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I use to watch more design shows in the past. When I was younger, made much less money, and unsure of my "style," I thought Trading Spaces was fun.

If I had to watch one show, it would be Kenneth Brown's Redesign on HGTV. And I do like Sarah Richardson's Room Service. As I am obsessed with my backyard project and full basement redo, I find myself watching more intensive DIY shows, than strictly "decorating" shows.

no cable! the AT and several magazines give me my design fix.

The HGTV design shows today are cloying and overstimulating and just horrible. Almost all of them are done in a hurried race and/or budget that's way too low for the kind of work they want to do. Candice Olsen's show is one of the only tolerable ones. I miss the HGTV of 3 or 4 years ago. I still love This Old House, of course, which I've been watching since I was literally a child.

I don't have cable anymore. Back when I did, HGTV was one of the few channels I watched.

I especially liked Kenneth Brown's Redesign and Candace Olsen's shows.

Zero. I watch less than an hour of TV per week, total.

I, too, used to think that Trading Spaces was fantastic. Haven't seen it in a few years, but I suspect I'd be less excited now. Having said that, if I do find myself flipping channels and searching for something to watch, home improvement shows are at the top of my list.

I got rid of my TV a year and a half ago, partly because I would mindlessly watch HGTV all the time. I do miss some of the shows, in particular Small Space, Big Style. I wish I could find that on the internet somewhere, but couldn't last time I checked. And I loved Dwell on Fine Living Channel when I got that.

I also used to love the show (on yet another channel) about the designer twins who would each separately re-do identical spaces. It was a pretty silly show, but I liked it.

I have to admit I am completely obsessed with Hidden Potential-- even though the production itself (i.e. hosts, over-produced storyline) makes the show practically unwatchable. I really like the idea of renovating an old house and I just luv to see the transformation renderings!

I have learned about the importance of lighting from Candice Olsen. Can't wait to use some of that one day.
I learned immeasurable things from Sarah Richardson--I even wrote the CBC to see if the show was still airing after I saw them all rerun on the Style channel.
Most of the HGTV shows are cheesy, but there are some useful shows out there. This Old House remains a mainstay--the Austin Green Remodel series was great.
Dress My Nest is my current obsession, though he picks some annoying gals to feature--and that new "co host" has got to go.
My guilty pleasures are Clean House and House Hunters International. Curb Appeal is sometimes good too.

That TV in the pic is groovy - My Mom had one like that when she got married and it ended up in my bedroom after we got the Color TV...

Anywhoo - I enjoy Candice's and Kenneth's work, but I think that the reveals are a bit overdone: After all, these folks have paid for the project and approved the plans, haven't they? I'd also like to know what the costs are...

I really like "Finding Your Style" with Karen McAloon - Rather than doing it all for the confused homeowners, she has them participate in the project and guides them into making good decisions.

I think most of the design shows on the air today are pure drivel. As stated by the others, they're generally over the top, over exaggerated and really not at all that interesting or inspiring. One exception is Candic Olsen. She's flexible in her design style and though the end product is often not what I'd want for myself, it's almost always extremely well thought out and meticulously and beautifullly executed.

There are only two shows I wish I could watch today but can't because they're no longer aired: First is Small Space, Big Style. Why WAS it such a short-lived show? I don't live in NYC or any other large urban city, but still found interest and value in the spaces they showed. Second is Debbie Travis' one hour makeover show, the name of which I can't recall now. Her style was very much in line with mine and the end results were usually great, IMHO.

Debbie Travis's show was also hilarious and a ton of fun to watch. I miss that one!

Definitely agree with the love for Candice Olsen, Sarah Richardson, and Debbie Travis. And I must point out that all three are Canadian - I miss my HGTV Canada!

Candice's designs are amazingly well-executed, plus I love the personalities on the show (Chico's my fav).

I learned a lot from the decluttering shows--Clean Sweep and that cutie from Canada, can't remember the name.

I really only watch Sarah Richardson - in fact, I have her on right now. I like how she explains all of her decisions and that the show pretty low key in comparison to the HGTV productions.

my favorite is hands down - Room Service with Sarah Richardson. why don't they air that at night anymore? i miss that
next - Freestyle
i also love Divine Design & would like to see more of Small Space Big Style
I could watch a whole lot more, but then I'd never get any of my own stuff done. Trying to scale down & be less a couch potato.

Really have to agree with much of what's been said above. Definitely favor Candice, Sarah and also much of Kenneth's designs (if not his on air persona). Thought Karen McAloon's "Finding Your Style" was great and don't know why it got buried in a late night slot at least in NYC. I'm also a fan of David Bromstadt's show. It also suffers a bit from the budget and time constraint syndrome of too many current offerings, but I always find his results admirable.

Anyone care to speculate on why the "time factor" seems to be such an element in so many of these shows? Is it simply the "see what you could do over a weekend if you really wanted to" suggestion or something else?

How many hours a week? Well, these days, I've been watching WAY too much CNN, but that's just because of the election stuff, but otherwise, I'd say I watch at least 8 hours a week of design shows, some of which I keep on in the background on the weekend WHILE I'm doing one of my own DIY projects. You know, kind of like the way some people use REAL porn.

Sarah Richardson is absolutely my favorite...Room Service and Design Inc...I've heard she has a new one called Sarah's House, but I haven't seen it.
I'll watch This Old House as well....I don't like very many of the HGTV shows....so cheesy!
The new season of Flipping Out starts soon too...can't wait!

