This is a guest post by Angelita Williams. If you want to guest post on this blog, see the guidelines here.
If you’ve ever wanted to do something special with your kitchen but you really don’t know what to do or how to make the place come alive, a great starting point can actually reside with your TV. There are many great shows designed to give consumers some insight into what the latest trends in kitchen remodeling are and how to make your dream kitchen manifest into reality while keeping within your set budget. That said, below are our five favorites. While some may be older than others (some even in syndication) they are all great sources to turn to for some much needed inspiration. * The shows shown below are in no particular order.
1. Spice Up Your Kitchen
Channel: HGTV
Regular programming: Varies
This syndicated show may have met its end in 2009, but the way host and designer Lauren Lake transforms some of the featured kitchens can still outshine some of the owners’ kitchens. of their most antiquated home well into the future. Like all the shows featured on this list, Spice Up Your Kitchen is dedicated to taking dull, lifeless and dysfunctional kitchens and turning them into something appetizing by adding some “spice”. In each episode, the home owner is given two design plans; as naturally as they meet the established budget and the desired elements that the home owner wants. The homeowner then selects the design plan they prefer.
2. Bang For Your Buck
Channel: HGTV
Regular programming: Saturdays 3PM/2C
This show doesn’t just focus on kitchens (it also covers other rooms in the house) but kitchens are actually a really popular room to tackle the show. Bang For Your Buck it’s an excellent way to show that sometimes inexpensive items can have the same look and feel as expensive items too. In each episode, three eager couples ready to renovate the same room in each respected house are given the same set budget. The experts then come in and evaluate each newly renovated room, deciding which room has a higher value and which couple made the best investment decisions.
3. Run My Renovation
Channel: DIY Network
Regular programming: Wednesday 10:30/9:30C
Run My Renovation is a truly unique show because it actually asks for online viewer participation in every episode. Viewers vote on what renovations they’d like to see completed in a designated room—from light fixtures to doorknobs—and then a contractor and interior designer makes it happen. Like the show mentioned above, it doesn’t just focus on the kitchens but they are usually the front.
4. The Worst Kitchen In America
Channel: DIY Network
Regular programming: Varies
Ok, so this is not a real show, it’s just an annual special program, but it’s still super cool—that takes months-worth of time trying to find the worst kitchen in America and then remodels it all in a neat and compact special hour. For Worst Kitchen In America 2012, the producers searched over 20,000 applications until they found the absolute worst. Not only do they give the homeowner’s kitchen a complete facelift, but they also give cooking tips. While you can still catch the episode on the DIY network channel, the times vary so it may be easier to watch the episode online here. Last year’s contestants also appear.
5. I Hate My Kitchen
Channel: DIY Network
Regular programming: Tuesdays, 10PM/9C
Finally, I Hate My Kitchen, which also appears on the DIY network channel, is a great show that shows that you can still have a beautiful kitchen and use new and innovative designs and tools without breaking the bank or for the most part, the need for demolition. Some of the kitchens featured are in such bad shape that they actually cause conflict in marriages.
It’s a great show to watch so be sure to tune in every Tuesday.
