I want more design shows too. I enjoy the flipping shows but I find that I only watch the end to see the the finished space. What I enjoyed about Candice Olsen, Sarah Richardson, Genevieve Gorder and a few others was watching their process. Don't you miss the tracing paper sketches Candice did and all the flea market to fabulous finds from Sarah. With the design shows I am motivated to do what they do for my own home because I can find a way to make it fit in my budget. I don't have a budget to gut and rebuild a house but I can open a can of paint. Please bring them back HGTV. I'd be happy with the old faces and some new ones but can't watch another new flipping show. The formula is getting a little stale but overall I'm still a fan.

I loved Colour Confidential. That was the one in which the host/designer, Jane Lockhart, would put together a little color wheel of small items (beads, pinecones, shells, berries, and whatnot...) and ask a couple which colors they preferred. The small items and whatnots represented special memories and moments from their lives together as a couple. Then, after each of the two had selected their favorite, the designer/host would redecorate a room using those two colors. I really miss this show, as well as Designing for the Sexes.

And by the way, I TOTALLY agree that HGTV needs to go back to design and decorating shows, instead of so many home-purchasing and home-reno and home-flipping shows. SO Frustrating!

terri, I totally forgot about that show - I liked it too.

I was always a big fan of HGTV but my opinion has changed.I used to enjoy the decorating programs but HGTV has turned into a real estate channel. They have too many Reno shows. I miss the design shows, the craft shows, and they show too many repeat shows. They need a whole new revamp IR have a spin-off channel .Could call it HGTV design. Thanks for letting me vent.

So, for some reason, I decided to see if I could find any clips from some of the old Sarah Richardson shows. Lo and behold, I saw an article that she had a NEW show on HGTV Canada, starting last September, about building her dream house off the grid. So why can't HGTV US broadcast that here??!!!

Plus, I saw a promo on TLC about the new Trading Spaces airing this spring. Here is the group photo of the designers who will be on it.

Trading Spaces set to air 4/7 at 9 pm ET on TLC.

I agree + since purchase by Discovery they have almost eliminated new episodes of House Hunters. Viewers can only watch so many repeats before they are memorized & change channels. That was one of the top rated shows from HGTV.

I miss Designing for the Sexes and that show..I forget the name of it, but the designer had a color wheel and she'd put things inside of it to stand as the colors? Anyone remember that? And the couple would choose from the Color Wheel of All the Things? I also liked Kitchen Cousins.

Ohhh I scrolled up a little bit-Color Confidential, that was the Color Wheel of All the Things.

And the design challenge show, loved that one too.

I agree wholeheartedly!!! I'm tired of the flipping shows. What happened to decorating shows like 'room by room' and 'decorating on a dime'?

I loved the show that replicated a high end designer room on a reasonable budget. Does anyone remember the name of the show?

There was also the Landscaper's Challenge show and I enjoyed that too.

Thank you for responding abd222. I did some online searching. One was Sensible Chic and the other was Double Take. I liked Sabrina's show, too.

Thank you!!! I've totally stopped watching HGTV and have moved on. Their shows used to be so good. Now their just reality crap. They used to challenge designers to be creative, now everything is so bland and boring on every single show. Not to mention the whiny house owners. I got tired of that the second I heard them open their mouths, and they all have the same script. Sigh. I see that it's been 3 years since you've posted this and still no change. Sad.

It won't 'go back' to the old ways I think: our culture is so personality-driven. Much revolves around a person's likeability and their jokes and what's supposedly entertaining....

but I wouldn't 'down' Fixer Upper which seems to show something about architectural salvage. Nothing wrong with that - in person I bet it's charming....

I think that PBS should look into providing actual decorating shows (not shows about renovation/remodeling, or buying/selling real estate, and not contests between decorators) that help average people with average (modest) budgets learn to decorate their homes themselves, like the early days of HGTV. Just like PBS's cooking shows have not morphed into contests/competitions, or travel shows, or restaurant/chef reviews, but have actually remained focused on actual cooking in the kitchen... I think PBS is the perfect choice for getting back to fundamentals for people who only have a couple hundred bucks to spend but still want to create beautiful spaces.

Decorating shows please bring back!!

Restored with Brett we want back

The decorating shows were my favorite and I got so many neat decorating tips from those episodes. I would love it if they return at least one of those shows. Not everyone is purchasing a new home or renovating a home. I just want tips in moving around the furniture in my home. You know, go shopping in your own home to create a new look. Please, please, HGTV, bring the decorating shows back!

