9/20 Trading Spaces thread

Cafe Society
1

Aaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha!

Seriously. I’m halfway through the second episode and all I can say is: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Ok, general drunken observations:

New guy=SUCK! His first room was shite. Orange and turquoise? Hello! Howard Johnsons, yo!

His second room?
I’m not even paying attention because I’m crackinging up at Doug doing the “prison of love” complete with solitary confinement and his design STILL being better than “new guy!” (Um, Rick? No offense “new guy” except you suck, and all.)

Rick=male Kia. Am I right?

(I hate to mention it in such a bad room, but there was a really funny “shock & awe” remark in regards to the first episode room, heh.)

2

You can watch Doug’s “Prison Gang Rape” design and still say that with a straight face?! Doug’s room was hands down the worst room that I have ever seen on that show. I would have knee-capped him for that.

I didn’t think ole Ricky was so bad. His second episode room was pretty good, IMO. I mean 'cmon! He actually created a room where that leather sofa disaster looked good, that is no mean feat. And while I’ve never been a big fan of dangly things from the ceiling, he found a way to hide all the effing toys in that room. I’m all for kids having toys, but we need to be civilized about it.

His first room gave me mixed feelings. My experience is that dining rooms are completely unused wastes of real estate, so I don’t really care if one gets turned into an over colored fiasco. But like Paige said, one could probably entertain in it quite well. The small tables would be a good element for the coctail party set, and if the replaced the benches with chairs you could make it work. I really do wish that he had left the gold leaf off the table, however.

What impressed me the most was that he came with drawings for the home owners to see from the outset. That alone warrants him the benefit of the doubt, and a little extra to boot.

3

There’s no way that Rick is the male Kia. Everything he did in both rooms was within the normal scope of interior design; his elements may have been visually unappealing as a matter of taste but they were all useable and practical in the spaces and everything served a purpose.

He didn’t include elements that did absolutely nothing but take up space like faux fireplaces (Kia) or outdoor items which were never meant for the indoors like astroturf and picket fences (Kia) or add so-five-years-ago wallpaper borders as a matter of routine (Kia) or use crappy faux-flowers he bought from a dollar store (Kia and Hilde) or build anything that didn’t work (remember that pyramid fountain?) wasn’t stable (remember the wooden swing in the grave room?) or unsafe (remember the TV cabinet of doom?) in either room.

I also thought that the “tent” idea was ingenius.

Now, Doug’s “Prison Love” or whatever the hell that theme was called, wasn’t the travesty of Trading Spaces history. There are three Hilde rooms, three Kia craptaculars, a Genevieve misstep and his own Fireplace of Doom episode, aka the Crying Pam episode, which rank far above Prison Sex on the “What The Hell?” list.

If you add some red elements – maybe some additional window treatments, and some red chairs in place of the toilet bench (that was just tacky) and then modify the armoire to make it less of a big chunky thing, and maybe paint it a lighter color, and that would a very mod, very funky room, even with the bar motif. Now, personally I’d also paint over the mural and make the bars up on the plant ledge into more of a light feature, but even without that, the room isn’t too bad.

I’d give Laurie’s room a B, Rick’s first room a C-, Rick’s second room a solid B+ and Doug’s room a C with room for extra credit improvements without too much work.

4

Rick…Rifle? Come on…

I didn’t mind the color of his first room except for the shiny effect on the doors and table, but there were too many fabrics in too many patterns and colors. But really, considering the chairs the HOs already had in the room, can you blame him for thinking they would have a sense of whimsey? You just know the one HO woman bought those two chairs and congratulated herself on how bold and daring she was to have such wacky things in her room. “Oh, I was saving those from my wedding.” Oops. Shoulda locked 'em in a closet, then. Laurie’s room was OK.

Hour two…I liked Rick’s design. I also liked the HO’s design, but come on, does any HO really think that showing up with a freakin’ sketch the day of the show is going to accomplish anything? News flash, hon, the designers have already bought everything by the time they’re at your houses. Personality-wise, Rick seems kindy of pissy. He got really snappish with Ty over that measurement issue. He can stop ever doing that little fake accent thing, and Rick honey? Meryl Streep and Robert Redford did not appear in “The African Queen.”

Doug’s room. Oh. My. God. That was the most horrifyingly awful thing I have ever seen. Normally when a design looks like it’s going to hell I get some good laughs over it, but tonight I was just sort of numbed. I felt so sorry for the HOs who would be coming home to that. I seriously thought the toilets were a joke. I kept holding out hope that he was going to say it was all a joke and bring in the real furniture. I liked that he chopped down the bed but other than that…ugh. Still, the HOs thought it was fantastic, so who am I to judge? If they were happy with that hideous pile of steaming monstrosity, good for them.

