I love watching TV shows
I love watching renovation shows on TV. It’s escapism at its best. I watch the Property Brothers, Making it Home with Kortney and Kenny, Island of Bryan, Trading Up with Mandy Rennehan, Nate and Jeremiah by design, and many (many) others. If the designers and renovators are talented and creative, and make me laugh with their witty banter, then I’m hooked.
Unfortunately for Guy, it’s turning out to be rather an expensive hobby. Not because of the monthly Netflix or Yes (satellite TV) bills. But simply because every now and again, these shows remind me that I definitely need to buy something new for the house or organize a small yet important renovation 😉
New words in English
On the bright side, I’ve definitely expanded my English vocabulary in the field of design and construction, with words such as cornice brackets, shingles, sconces, rafters, and load-bearing walls.
One of my clients, a professor of archaeology, recently told me a lovely story about Haifa, where I actually lived for 10 years when we first moved to Israel. Apparently, when he was mayor of Haifa, Abba Hushi decided that all residential buildings should be at least 3 stories high and with a red tiled roof – because Mount Carmel reminded him of Switzerland, where slanted tiled roofs were a must for keeping the snow off the roof (and possibly collapsing into the house). That’s also why there’s a park in Haifa named “Little Switzerland.” I love stories like that.
Curb your enthusiasm!
Getting back to my fun renovation shows, I especially love the term curb appeal – which is mentioned on every single episode of “Scott’s Vacation House Rules.” Curb appeal refers to the exterior attractiveness of a home or building, i.e., how inviting it is from the outside, from the street – and even more precisely, from the sidewalk.
What’s really interesting is the word curb, which refers to the edge of the sidewalk, the part between the road and the sidewalk. At least if you’re in the USA.
If you’re in the UK, on the other hand, you’ll use the word kerb (which sounds the same as curb but is spelled completely differently) – and you’ll also talk about the edge of the pavement. Just like in Adele’s song, Chasing Pavements, which was one of her earliest songs, long before she moved from England to the States.
It’s confusing, I know. But that’s why I’m here. To help make sense of such things, broaden your horizons, and introduce you to great TV shows.
