They were also not prepared for the level of disrepair they found in their as-
signed property. Geoff was most succinct in his response, “When Josh first opened the door, I thought to myself, what a shit hole! What did we get ourselves into? Do they expect us to do all this work ourselves?” Josh echoed the sentiment, adding, “The property was a complete disaster. We are both real estate agents, so we have seen properties in every condition. This one however, bordered on a tear down— so we were pretty freaked out the first day seeing it.” The renovation process has been a true challenge for both of them. Living and
working in the space, they both talked about acclimating to the task. Josh chatted about the difficulties they faced daily, “Given the short time frames, it has been a challenge to bring the rooms to a place where it represented my taste and esthetic. I am a perfectionist when it comes to design. Giving up control is not something I easily do.” For Geoff, the obstacles were similar, but his difficulties have more to do with timing aspects, “The show presents many challenges; we were in an unfamil- iar place, working with crews we had never worked with before and had little to no time to acclimate. However, the biggest challenge by far has to be the timelines!” Managing any relationship, working or otherwise, can be complex in the best of
circumstances. However, if you have ever done (or plan to do) a remodel, you learn very quickly how stressful the process can be—and for the Rowhouse Showdown teams, it is there for all of America to see. Josh talked about how quickly it surfaced for another team, “Ted and Krystal were at each other’s throats very quickly.” He
40 RAGE monthly | SEPTEMBER 2014 RAGE monthly
continued by explaining their advantage over the other teams, “Geoff and I have renovated many properties together so we actually don’t experience any of the similar strains you see with the other teams. It was definitely an advantage. You have to know how to play to each other’s strengths and weaknesses.” Geoff of- fered this on the other teams, “Katie and Dan are consistent week over week and Anya and Alena, have been a nice addition to the challenge, however they are attempting some bold choices that I’m not so sure the people of Cincinnati will understand or appreciate.” He echoed the advantage of having someone there who was familiar with his process, “The show puts a huge strain on each of the teams, emotionally and physically. Josh and I are so used to working together, we didn’t let the drama affect our relationship. We had our spats, although we have kept our focus on finishing each individual challenge and I think that has worked out well for us as a team.” When asked how they would each categorize the three most important lessons
they learned individually from being on the show, they had this to offer. Josh opined “Take risks, be confident and be unique.” Geoff countered with this, “Orga- nization, prioritization and teamwork. Organization is instrumental and is vital in every renovation project. Prioritization is something we learned the hard way. We wanted to make sure we consistently delivered bold and daring designs, but that often put us outside of the show’s timetables. We are learning to break our designs down, to really hone in on the “must haves” and work our way down the list. Lastly,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80