Good Bones Recap: Episode 12
Good Bones "Tad's Tiny House" Photo by Madison Mascare
Hello, HGTV fans! Thanks for popping by for another recap from Good Bones Season 5. I’m Megan Fernandez, and I often write about homes for Indianapolis Monthly. My fellow Boneheads Kristin Sims and Josh Cox are here, too, with the design prowess.
This episode, “Tad’s Tiny House,” is in Bates-Hendricks. Mina and Karen are going to build Tad his first real place. He has grown into more responsibility at the company, Two Chicks and a Hammer, and it’s time to start adulting in a loft above the garage of a Two Chicks renovation project. They want to add a second floor to the one-car garage that’s already there. But because the foundation isn’t strong enough for that, they have to tear down the garage and start over. Actually, just push down the garage, because that’s what demo entailed—literally pushing the whole thing over, then skipping happily on top of the fallen roof.
Good Bones “Tad’s Tiny House”Photo by Madison Mascare
Kristin: The crappy foundation is the best thing to happen to that garage. It gave them the opportunity for a larger footprint. I can’t imagine what the size would have looked like if they had kept the one-car garage.
Josh: I didn’t realize Tad was only 25, though I am not sure how old I thought he was.
Megan: Same. Tad defies all kinds of conventional categorizations. He’s a special guy. My first thought about this episode was, No one puts Tad in a garage! His personality is too big.
Good Bones “Tad’s Tiny House”Photo by Madison Mascare
Josh: On tiny houses, my elder Millennial heavily eye-rolls and screams, “Make your damn mind up, you damn kids! Commit to something.”
Megan: Mina and Cory were committed to having fun driving heavy machinery.
Kristin: You have to get your State Fair–ride fix somewhere.
Megan: The cast also managed to make decent TV out of standing next to a muddy ditch waiting for water to come out of a broken pipe. Think about that. We spent 20 seconds of our lives watching Mina, Cory, and Tad stand over the ditch with bated breath. Cory had chewed through a clay pipe while digging a new footer—a big oops—and they had to check to see if it was the sewer pipe or not. It wasn’t.
Good Bones “Tad’s Tiny House”Photo by Madison Mascare
Josh: I was enthralled.
Kristin: All I could think of was, I hope the property wasn’t originally connected to the neighbor’s, and now they’re up shit creek.
Megan: MJ, Cory, and Austin went shopping at Chatham Home on Mass Ave to pick out stuff for Tad, and it was so cute. MJ passes up a gorgeous green armchair because he’s not sure if “Tad can handle the responsibility of crushed velvet.”
Josh: Loved MJ calling Austin and Cory “Tad’s best friends.”
Kristin: I loved the green crushed-velvet chair. I might need to make a trip downtown since it’s not at Tad’s house. Cory’s love of the wood duck statues wearing work boots was kind of adorable—and Austin calling out “duck boots” was clever.
Megan: Back at the Tad Pad, they bring back Iron Timbers craftsmen to build bookshelves in the loft over the loft. Yes, this is a one-bedroom loft apartment with its own loft, accessed by a ladder.
Good Bones “Tad’s Tiny House”Photo by Madison Mascare
Kristin: I loved the shelves! They really made the space unique—and the staging wasn’t overdone! The Iron Timber guys are great. Maybe that’s the key to HGTV shows—Magnolia has the Harp carpenter and the Windy City Rehab team has a great woodworker, too. Good Bones has Iron Timber.
Megan: Tad loved the shelves, too. He said, “They make me look smart!” He looked smart at the reveal by cleaning up in blue chinos, a floral button-up, and—true sign of adulthood—a belt.
Josh: And his fancy bun with some free-flowing strands.
Megan: Karen thinks Tad is going to transform in this space.
Kristin: Or maybe the space will transform him.
Megan: Baby steps—they didn’t give him a box spring because he’s used to sleeping on the ground.
Good Bones “Tad’s Tiny House”Photo by Madison Mascare
Kristin: I’ve been shopping for a bed frame lately. It’s surprising how many beds these days don’t have space for a box spring. Is that because everyone is ordering rolled-up mattresses from the internet?
Megan: You are brilliant.
Kristin: I liked this episode. It was different from the last few weeks, and it was a creative use of space and a clever plan. A great addition for future rental or when they sell the property.
Josh: This was a joyful episode. Much like Tad, everyone seemed filled with joy to work toward a great result for him.
Megan: Tad for president. Tad could heal the nation. Let’s see what happens next week to make me eat my words. P.S.: If you aren’t sick of me, Josh, and Kristin, check out our collaboration on this month’s cover story, Our Favorite Houses. Chez Josh is in it!