5

Ivylad let me have the remote so he could play Icewind Dale on the computer, so I got to see both episodes.

8pm: I was impressed with Rick at the beginning, when he came in with an artist’s rendering of the room. I mean, how often has Frank given Ty a scribble on a paper napkin and said, “Build this.” But then the blue and the green did not go together, and he kept piling on the fabrics and painting things a weird green and that monstrous orange fabric. I could tell the HO was trying to put on a brave face, but when she saw her wedding candlesticks had been painted she got pissed. Paige was embarrassed at that point. I thought they had a rule against taking things from other rooms.

I did like how the table top looked like it was marble, and I didn’t mind the gold leaf. But it was such a switch from what the HO said at the beginning, that they like crisp clean lines, no wonder she was underwhelmed.

Laurie didn’t paint a room yellow. Good for her.

9pm…when Doug said Prison of Love I knew we were in for a train wreck. I would put that up (down?) with his Pullman Car room. Who the hell wants to sleep in a prison cell? He destroyed that four poster bed, took out their bureau, and left them with no mirror or drawer space. The toilets were completely ridiculous. The silver mesh did not work on the bed, although I thought the sconces were passable. I loved it when the HO handcuffed him to the bed frame and left to get a drink. So often Doug takes off and lets the HO do the work. If he painted the mural I supposed he did a fairly good job, but it was very inappropriate. And bars on the windows? What if there’s a fire and the HO’s can’t get out? I think the HO’s reaction was one of hysteria. I think she was exhausted, and was laughing so she wouldn’t cry.

Rick…I think it was very unprofessional not to paint the whole room. What if they want to take the tent down? It was better than his 8pm room, still.

I saw the promos…$100,000 for a single room? What is up with that? It would seem to me they would need longer than two days. I see they have both Ty and Amy. That will be interesting to see how they work together.

6

Oh, and that sketch…cute, but she really beat it into the ground.

7

Ack! I’m the one who missed it this time! Still no cable because of Isabel, and it sounds like I missed a couple of good ones. I’ll have to catch them on the 4:00 repeats next week.

The cable guy is supposed to be here between 12:00 and 5:00 on Monday. He better be here before 4:00!

8

Bibliocat, you are not going to believe your eyes. I don’t think words are able to do the sheer horror of the rooms justice. I have seen some crap rooms in my time, but Doug’s prison room and Rick’s dining room were about the worst. The colors in Rick’s room were gaudy by themselves and together, they truly stunk up the place. The HO was fighting back a hissy fit and I don’t blame her. I kept thinking Doug was kidding and I am still not convinced it was not all a big joke.

9

Well, the HO certainly took it like a joke–she laughed and laughed and laughed. And truth be told, it was ridiculous and over-the-top, but it wasn’t garish and ugly and horrible and like Rick’s first room. That’s going to be a much harder room to “fix”, and who in the world would want to spend more than 5 minutes in a room like that (without paying a cover charge and taking some hits of X first)?

10

Rick’s first room was horrid. I just couldn’t believe that he used that much of the orange along with the green. The green itself, with touches of the orange, along with other colors, would have been ok - not great, but ok. As it was, though it looked like something barfed around the room.

The prison love room wasn’t that bad, not if you took out the bars and repainted the bureau thing. The colors were basic, and with some little changes, I think it could be a lot more liveable.

I actually sort of liked Rick’s second room. Except for the tent.

11

Rick’s first room: The only thing I ended up liking was the treatment of the table. I would have liked it much better without the gold leaf. The fabrics were way too busy and the room ended up looking overloaded, like those two circular tables would have to go. I actually thought I liked each element on its own, but it didn’t work together at all.

Rick’s second room: I thought this one was much better. Every time I hear a designer say the word “tent” I get a sinking feeling, but I thought this one worked. The screen between the kitchen and living room looked good. The shelving behind the curtain was OK by me. What was up with the editing of the paint reveal? I get the impression there was more tension with “Miss Amateur Designer” than was shown.

Doug’s Prison o’ Love: Kind of the opposite of Rick’s dining room. I hated each element as it was presented, but the overall effect was much less horrifying than I expected. I wouldn’t want it, but I wouldn’t want any “theme” room. I have certainly seen much worse on the show.

12

i got to see the second one.

i liked the screen in rick’s room, and the table thing that had the “measurement” discussion. i liked the screen/mesh things in doug’s room.

that is about it. i think the homeowners that got doug’s room were laughing because they didn’t want to cry on tv. i got to admit i’d laugh as well. as soon as they packed up i’d be redoing that room.

even if he was totally enamored with the prisoner of love thing there were many other ways to go that would have really looked nice and the homeowners would have a wonderful room.

i live near a state penn that is a museum now. one year they did an al capone 1930’s cell. if doug had used that cell as his base the room would have been really nifty. it seemed mr capone had quite a bit of decor lead way in his cell. it looked like a '30’s gentlemans club room, the walls were the usual grey block, there were bars on the window and door, but there was a non regulation bed, tables, chair, etc. rather nice room.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/parainvestigator/Abandoned/eastern.htm

13

Man, I really overindulged last night. I DO remember starting this thread but I don’t remember the ending of the second episode at all! Ugh.

I’m curious to see more from Rick now, because I’m betting they aired his crappiest room first just to get me riled up. (You’re right about showing the sketch first. Why do so many of the designers like to spring “surprises” on the homeowners or try to hide stuff from them? If Hilde came up with a crazy idea but she had a drawing to show what she was eventually hoping to end up with, I think it would be far less stressful for all concerned.) I do think he’s more interesting than the new woman (Christy?) I’ve seen a few of her rooms on the Family show and her room last week was easily the least horrible. She’s sort of a cross between Frank and Kia – fussy country style with crappy cheap-looking execution.

14

I spent the entire two hours wishing I had more alcohol. Yikes. Just… just… just… wow.

Okay. Good stuff. Try to say some good stuff. Umm. I liked the turnout of Laurie’s room, though I was a bit scared of the color at first. The mirror came out really nice, as did the artwork, and the storage/shelves actually looked okay. Mad props to Laurie for being one of the few designers who listens to what the HOs want- she gave them a comfy rug for the baby to crawl on and storage. Yay. Plus (though it was more work, and she did grumble) she refused to go wall-to-wall on the carpet because she didn’t want to cover up their floor vents. Bet Hildi wouldn’t have been so kind.

I liked the table in the first Rick room, would’ve liked it more without the gold leaf. I liked the idea of the window seating, but the fabric needed to go. And I liked the separator screens in the second Rick room. The tent wasn’t as heinous as I’d thought it would be, and actually when you tied it open for TV viewing it looked kind of neat. (oh, and Otto, he actually slipped in “Out of Africa” before the Redford/Streep comment- just
did it in that lockjaw Hepburn manner so you probably just missed it.) I agree that it’s nice to see a designer come in prepared… it’s also nice to see a designer who knows how to work some of the tools. I doubt Rick could have gotten that [sub]abortion of a[/sub] dining room done if he was depending on Ty to build the table cover AND the seating AND the little round
tables.

All right. I’ve held back long enough.

WTF was that??? Maybe… MAYBE if they hadn’t overloaded with the orange fabric it would have been tolerable. But I doubt it. I would hate to have seen what it would have looked like if they’d done the glaze treatment he’d originally wanted. Mr. Kitty wandered in just before the reveal… I told him to get out because I wanted to spare him the horror that was about to come on
the screen (little did I suspect what the next hour would hold).

If Doug had done that to my bed (a wedding present from the woman’s father- yikes), I would have killed him on sight. Never mind the rest of that abomination. The toilet bench was tacky as hell when he had over $250 to spend on furniture. I kept thinking he was going for a really long-winded joke and was going to produce something nice at the end. Guess not. Who the hell wants to sleep in a room like that?

Could someone please explain the mural to me? I honestly couldn’t make it out… I think my TV was too dark.

To the designers: Please, for the love of all that’s holy, STOP with the bench seating. Hildi’s FAMOUS for this- goes on and on about how people can “lounge” while conversing. Bull. It means that people go home with a severe backache.

To the first female HO: if you don’t want it touched, PUT IT IN THE CONTRACT OR LOCK IT UP. The most recent TS: Family had a room where they went on and on about having to work around the thermostat. Guess what? The designer (Frank, who wound up designing around it) honored that agreement. I have
absolutely no sympathy for you or your precious wedding candlesticks (and no, that paint ain’t coming off).

Ivy- the male HO painted the rest of the room during homework (Paige mentioned it at some point). Apparently he was thinking along the same lines as you.

Tea- I have to disagree with you on one thing… the shelving unit that Rick put up for the kids’ toys was a metal one you mostly see in garages. Not known for being kid-friendly because they tend to have lots of burrs and sharp corners, and they rust really, really quickly, even indoors. I’m thinking Rick may be the male Hildi.

Ugh. Not impressed with Rick. Think Doug has either gone insane or is trying to get fired.

15

Plus, unless everyone on the same side of the table is exactly the same height, at most only one person can be comfortably spaced from the table.

