OT "Trading Spaces"

Anyone else beside me hooked on watching this show? Would you let them come re-do your house and switch with your neighbors. I wouldn't let that Maria near here, but I like Frank's ideas and well, Ty, he can come build here anytime he wants. I love his...sense of humor!
Elaine

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I've only watched it a couple of times, but the times I DID watch it, sometimes the "swappers" didn't seem to pleased with the other "swappors" choices.

There are only a handful of friends I'd put in charge of my house or a room to redecorate. I'd be afraid they'd have too much of a sense of humor and go wild with a "Cat Themed" room or something like that.

Terri

I watch the show, too. Sometimes I just know that the people are going to hate what was done. I would only trust a handful of people to come in and redo a room. I agree about Maria. Frank does have good ideas. Ty is good, too.

I love that show. I don't set out to specifically watch it but if I'm flipping through the channels and it's on, that's where I'll stop. I think the only designer I would absolutely not want to do my room would be Dez. The two rooms I've seen her do were absolutely horrid. Thankfully I think they've realized how bad she is and don't have her on the show anymore. I'm curious though, I don't think I've ever seen a designer named Maria. What's she look like and are there any memorable rooms that she's done? By the way, did you see that they had a small article about the show in the past issue of Time? They were mainly talking about the room that Doug turned into a home theatre. I personally loved the end result of that room but the homeowner was complaining about it in the article. Can't please everyone I guess.


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Liz

"Life is like licking honey off a thorn."

http://www.totalwaste.net/purplecow
http://www.totalwaste.net/orlando

Well, lets see Maria was the one who put STRAW on the walls with the paint!! Need I say more?
I heard Rosie talking about the theatre one, she planned to have those people on and also REDO the redo!!

Elaine

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I thought her name was Hilde or something like that....the lady with the straw.
She def. could NOT come to my house! She never does what the homeowner wants or even listens to the neighbor that is redesigning the room!
I do like Vern and Laurie is okay, but Doug is a little strange too!!
Paige Davis is an absolute cutie pie too! She adds a great touch to the show!!
I would gladly let them re-do my bedroom!!
Lots of fun!!

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Stormie

I do watch that show often and love it but I would never, never trust them to decorate my appartment. A painted sofa etc. is not what I would like them to do in my home. Can you imagine what they would do with my ornaments.

I wonder what Cathy M. would do in my house.
Could I trust her?

Leverne

[QUOTE]Originally posted by stormie:
[B]I thought her name was Hilde or something like that....the lady with the straw.

Paige Davis is an absolute cutie pie too! She adds a great touch to the show!!

Oops, her name is Hilde! (I get brain fade quite often!)
Did you see Paige's wedding on the Wedding Story? Her married name is Paige Page. It was fun to see her wedding, she was in the theatre as was her husband.

Elaine



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I've seen it but like the British version (Changing Rooms) better. They get more input from the neighbors, if the neighbors say "they'd hate it" the designers at least think instead of saying "they'll have to live with it" and the Brits show more of how things are actually done. Yes, they do rooms that I'd hate, but Brits seem to like bright colors. And they've never done anything as weird as moss on the walls.

I wouldn't let either show in my house. I can just see coming back to paint on my oak woodwork and purple walls. It is fun to see the looks on other people's faces when they see the results, though.

I would be very, very afraid...

Did you see the one where they painted the couple's room RED and found a picture of the lady homeowner in a "sexy" pose, enlarged and framed it and put it over the fireplace???

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suzy

I'm hopelessly addicted to this show too, and I can't figure out why! I definitely prefer (Mindy) Paige Davis Page over Alex whatever her last name was! Paige seems to be really having a good time, doing what she's doing, but Alex just seemed like she was going thru the motions & was possibly friends with the producer or somebody, that she was given the job. She doesn't have the "SPARKLE" that Paige has. I just love watching her.

Especially loved watching her "Wedding Story" too! She's a feather duster who married a candlestick! Wish they'd let her sing & dance on the show!! Did you notice that "Jen", who's now one of the designers, was only a production assistant when Paige got married? She mentioned it when she received the gift Jen made for her, as a gift from Trading Spaces.

As to having them come to MY house??!! Never in my life!! I've shown the show to my DH and he can't figure out why in the world people would actually let people do that to their homes!!

Laurie seems to be the worst in the category of NOT doing what the homeowners would like. Everytime somebody has a ceiling fan & mentions they don't want it taken out, because they NEED the air it provides, it seems like that's first on her list to go!! I also didn't like Hilde's hay on the wall house and most of her ideas too! That black room with wood strips was just plain weird! Very depressing too!

