Poll: What’s your favorite HGTV guilty pleasure show?

One of my go-to channels for low-key weekend surfing is HGTV. If I see that House Hunters or House Hunters International is on, I can easily spend hours living vicariously through these prospective buyers. Then, what ends up happening is I leave the channel on for the next show. And the next.

Ooh, pretty landscaping! Walk-in closets and a jacuzzi tub?! Wow, they did all those renovations with that little money? And so on. Before I know it, I’m lamenting my tiny rental (well, I do that anyway) and itching to go searching for a house … or at least some new curtains and a throw rug.

I asked the CliqueClack team which HGTV shows they watch. Here’s what they said:

Chuck: I’ve only watched shows on HGTV sporadically.  The only show I’ll watch regularly is HGTV Design Star.  I only caught a couple of episodes of last season’s winner’s show (Antonio).  Is that even still on?

Debbie: I used to love HGTV, but I just don’t have the time to watch it anymore. Probably the shows I watched aren’t even on anymore: Designer’s Challenge, with the reality TV show host guy Chris Harrison; Candice Olsen‘s show [Divine Design] and Curb Appeal.

Me: I think Curb Appeal is still on, and Design Star might be too. There’s this other new show called Cash & Cari that I haven’t seen yet.

I think maybe I watch a lot of the property ones because I’m still renting an apartment and am always looking for what’s “out there” in different places in the U.S. and internationally (not like I’m about to move overseas or anything, but it’s a fantasy). Maybe once I buy a house, I won’t be as interested in shows like House Hunters anymore.

I have had many conversations with friends about how much they love/hate/get annoyed by/are obsessed with House Hunters. The buyers are too picky, they don’t like the paint colors, the husband is controlling or the wife is a nag. Then it inevitably spins off into talking about Property Virgins, My First Place, Color Splash, and others. I know Mike Holmes has two shows right now (Holmes on Homes and Holmes Inspection) that are pretty big right now. Plus, there’s that show Selling New York which is like the Real Housewives of New York minus the housewives.

Chuck: Design Star isn’t on right now, but I’m sure it will be back, probably in the summer.  They switched producers last season and got rid of the host, but that only made the show a little more confusing.  And we never get to see the judges deliberate so their choices of who gets eliminated each week always seems totally random.  Hopefully they’ll bring Clive back for the next season.  I’ve watched Color Splash a few times and whatever show Thom Filicia has had, but not much else.  It’s depressing watching the makeover shows and really liking what they’ve done, then realizing I don’t have the money or the time to do the same in my house.

So, readers, do you have a favorite HGTV guilty pleasure? Or do these shows just turn you off? Vote in our poll. Feel free, as always, to add to our conversation by commenting!

Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose
on Mar 17, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT