Trading Spaces IS cool!

[Rock'n Robin]

TLC is a "superchannel" on my cablevision--we don't have "the box" so we don't get these channels (plus they cost extra). But I got to see it at my SIL's yesterday and it is pretty cool! I only saw half of the one where they are redecorating each other's living rooms and the one woman is nuts that they don't paint her brick fireplace. How does it turn out? I saw the designer build a fake facade.
Robin M.

 

[newmousecateer]

I am totally hooked on it. But I watched it last night and the woman had her family room done. After she looked at it she had to leave the room because she was so upset and crying. I felt so bad for her.

I would NEVER let Hildy redecorate a room in my house. I think she goes out of her way to do wacko stuff.

 

[skuttle]

It wonderful, isn't it!! Very addicting, too!!

 

[Lola]

I loooooooooove Trading Spaces!!!!!

I think Vern and Frank are my favorite designers! The others .. wellllll

 

[newmousecateer]

Yeh, Frank is totally cool.

 

[Disney845]

I love trading spaces. The woman with the "do not paint" fireplace issue was freaking out. If you go to the trading spaces website to sign up, it says you have to allow anything and can not put restrictions on the designers. I thought the room looked nice when it was done, but it did not go with the rest of the house or the homeowners personalities. I think the designers should take that into consideration. I would never want Doug or Genevieve doing my house. I think Doug is a really huge jerk, and Gen just does weird stuff that I don't like. I wouldn't mind Vern or Laurie.

 

[JohnTBap]

I love FRANK!!

 

[Tinkbell]

Frank rocks!! I have yet to like a room that Doug has designed.

 

[pajamommy]

I love TS too!! The episode with Pam (the fireplace lady) is infamous, you should see the stuff they say about her on the TS site, they call her all sorts of names. I guess after that episode originally aired, she came on the the TS website to defend herself and explain a little about what happened, why she cried, etc.

 

[Sandy51]

I would like Vern to do a room for me. He usually is very tasteful. Frank does too many off-the-wall things to suit me.


Sandy

 

[phins_jazy]

I like Vern and Frank. But have to draw the line at letting Hildy touch anything in my home!!!

 

[snowwhitemom]

I love Hildy and Vern. Frank is so nice but I wouldn't let him come to my house, ya know.

 

[disykat]

I saw the one with Pam and also read her self-defense. I think Doug was WAY out of line in what he did to their room. I live in that area too and people here do not paint walls brown! We have lots of rain and cloudy skies - decorating is usually about light. Doug needs to do his research.

According to Pam when you sign the contract they tell you to list the things you do not want touched, she listed her fireplace. The fireplace insert Doug made caused the fireplace to be unusable and had to be removed and the wall repaired. I guess she was right to be upset. Trading Spaces edited to show the worst in hopes the show would be controversial - and it was.

 

[julie_yet]

<font color=#0066FF>Frank and Vern are my favorite designers too. One of the first episodes I ever watched was the woman that freaked out about her fireplace. I did feel sorry for her but then I thought she knew what she was getting into (or should have).</font>

 

[bfeller]

The crying lady has a response on the TS web site. If you check there you will see that a homeowner can specify that something not be touched. In the lady's response, she explains that the family room was not the room that was suppose to be changed. When TS arrived they decided against the orignal plan and then the lady gave them an alternative room and they rejected it also. So they agreed to the family room. Also the facad(spelling) was not built to code. Doug had covered the gas ignitor and they had loose wires behind the wall. There was also a family emergency (grandmother - heart attack that was going on at the time. Also, we have to remember that we can't believe everything that we see. It is television and edited for ratings.

That being said, I love the show. I do wish that the designers would take the homeowners, their personalities and the function of the room into more consideration than they do.

 

[Lars624]

I really enjoy Trading Spaces! I agree that Doug is not my favoite. I think that he is quite rude. One show he was using fabric, smelled it and said "eewww musty, I'd never put this in my house" Yet he put it in theirs!
His movie theatre design was inventive but not at all practical for a family room. Possibly in a basement rec room but not appropriate for a family room that a family uses!
The other one he did that I especially hated involved tearing down molding, hanging barn door looking things & metal window screen as a room divider. YUCK!
I do love Frank & Vern though. Oh and the carpenter guy!!!

 

[Sharon A.]

The fireplace lady could've walked away before agreeing to let them redecorate her last choice room. I'm sorry she was so upset, but she did sign up for the show and gave them pretty much carte blanche to do what they wanted. If she wanted a design where she had input, she should've paid a designer to do it herself. Part of the allure of the show is the unexpected and the adventure of it all.

I like pretty much all the designers except Hildi. Lauri and her yellow geometric designs and her homages to obscure artists bugs me a bit, but she's okay. Vern's great, Doug is iffy, Frank's a sweet guy and a talented painter, but too country/folksy for me, and I usually love Genevive (except that moss room).

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

DW Lauri and I have gotten hooked on the show to the point that we're taping the repeats in the afternoons. Heck, Lauri was disappointed when the "Trading Spaces" weekend advertised didn't turn out to be 12 hours of TS each day. It's a pretty cool concept and always interesting to see what the designers come up with.

If we were to let any of them in our house, it sure wouldn't be Hildy!!! Did anyone else see the hay episode?? Who would use hay glued to the walls as a decorative concept?? She's too out there for us. Vern has done some pretty cool rooms, so he would be our first choice. Frank seems like a really nice guy but a little too country for our tastes (he does pretty nice kids rooms, though). Laurie is pretty good too, but she wouldn't leave a ceiling fan in a room to save her life. Gen does good stuff, too, at least until we saw the moss. Doug is hit and miss.

 

[Beauty]

I have NEVER seen a room by Doug that I like, Frank is definatly my first choice, I love love love his rooms. I especially liked the kitchen where he painted the ceiling in different colors. I also like Gen (except for the moss thing) and Lauri.....Hildy has done a few rooms I like shes iffy as is Vern. I'm more the old Victorian, Country look...don't too much like the new wave like Vern does.

 

[Pig Pen]

I like Frank's personality, but he's way too country for my taste. I'm into contemporary/Asian/Mediterranean so the rest of the decorators usually fall into that category.

Sometimes their accessories do not appear too functional. Today I saw an episode where Hildy had two couches built and they didn't look comfortable or sturdy.

And what is up with all the candles hanging off the walls? Doesn't the wax drip? My husband has asthma and all those burning, smoking candles would choke him!

It just seems that stuff is sometimes thrown together and pretty flimsy.