Renovation TV

Are you a fan of all these TV shows about renovation or new builds? I am. Not that every show actually gives you a good look at the rooms and layout ... which is what I'm most interested in.

I've always been fascinated by house plans and I'm always drawing up plans to remodel the house I am currently living in, or designing a whole new house - trying to maximise the winter sun, minimise the summer heat and give me the optimal space for living and cunning storage for all my craft supplies and BOOKS (including of course, books about houses and design).

I love it when a new season of Grand Designs comes on the telly ... and not just because that means more Kevin McCloud! Even if the house being showcased is not your style or you think the people building it are nut cases, you will always see some new product that may make it into the mainstream or get some great idea you could use, and let's face it, the houses are always interesting even when they are a bit too disco or a bit too greenie.

Compared to the other shows on offer, Grand Designs concentrates on the building and design process and even when Kevin gets a bit critical, the show keeps my attention for the whole 50 minutes. The other shows wander about sidetracked by history, repeating the same scene over (and over) again, concentrating on dissension (between partners or teams) - the actual renovation/room reveal seems to be an afterthought sometimes.

To my mind, fans watch the shows because they are interested in renovation, building, design, even interior decoration - so to take up too much time on other things means that fans don't get what they want out of the show. I quite like the history aspect of Restoration Home, but it does get a bit laboured at times. I absolutely hate all the arguments and sometimes sheer nastiness on shows such as The Block and House Rules - so I just watch the room/house reveals. And as for Australia's Best Houses - well that's just one big advert and they only scratch the surface with showing the houses.

So thank god for Grand Designs which concentrates on the house - how it is designed and how it is built, with a little bit about the personalities involved, some information about new or innovative products used, sometimes a bit about the decoration - but overall the house design is king.

Thank-you Kevin and team.