Trading In Trading Spaces - When the Facelift Flops, The Homeowners Take Action

Washington Post ^ | 5/29/03 | Annie Groer

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The instant she opened her eyes -- after two grueling days and nights of giving her neighbors' kitchen a facelift -- Ruth Nelson was stunned by her own tarted-up Alexandria living and dining rooms. "I love it," she blurted as TV cameras recorded the moment.

Trouble was, she didn't.

A wall, once eggshell, was painted four-alarm scarlet. Two print sofas were obscured under hastily made off-white slipcovers with exposed seams stitched in black and red. A poster-size photo of her teenage son, Chris, showed only his chin; another just part of the family cat. Also baffling were 24 fluttering gold and silver paper squares pinned like insect specimens to said red wall.

Designer Genevieve Gorder, a regular on "Trading Spaces," the wildly popular TV decorating show, called the look edgy on the episode that aired in November 2000.

[HomersNose]

LOL! I caught that show too.....Doug was responsible for that one.....the woman was devastated and boo-hooed for the longest time. The look on Paige's face was priceless!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Hildy hasn't done anything that could be considered inspiring since I've been watching.

[Hatteras]

"They left quite a lot of work for the homeowner to complete (or correct), but the camera does not pick up the flaws that are easily seen when you're standing in the room."

I think that was one of the reasons Bob Villa left This Old House. They completed a home on the shores of Malibu for some celebrity Hollywood type. A year later the thing was literally falling apart.

[sam_paine]

After all that, I have to say the room designed for them was far superior to the before and the after/after.

Wassamatter with particle-board furniture??? It's not that these people don't have taste/style, it's just that they have more of a Traders Village/Super K-Mart leaning.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I've thought about applying, but I'd find myself working with Frank or Vern at the neighbor's while Hildy trashed my joint.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

That was the ugliest bathroom I ever saw - even my younger daughters were grossed out.

[SarahW]

I was once a big fan of this show, till it became apparent that Banyan was really trying to screw some folks. The producers arrange "sandbags" of homeowners, to occur on a regular basis.

Excluding issues of safety/workmanship/livability, Genevieve Gorder has never had a *design* success, as far as I am concerned...she has many interesting ideas but is not able to pull off a coherent result.

She's also had many frank disasters.

Vern Yip is a breed apart from all the other TS hacks.
His rooms aren't always brilliant, but is the most talented and dedicated to producing the optimal result possible with the time and money and help available. He's been particularly effective this season.
He also will not stand for the general standard of shoddiness the other designers accept as a limitation...he stays overnight sometimes to make sure the work is done and done right.

Doug likes to do over-the-top joke rooms. He's not really capable of anything else. There are no considerations for safety (TV on a swing, raw-edged metal screen as a child barrier on stairs, etc) or livability - he expects everything he does to be ripped down - so bonus, he builds it accordingly.

Paige Davis even said in a print story, she doesn't care about the results or how happy the homeowners are. Most of the cast is infected with the Banyan spirit.

[Spruce]

The hostess, Page Davis, is the most annoying person on television.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The Empress Palpatine is in accord with you. I thought it was Hildy.

[steve-b]

1. Do not paint over natural wood. Stain it. But dont paint it a different color.

I briefly thought of painting my kitchen cabinets, but sanity prevailed -- when I sell the place, painted (rather than stained) wood might as well bear a big neon sign "WARNING: SELLER IS HIDING A PROBLEM".

[Chancellor Palpatine]

That one is in the article. She had to chisel some of the crap away to get at the controls.

[al_c]

The hostess, Page Davis, is the most annoying person on television.

I'll second that!

[Servant of the Nine]

Wassamatter with particle-board furniture??? It's not that these people don't have taste/style, it's just that they have more of a Traders Village/Super K-Mart leaning.

They must have found all these designers working in trailer parks. No way they could get people with houses without wheels to actually pay them.

So9

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Considering what TLC makes on it, and considering that it costs next to nothing to produce, you'd think they'd up the budget to $2,000.00. That would give you enough to do it decently.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

This weekend was the first time that they didn't take one down - of course, it was a screened patio in Orlando, LOL.

[xsrdx]

Vern - The only one with any taste.

Yup, the only one I'd let in my house.

Of course, Paige Davis could visit ANYTIME, as long as she wore her hip hugger, low rider leather pants and one size too small blouse, that kind of rides up when she reaches for stuff... but I digress.

The show is great fun to watch, but most of the "makeovers" are cr*p. The obsession with bizarro colored paint, and cheap fabric covering EVERYTHING is a bit odd. And the attempts at "art" usually come up short.

Paper mache, tissue paper and aluminum foil are not suitable artistic mediums.

[CougarGA7]

There's another good reason not to paint over wood. I would be immediately suspicious of the workmanship of painted over cabinetry.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Much as I hate Hildy's taste, she's a babe too. Of course, then there's Paige.....

[ethical]

No that was the black haired woman who did the hay on the walls.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I remembered that episode, and didn't really mind it, but thought that the paper was dumb.