Shows like House Hunters, Fixer Upper, and Property Brothers set wildly unrealistic expectations for the real estate industry—and they also encourage some pretty terrible remodeling jobs. While nothing is as bad as some of the makeovers on the original Trading Spaces, the current slate of HGTV shows have a lot to answer for. Here are the XX TV home makeover trends that we wish would stop.
Gray & Greige
You can thank the Property Brothers for this one. The hunky house flippers are far too fond of the neutral shades—usually with a pop of yellow or teal—and the color scheme already looks dated.
Shiplap
Joanna Gaines, the patron saint of shiplap, brought this paneling trend to the nation’s attention. Although it’s commonly found in older homes in Gaines’ hometown of Waco, Texas, faux shiplap has been stapled up on unsuspecting bathroom and kitchen walls across America.
Open Concept
One of the most prevalent reality TV home makeover trends is to knock down as many walls as possible to create open concept spaces. This is one remodel that’s not easy to reverse, and when the fashion shifts away from open concept, a lot of homes will be in trouble.
Accent Walls
Though less permanent than knocking down a wall, creating an accent wall is a trend that’s on its last gasp. For a while, every reality program seemed to demand a wall painting in a bold color to add vibrancy to a room. Now, it just seems like a fairly strange thing people used to do.
Granite Countertops
Believe it or not, not every home buyer wants granite countertops (or stainless steel appliances). For a while, every updated kitchen received granite countertops, and everyone was convinced that it was a non-negotiable feature. But trends change, and people are starting to get sick of granite.
Chalkboard Paint
Chalkboards are so over—and painting one on your wall was never a good idea to begin with. They look terrible after a few months of use, and solid black isn’t the easiest color to paint over when you get sick of having a giant, dusty mess of a chalkboard.
Open Kitchen Shelving
Want to display your vintage Pyrex or unusual glassware? Get a china hutch…or at least kitchen cabinets with glass doors. The TV home makeover trend is to rip out old cabinets and replace them with open shelves, but homeowners will quickly get sick of having to dust everything.
A Full Renovation Takes 2 Weeks
The biggest lie the reality home makeover shows ever told is that a full renovation can be done in 2 weeks. Most people would be lucky to get a single room completed in that time.
…And It Costs Under $2000
Remodeling costs money—usually a lot more than what people are used to seeing as a budget on TV. A lot of the products on those shows are either provided by the advertisers or, in the case of home décor, on loan for the staging of the reveal.
