Julie Henne There are certain staples of HGTV, a television channel that focuses almost entirely on home buying and home renovation: House Hunters, Fixer Upper, Flip or Flop, Property Brothers, and of course, Love It or List It.
The last follows a disagreeing couple, one of whom is unhappy with their current home, and wants to move, and the other who wants to make renovations, but desires to stay in their current home. To help them sort out this issue, Hilary and David get to work in their specialties, and after they’ve done their best, the couple have to make their decision: Will they stay in their current home, and love it, or will they move, and list it? Love It or List It is one of HGTV’s most popular shows, and for several good reasons.
David vs. Hilary
The primary goal of Love It or List It is to help the couple make a decision about where they are going to be living in the future, but the two competing views of the couples inevitably causes a rivalry between Hilary and David. Hilary is trying to keep the couple in their home by making the appropriate and desired renovations, while David is attempting to satisfy their needs by utilizing the real estate market and finding them an entirely new home. At the end of the episode, while the couple talks about what they are going to do, viewers can always count on a little bit of friendly banter between Hilary and David as they speculate about the ultimate decision.
Throughout all the episodes, Hilary and David always have their moments of witty banter, sometimes concerning their individual successes, the work they’ll have to do to satisfy the couple, and even about Hilary’s driving skills. As of now, Hilary has a slightly higher success rate than David, having persuaded more people to “love” their homes than to “list” them. David and Hilary’s friendly rivalry is one of the best parts of Love It or List It.
Never Ending Drama
You may not think that a show about houses could be that dramatic. But there’s always something that happens to derail Hilary’s plans for renovation, or David’s choices for real estate, or even the couple’s list of wants and needs. To start the episode off, the couple’s lists are rarely simple, and the budget they produce for Hilary almost never covers every renovation they want to see done. Additionally, once she starts the renovation process, Hilary can encounter many different issues with the house itself, such as mold, water damage, or the house’s lack of compliance with neighborhood or city regulations.
As for David, the picky couples can provide a challenge for him, too. He often has to put up with requests for budget, school districts, commute time to work, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and even more specific requests. This can make finding the perfect house for sale a very difficult process, and a frustrating one, at that. The drama between Hilary’s renovations, David’s search in the real estate market, and everything the couple’s hope to have make for Love It or List It episodes with never a dull moment.
Beautiful Homes and Renovations
Home shows have exploded in popularity recently, because people love to watch a run-down, old house turn into a beautiful home. On Love It or List It, Hilary and her team of designers make incredible renovations to the couple’s current home, sometimes adding an entire bedroom or bathroom, updating a room of the home, or just simply making the home look more aesthetically pleasing. The transformation is often amazing. And by following David’s journey through the real estate market, viewers get to see a variety of different architectural and decorative styles, from older, cozy homes, to modern houses built more recently. Watching the show allows those at home to keep up with the new styles and trends of housing, and may even give them the inspiration to start that home project or renovation they’ve been meaning to get to.
If you haven’t yet seen an episode of Love It or List It, switch your television channel to HGTV and give it a watch!
This post may contain affiliate links. Meaning a commission is given should you decide to make a purchase through these links, at no cost to you. All products shown are researched and tested to give an accurate review for you.
