Curse HGTV

I have been guilty of watching a lot of those home make over type shows on HGTV.  Because we are planning on selling our house, I particularly take note of those aspects that we could incorporate in our own remodel. Well, after two years and thousands of dollars later, I have seen the light. That light is the blinding manipulative brainwashing of those shows that are sponsored by home hardware stores. Not only do they give the prospect of completing such transitions in two to seven days, they also have access to much more funds and skilled labor than we do. These shows repetitively give the impression that if your house does not have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances it is a piece of junk. This granite counter top thing has all of the mass hysteria that the pet rock had in the seventies. It's a slab of rock that will cost you anywhere from six to ten thousand dollars for your kitchen counter. Personally, my kitchen is not that impressive in the first place. I think that it matters more what comes out of your kitchen that should make a good impression; not the work surface of your culinary creations.
I don't understand why kitchen faucets cost so much either when the technology itself has not really advanced beyond  ON  OFF  HOT  COLD. 

We have been going with the ever popular "neutral" theme to all of our colors and accessories in order to give that appropriate appeal to prospective buyers. Are we part of a dying breed that when looking for a house to buy project the potential and possibilities beyond what we see? Again, I blame those shows for creating the demand for "move in ready". 
Don't get me started with the power of the anal retentive home inspector. I think if they went into a spanking brand new building that had passed all of its inspections, they would still come up with a six page list of areas of questionable need for repair.

One thing I have learned though, I will never again own a home with walls that have rounded corners. They are very attractive until you decide to paint the adjoining room another color. Now imagine you have to create a straight line all down the bend in the doorway that leads to the next room. Then comes the hair pulling task of putting painters tape on that rounded edge from the top to bottom. Now paint the one room's color up to it. Pull the tape off so you can see that beautiful line you created. At this point you are feeling pretty pleased with yourself. So, you then repeat the taping and painting process and paint the other side with another color. Wait a good twenty four hours for it to dry because you don't want to pull the tape off too soon. The next day with full anticipation you pull the painter's tape off with visions of a perfectly straight line dividing the two rooms with complimentary colors. Even though you pull the tape ever so slowly and gentle; to your deflating feeling of accomplishment, the paint underneath pulls from the first wall that you painted. After you re-tape and patch paint those spots you pull the tape off only to realize that the tape has again pulled paint off the other side of the wall. I think you get the gist of my hell. My guess is that the Architect that designed rounded corners must be in the witness protection program somewhere because if I knew where he lived I'd kill him.
With all that we have done in preparation to make that winning impression to buyers, I can't help but think that twenty years from now, if this house should come up for sale again, there will be people coming through and either saying out loud or to themselves "this place is so 2010".
And so the insanity continues.