Jacque from the South

I am part of this choir; no longer interested in HGTV. I think the people who can afford the renos that are promoted are probably too busy working or calling their brokers to actually watch them, either! If I could afford to spend hundreds of thousands on a kitchen reno, I could probably afford a professional decorator. Sarah Richardson and Tommy.... Debby Travis... Colin and Justin.... these are the people that I miss! If COVID lockdown has taught us anything, its that: yeah, a lot of us had time at home - but could no longer afford a sheet of plywood!!. A show geared toward using what you already own would have been a huge draw.

agree . how about the shows where one of the couples act like a spoiled brat while spending hundred to thousand of dollars. while in reality normal people can’t afford a basic 2*4 or , even had to stop work on their home because no body wants to work anymore. thanks to free goverment hand out.

I'm just pissed that Discovery bought HGTV, launched their own streaming service, and took their shows off of HULU. Sorry Drew and Jonathan Scott, you are dead to me!

I used to watch HGTV EVERY day, now I wait until all the episodes of Home Town are available, binge watch them over a weekend, and I don't watch the network again for at least 6 months. I guess I should thank HGTV for playing the same thing over and over, as I don't waste nearly as much time on shows as I did when they actually showed people about DIY. Hate the new formats of their shows, if you don't have 100K for a remodel, you aren't even beginning to be in their market. Thank you!, HGTV, you got me unhooked from tv!!!!!

I went to YouTube again to see if I could find any of the older Sarah Richardson shows. Lo and behold, there is a relatively new channel, Abode, that has the shows from the Design Inc. series as well as some of the other Sarah shows. Plus some other content I wasn't familiar with. Glad to find this happy diversion.

I agree! i want decorating show again! i miss Color Confidential where we learned about color and design! where are the design shows! not many people can rip their houses apart, but they could design a room!

i might add, Home Town comes close since they dont rip the house apart. still it doesn’t teach design

Why is it every time I try to see if something new is on HGTV it’s either Love It or List It or The Property Brothers or their spin offs? These shows are excruciating to watch after the 1000 time. I’m having trouble deciding on what to put on my new walls and adding decor to my new kitchen and den. A show like that would be ideal! I search Pinterest and youtube, but not the same.

@Valentina we loved Color Confidential! My husband never remembers the name of the show except 'the lady with the color wheel of objects'.

Totally agree. i esp loved Sensible Chic. Really tired of the real estate shows. But I also loved the show Before and After where people remodeled their own homes.

I agree, what happened to the decorating show. I stopped watching HGTV because of the dumb shows they have now. If I wanted to know about buying a home we don't need to see it on HGTV.

Why won’t the owners of HGTV listen to the viewers? I’m so sick and tired of these new nothing shows on HGTV… Sarah Richardson,Candace Olson and, so many others real decorators are now gone! It’s honestly painful. Watching so many reruns is sicking. And tearing down rooms and adding on. Isn’t for the everyday housewife. LORD!! Please!! HGTV hear our cry!!

I comment everytime this comes up. it is nice that some new shows have started to show up but none I'm crazy about yet. stop with the flippers already they are so flipping worthless! we all can and have made some of the same mistakes it's crazy that someone gets paid for the garbage we watch now. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! bring back shows that can help the average person with a limited budget and time do it right. I loved shows that had designers that knew what they talked about not someone that has no more qualifications than I do (or less) I learned from those shows. Color Confidential! and design on a dime! I for one am not going to pull down walls or expand my homes footprint. help me make what I have comfortable, functional AND look good.

The idea for HGTV was hatched in 1992.
Radio executive Kenneth Lowe had the idea to create a network dedicated to homes and gardening, and subsequently purchased a video production company in Knoxville, Tennessee, to get things off the ground. When HGTV started out in TN he put all the best shows HGTV ever had, the list of shows I remember was, Room by Room, Decorating Cents, Design on a Dime, Color Splash, Divine Design, While you are out, Trading Spaces, Carol Duvall show, Room for improvement, Kitchen Design, If walls could talk, Designer Challenge, Designing for the Sexes, Small spaces big Style, Curb Appeal, These are the ones I remember when HGTV was being aired from Knoxville TN before they became the product of Canada which by the way they started to bring all those Housed Hunters. For sale etc shows that it took away from what HGTV stood for. I guess they forgot what HGTV meant Home and Garden TV not For Sale TV. These networks don't listen to their viewers at all, But I am glad Discovery + now airs those old shows on their network. Hey, HGTV, since you don't listen to your viewers go ahead and keep putting those dumb shows on there. I personally don't care about seeing someone else buying a home.

