I think the show is great but tired that there are always significant construction errors on all houses that is not realistic nor true! The entire show is just fake - annoying.
20 Reviews
All houses in Vancouver wrongly build!?!?!?
weiseth10 November 2020
Problems, problems, problems!
billbaxter-5493211 June 2022
I have enjoyed this show quite a bit and it is very impressive how Gillian can transfer ugly houses into very welcoming homes. Todd is a hoot to watch with his witty comebacks and antics. What is getting frustrating is the constant repetitive theme of "hidden problems " that become major issues. I have never watched one episode where the homeowners get everything they asked for. Every show is scripted exactly the same where Kenny finds problems, Gillian pulls out her "acting" shoes and pretends to be shocked, disappointed and angry. It is always the same. Homeowners are providing renovation budgets of 120,000 and much higher, sometimes up to 200,00 but it's never enough. Shake it up a bit. How about the homeowner gets everything they asked for and there's money left over to do something extra for them or give the extra money back. It just seems to be that every show is predictable and never falls off script. Only difference is different homes and different homeowners. Getting a bit boring.
Very enjoyable
shetor199 March 2017
The banter between Jillian and Todd is quite amusing. The show is true enough to life, that I disagree with its detractors. You never know what you're going to find when you open up a wall in an old home. Also have to take into consideration that building codes are regularly updated and changed. In Vancouver, if your reno involves more than 50% of the living space, you must install a sprinkler system. Obviously, the detractors haven't a clue as to the cost of such undertaking. The building inspector is the law, and your project is bound by the building code. I love this show, and hope it comes back in 2017. It's fun watching Todd and Jillian, they seem to have great chemistry, and I've learned a lot from Kenny's expert knowledge.
Always a problem
monte_rod11 April 2021
Chemistry between presenters is great, but the show seems to follow a pre determined blue print> House in need of renovation>Always an unforeseen problem>Owners,despite living in houses many times above $1MM, can´t step in with extra $10K?! How come?>Something gets taken off the original plan(by the way, the construction manager seems to have a great pleasure in finding a problem and is always negative)
I do not believe Jill is not capable of building up some reserve or antecipate problems either with the building or the city
Anyway, I love to watch the show,mainly because the presenters,they have good rapport with the audience I believe.
Jillian & Todd are the best and beautiful haha
garcia-lorenzana23 September 2019
I love this show, I think Jillian and Todd are very funny and natural, they are made for each other, the perfect complement, and make me laugh all the time, I think humor is very important in a show, not everything must be seriousness, this is entertainment. And they are professional too, the results are at plain sight, the good taste. I think is a very successful program. I hope to see this show for many seasons more.
$190,000 for One Floor and a Deck - Really?
kelelaclch10 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Although I have watched both Love It or List It shows for as long as they have been on and will more than likely continue to do so, the latest episode [1/9/2015] really worked my nerves! I understand that a lot of money had to go to resizing the deck and moving the footers (which was a given), but, come one, the fact that Jillian had trouble reallocating money to give the couple what they needed before undertaking any renovations was unbelievable to me! With $190,000, I repeat, $190,000, the upstairs should have been renovated as well with a functioning bathroom,to say the least! What about options, compromise and or sitting down with the homeowners to come up with viable modifications to achieve a "win/win" scenario, even if camera time is not devoted to this but implied in some fashion? 1st of all, as the homeowner, I would have only given her $10,000 initially (for example), and when she asked for more money, possibly have given her the rest! But then again, I say this about almost episode I watch of either show and am always pleading with the homeowners through the television to "Hold on to some of your money until you find out how much it is going to take to renovate your very old home!" And, what's up with all of the white walls, cabinets and countertops? Cheaper for Jillian, maybe, but at the expense of creative design aesthetic... It seems as if the designers' own agendas take precedence over the desires of the homeowners, so that they can go back in and complete the remaining projects, just in case couples do decide to side with Todd and list their homes! Furthermore, the contrived drama is truly unnecessary since there is enough of it watching Jillian inform the couples of what she is not going to do for them, which is exasperating and more of a distraction than not! I do like watching the design crew transform ordinary rooms into spacious and functioning living areas, but the journey and end results very seldom seem to meet my expectations as a viewer!
It's a TV show people!
iggypelman14 May 2022
Is it fake? The home owners are real and so are their houses. Having said that, the rest is scripted for gawd sake. I've done renos. They really are a pandora's box - full of nasty surprises! And, these guys have to do it by code and often the labour aint cheap. That makes it much more expensive than you casual DYI'ers think that it should be. What makes it scripted is the fact that they often know in advance where some of these surprises might be and they make it seem like they found it in the middle of the reno for the dramatic effect. That's show biz.
