My Kitchen Is a Gut Job and Other Lessons I've Learned from HGTV

A few months ago, while down and out with COVID, I had the opportunity to watch a truckload of HGTV (Home and Garden Television) programming. I surfed through a slew of home improvement shows with names like "Rehab Addict," "Love It or List It," "Flip or Flop" and "Fixer Upper."

Here's what I learned: My kitchen is apparently a gut job. I have white appliances; my countertops are Formica; the floor is (I am SO embarrassed) linoleum. Apparently, this cozy sanctuary with its warm cherry cabinets and corner booth (which matches those cabinets and took eons to find on craigslist) is unacceptable, even un-American.

My housing faux pas do not end in the kitchen. My bathrooms are also clearly atrocious: Tiled countertops! No "rain showers!" No jetted tubs! Oh and we have no actual "master" bedroom, no 300 square-foot walk-in closet and certainly no ensuite.

Venture further into my home and you'll find more housing infractions to be remedied: My cluttered office with its mismatched, overloaded bookshelves. An (accidentally) retro-inspired "man cave" in the basement.

Truly, the entire house is a series of "before" pictures.

My HGTV "education" is nearly a textbook example of how our consumer culture shapes, dominates and manufactures our wants, even our perceived needs.

It wasn't always like this. Indeed, I cannot recall a single instance from my childhood (I'm now 70) of anyone remodeling their homes. Turns out that that's because the home remodeling industry did not really exist 50 or 60 years ago.

Gradually, that's all changed. The first two Home Depot stores opened in 1979. "Shelter" magazines— way beyond Better Homes & Gardens— began to proliferate in the 1980s.

Then came cable — and "reality" — TV. By 1992, 60% of American households subscribed to cable. All of those channels needed programming and "reality" TV became increasingly popular in the 1990s.

HGTV, which debuted on Dec. 1, 1994, was part of that "reality" TV boom. HGTV's focus is primarily on the "H" in its name: home buying and renovation. In 2023, 72 million households had access to the HGTV channel.

The end result? That home remodeling industry that was nonexistent 50 years ago grew — perhaps not coincidentally — right along with HGTV. Today it's estimated that the residential remodeling market in the U.S. has ballooned to more than half a trillion dollars annually ($527 billion in 2023).

There are literally hundreds of current (and discontinued) HGTV shows that can guide you to a better home — and, seemingly, a better life.

One category of HGTV offerings are the home-search shows: "House Hunters" and its spinoffs, "Beachfront Bargain Hunt," "Lake House Hunters," "Island Life" and more.

But probably a majority of the shows have the word "renovation" or some related word in the title (rehab, restore, reno). Or the word "flip"— as in buying, renovating and then selling a home quickly (flipping it). The resale value of the homes is always in the foreground of these shows.

Here's the basic anatomy of most HGTV remodeling shows: First, there's The Problem. Some expert (contractor, designer, realtor) tells the homeowner what is wrong with their home — it's not open concept, the kitchen lacks granite (or quartz or marble), the bathrooms are simply too small — and on and on. Bottom line: The house needs serious "updating."

The second portion of the shows involves that same expert re-imagining the home and then rehabbing, renovating, restoring it. All of those "re" words.

And then there's The Big Reveal. The homeowner is gobsmacked and always elated with the transformation. And everyone lives happily ever after. (Or not? Controversies and lawsuits abound.)

The home-search shows ("House Hunters," etc.) demonstrate how much the remodeling programming influences the average buyer. The homebuyers' wish lists nearly always include open concept dining/living areas, those "industrial-grade" appliances (always stainless steel), granite countertops — and square footage. LOTS of square footage.

Often home seekers parrot the language of the remodeling shows, talking about kitchens or bathrooms being gut jobs— "can we knock out this wall?"—or otherwise unacceptable because they lack certain de rigueur amenities like double sinks or ensuites or walk-in closets.

But what's all the fuss about? Reality shows that aren't, you know, exactly real? This is not breaking news. And who actually cares?

Well, you do, apparently. In a 2023 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, researchers concluded that home improvement media led to a "shift toward standardization"—i.e. the same open concept floor plan, the same neutral palette (So. Much. White.), the same kitchen island with barstools, the same industrial-grade appliances.

That shift has clear negative effects for homeowners, according to the study. They become influenced primarily by resale values and market criteria rather than their own individual preferences. The result is "professionalization" of the home and a sense of unease on the part of homeowners. "Uniqueness is shunned while professional expertise and market standards are celebrated," concludes Bucknell Professor Annetta Grant, one of the study's co-authors.

In a nutshell, folks are basing what is probably the biggest purchase they'll ever make — or a sizable second mortgage for remodeling — on someone else's standards without true regard for their own distinct personality, needs and wants.

Sounds like good old-fashioned peer pressure to me.

First, to be clear, I am not immune from cultural peer pressure (which would explain my "go-go" boots and hip-hugger skirts in the 1960s). I don't live in a grass hut or a yurt. I have electricity. I own a vacuum cleaner. I wear (counterculture!) jeans and T-shirts almost exclusively.

We're all somewhere on the Peer Pressure Continuum, right?

And, also to be clear, I absolutely support renovations that are clearly functional, clearly needed. A friend had a bathroom added to the ground floor of her home when she was taking care of her ailing older mom. Another friend ended up with a nearly complete kitchen overhaul when water damage resulted in dangerous mold. Addressing safety issues — old wiring, grab bars in bathrooms — is always a good idea.

But "upgrading" to "keep up with the Joneses?" That I simply don't understand.

I read a quote from a marketing consultant once that said, essentially, advertising works best when it makes you feel like a loser if you don't buy their product. Indeed, there is ample evidence that exposure to advertising makes us unhappy because we become dissatisfied with our lives.

The same holds true for social media. The reason, according to the researchers, is that, "Exposure to carefully curated images from others' lives leads to negative self-comparison." And constantly re-assessing whether we measure up to those mythical Joneses leads to diminished well-being.

That is HGTV in a nutshell for me.

We live in a market-based society. Trends keep folks buying; they generate, in large part, the "demand" portion of the supply and demand equation. You can see this in cars, clothing, make-up, phones, handbags, toys, even can openers — truly every product under the sun. The half-trillion dollar home remodeling industry relies heavily on manufactured demand, on convincing you that you must keep up with whatever's currently in vogue in home decor and design.

But trends are, you know, trends. They come, they go. Your $25,000 (and up) kitchen remodel may be out of style five or ten years from now (likely long before you've paid off that second mortgage).

You could just shell out the bucks to do it all over again. Or you could save a TON of money and just wait.

That strategy seems to have worked for me. My Formica countertops? Turns out they're making a comeback. Linoleum flooring and tiled countertops are also on the rise. My cherry cabinets — and unpainted natural woodwork throughout my living and dining rooms — are seeing something of a renaissance as well. Even the entire open concept thing is being questioned as homeowners seek more privacy and personal spaces.

The takeaway here? Fads and fashion are fickle. Whether it's homes — or cars or clothing or can openers — the goal should be to discern what's important to you, not mindlessly going along with the crowd.

Your mental health and your wallet — even the planet — will thank you.

Marie Sherlock practiced law for a decade before turning to writing and editing in her 30s — and never looked back. She's worked as the editor of several publications and is the author of a parenting book (Living Simply with Children; Three Rivers Press). She spends her empty-nest days writing about travel trends and destinations, simplicity, spirituality and social justice issues. Read More