HGTV Please, call some of your old designer back…at least two time out of a month…just to see will it make a difference in ratings! We don’t care about a wall being knocked down. If we’re stay at home moms we can’t afford to have walls moved. But we can learn from those decorator how to hang wall pictures, how to change furniture around to give a old room a new look. Women thats working not at home to see rooms add on and a set of new stairs put in back of the house. Those programs made HGTV what it is today. Many viewers have been very loyal to your channel. Please! Talk with some of those previous designer and find a way to bring them back!!

yesssssss

What you love about ANY of those old shows is something you may not realize. Two things, actually.

One or two designers involved. Not a cast of a thousand voices, and as many opinions.

Fifty miles of film went on the floor, before you see that final edited version.

Presto! Amazing! Look what she did in a day, an hour!

There is excellent help on Houzz. ..........and the only issue? Too many threads that go on for years, morph to 20,000 comments. It may seem "kind" , It isn't. : )

One more:

Home Town??! I flip the channel from the treadmill if I stumble on it. It seems he simply can not get his big huge meaty arm OFF her for five minutes........ugh!!!

UN watchable . : (

Oh I just “discovered “ Sarah Richardson! How great ! Down a wonderful rabbit hole.

Although she uses a variety of sources for furnishings and accessories- vintage, consignment , and Re-paints or refurbishes things, seems to do great at high/ low, I noticed she does mostly custom fabrics on segments I watched. Fabrics seem to be one of her superpowers ( as well as having access to skilled people).

That seems key to me because that way she controls so much of the coordinated but interesting outcomes. She comes up with a palette and a style goal for the fabrics , and isn’t trying to match the warm camel sofa with the cool gray tweed chairs and the taupe rug. Granted, she somehow sources a whole lotta stuff in a short time, but, the fabric control helps it not look like “ instant decorating”.

I’m thinking that’s a strategy more people should use— including me!— for at least some furnishings , to get that goal or inspo result. Maybe even just in small doses. Too fearful of the process, or cost, when maybe should economize on something else.

As in a past discussion about, don’t reupholster unless furniture is valuable— but not taking into account the ways that a particular fabric choice could make a room look great— even if recovering some second-hand chairs.

On Youtube check out What about home...they are streaming non stop Sarah Richardson....

I agree that HGTV has gone way downhill from what it used to be. I never watch it anymore;it used to be my go-to network. SOMEONE must be watching it and liking it or it would not continue to air as is.

I miss the old HGTV so much. now just real estate shows or, all of a sudden, a bunch of botoxed women who live in the gym all day who think they can do interior design. I HATE ALL OF IT.

Haven't watched home improvement shows in years. People forget on here that when getting advice not just from us regular folk but designers/contractors. Remember this not a diy website more like a angie list chat room plus for finding someone to do the work for you. Not like diynetwork. I have ask for advice only to get hate then actually anything helpful.

Hgtv, please stop the repeat ! When will the new listing start? Hgtv loosing it's appeal

I haven't watched home decorating shows in years. Here's the ones I remember and loved.

Material World- High end designers and huge budgets. I had recorded all 12 episodes and watched them frequently. When our dvr box needed to be replaced the tech asked if I had any shows on it that I wanted to save. I forgot and said no. The next day I wept.

Homes across America

If Walls could talk

Designing for the sexes

Designers Challenge

There are others I can't remember at the moment.

I have searched for years for reruns of Material World to no avail. If anyone has recordings I will pay dearly! Oh, it wasn't on HGTV. It was on TLC network.

I'd love to know your cable company. To have to lose a DVR box here is to lose every single recording. Thanks a whole bunch...............Spectrum #$$@@^^%%$ :(

@JAN MOYER I found an article about transferring Spectrum DVR content to an external hard drive. here

I am close to dropping discovery tv. What happened to all the HGTV shows that were our home remodeling shows were enjoyed/.

Sick enough to have stopped watching HGTV because of that very reason

Hard to believe that this discussion is 9 years old! And still HGTV comes up with more and more stupid shows. But they're still on the air. Makes you wonder....