My first house was a gorgeous little 1916 bungalow. It had the original hardwood floors, 16" wide crown molding, built-in dining hutch, stained glass windows --- just a sweet, well-made little house in a historic neighborhood. We had done a lot of renovation work on it but weren't quite finished when we were invited to be on our neighborhood's annual tour of homes. The walls in the laundry room were open and the circular flow of the house would take the tour right through the laundry room into the kitchen. The tour coordinators assured me that all I needed to do was hang some decorative sheets as visual blockers, creating an artificial hallway through that unfinished space.

However, at least half of the 2,000 tour guests who trooped through my house that weekend peeked behind the sheets and then had to stop and discuss the exposed knob-and-tube wiring that reminded them of Grandma's house back in Pittsburgh, or the house they grew up in in Chicago, etc. For some people, getting to see that knob-and-tube wiring was the high point of the entire tour of homes! Alas, we finished the electrical work shortly afterward so the knob-and-tube is no more… at least at that house.

I'm watching one of those house flipping shows. I'm getting some decorating ideas.

I tend to veer away from watching the shows and instead using the website. Straight and to the point.

As for the shows, I hope some viewers don't take much of this literally. Some of these shows make this stuff seem difficult and dramatic yet easy. One of the hosts of this show just asked his mother for some of her equity line of credit because he and his wife have gone over their limits on their house flipping business. After some pause and discussion his mom said "hmmmm...okay I trust you." Yeah because they are getting paid by hgtv. LOL.

I'm so glad that other people are tired of people complaining about updating knot and tube electric works, plumbing, or sewage. They're not sexy ways to spend $75,000, but you're going to have to change them to sell the house anyway. When I inherited my aunt's house, my parents gave me a wonderful gift of updating the wiring, to the tune of $9,000. In getting it ready to sell last month, I was informed that it had been a nasty job, and there was still some knob and tubing left! I felt horrible that my daddy was taken for such a ride by a former fellow contractor!

If I had the type of money that these people on Love It or List It had for updates, I'd gladly spend it for the better storage and other new ideas on space usage. However, I am still tempted to take a drink every time I hear "open concept", but I'd probably be in an alcohol induced coma by the time DH came home from work!

OPhiAGinger, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that I would have been in love with your house! I love charming homes!

I totally agree, Honeychile, with being tired of the "open concept" phrase. Last weekend I had some new friends over to my new (circa 1949 mid-century modern) house. One of them took one look at a closed door near the entrance and said, "Oh, does that door close off your kitchen? I wish I could do that!"

And you would definitely have loved my little craftsman bungalow. But I bought it as a single woman and by the time I added OPhiAHubs and three little Opiate babies, we were busting at the seams. I still miss it. :(

"Opiate babies"? Maybe legacies would be the better term? ;)

lol. It's not an official term. But when I was chapter president and sharing an apartment with a non-member, she got tired of taking messages for me from my OPA sisters. She started referring to them as Opiates and it stuck… at least with me. ;)

Fast forward to when that former roommate earned her PhD, joined the faculty at an up-and-coming university, and became the faculty advisor for our chapter there. All that OPA exposure years before prepared her to be the best faculty advisor EVER. The chapter loved her so much that they made her an honorary member. So now she's an Opiate herself. Karma!

Has anyone seen House Hunters Pop'd? I recorded an episode not knowing what it was, and my significant other and I just got through about 45 seconds of it before we said, "Oh, hell no," and deleted it.

Seriously, who thought that would be a good idea?