'Bargain Mansions': Is the HGTV show canceled for good? Tamara Day's designs were repeatedly criticized by fans
The series ‘Bargain Mansions’ follows Kansas City's Tamara Day, a "busy mother of four, expert designer and restoration enthusiast" who purchases "surprisingly cheap" old houses in her hometown, and uses her knack for "budget-conscious design" to transform them into stunning dream homes.
As Day undertakes these ambitious renovations, she's joined by her father, Ward Schraeder, who brings decades of home renovation experience and his time-tested philosophy of "finding something broken, fixing it, and turning it into a success" to the show. Day said in an HGTV release, whenever she discovers a dilapidated mansion in need of renovation, she feels like she's won the lottery. "They are true diamonds in the rough with so much potential and bringing them back to life for new families to love is the best job in the world," she explained.
As she explained in an interview with Think Realty, Day was initially skeptical about being on television. "I was just anticipating it being a waste of my time and I didn't really put much into the first meeting because there's nothing else like this in Kansas City," she explained.
It didn't take 'Bargain Mansions' long to become a solid hit for HGTV, and ratings just kept on growing from season to season. According to a press release issued by the network in June 2020, the show's third season was its highest-rated ever. Since its premiere that April, Bargain Mansions "consistently ranked as a top 10 cable program" in its time slot among various demographic categories, attracting more than 16.3 million total viewers.
HGTV laid credit for the show's success squarely on the shoulders of star Tamara Day. "Tamara is one of our most exciting up-and-coming home reno stars," HGTV president Jane Latman shared in the release. "She has gained legions of fans with her stunning renovations in Bargain Mansions." Latman also pointed out that plans were already in place "to showcase her in other HGTV programs, including our fully self-shot series, Design At Your Door."
However, more recently the show has been receiving a lot of backlash from the internet as they are finding Day’s designs horrible. “Catching up on @hgtv and watching #bargainmansions she is horrible but her dad is amazing. They brought him in more/she just barks at him and shows she has no respect for him. Damn reality tv is taking a hit during quarantine! She has her ideas and he is just supposed to nod,” wrote one viewer. “I didn’t think Tamara could outdo herself destroying these designs UNTIL I saw episode 4 Season 3,” wrote another. “Yeah, the bad wallpaper, burnt gold fixtures, hideous rugs in the bathroom & why is there a door to the outside with GLASS in the master bedroom?! That's creepy. Anyone can look in” wrote yet another viewer.
Catching up on @hgtv and watching #bargainmansions she is horrible but her dad is amazing. They brought him in more/she just barks at him and shows she has no respect for him.Damn reality tv is taking a hit during quarantine! She has her ideas and he is just supposed to nod.
— Ashley, Exhausted ER BSN, RN 😷 (@eclipseashley02) January 4, 2021
I didn’t think Tamara could out do herself destroying these designs UNTIL I saw episode 4 Season 3 #bargainmansions
— Ashleigh (@wrozaayy) December 23, 2020
Yeah, the bad wallpaper, burnt gold fixtures, hideous rugs in the bathroom & why is there a door to the outside with GLASS in the master bedroom?! That's creepy. Anyone can look in. #bargainmansions
— I. (@EyeKimYouLeeSuh) December 16, 2020
HGTV hasn’t premiered a new episode of the series in the last two weeks. At first, we thought the team might have taken a holiday break but when they failed update on the season renewal we wonder if the show has been canceled for good. The last episode of the show aired on December 14 and since then there has been no news on another season, Will ‘Bargain Mansions' return for season 4? We will update once we get more information.
