Americans spent $418 billion dollars remodeling their homes in 2022. TV shows like those on HGTV are having a major impact on their remodeling decisions.

So says Bucknell University, Freeman College of Management markets, innovation & design Professor Annetta Grant, who has researched and written about remodeling, who appeared on The Spark Monday,"Increasingly, these media outlets have made the home more of a financial asset to be maximized. So now people are doing renovations with an eye to what everyone else wants."

Grant said her research show many homeowners are more concerned that their home choices fit in with what's acceptable according to the TV shows and not what they really always like.

Grant indicated the shows have a common script,"A camera crew and a host walk through a home with the camera, and they'll kind of point out everything that's wrong with the home. They might look at your kitchen, they'll go into the bathroom, they'll even go into the bedroom and they'll point out, oh, look at, these colors are terrible. Look at that wallpaper. Who would ever put this linoleum floor in here? It's all wrong. And so basically what these shows are coming into our homes and criticizing and scrutinizing what we've done with our homes."

Grant added that a home used to be a reflection of one's personal tastes, but the shows have changed that,"The idea being perpetuated in media is that your home should adhere to these standards."

Americans spent $418 billion dollars remodeling their homes in 2022. TV shows like those on HGTV are having a major impact on their remodeling decisions.
So says Bucknell University, Freeman College of Management markets, innovation &amp; design <a href="https://www.bucknell.edu/meet-bucknell/bucknell-stories/faculty-stories/annetta-grant-markets-innovation-design">Professor Annetta Grant</a>, who has <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/49/5/882/6588080?redirectedFrom=fulltext">researched and written about remodeling,</a> who appeared on The Spark Monday,"Increasingly, these media outlets have made the home more of a financial asset to be maximized. So now people are doing renovations with an eye to what everyone else wants."
Grant said her research show many homeowners are more concerned that their home choices fit in with what's acceptable according to the TV shows and not what they really always like.
Grant indicated the shows have a common script,"A camera crew and a host walk through a home with the camera, and they'll kind of point out everything that's wrong with the home. They might look at your kitchen, they'll go into the bathroom, they'll even go into the bedroom and they'll point out, oh, look at, these colors are terrible. Look at that wallpaper. Who would ever put this linoleum floor in here? It's all wrong. And so basically what these shows are coming into our homes and criticizing and scrutinizing what we've done with our homes."
Grant added that a home used to be a reflection of one's personal tastes, but the shows have changed that,"The idea being perpetuated in media is that your home should adhere to these standards."

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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