Love It or List It

Love It or List It
Genre	Reality renovations, upgrading
Created by	Maria Armstrong Catherine Fogarty
Directed by	Matt Hoos Jeanette Diehl
Starring	Hilary Farr David Visentin
Narrated by	Jacqueline Hennessy
Theme music composer	Lou Pomanti
Country of origin	Canada United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	10
No. of episodes	130
Production
Executive producer(s)	Maria Armstrong Catherine Fogarty
Producer(s)	Maria Armstrong
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Raleigh–Durham, North Carolina, United States
Running time	44 minutes
Production company(s)	Big Coat Productions
Release
Original network	W Network HGTV
Original release	September 8, 2008 – present
External links
Website
Production website

Love It or List It is a Canadian home design TV show currently airing on HGTV, W Network and on OWN Canada, and is the original show in the Love it or List It franchise. The show is produced by Big Coat Productions and was based in Toronto and other surrounding areas in Ontario, Canada. The show premiered as a primetime program on W Network on September 8, 2008, and has since aired on OWN Canada as well as HGTV in the United States. In September 2014, the show began filming in the United States in North Carolina.^[1]

Format

Love It or List It has a current homeowning couple or family to decide between keeping their newly renovated current home (known on the show as "Love It") or buying a new home and selling their current one (known on the show as "List It"). Hilary Farr, renovates and designs the current home, and David Visentin presents new possible homes.

Each episode begins with an overview of the family, their history in ownership of the home, their current use of the home, and the problems they are encountering which necessitate the need for change. The couple or family present Hilary with a list of things they wish to change in their current home, and the amount of money that they are willing to budget for renovation work. They then present David with a list of things that they request in a new home, and a maximum purchase price they wish to consider.

Hilary then tries to meet the couple's current home requirements by redesigning and renovating the current home. David presents the family for-sale homes, and takes into account their feedback to find increasingly more accurate options. Often the homeowners are shown as being divided on whether to keep their home, with one individual wishing to stay in the current home and the other wishing to move. Hilary and David are shown to have a competitive dynamic, and each hope to win over both homeowners.

Common challenges faced by Hilary are an inadequate budget to complete the entire request list from the homeowners, often due to discovery of unforeseen costs after renovation has started. Common issues for David, meanwhile, include the problem of keeping the homeowners in their desired neighborhood; often wanting to live within the same school district or near family members.

At the end of the show, the homeowners are shown the result of Hilary's renovation work, and David reveals the increased value of their renovated home. David then demonstrates how the improved value of their current home places the homeowners closer to affording the new home he has shown them; and reminds them of any perks of the new home that may not have been accomplished by renovation alone. At this stage the couple proceeds with their decision.

Host and crew

Hosts

• Hilary Farr – Hilary Farr is a home designer from Toronto. She has lived in Australia, England, California, and New York City. Farr honed her skills on properties in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, New York and Toronto. When she first moved back to Toronto, she became the first designer to "stage" properties for sale. She continues to build and design homes in the downtown core where she herself owns properties.^[2]
• David Visentin – David Visentin is a real estate agent in Southern Ontario with Country Living Realty Limited. He has been practicing since 1987.^[3]

Assistant Designer

• Desta Ostapyk (Canadian episodes) – Desta is a Toronto-based designer who graduated in 2004 from the Toronto International Academy of Design and Technology in Interior Design, and has since focused on a career in the Television Industry. She first started working with Big Coat Productions during her last semester of school as an intern for HGTV's hit series My Parents House. She soon became the Design Stylist for the show.^[4]

Contractors

• Eric Eremita (North Carolina episodes) – General contractor and designer Eric Eremita was selected to be the one and only general contractor on HGTV's "Love It or List It" U.S. version, after HGTV network took notice of him when he competed in its "Brother vs. Brother" reality show.
• Eddie Richardson (Canadian episodes) – Eddie Richardson was a contractor on Love It or List It who started his own family business. Richardson has also been a pro-beach volleyball player and professional bass fisherman.
• Fergus McLaren (Canadian episodes) – Fergus McLaren started up his own construction company, R-Mac Solutions, 10 years ago.

Behind the Scenes

• Architect: Simon West
• Senior Production Coordinator: Linda Johnstone
• Construction Coordinator: David Violante
• Construction Assistants: Chris Blinn, Adam Dalgarno, Ahren Mrowietz, Dale George
• Design Coordinator: Kaaveh Shoman

Episodes

Victories for Hilary are families or clients who decided to love their home and stay. Victories for David are families and clients who decided to list and move into a new or better home.

Franchise

Love It or List It has has three spin off shows from in. The first was launched during winter 2012,^[5] known as Love It or List It Vancouver (or Love it or List it Too in the US) and hosted by Jillian Harris Todd Talbot. The second spin-off, the British version known as Love It or List It UK, debuted in 2015,^[6] is hosted by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The third spin off, Love It or List It Vacation Homes debuted in Spring 2016 and is hosted by Dan Vickery and Elisa Goldhawke.

International syndication

Reception

On August 31, 2010, Love It or List It was nominated for two Gemini Awards: Best Reality Program or Series and Best Direction in a Reality Program or Series. The show is once again nominated for Best Reality Program or Series along with its competitors Dragon Dens and Cupcake Girls. When HGTV premiered the show on the network, the company states that "Love It or List It" has been the highest rating reality series, since Candice Olson's Candice Tells All.^[8]

In 2012, New York Times' columnist Gail Collins noted that it was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's favorite TV show.^[9][10] According to Collins, Clinton finds the show "very calming"^[11] after being interviewed about her departure from politics.^[12][13][14]

In 2013, Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune has said it was one of her favourite HGTV programs in an interview with Las Vegas Magazine.^[15] Actress Julianne Moore also gave similar praise for the show in an interview with Katie Couric and the Daily Mail.^[16][17]

According to the Wall Street Journal, the show and its Vancouver spinoff is one of Canada's beloved reality series.^[18]

Controversy

In April 2016, the homeowners who participated in a 2015 Love It or List It episode filed suit against production company Big Coat TV, as well as the North Carolina contractor who the show hired to do the renovations on their home. The couple alleges that the renovation funds that they provided were not properly disbursed, and that the work on their home was done to a substandard quality.^[19] Moreover, the lawsuit states that the television personalities on the show do not play an active role in the renovation process, and that they were not shown homes on the market by any licensed North Carolina real estate agent. Big Coat TV has commented that they "do intend to vigorously defend what [they] consider to be false allegations."^[20]

See also

• Bath Crashers
• Candice Tells All
• Divine Design
• Fixer Upper
• Flip or Flop
• Income Property
• Property Brothers
• Take This House and Sell It
• Yard Crashers

References

External links

• Love It or List It on HGTV
• Love It or List It on W Network
• Love It or List It at the Internet Movie Database