[Chancellor Palpatine]

For all "Trading Spaces" fans - the article you always did want to see after somebody fouled it up.

[lelio]

Someone's complaining about a Genevieve design? I think she's one of the better one. Hildi, on the other hand, always looks like she's coming down off of something. Putting hay on the walls when they have a little kid? Big Top living room?

[Portnoy]

These people obviously must watch the show. They KNOW what they are getting into....

[camle]

you let somebody else mess with your decor and occasionally you're gonna have taste diffs. sounds like ya get what you pay for. don't want the look, don't do the program.

[4mycountry]

Once they did a room, and the lady painted circles on the walls. First a white one, then a black one partially over it, then a black dot in the middle. It was all over the walls, and the fabric was like that, too. In fact, they got it from the fabric!

It was gross. My parents watch that show, and my father said it was like drowning in a box of Cheerios. Gotta love that Dad...

[Hatteras]

People often want to have their decor redone. The difference is that shows like this do nothing to "redo". They simply use cheap material to cover up the old. You get what you pay for. As opposed to what HGTV and the other home channels would like you to believe, you cannot redo a room properly for under $500.00 and in a half hour's time. Housewives need to know that.

[al_c]

I actually have seen some negative reactions on that show. In fact, one lady had to leave the room and you could hear her sobbing in the background. She didn't want any brown colors and told them not to mess with the fireplace. The room ended up brown and they covered the fireplace.

[martin_fierro]

Doug / Hildy - should be taken out and summarily executed.
Redhead chick - Fakey prom queen who can only decorate in a palette that would look good ON HER
Frank - Nice guy, but "country kitsch" ain't my style
Black lady and faggy guy - Haven't seen enough of their designs to form an opinion
Vern - The only one with any taste.

[NittanyLion]

My fiance and I watch the show. If I my house was being redesigned I'd leave so many instructions they'd kick me off the show.

Don't touch the walls, or the carpet. Or the furniture. No hanging fabric, and don't cover up my nice wooden furniture...and nothing to drastic with any fixtures...

[SaveTheChief]

The way I see it, they all know the risks while going into this. Anyone who would subject themselves to having work completed on their property WITHOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING, should not be shocked at the result.

I enjoy watching the show. I have seen some rooms that I really thought were well done, and have seen some that were absolutely hideous. A thousand dollars is not enough money to do anything of quality. Those expecting something lavish out of the Trading Spaces experience are fools.

[CougarGA7]

I enjoy the show, but I don't think I could do it because most of the designers (except Frank) don't follow three basic rules.

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

2. Do not cover or paint brick. Why do they always want to slap plaster over a nice brick fireplace?

3. Ceiling fans are nice! They all like to take down ceiling fans. I don't get that.

[Servant of the Nine]

You have got to be insane to trust strangers inside your home when you aren't there, even if they weren't going to intentionally destroy it.

So9

[Spiff]

My wife watches the show, so I've seen enough episodes.

The worst I saw - I don't remember the designer - but the redid a bedroom. They made the bedspread out of astroturf and attached to it some cheap plastic flowers. Astroturf!! They fenced the bed completely off with a white picket fence. You had to step over the picket fence to get to the bed. They also did a weird patch of gravel in the room. It was hideous, and stupid, and the designer had to have been high. If I was working on my neighbor's home and some stoned designer said we were turning the entire bedroom into a fake flower bonanza and putting astroturf on the bed I wouldn't have cooperated. In the reveal you could tell that the couple HATED it, but wanted to be polite on TV.

[finnman69]

here is the example they showed:

Before "Trading Spaces": Ruth and Chris Nelson's living room started out with neutral walls and a dated look.

After: The "Trading Spaces" crew saw red, with artwork consisting of 24 paper squares pinned to the wall.

After After: It wasn't long before the Nelsons repainted walls and pulled off slipcovers. The fluttering paper squares came down.

After all that, I have to say the room designed for them was far superior to the before and the after/after. People with no taste whatsoever should not apply for this show. What are they thinking putting the ugly couches back, and painting horrible black on the wall with yucky window treatment. They even put back the awful side tables. Granted there have been some unbelievably bad designs inflicted on some homeowners, but this is not the worst. They should show Hildys flower bathroom, her straw on the wall room, or her records on the wall design just out. Any of Doug's dark urban funk disasters with weird dark colors ar frightening. The two newest designers are pretty wacked out always, and lest not even talk about Frank, the flamboyant pink/multirainbow hued arts & crafts freak.

Vern by far is the best designer with Genevieve a close second. Laurie can sometimes pull it off as well but she only knows how to do one color, yellw/orange.

[finnman69]

Trading Spaces ping

[shadowman99]

Actually the worst one I've seen was on "While You Were Out"

The husband was sent off for a few days and they trashed his den. He was a movie fan, and had some sci-fi films, so the dingy blonde airhead designer latched onto that. She designed a look to make the room look like a "space station"

They painted everything powder blue or white. The ceiling was blue with large white circles. The carpet was blue with large white circles. They trashed his couch with a blue appolstery and transparent blue inflatable pillows. They stapled a wall with cheap aluminum metal plates to look like a "space ship hull"

They guy comes home and gives the blank stare and a "it's great. i just love it."

A look is exchanged between he and his wife that says "WTF!!!!" and "THIS SHIT GETS FIXED NOW!!!"

My wife and I are watching this and I told her "never ever do that to me"

[Spruce]

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

[SJSAMPLE]

My wife forces me to watch this stuff, so I've probably seen every episode by now. Anyone remember the lady who opened her eyes, stared for a moment, and walked out of the room CRYING? Great stuff. They should do more of that. And what happened to the really hot brunette host? The redhead's OK, but the first host was SMOKIN!

[JacksonCalhoun]

I'm ashamed to be a fan of the show that had Natalie Maines as a special guest celeb homeowner.

[GrandMoM]

....ONE OF THE DUMPEST PROGRAMS I'VE WATCHED-can't imagine anyone of them being a real designer!

[discostu]

Most of that info is on the website, they're pretty straightforward about some people hating what they got. It's part of the fun. Some couples I've rooted for them to hate it because they bugged me.