Hi, I'm Paula Sanderson

Well Netflix – you understood what I wanted before I did.

After eight months of staying home – I couldn’t stand my space. I just wanted a refresh. I wanted something different, something more organized, something more functional. So obviously I did what anyone would do in this situation and I went and gave Ikea my money.

It’s taken me a few weeks to get it all together and I spent a lot of time trying to put together flat packs. Obviously, the best way to get through my own ‘redesign’ was to watch hours of Netflix and specifically, hours of home shows.

How Netflix timed the release of all these home shows with the ‘I’m sick of my space’ phase of the pandemic is wild to me, but I’m not complaining. I love an HGTV show and I will take any of the home shows Netflix wants to give me.

Up first was Get Organized with the Home Edit.

I’ve been following The Home Edit on instagram for years. I like their system of boxes and labels. I like Clea’s obession with Champagne and her son Sutton. I like the pretty pictures. I could take or leave the rainbow everything, but I love the clean black and white everything else. On Instagram Clea runs a tight ship, and I enjoy having them pop up on my feed.

However – on television, I’m not as into it. Actually, I’m going to go ahead and say I actively dislike it.

Each episode of their show is divided into two parts, organizing a celebrity’s space and organizing an ‘average’ person’s space. Neither work.

With the celebrities, it feels fake, forced and there is way too much fangirling. The majority of the projects are ostentatious. In the middle of a pandemic and economic crash, I really don’t have the patience to watch a team of people organize Khloe Kardashian’s kid’s toy car collection. Nor do I care about the re-organization of Rachel Zoe’s closet or Kane Brown’s pantry. I’m not excited about it and the overwhelming EXCITEMENT from Clea and Joanna is too much. It’s just a lot of screaming. This is so surprising because what I love about Clea on Instagram is her sarcastic and snobby side. She’s a bit more snarky and I love it.

Meanwhile, when they work with the ‘average’ people – we do get to see that sarcastic, snobby, snarky side – but it’s not funny. It feels mean. They were grossed out by sentimental items like urns of family dogs (obviously very special) and old pregnancy tests (which fair – but you don’t know if this woman had fertility issues and this was a big deal). I was embarrassed for them. We all keep weird things – and sure, it’s weird, but there was too much judgment.

Obviously, these women know what they are doing with organizing – but it felt like the only way they could organize was with ‘product’, which made the show feel like one massive commercial. I want to know how to organize my stuff without spending hundreds of dollars at The Container Store. Again – it’s a pandemic, people don’t have the disposable income to spend on matching clear boxes. It also feels particularly manipulative because again, we’re in the ‘I hate my space’ phase of the pandemic and while I’m in this headspace, I’m not alone.

I keep seeing on social that The Container Store can’t keep the branded Home Edit boxes on its shelves. The stock of The Container Store has had a huge spike since the show premiered on Sept 9th:

All of this said – all the power to Clea and Joanna. I like that this is a female founded company and I am very impressed with their power. I also think the show did a lot of good for Joanna.

I’d argue that Joanna is the Sookie to St. James to Clea’s Lorelai Gilmore. She’s not the main character but her contributions to their business partnership are invaluable. I didn’t know much about Joanna before watching the show and I love her. She just came across as kind, normal, and full of practical everyday advice. I want more Joanna on their insta. I want more Joanna on the show.

Overall the best moments of this show were when they were authentic and relaxed. I think is why I liked Dream Home Makeover so much more.

Dream Home Makeover is aspirational home reno tv at its best.

Shea and Syd McGee are a Salt Lake City based design duo who own Studio McGee and McGee & Co. They are gorgeous, their designs are gorgeous, and the show is gorgeous.

Unlike the Getting Organized with The Home Edit, Dream Home Makeover works with ‘regular’ people, but these ‘regular’ people seem to have celebrity size budgets. We’re talking 10s-100s of thousands of dollars per space. I’d say it’s worth it because what they create is truly a ‘dream’ pintrest board come to life. Who knows how the cereal is organized behind the pantry door – but who cares, that pantry door is STUNNING.

Everything is cool blues, whites, warm rugs, really lovely baskets and detailing. Plus, add in the beauty of the Wasatch Mountains in the background of every shot – I now want to move to Utah. I’ve worked on a BYUTV show…

Basically, I want to hire Studio McGee. I want them to design my place. I also want to steal Shea’s closet because her clothes are amazing. I really cannot get over how obsessed I am with this show and with Shea and Syd.

Let’s put it this way – Clea and Joanna have polarizing personalities. You love them or you hate them and there really isn’t a middle. Shea and Syd and the most basic people out there in the best way. They are very vanilla, but like a french vanilla. It’s a very blonde show and that’s ok. I’m into it. I like basic – and Shea and Syd do basic beautifully.

Their show only has six episodes and I was devastated when it was over. I spent hours after it ended on Pinterest, pinning ideas for my dream basement, movie room, kitchen, and bathrooms.

So maybe I’m not a “buy hundreds of dollars of clear plastic bins” kind of person. I’m a “spend tens of thousands on a kitchen” kind of person. It explains why my Ikea buy was a new furniture item and not a couple boxes.

I wonder what this show will do to the McGee & Co brand. While The Home Edit has it’s products in easy to find national brands (here in Canada you can find their bins at Canadian Tire), McGee & Co does not. Likewise, The Home Edit’s products are priced at a more accessible level (think $20-40 per item), vs when you are on the McGee & Co website looking at pillows, this $218 one is one of the first you see. So – a bit more pricey.

The main difference between these two shows is ‘aspiration’. Get Organized with The Home Edit is trying really hard with the ‘Celebrities they are just like you!’ angle – that anyone can be organized if you have a system built with reasonably priced bins. Dream Home Makeover is selling a Pinterest dream. You can have it, but it’s not cheap. It’s very much the ‘happily ever after’ once you have the cute husband and the cute kids.

Frankly the world sucks right now, and if I’m going to pick a favourite – I’d just rather hang out with calming personalities and pretty houses on Dream Home Makeover.

Get Organized with The Home Edit and Dream Home Makeover are currently streaming on Netflix.

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