I think Frank has some interesting ideas, some I like, some I don't. I really like some of his faux painting designs. I put Vern and Jen in the same category, some of their things I like, some I don't. I seldom like anything that Doug does, especially the upside-down lamps hanging from the ceiling!

If I was going to hire someone to decorate my house, I'd really like them to take into account the wants & needs I have, rather than it just being an excuse to give them a blank canvas to do whatever they want to it! I'm the one who would have to live with it afterwards, not them.

Does anybody know if the homeowners get any of their houses redone, if they really don't like them, or do they just have to live with it, cos they signed-on to do the show? I'm thinking especially of that lady who hated it, when they covered her fireplace & made her house look like some ugly modern thing, when the rest of her house was country. She said she had to go off camera, and she was crying. I felt so badly for her.

Also the ones who got the "home theatre", when what they wanted was a big open room for their kids & friends to play around in. The theatre thing was interesting, I wouldn't have it here, and it took up all the space in that room! Not very comfortable & not fun to hang out in I thought.

A little article in this week's TV Guide said that they approached Ty to be the guy on The Bachelor show, but he turned them down. He also wouldn't give them his real age!! Wonder how old he really is.

Has anyone watched "Decorating for the Sexes"? It's the one with the Brit guy, who actually talks to a couple, gets both his & her input on what they'd like, then tries to find something they both can live with. I think I might like to have him do my house, rather than the Trading Spaces crew!!

I say take plenty of time, and whatever it costs, to do a nice job. 48 hours to get something you don't want to live with doesn't seem like a good deal to me!

Fun topic! Thanks for posting it, Elaine!!

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Karen W2 - Oceanside, CA.

[This message has been edited by Karen W2 (edited 04-30-2002).]

I LOVE this show!! I do wish they would take the homeowners wants in consideration, but most times they don't. I saw one show where the woman actually cried because she hated it so much. It was one Doug did that covered their fireplace, which they said they didn't want touched. My favorites are Paige, Frank, and Vern. I almost always hate anything Laurie and Doug have done. Since they are now showing shows done in Texas, there was an article in the paper about it. If you don't like what was done, Trading Spaces DOES NOT pay to have it redone. That is done at your own expense. I live in a barn, but still would not let any of them touch any of my rooms. It would take them the whole first day moving my figureines (sp)and ornaments.

As a man that watches this show, all I have to say is Paige!!!

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Richard

Terri, you mean you wouldn't let me decorate in puppy dogs?

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Calico
home.ptd.net/~calico

{~._.~} & ()"o)

I really like this show, and agree that Paige is MUCH better than Alex (it was *all* about Alex when she was the host ) but the brit original "Changing Rooms" is FAR superior, imo. I adore Changing Rooms and the garden counterpart, "Ground Force" - I even tape them when I can't catch them when they air. If I were to have any of them come to my house it would definitely be Ground Force - they design a plan based exactly on what YOU want, then they do all the work while you get to come home to a great surprise. THAT's my idea of a great project, lol.

Another brit designing show I love is House Invaders - Linda (one of the designers from Changing Rooms) comes in with a (very cute) couple of guys and spruces up whatever rooms you're unhappy with - usually using items you already own. She brings fresh ideas in and tries to listen to the homeowners. She isn't quite as good at it as Michael Payne is, but she tries. Most of the changes she makes are hits, not misses.

I also love Designing for the Sexes - I'd let Michael Payne design a room for me anytime - he truly does listen to the people and make sure they're happy. Of course you have to pay an arm and a leg I'm sure. That would be why people let Changing Rooms and Trading Spaces into their houses - the shows pay for it, not you. And there is a list you get to fill out ahead of time of things that they must not damage/alter (I think you can sue if they do damage those items) - it's just that people are too trusting. They think that by just *saying* "don't touch" that that will work. Not me - I'd put a ton of stuff on the forbidden list. But then again, I wouldn't let them in my house to begin with. Anything not on the list is free game, if you don't like it, tough - you have to pay to fix it. (as for the straw room - horrid - and they removed a gorgeous 13' long mantle and replaced it with a dinky piece of pine - too bad the owners didn't think to put it on the forbidden list.)

Other HGTV shows I love are Curb Appeal, Designer's Challenge and House Hunters. Curb Appeal shows different ways to snazz up the front of your house, Designer's Challenge lets a couple pick between three designers to redo a room in their house (the homeowners pay for all of it and the budgets are usually insane, like between $10,000 and $25,000 on average!! Not in my lifetime, lol!), and finally House Hunters takes you through a person's/couple's search for a new home. I have so much fun with the designing shows getting ideas and poking fun at some of the stuff they do - and I am thrilled when the people are pleased.

