's pottery? For sure.)
And once again I was under Candice Olson's spell, watching the magic transformation of some "before" bathroom that had totally outclassed mine into a jaw-dropping showstopper. Another half hour later, I quibbled with one of Genevieve Gorder's color choices, but I stuck it out to the inevitable "reveal" moment where the homeowner who's into taxidermy says that he thinks those paper animal heads are cool. Sure.
Luckily, my cold-depleted energy reserves have stopped me from dreaming up fresh home projects for myself. I'm hoping by the time the congestion fades, I'll be too busy to keep home gawking, or to do anything about the fact that one of Olson's favorite colors is Benjamin Moore's Nimbus Gray. Maybe in the downstairs bathroom? A little HGTV or DIY can be a dangerous thing.
What's your favorite home improvement show? What projects have they led you to tackle? And what's your home improvement show pet peeve?
PBS photo of "Antiques Roadshow" stop in Bismarck. That set of pottery was valued at $5,500 to $7,500.