Love it or List it Vancouver
gabushby14 July 2017
I always watch the show to see the final "reveal". Jillian seems to have a knack for decorating and the final results are quite impressive. What is less impressive is the amount of money these people put upfront to have the changes done to their homes. Each and every time there is this "eye rolling" scene with all these "little surprises" that seem to crop up on a regular basis ($$$) More and more money to pay for extra unforeseen improvements. It is unnerving at best (Hillary Farr used to always fall short of finishing her projects on her show "Love it or List it"). I would never hire anyone like that. That's a huge disappointment and a let down. I can only see how these people feel.
So who is pocketing all that money. I assume that in the end Jillian gets what she wants from that project but it's all water off her shoulders if the project is not finished.
I have never seen anything like this on Jonathan's and Drew's show. Occasionally, there are things that crop up but options are being given and they work around the issues if necessary. Also, they get a lot more done with a lot less money. So what gives?
Here, you gotta pay more or things get done to a complete 100% satisfaction. And even at that, projects are left undone with all the additional out of pocket expenses.
It is hard to watch the show because of the price gouging and the horrible unprofessional approach.
So who is pocketing all that money. I assume that in the end Jillian gets what she wants from that project but it's all water off her shoulders if the project is not finished.
I have never seen anything like this on Jonathan's and Drew's show. Occasionally, there are things that crop up but options are being given and they work around the issues if necessary. Also, they get a lot more done with a lot less money. So what gives?
Here, you gotta pay more or things get done to a complete 100% satisfaction. And even at that, projects are left undone with all the additional out of pocket expenses.
It is hard to watch the show because of the price gouging and the horrible unprofessional approach.
Can only watch the Reveal
d-silverstone1 November 2021
I would like to know if the persons applying to be on this show realize that 1) major defects will be found in their house no matter how great shape it is in -- rats, roof leakage, rot, black mold, ants you name it, it will be there I guarantee it 2) because of this major issue and no matter how much the budget is it will not be enough to cover everything the homeowner wants.
I can't stand Jillian or her contractor Kenny who is a debbie downer if there ever was one and he even seems to relish giving the bad news. And while I understand the show is formulaic, Jillian routinely goes over budget or has to cut out major items on the wish list which comes to the same thing. I would never hire those two in a million years with their bad record of failing to deliver. Often Jillian does one floor -- all open space -- big deal, when there are bathrooms to be done! And half the time many of the so-called renovations are just cleaning up the room and painting and she makes such a big fuss over what she has accomplished! So like the title says, I like to watch the ending period.
I can't stand Jillian or her contractor Kenny who is a debbie downer if there ever was one and he even seems to relish giving the bad news. And while I understand the show is formulaic, Jillian routinely goes over budget or has to cut out major items on the wish list which comes to the same thing. I would never hire those two in a million years with their bad record of failing to deliver. Often Jillian does one floor -- all open space -- big deal, when there are bathrooms to be done! And half the time many of the so-called renovations are just cleaning up the room and painting and she makes such a big fuss over what she has accomplished! So like the title says, I like to watch the ending period.
Please do something about Jillian
pachamamajeanne11 June 2016
I'm a huge HGTV fan, especially Love it or List it Toronto. Hillary and David are great. They're not too plastic and fake and they feel comfortable ribbing each other. Todd is okay but Jillian is hard to watch. She's so busy flicking her hair and pouting for the camera (seriously, is she in high school?) it's really distracting. It pulls me out of the show because she's playing to the camera more than doing her job. Obviously someone who does a stint on the Bachelor franchises just wants attention. It's gotten her this show but I'm not sure she's got the goods to back up her ego. That $190k budget for one floor mentioned by another viewer is a joke. You can do a whole house for that even with contingency.
Unreal and fake
rebecca_l_johnson29 September 2021
If I could give zero stars I would. How is it possible that with a $140,000 budget all you get is an open concept kitchen, dining and living room? Not the family room? Not the two bathrooms? You could build a brand new home for not much more than that. At best, a new beam for an open concept would be around $8,000-$10,000 (maybe $20,000 if new footings are needed) and a kitchen is about $25,000. Where does the rest of the money go?
I also find it just unreal that there are always problems that seem to come up in every episode. Even I know that you need to check the plumbing and electrical to make sure the addition of a bathroom will not add to the electrical load or require larger pipes yet a "professional" contractor and designer seem to be blind-sided by this? I would not hire any of them to work on my home.
ETA: the last episode I watched the couple gave $140,000 to renovate the kitchen, powder room, solarium (which does not get done because of, you guessed it, a leaky roof), bathroom/laundry room and main bathroom.
Granted that is a big list but what struck me is that when I paused on the approved plans shown at the beginning of the episode it clearly shows that the homeowner's existing fridge and dishwasher will be reused. Yet, later in the show, in order to bring the drainage plumbing up to code (why did Kenny not know about this before?), Jillian suggests returning the fridge and dishwasher that she "bought" for the kitchen to pay for the plumbing? The owners were fine with keeping their existing appliances because they were only 2 years old. Uhm, the plans already had those appliances being reused so why did she say she bought new appliances? Obviously this is all just done to create drama.
