Good "Budget" Room, Apt., House Makeover Channels?

January 28, 2020 10:30 AM

I find interior makeover and/or decluttering or even cleaning videos soothing to watch, but only if they are more of the budget or DIY type. People with plenty of money buying expensive things or hiring experts / labor is much less interesting for me. What channels are your faves for this sort of thing?

I don't have any particular preferences about types of habitat or style, because I'm not really watching in order to redo my place, but because viewing the process of starting out with a chaotic, stuffed, neglected, or kind of ugly space and going to something cozy, calm, and inviting is just very satisfying to watch.

I don't mind "hoarder" type makeovers, but only if the person is absolutely not being coerced, or surprised by someone throwing out all their stuff. "Things just got out of hand, please help!" = okay.

posted by taz to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

I really like "Knock it Off" on the Livewell network. The two hosts take homeowners' aspirational design dreams and help them execute a really close approximation with way less expensive materials, easy DIY projects, etc. The budgets for the rooms they do are generally under $1K.
posted by agatha_magatha at 10:49 AM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Tidying Up with Marie Kondo has her come in to give advice and teach the folks how to declutter, but the people who live in the space do all the work. I think, at most, she gifts the owners a few boxes to help organize drawers.
posted by burntflowers at 10:52 AM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Are you familiar with "Design on a Dime" from old-school HGTV? The concept was that they'd re-do a room for under $1000. Some of the concepts were pretty ambitious, too, so the creativity aspect was good. And I always found the cast(s) likable. Watching it now, it's pretty dated, but that's part of what I like about it.
posted by kevinbelt at 12:41 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Design on a dime is so good. Also Good Bones redo houses but on a MUCH lower budget and they put a lot together with a smaller team. Mr. Kate on YouTube often does budget design rooms for clients and they take you along shopping with them.
posted by Crystalinne at 1:05 PM on January 28, 2020 [1 favorite]

I like Clean House for this kind of thing. It’s not quite hoarders, but some of the homes are sort of hoarder-lite. They help someone clean out a home and reorganize, usually with a small redecorating budget for one or two rooms. It was on Netflix, not sure if it still is. Niecy Nash is the host and she’s super fun.
posted by areaperson at 1:55 PM on January 28, 2020 [5 favorites]

Two more ideas:
Sell this House was one of the first home staging shows & it’s great. Roger!!! They were on a budget and while it’s not entirely design only, they certainly showed how to make rooms look nicer. I also like rehab addict for cheap design ideas (she remodels, but it also usually include how she stages the homes for sale, which offers design ideas).
posted by areaperson at 2:02 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I also find these types of shows soothing and found Alexandra Gater (YouTube) via the algorithm a while back. She has done quite a few 12-15 minute videos, focused on a single room or small living space. There is usually quite a bit of DIY involved. As I recall there is not a lot of decluttering, but often planning and discussion about how best to utilize small spaces (she's Toronto based and often working with renters).
posted by thatquietgirl at 2:18 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Redo My Reno (no longer Netflix sadly but maybe episode on YouTube): When DIYers get in over their heads with home improvement projects, they call in Dave Depencier to save them from themselves. It's all very low key and no one feels bad and the projects all feel doable.

I've been binging on The Great Interior Design Challenge on Netflix. (It's competative reality much like the Great British bake off) Amateur designers compete to design rooms in 3 days and for less £1,000. Learning about architecture is a neat bonus for me.

I'll second Clean House. I like how they're regular folks who end up with slightly nicer digs.
posted by vespabelle at 8:07 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]

Living with Cambriea is a cleaning YouTube channel I enjoy. She titles some videos "Hoarders," but it's for clicks; she explains in the videos that people get overwhelmed and just need someone to come in and get them back on track.

Lone Fox doesn't start from chaos usually, but he does do wonderful style refreshes with emphasis on low-budget and diy. Lots of crafting montages set to upbeat, glitchy music!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 7:07 AM on January 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

You might like The Life Laundry, which was a BBC series from a few years ago, helping people with cluttered (not hoarded) homes get to grips with their clutter and let go of things they no longer needed, whilst dealing with the emotional attachment to their possessions. I think it's available on YouTube.
posted by essexjan at 10:21 AM on January 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for the suggestions! All of these sound great, but several I cannot (so far) find to watch either because they are just seemingly not being aired anywhere, or maybe not on my region's Netflix, or are online somewhere but geo-restricted (sadly, no "Clean House" for me). I'm currently spending a lot of time with Alexandra Gater, The Great Interior Design Challenge, and Good Bones, and have just started watching some Mr. Kate and Lone Fox. All satisfyingly scratching that makeover / make-nice itch, so thanks again!
posted by taz at 10:17 AM on February 6, 2020