Windy City Rehab

I'm loving this show! There are enough kind, family type rehab shows. This one brings a different flavor to HGTV. While the style isn't my personal taste, I love seeing something different from rustic farm decor like the other shows. Yes, Chicago is expensive. Obviously not any normal person could put would spend this much on these shows!

I was born in Chicago and lived there till I was 63. Alison claims to be a native Chicagoan - I strongly suspect she is from the burbs. She has mispronounced the names of more than one Chicago street. Also, she needs to begin using "we" a bit more than "I" when she's showing off the homes during showings. Alison, it's not all about you. It would be nice if they expanded outside of the trendy north side areas they've worked in so far.

This women is a bad representation of women in business. It may not be her plan (perhaps she is being directed to play it this way). You don't see men on rehab shows yelling and flipping out. Most of these dramas would not realistically get to the point they did if one was overseeing the project responsibly. This all rings as fake to me.

Being from Chicago and being an HGTV fan I really wanted to like this. First of all, I realize personalities differ, but Alison is hard to warm up to. Her ego is huge, and that's always a turn off. Everything is I, me, my money, etc. I always cringe when people refer to themselves in the third person and she called one of her range hood covers an "Allison Victoria original". Huh? I also realize HGTV hosts can be repetitive with their design styles, but after the gut jobs the floor plans are all the same in all these Chicago homes, thus making each final reveal very predictable. Lots of brass, velvet, some old stuff thrown in and abstract art. The results are pretty and interesting at first, but the repetition combined with her ungracious attitude makes me not that interested anymore

When season 3 started it seemed like Alison had toned down her attitude and was becoming a little more likeable. I do like most of her designs which is why I watch. I didn't make it through episode nine. I'm not sure if this season is over but it is for me.