It’s interesting to me how the types of television shows you like change as you get older. When I was a child, I never really had too much of an interest in home renovation shows. My parents would have them on occasionally, but I often felt they were a little boring, and the pace of them was too slow. So I never really paid too much attention to them. But in the last few years, I’ve started to get a lot more interested in those types of shows. In my downtime, I’ve often found myself watching HGTV shows like Love it or List it (both the original and Vancouver versions), Backyard Builds, Home Town, and Good Bones. I’ve also, on occasion, watched some of Mike Holmes’ shows. Maybe I’ve become more interested recently because, as a 26 year-old, I can relate a bit more to the dream of owning a family home or having the perfect first house. Or maybe, after a busy workday, they serve as something relaxing to watch, as they don’t have the same pace as an action or adventure show. I think part of it is because I like to see the creativity displayed, both in coming up with the renovation plans and navigating issues that come up during a renovation like water damage, structural fixes to compensate for removing a load-bearing wall, and having to relocate things like HVAC systems, while still staying on budget. I like to see the comparison between what the house looked like beforehand, and what it looks like post renovation. Over time, you also learn a lot about the stars of the shows, the contractors and the designers. What they like to incorporate into their works, a bit about their lives, what their limitations are and about what is important to them. Myself, honestly, I’ve never been the handiest person when it comes to knowing how to fix things or build things. My skills are mostly in the written and photographic arts. But I think these shows have shown me what to expect when you are going through a renovation of your home, and the need to have a contingency fund in order to be able to adapt to problems found during a renovation project. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll be able to apply a solution I learned from one of these shows to fix a household item or issue.