Thanks for the fun topic, and check out Changing Rooms and Ground Force - the brit casts are superb, and I adore each and every one of them.

Oh, I almost forgot one of my all-time favorites - This Old House. I watched this every sunday with my dad growing up. I'd let TOS in my home anytime to fix it up - talk about quality craftsmanship - it doesn't get any better than Norm Abrams.

[This message has been edited by LadyT (edited 05-06-2002).]

Great Topic!

I also love this show but would never, never let them do any room in my house. They supposedly sign a contract and they do NOT get paid for rooms they hate and want redone! Does anyone remember the one with the purple living room and the hand sculptures on the fireplace or the one who put moss all over the walls? UGH! I can't remember the designers.

Hi Suzy,
Yesterday, in my area, they aired the episode you were talking about, with the blown-up photo of the woman, in the very provocative pose, that they put over the fireplace, as the "focal point" of the blood red room!!

And they actually showed Doug, looking thru the woman's BEDROOM DRESSER DRAWERS, to find the packet of photos!! The dresser wasn't even in the room they were supposed to be working on!! What a perv Doug is!! And Paige, commenting on what a "hottie" the woman was?!! Definitely more information than they should've shown us I think!! I felt a bit embarrassed for the neighbors who worked on the room, who didn't see the final "addition" til the last second!

Did you see the one where they stole a different neighbor's gazing ball to do a room? The one with the hand sculptures was the very first episode I happened to catch one day, while I was channel surfing. Very scary!! No moss or hay for me, thank you!!

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Karen W2 - Oceanside, CA.

i seen the one when they stole the gazing balls.

I've never seen Trading Spaces before, I'll have to be on the lookout for it. Haven't heard of House Invaders either, but it sounds like a show that I would enjoy.

A friend introduced me to Changing Rooms and Ground Force a few months ago, and I love both of them immensely! As for HGTV, I love so many of their decorating shows. Decorating Cents is probably the one I like the most, because I could imagine myself decorating a room on a $500 budget. Room by Room is also great, Sherrie and Matt really crack me up, hehe. But if I could hire a designer from one of the shows to come do a room in my home, it would definitely be Michael Payne from Designing for the Sexes. Not only does he really listen to his clients, but he creates such fabulous rooms.

Have you ever watched a decorting show where you felt that the BEFORE was much better than the After?

Oh, and no, there is no way that I would want Changing Rooms or Trading Spaces to come in and redo one of the rooms of our home. But I think it would sure be fun to watch in action!

Tamyra

Amy Wynn and Ty are getting a makeover! Yes, the two Trading Spaces carpenters are going to be on A Makeover Story on saturday July 13 at 10pm and 1am (check local listings). This sound like too much fun - I'm there!

Loved reading your posts - I watch ground force, changing rooms etc here - we also have one called home front. One of the designers is named Lawrence and he has curly long black hair and wears clothes that look like Lord Byron! He is also on the British changing rooms .Usually I like alot of his ideas but today he designed the room with zebra striped panels and the couple hated it -they were going to paint it over in white paint asap. The Brits call them the DIY shows -the funny thing is that they are so popular that they have had an impact on the housing market- so many home owners are copying ideas they see on tv that their houses are selling for under market value - the designs do not sell to buyers . It's nice to know that when I move back to the States I can still seee my shows ! Steph

Speaking of Amy Wynn & Ty's make-overs, if you go to the Discovery channel's site, pick TLC & then Trading Spaces, they have photos of the various outfits they tried before coming up with their finished look. Interesting.

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Karen W2 - Oceanside, CA.

I too am hooked on these shows. I like Changing Rooms more than Trading Places because they have some really whacko ideas and colors. That Lawrence guy has really done some strange things. Like the time he made the Wardrobe look like a Puppet Theatre. On Trading Places I like Laurie and Frank. I wouldn't let Hilde, Vern or Doug near my house. I think every one of them has a thing about ceiling fans. I think I have only seen one fan left alone. I also like Ground Force. I wish they would come and do my backyard for me. They always look great and they have such dinky ugly yards to start out with. I also watch Designer's Challenge, Designing For the Sexes and House Hunters. They spend too much money in Designer's Challenge and Designing For The Sexes. I wish House Hunters would tell how much the houses cost that the people buy. Of course most of those houses are in California and we would probably faint if we knew how much that they did cost. Oh well, I must have watched too many of those shows because I am in the middle of recdecorating.