Making It Home with Kortney & Kenny

I love reno shows. I love the makeovers, the contrived problems, the sassy wives and the dopey husbands. I cheer when they pull it all together in spite of the rain, plumbing problems and unforseen structural disasters.

Having said all that, what I don't like is how unrealistic some of the ideas are (let's install two ovens and a 15ft island!) and how everyone is doing the neutral thing all the time. That's why I do like Kort and Dave. She does do crazy colour things and they look good in the end. They have a distinct reno style and in this series they bring it to existing houses and they really do it well. They have an understanding that the houses are there to actually be lived in rather than just showpieces for sale. They think about storage and livability. They also come across as just nice people.

I would like to see them do a few shows on really small apartments, but in the meantime reno lovers can enjoy this for what it is.

So I watched this show when it was Kortney and Dave and then again withe Kortney and Kenny. Oh my Goodness what a huge difference. I don't watch many shows one after the other, but admit that I binge watched Kortney and Kenny and even repeated a few episodes. Everyone wants to compare these shows to Chip and Joanna, but I think Kortney and Kenny bring something different, which is super refreshing. I believe this refresh of a show deserves a more mainstream audience than just on Hulu. Kortney and Kenny have proven themselves to be a powerhouse in both Canada and the US. All of the other shows are just US based and lackluster. I'm not sure about others, but I hate Lottery Dream home. It's eye rolling stupid and just not entertaining. Kortney and Kenny are the epitome of a cohesive, fun team and deserve more episodes and DEFINITELY deserves full HGTV rotation, not just Hulu.

The show is the stereotypical home renovation show. Both of the shows hosts/leads have a working relationship with the jokes sometimes falling flat or feeling forced with bad acting.

It's mediocre at best. Some of the issues are appear forced too. Not sure if it's for manufactured drama for the show or just the recreation appearing bad.

Courtney's designs are in a lot of shows very simplistic and the same (I swear if I see another navy blue or white cabinet with gold fixtures). Typical modern taste you see on a lot of shows with white, white, white and occasional gray/brown to accent. Not sure if it's because that is there taste or the client's.

Biggest gripe is the renovation costs seem astronomical. $190,000 to do a few rooms and flooring. I've done home restoration myself on 1900 era homes and that same renovation would've cost around $80,000-120,000 tops.

It also seems they cater to only the "upper class" clientale. Almost all homes are $1 million or more. So I don't know if these renovation budgets are inflated to match the homes knowing customers are made of money or if local contractors (well, of they have their own contractors... In house then...) Are charging extra.

Either way, it's easy to forget background average cookie cutter home renovation show. Not bad, not good. Just kind of there.

So here's another reno show with two annoying people who claim to be experts. Another show that delivers underwhelming results. I was only able to make it through a couple of episodes. I know it might not be nice to say, but I cannot stand the mousy voice of Kortney. I cannot stand the homeowners reactions. It's all too much. This whole white, white, white theme is getting old. When are these "designers" going to actually design something? And when are people going to stop falling for it? There is nothing remotely entertaining about this show. Oh and news flash, Chip and Joanna already did all of this years ago!

I was a little impressed when it seemed like Courtney was really listening to what the home owners wanted but two things turned me off. First, the episode where the home owners CLEARLY didn't want a fireplace and she kept pushing until they agreed to a "100% safe" all electric fireplace DESPITE knowing that there was childhood trauma for the father from a house fire. Second, on more than one occasion they have had to "go over budget" and asked for more money rather than trying to find other high end design elements that they could pulled back on and stay in budget. Just seems like it's more about what she wants than what the clients want. After three episodes, I would never trust them to do my home.