Many people love doing their own home improvements and there are entire channels such as HGTV, Planet Green, and DIY that are devoted to this subject. There are home improvement reality shows that cover all types of topics, from learning how to clean out the clutter to laying hardwood floors to staging your house for sale.
Many believe the home improvement craze started with the PBS series "This Old House." The show started in 1979 and focused on renovating older houses. The original host was Bob Villa. Since leaving the show in 1989, Villa has written a number of books about home improvement and even has his own line of tools on the Home Shopping Network.
"Trading Spaces" is one of the most popular home improvement reality shows. Although recently canceled, the show saw a run of eight successful seasons. The theme of the show was simple - neighbors would redecorate one room in each other's house. The team had two days (three days in later seasons) and a budget of $1,000 ($2,000 in later seasons) along with the help of a designer to redo the room. The other team was not allowed to enter their home while the renovations were being done and had no say so as to what was changed. Many credit the fun show with sparking a renewed interest in home improvement in the U.S.
HGTV's "24 Hour Design" is another show that concentrates on redoing a single room. However, on this show, the homeowners have some input. In a single day, a crew of a designer, design assistant, and carpenter take $2,000 and make changes to the room in one day.
"Clean House," on the Style Network, offers a different type of home improvement for people - decluttering. Hostess Niecy Nash brings her crew in to help people with the process of letting go of the stuff they don't need. After a huge yard sale, other home improvement professionals give the home new look by matching up to $1,000 of the yard sale proceeds. HGTV's "Mission: Organization" also focuses on decluttering. It shows homeowners how to maximize the space they have through reorganization and redesign.
The DIY network offers a wide variety of home renovation shows including "10 Things You Must Know," "Kitchen Impossible," "Create Your Baby's Nursery," "Creative Wall Coverings," "Desperate Landscapes," and "Home Maintenance." Almost any time of the day or night, a homeowner can turn on the DIY network and find some type of show to help with renovations.
There are plenty of shows for people who are looking to spruce up their homes for sale. "Designed to Sell" gives expert designers a $2,000 budget and use of a professional carpenter to fix up a house with the hopes that it will receive the maximum offer from a buyer. "Sell This House" gives home sellers a unique view into what potential buyers like and don't like about the home. The team videotapes the comments of people looking at the house, and then shows the footage to the homeowners. Normally the house has been on the market for a long time and the homeowner doesn't know why. Tanya and Roger, with the help of the homeowners, start making renovations and staging the home to help it sell. The potential buyers are then brought back in to see what has been changed and their comments are usually much more positive.
Home renovation can often be challenging, but rewarding. Those who want to spruce up their home just for their own enjoyment or to sell their house have no shortage of home improvement shows to guide them through the process.
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