A small facelift

In Finland we have a TV show called "Pientä pintaremonttia", which is basically an interior decorating program. It has probably corresponding series abroad, so many of you will get the picture.

The storyline goes something like this: there is an apartment (usually close to Helsinki for obvious reasons) which is about to be sold but needs a little renovating. A real estate agent drops by and estimates the value of the place. Then the owners tell three architect designers how much money they can spend for making the place ready for sale. It's usually 2000 - 5000 euros.

Then those three designers make their own suggestions how they'd renovate it. The owners choose one and the apartment will be repaired accordingly. Later on, the same real estate agent comes to reevaluate the place. It's usually more than the money spent in renovating. Very often they use lent furniture in decorating.

Why am I telling you all this, you may wonder. I don't blame you. Well, I have been watching this sporadically with my wife, who watches almost every TV show of this nature. What bugs me real bad, are the stupid female owners who are selling their apartment. I really hate to hear them say: "No, I don't like green as a colour. I'm not choosing this plan." Or: "I don't like that bed, it's too flamboyant (for my taste)." WTF?! They are not renovating it for themselves, if they are going to sell the apartment! What does it matter, what they like? Several male owners have a better attitude: "This renovated bathroom will definetely raise the price up."

This formula repeats itself year after year. Women prefer their own taste to designers'. It's almost camp to me. Those designers are professional and give good ideas from time to time, but basically this show is waste of time. In the end of the show the owners are usually disappointed in the re-estimate of the house. They think that using 1000 euros in decorating should increase the value of the house by 10000 € or something. It's easy to read the disappointment in their faces, especially by men, because they often think they know better. But they rarely do.