This has to be the fakest show on TV and I will not be watching it again.
I also find it just unreal that there are always problems that seem to come up in every episode. Even I know that you need to check the plumbing and electrical to make sure the addition of a bathroom will not add to the electrical load or require larger pipes yet a "professional" contractor and designer seem to be blind-sided by this? I would not hire any of them to work on my home.
ETA: the last episode I watched the couple gave $140,000 to renovate the kitchen, powder room, solarium (which does not get done because of, you guessed it, a leaky roof), bathroom/laundry room and main bathroom.
Granted that is a big list but what struck me is that when I paused on the approved plans shown at the beginning of the episode it clearly shows that the homeowner's existing fridge and dishwasher will be reused. Yet, later in the show, in order to bring the drainage plumbing up to code (why did Kenny not know about this before?), Jillian suggests returning the fridge and dishwasher that she "bought" for the kitchen to pay for the plumbing? The owners were fine with keeping their existing appliances because they were only 2 years old. Uhm, the plans already had those appliances being reused so why did she say she bought new appliances? Obviously this is all just done to create drama.
This has to be the fakest show on TV and I will not be watching it again.
Renovating homes for spoiled rich people
biba_yu8 June 2022
This is pretty ridiculous concept. They find people with very expensive, large houses who complain and whine about the "lack of space" (in 4 bedroom or more houses?), the mess, the "not open space" etc when the fact is that they are, not their houses, but the owners, horribly messy people who don't even try to maintain their large, expensive houses and don't know how to use objectively large space they have.
Then they invest ridiculous amount of money into renovation where, like for example, one wooden deck can cost 40000 $ or so, and complain and whine about every single luxurious million dollar houses Tod shows them. I almost laughed out loud when on one tour Tod said in dramatical voice "but this house does not have Pilates studio", with dramatic music and pause and horror on customer's face, like he said "your dog just drowned". I mean, seriously??? Those people are rich and super spoiled and the way they whine about stupid things that can be repaired with a little cleaning and some cheap renovations in their stupid million dollar house is seriously appalling. What are they thinking?
Then there is Jillian with her sad, serious face when she has to tell home owners, every single time, that they have some serious issue in home which will take a lot of renovation money. She tells that with super sad face like she is telling them their home just burned down to the ground and they are homeless, it's beyond stupid! Then Kenny asks for some large amount of money, like Idunno, 50000$ to put the hanging electrical cable in concrete or to clear moldy wall or something and owners are of course mad and they consider if they made "a mistake" with this show. Always the same!
Bickering between Tod and Jillian is fun, kind of, and homes do look good at the end (but is that for real or just a fascade?), but other than this, show is pretty ridiculous. Can they just help some less fortunate home owners who are not millioners or something? Or at least have people who do not complain about their 30000+ square feet, 5 bedroom houses and how their enormous kitchen can't fit all the family members (because it's messy!), and how their three bathrooms are just not enough, and how their own bloody river in garden is not pretty enough, and their bar (bar!!!) in living room takes "too much space", or their ridiculously large bathroom is not sound proof etc. Give me a break! People live in shoeboxes and complain less.
Then they invest ridiculous amount of money into renovation where, like for example, one wooden deck can cost 40000 $ or so, and complain and whine about every single luxurious million dollar houses Tod shows them. I almost laughed out loud when on one tour Tod said in dramatical voice "but this house does not have Pilates studio", with dramatic music and pause and horror on customer's face, like he said "your dog just drowned". I mean, seriously??? Those people are rich and super spoiled and the way they whine about stupid things that can be repaired with a little cleaning and some cheap renovations in their stupid million dollar house is seriously appalling. What are they thinking?
Then there is Jillian with her sad, serious face when she has to tell home owners, every single time, that they have some serious issue in home which will take a lot of renovation money. She tells that with super sad face like she is telling them their home just burned down to the ground and they are homeless, it's beyond stupid! Then Kenny asks for some large amount of money, like Idunno, 50000$ to put the hanging electrical cable in concrete or to clear moldy wall or something and owners are of course mad and they consider if they made "a mistake" with this show. Always the same!
Bickering between Tod and Jillian is fun, kind of, and homes do look good at the end (but is that for real or just a fascade?), but other than this, show is pretty ridiculous. Can they just help some less fortunate home owners who are not millioners or something? Or at least have people who do not complain about their 30000+ square feet, 5 bedroom houses and how their enormous kitchen can't fit all the family members (because it's messy!), and how their three bathrooms are just not enough, and how their own bloody river in garden is not pretty enough, and their bar (bar!!!) in living room takes "too much space", or their ridiculously large bathroom is not sound proof etc. Give me a break! People live in shoeboxes and complain less.
