Watch What Crappens – Dwell Hello #520: Drag Room or Art Studio in Alabama

Hosts: Ben Mandelker & Ronnie Karam
Date: October 2, 2025
Main Theme: Recapping and hilariously dissecting an episode of House Hunters: "Drag Room or Art Studio in Alabama," as an atypical gay couple navigates low-budget house-hunting in Montgomery, Alabama—with the age-old dilemma: who gets the extra bedroom for their hobby?

Episode Overview

Ben and Ronnie recap Season 254, Episode 6 of House Hunters, in which Mel, a cheerleading gym owner and part-time drag queen, and Kyle, an Air Force officer and arts-and-crafts enthusiast, uproot from Florida to Montgomery, Alabama. The couple's conundrum: balancing mid-century dreams, historic home preferences, and an ultra-tight budget—while each demands a dedicated creative space. Cue the signature Crappens blend of Bravo wit, affectionate mockery, and design snark.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introducing Mel & Kyle: Lackluster Energy and Clashing Tastes

• Low-Energy Drag Queen Vibes ([03:07])
  • Ronnie notes: “Now I was expecting like a big larger than life drag queen. This was a very low energy drag queen. Is that a thing now or drag queens are just like low energy?”
  • Ben quips in agreement, suggesting Mel is truly “leaning into the drag part of drag queen. Like, life is a bit of a drag sometimes.”
• Exhaustion is the Mood
  • Running joke throughout: Mel finds everything, especially walking, “exhausting.” ([10:19])
  • “How was your walk?” – “Exhausting. I hate walking.” (Mel, as cited by Ben, [10:19])
• Contrasting Personalities
  • Ben: “Two people who have the personality equivalent of drywall are trying to somehow convince us they’re in search of character.” ([07:30])
• Their Disconnected Design Dreams
  • Kyle wants “historical charm.”
  • Mel wants “groovy seventies vibe”/“mid-century modern”—though neither seems to know what that means. ([07:40],[15:22])
  • Mel is obsessed with a “bright front door” while Kyle is about “defined spaces” ([16:12], [18:02]).

2. The Budget Conundrum—and That Range Rover

• Raging Against Penny-Pinching
  • Mel wants to cap at $150k, Kyle’s comfortable up to $250k.
  • Ben and Ronnie lose it over their car:
    • “They are driving a Range Rover through this entire episode. ...Sell your fucking Range Rover and get a nicer house. I’m sorry, I don’t want to hear it.” (Ben, [08:11])
    • “That car’s as much as the house.” ([08:55])
    • “It was always a guy getting into these cars every single time...I think that’s a guy thing.” (Ronnie)
• Cheap Flips and Depressing Real Estate
  • The guys roast every bland flip: “really bad $5 flip with the gray walls and shitty LVP floors.” ([06:49])

3. Relationship Dynamics: Quips, Drag, and Art

• Household Roles & Marital Timeline
  • “Mel and Kylie...Melancholy! That’s what they are right there.” ([11:03])
  • “This is a lesbian timeline, it’s not a gay timeline. This is very strange.” (Ben, on their quick marriage, [11:23])
• Hobby Room Battles
  • Each insists on a private room: Mel for drag (and storing “hundreds of gowns"—well, maybe a hundred, but “still a lot”), Kyle for art. ([19:23])
  • “Age old dilemma—it rears its ugly head yet again. Art room or drag room?” (Ben, [48:20])
• Mel’s Relentless Exhaustion and Counter-Sitting
  • Running jokes about Mel’s tiredness and his habit of sitting on kitchen counters. ([15:00], [17:51])

4. Design Ignorance & Gay Culture Riffs

• Misunderstanding of “Mid-Century Modern”
  • Ben: “Are homes from the 70s mid-century modern?...No, no. What is it?...Mid-century is like 50s, 60s.” ([15:14])
  • Ronnie: “It’s also a specific style...Not just anything from the 50s.”
• Front Door Obsession
  • Mel’s fixation with door color is lampooned:
    • “Paint the door! People, paint the door.” ([16:45])
• Pop-Culture Asides
  • Sasha Colby concert inspires reflection on drag as childlike art form and gay culture.
  • Touches on Drag Race, Mrs. Roper’s house, Golden Girls, and Mad Men’s iconic sunken living rooms. ([13:36], [38:53])

