'Battle on the Block': Genevieve Gorder presides as rival renos rev up
Genevieve Gorder
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If you've ever attempted a home renovation, you know the process is fraught with drama. Add an element of competition with your neighbors, though, and you've got a real "Battle on the Block," an entertaining HGTV competitive reality series that airs this week on Saturday, May 8, before moving to a Sunday time period starting on May 9.
Hosted by designer Genevieve Gorder, the show features three neighborhood families facing off in a 72-hour competition to redesign a space in their homes. They get a limited budget as well as some assistance by a construction crew and advice along the way from Gorder. The deadline pressure and rivalry among the increasingly frazzled participants make for a fast-paced hour, with the winners receiving $10,000 and, most important, bragging rights.
"There is some unnatural competitiveness between most of the neighbors we are working with," Gorder says, laughing. "It's fascinating to watch the levels at which these people compete … but it's nice to be a voyeur and then parlay that into something productive like renovation. Renovation is intense anyway, especially when you're doing it as a married couple, if you want to still be married when you're done.
"It's interesting what happens as the people get tired," she adds, "because strange habits and decisions start to come out, along with some very strange gender dynamics. They're just too tired to care."
Gorder loves that "Battle" is far from a conventional "how-to" design show.
"It's actually more of a how-not-to show in some respects, but … I'm always surprised at what these people accomplish in such a short time with no training in how to do a lot of it," she says.
Hosted by designer Genevieve Gorder, the show features three neighborhood families facing off in a 72-hour competition to redesign a space in their homes. They get a limited budget as well as some assistance by a construction crew and advice along the way from Gorder. The deadline pressure and rivalry among the increasingly frazzled participants make for a fast-paced hour, with the winners receiving $10,000 and, most important, bragging rights.
"There is some unnatural competitiveness between most of the neighbors we are working with," Gorder says, laughing. "It's fascinating to watch the levels at which these people compete … but it's nice to be a voyeur and then parlay that into something productive like renovation. Renovation is intense anyway, especially when you're doing it as a married couple, if you want to still be married when you're done.
"It's interesting what happens as the people get tired," she adds, "because strange habits and decisions start to come out, along with some very strange gender dynamics. They're just too tired to care."
Gorder loves that "Battle" is far from a conventional "how-to" design show.
"It's actually more of a how-not-to show in some respects, but … I'm always surprised at what these people accomplish in such a short time with no training in how to do a lot of it," she says.
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