Horrible Shoiw
rickbutler-2107313 December 2018
Shetor19 wrote that he disagrees with the detractors. These people and their "professional" contractors should know building codes before they take on a project. They should investigate all the aspects of the project before making promises to the home owners. Like checking ceiling spaces to ensure a wall is not load bearing before saying they can provide an open concept.
I worked for 30 years as Property Manager and if I used a contractor who wanted to change his quote because he didn't anticipate a problem, I would never use him again.
Also if I was a home owner and Jillian spoke to me the way she speaks to some of her customers I would quickly send her off the property for good.
Not a fun show.
I worked for 30 years as Property Manager and if I used a contractor who wanted to change his quote because he didn't anticipate a problem, I would never use him again.
Also if I was a home owner and Jillian spoke to me the way she speaks to some of her customers I would quickly send her off the property for good.
Not a fun show.
Terrible, insensitive, competitive and trying to be too cutsie.
karenfelske14 August 2018
Just being too cutsie playing with people's money. Dont like Jillian. Insulted homeowners house! Attitude and all she talks about is wanting to drink wine and compete with Todd. Not impressed at all. No homework done here. 1st home shown is not a good home . Very underqualified to do what she is doing. Wow! I could go on but you get the drift. Couldnt get rid of the one star rating!
Really?
GLArm7 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I just watched the first episode of this show and found it unbelievable that someone could call herself a home designer and plan a project that involved moving the electrical box without realizing it. Hello?!
Also, the kitchen & laundry looked great when she was done, but designing a kitchen sink so your head is looking at the wall when you have a lot of other options for it is just bad design. Whenever I see that in a kitchen redesign, I wonder how much time the person who spent designing it actually has spent preparing meals or cleaning up while living with their family or entertaining. (Not much, I figure!)
So probably won't see this show again. Too annoying. Plus I've seen a lot of Love It or List It and got too sick of the huge problems that cropped up just about EVERY SINGLE TIME in the current home renovation. Have they no housing standards in Toronto? In my city, there are inspections required every time you sell your house or have major work done so I doubt it would be the disaster that is apparently continually occurring in Toronto -- unless the show is just creating major problems because they need it for their show script! (which is of course very possible and giving a Toronto a bad name in its housing stock is just a byproduct of their show's storyline.)
Also, the kitchen & laundry looked great when she was done, but designing a kitchen sink so your head is looking at the wall when you have a lot of other options for it is just bad design. Whenever I see that in a kitchen redesign, I wonder how much time the person who spent designing it actually has spent preparing meals or cleaning up while living with their family or entertaining. (Not much, I figure!)
So probably won't see this show again. Too annoying. Plus I've seen a lot of Love It or List It and got too sick of the huge problems that cropped up just about EVERY SINGLE TIME in the current home renovation. Have they no housing standards in Toronto? In my city, there are inspections required every time you sell your house or have major work done so I doubt it would be the disaster that is apparently continually occurring in Toronto -- unless the show is just creating major problems because they need it for their show script! (which is of course very possible and giving a Toronto a bad name in its housing stock is just a byproduct of their show's storyline.)
Costs too high
ssommers-8276128 April 2020
I'd like to know who is robbing these home owners blind. The Reno budgets don't line up with comparable budgets for other home Reno series. Give $200,000 and you get a kitchen but no bathroom or rec room etc. I just don't see how it costs so much more than any other Reno show. Anyone know?
Worst reno show hands down
heather_colpitts13 July 2021
I watch HGTV religiously and I love all the shows even the original love it or list it. But love it or list it Vancouver is the absolute worst show on the network. Jillian drives me nuts. She is the fakest for sure. When she gives the homeowners bad news it's like she doesn't care and she always rolls her eyes. Then the homeowners are all bad actors you can tell it's fake af. And her tall contractor (not sure his name since I don't care) he is so negative all the time like woah is me. I love watching these shows so I record it only to watch the reveal because I literally can't stand them. If I could give zero stars I would.
Done with it in 2021!
lyndal-9446518 August 2021
Pathetic acting Jillian
richardyyc7 February 2023
Over acting with the lame rolling eyes Jillian about the renovation cost overruns every episode!, surprise, surprise what a joke. We just watched another lame episode with an additional cost of a structural beam, but at the beginning of episode the designer lady with Jillian says no replacement beam needed ,,but after tearing down here comes the extra costs lame rolling eyes and total fakeness of the lame contractor. Todd needs to stop tearing the peoples houses apart ,he probably wishes he could afford a house. Todd quoted an extra cost on a house of 10 k when they had ramps in the front and the back and the contractor said the costs would be higher on a purchase of a newer home.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