5. The Homes: A House-by-House Roast

| House | Description | Their (and Crappens) Reactions | |------|-------------|---------------------------------| | 1 | 1914 Craftsman (listed $235k) | "Actually kind of cute" but “depressing” due to cheap flips inside ([25:46]). “Tall ceilings” win some favor, but mismatched floors and weird kitchens draw derision. “Is there insulation?” ([31:45]) | | 2 | 1956 Mid-Century Ranch ($180k) | Classic brick, all rooms separated, feels “claustrophobic” to Mel; original blue-tiled bathroom is “disgusting” to them, but Ben: “Most people would walk into that bathroom and be like, ‘This is perfect.’” ([41:15]) | | 3 | Ranch-style w/ blue door ($195k) | Mel loves the blue door (“so we’re done here”), but hates the brick color. “Generic," "I do not remember much of it.” Kitchen missing range, yard fence broken—generates more snark about cheap expectations. ([43:36]) |

• Notable Roast Quotes:
  • “This is not a chef’s house. Do you see the house that you’ve decided to look at and you’re like, where’s the chef’s kitchen?” (Ben, [45:40])
  • “[Mel] goes ‘ooh, I love the door!’ So we’re done here.” (Ronnie, [44:14])

6. Final Choices & Aftermath

• House Picked:

  • They shock the hosts by picking House #2, “the ugliest one...I don’t know why I was surprised. They took the worst one.” (Ronnie, [50:16])
  • “It was just a blank canvas for my art realm.” (Mel)

• After Photos & Design Critique

  • Ben: “I did not like what they did with it...I thought they did one room well...but I did not like their choices.” ([50:54])
  • Ronnie, slightly more generous: “It was tacky, but considering their taste level, I was worried.”

• Mel's Drag & Their New Life

  • Mel dons a “big blonde wig” resembling the “lady who works at the Target on La Brea” ([51:30]).
  • Both keep the Florida house and Range Rover, and Mel can continue remotely running his gym—so, as Ben puts it:
    • “They got the best of all worlds...follow your hobbies, be with your hubby, and drive an overpriced car.” ([52:03])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Drag Inspiration:
  • “It was like watching a little kid dressing up in their mom’s clothes and just making an art form out of it...It was so creative and so good. I was so inspired, I just loved it.” – Ronnie ([03:20])
• On Budget & Range Rover:
  • “Sell your fucking Range Rover and get a nicer house. I’m sorry, I don’t want to hear it.” – Ben ([08:11])
• On Character:
  • “Two people who have the personality equivalent of drywall are trying to somehow convince us they’re in search of character.” – Ben ([07:30])
• On Home Design Trends:
  • “I think walls are going to come back in style because people realize...when you see families, ‘Oh my God, it’s open concept, so while I’m cooking, I can watch the kids play.’ And then they get it and they’re like, ‘Oh, just want to get away from these kids.’” – Ronnie ([33:32])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Mel’s exhaustion and low-energy drag jokes – [03:07], [10:19], [11:03]
• Budget/Range Rover rant – [08:11], [08:55]
• “Mid-century” definition confusion – [15:14]
• First house walkthrough/analysis – [25:46 – 35:25]
• Second house – “grandma’s house” gripes – [36:04 – 41:37]
• Third house critique and dog discussion – [43:36 – 48:44]
• Decision and after-pictures reaction – [49:22 – 50:54]
• Final wrap up: Mel in drag and triumphant Range Rover life – [51:30 – 52:28]

Tone and Language

• The hosts maintain a tone of affectionate ribbing, sharp design commentary, and gay pop-culture references. They oscillate between mockery and genuine delight, punctuated with snappy one-liners, running gags (Mel’s exhaustion; the overvalued Range Rover), and plenty of good-natured exasperation at House Hunters tropes.

Summary Takeaway

While the house hunt itself is depressingly low-energy and plagued by taste confusion and budget self-sabotage, Ben and Ronnie’s recap makes every drag room, art studio, and painted door an occasion for sharp pop-culture banter and sly social commentary. Ultimately, Mel and Kyle get their “blank canvas" and “room for 100 gowns,” but the episode is a reminder: you can’t buy character—or a chef’s kitchen—on a Range Rover budget. And as always, Watch What Crappens delivers more laughs and insights than any House Hunters episode deserves.