Which reminds me... if I could only watch one show? It might be Color Splash.

I forgot about Freestyle--though they are working with, uh, less than ideal materials, it really shows you what the word potential means. Furniture placement is exciting to me.
I just saw a great episode of Small Space Big Style this morning, that one should really be continuing.

I just got cable a couple of months ago (first time in over 15 years) and I watch too much HGTV. Most of the time I am appalled at what they do to old houses and what they consider necessary to a house (master suite, granite counter tops, double sinks in the bathroom). I like "Hidden Potential" because I like seeing dumpy houses and "My House is Worth What" cracks me up when some couple totally over values their craptacular house.

I really miss Design Remix.
$50 and some paint!

I also like the crazy canuck, Candice. Her rooms are beautiful but I doubt they'd fit in what I think of as the average budget for a room redo. I liked Small Space the few times I saw it. I like Designed to Sell and DOD. Yes, I guess I watch too much design television. But it's better than the usual TV crap!

Oh, yeah... and I, too, think that Candice Olsen's lighting is one of the best things about her projects, and the general idea of the feeling of her spaces is probably one of the biggest influences on the lighting in mine, I guess, although I'd be hard put to actually say exactly one particular thing about it.

I love Color Splash! I wish they'd move it back to its original spot on Monday nights. But I really dislike the fact that so many of the other shows are about buying and selling real estate. Hidden Potential is such a terrible show. They convince a couple to buy a rundown house and never show the audience whether or not any of the renovations actually get done.

I really enjoy Clean House Comes Clean for the train-wreck value, although I can't watch Clean House itself because I just KNOW there are some hard feelings from some of the people who get "interventions" and are railroaded into getting rid of the clutter that they actually don't want to give up.

I enjoy and learn from Design on a Dime, Divine Design, and Designed to Sell. What I love about DoaD is that they actually show the work they do. Designed to Sell is great but it seems to me they used to show more of the actual work being done, while now it's mostly evaluation, then a little bit of the work, and then the reveal and open house.

HGTV'S What's With That House and BBC's How Not To Decorate are my guilty pleasures.

Gave up the TV a few years ago. The only show I have seen that is mentioned is This Old House.

Small Space, Big Style got cancelled? TV is so unfair. With all the trash that's on...
Well, there's still a season or two of that that I missed and would love to track down.

Also, Flipping Out is starting again?!? What a strangely fascinating show. Can't wait to see that again sometime when I'm near a TV when it's on.

I've really grown tired of the real estate shows like "Designed to Sell" and "My House is Worth What?" and all the "Flipping" shows. I realize you need to make a house appealing if you have to sell it (and the current market is not good in much of the country), but there is so much emphasis on blandness to increase value (real or perceived). It seems to me to devalue the house as a real home.

I used to keep cable for HGTV's Design Time Saturday Night. I was working for a hardware store/garden shop at the time (those wages made cable a luxury), and it was a great way to ease out of the Saturday retail chaos. I loved "Awesome Interiors" and "Room for Change." The evening would start with "Awesome" and the 4 shows would progress up the expense level during the evening.

I greatly miss "Home to Go"!!!

I still even like the occasional "Decorating Cents" or "Design on a Dime" and "Mission:Organization."

I watch bits of "Clean Sweep" if it's on.

But largely I could almost give up cable. All of this obnoxious real estate stuff with people who have snippy accents!

"Home to Go" needs to come back!

I just got cable a few months ago and right now LOVE HGTV (Canadian style). I'm sure I'll get bored eventually. I most love Relocation/Relocation with Kirsty and Phil--so feisty--and Sarah Richardson is super swoony. And her design team, especially Tommy, is so cute and good natured!

I really don't like their decorating style, but really enjoy watching Colin and Justin's Home Heist just for their personalities, the accents, and the over-the-topness of it all.

i tivo them all and watch one revealafter another once i put the kids to bed each night.

1. World's Most Extreme Homes
2. World's Greenest Homes

I liked Sarah Richardson back when she was doing small apartments on shoestring budgets, where her creativity and resourcefulness could really shine; now it seems her clients are mainly older, wealthy socialites with more traditional styles that I find uninteresting for the most part.
But no offense intended to her or her many fans!

I am a HGTV junkie, I have been know to watch the same episodes over and over and overrrrrrrrrr, sad, very sad. Finally I have had a lightbulb moment and I'm about to cancel my cable, so much junk and mindless c**p, and I'm now an expert on all things c**p on TV. My favs are Home to Stay, and the new Designer Guys, they are cute as buttons and very talented. Candice Olsen is very funny and talented and I luv Chico. SSBS I like, see what I mean about being a junkie, these type of show are the primary reason I change not only my furniture arrangement all the time but the furniture as well. I need a cure, anyone? House, now he could cure me:)

We don't have cable television, and I am over the all-too-bubbly hosts in their all-too-tight singlets, but my favourite all time must watch is "Grand Designs" from the UK. Hosted by an architect this one hour program is absolutely fabulous and has "real" people either renovating or building from scratch. Not really showing your thrift shop finds and diy makeovers, but shows some of the most amazing and unusual locations that people decide to make their homes, and the pitfalls and highs and lows that they encounter during a build. It is truly inspirational how some couples are so determined in their design concepts and what they do to achieve their goals.