‘HGTV to Go’ for DIY Homeowners
You may be familiar with Home and Garden Television (HGTV) because of popular shows like Devine Design, Design on a Dime, Curb Appeal, House Hunters, Design Star, and many more. In case you hadn’t noticed, most of the shows offered by this network focus on making your home into the beautiful and functional living space you want (or getting it ready for sale), often with the help of professional designers. Most people find these shows both useful and entertaining. And while you can certainly set your DVR to record your favorite shows, your busy schedule simply might not allow you the time to watch them all before your recorder gets full and starts deleting older programs. Or perhaps you don’t have room to save your favorites so that you can refer back to them when you’re ready to start renovations on your own home. Luckily, there is an app that can deliver your HGTV fix and help you with your upgrading woes. HGTV to Go gives you all the programming you can handle plus a lot of perks on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. And just like their TV shows, the app and the content are totally free.
For starters, it does give you just what it advertises, which is full episodes from your favorite HGTV series on the go. You can browse the shows offered by the network and then peruse multiple episodes to find the ones you like. Of course, you can also use the On TV feature to check the HGTV schedule and find out when new episodes of your old standbys are airing, or even discover a brand new series to try. But this still might not solve the problem that most adults have, which is a lack of time. And while the app can certainly offer you video content to watch in your downtime (while you’re commuting on the train, hanging out in waiting rooms, or standing in line to order lunch at the Grilled Cheese Truck – yeah, that’s a long line), it can also give you a variety of options that won’t require 30-60 minutes of your precious time.
The added value of this app (aside from the utility of mobility) is that it also provides users with short video segments and photo galleries for particular projects. So if you saw a room makeover on Design on a Dime that you just have to try, or all you need is a still-frame from a recent episode of Design Stars so you can match a paint color they featured, then you don’t have to sift through an entire episode to find it. You can also bookmark faves for easy recall when you’re at the hardware store or in the midst of a project at home.
And of course, there is the community function, which connects you to HGTV on Facebook and Twitter for all kinds of updates, as well as the recent addition of AirPlay compatibility that lets you pipe your feed to listening devices throughout your house. This app won’t connect you to the contractors, hardware stores, and furniture outlets (like Bedroom Furniture Spot) that will help you get the job done, but it will provide inspiration and loads of design tips to help you create your dream home, so get started by downloading the app to access the network’s fabulous content on the go.
Editor’s Note
Thanks to Evan Fischer for this guest post. He is a freelance writer and part-time student at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.
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