16

Doug’s mural was a perspective painting of a long hallway with two figures, one lounging on each side. I thought it was rather well executed, but totally inappropriate.

And I have to call you on your last statement…IIRC, if it is the room, it’s fair game. Otherwise, hands off. I do not think the candlesticks were in the room to begin with (I could be wrong) but if Rick pulled them from somewhere else and painted them, that’s a no-no.

17

Yeah, I think I remember them saying that they found the candlesticks in the garage (where she was storing them for safe-keeping, though they thought she was storing them as surplus junkage).

18

Saw the shows Sat., and was thinking, “I can’t wait to see what the SDMB thought of these!” :slight_smile:

8:00p show: I have to say, I didn’t mind the fabric; it looked like something Laurie might have used. If the room had been painted in Laurie’s usual buttery yellow, or perhaps a nice spice color, I think the fabric could have worked, except there was too much of it. I thought that turquise blue was oppressive and oddly flat, it just closed that room in on itself. And I hated that cheesy marbling/verdigris thing he did on everything, which then clashed with the walls. I agree with TeaElle; I think he’s the new Kia.

Liked Laurie’s room, but I usually like her stuff.

9:00p show: I don’t know what Doug was thinking. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do a theme room like this, and certainly not to this extent. I would have been livid if he’d chopped up my bed, especially when he didn’t need to; he could have just covered the posts with the screening. I didn’t mind the blocks on the wall, or the bed once it was finished. I would have had to get rid of the bars, mural, and commodes immediately, and I didn’t like the sconces (which somehow looked better while they were being put together) or the wardrobes. I did think the room might feel a little cold.

I liked certain elements in Rick’s room, such as the screens and the wall color, but I wasn’t crazy about the tent. I will concede that it was a creative way to hide all the toys, though.

When Rick was having that conversation with Ty about the table, I turned to my sister and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ty so angry.” I’ve seen him throw a couple fits now and then, and be a little annoyed, but he was pissed about Rick’s comments on the table. Did anyone else get that feeling?

So far, I have not been impressed by any of the new designers.

[Slight hijack] Who’s the new host on While You Were Out?

19

Hmmm… I could have sworn those candlesticks were in the room. If not, then not only do I stand corrected, but I also have mixed feelings… we know that if the designers take things from elsewhere inside the house they can’t change it in any way (with the exception of things the HO specifically offer up, like that mirror and the frames in Laurie’s room), but we’ve also seen them salvage things from basements and garages and proceed to paint/recover/chop up/etc them. Which would lead me to think that the designers think heated space=no, unheated space=yes. What a conundrum. Is there any way to get a copy of the TS contract without actually applying for the show? That might answer a lot of questions.

Wintermute- I couldn’t tell if Ty was just throwing one of his fits or not, but he did seem a bit shorter than normal. Maybe because the other designers don’t generally call him on his shit like that? We know he makes mistakes, and they usually work around it or they fix it and joke about it later (even Amy Wynn screws up- witness her snit fit with Vern), but Rick was really (PTP) hammering on him about it.

BTW, speaking of Vern- did the Vern lovers see TS: Family last night? Vern in shorts and a muscle shirt? Yummy.

20

Yo, I said that Rick isn’t the new Kia! He’s not gotten off to a great start, but he’s not anywhere near as dangerous and dingbatty as Kia at all.

I agree that the shelves in Rick’s second room weren’t practical for children. I hadn’t thought about sharp corners or burrs. I downgrade that room to a C- with room for easy improvement with better shelves and perhaps some way of pulling the tent fabric a bit higher so that tall people aren’t brushing their heads against it.

The window bars in the “Prison of Love” room were held on the wall with velcro. You could see it in the rapid-speed room dressing segment. They could be easily taken down and they weren’t that closely spaced – there was room to raise or lower the blinds or open the windows without moving them. It was surprising to me that Doug did that, but he was probably thinking about window washing after Paige’s lambasting him last season about leaving designs that interfered with the HOs ability to clean after last season’s posterboard faux ceiling debacle.

Thinking back on that room and on the ridiculous screened porch he did with the faux fur and adhesive bicycle mirrors stuck on the wall, it’s coming clear that Doug is just out of reasonable, usable ideas. I don’t know what horrors he’s going to visit upon the $100k show, but again, he’s not a trained interior designer and that’s becoming more and more obvious. He and Kia get off on these theme room ideas without any thought to the ability of the HOs to actually go about their day to day activities in the rooms after TS has moved on.

Laurie may not be able to get out of the earthtones color palette and Gen may be mad about decoupage and questionable art-y projects (the cigar box and gaucho bedrooms) but at least both come up with really classy, fun and often flat-out gorgeous details and make rooms which are eminently usable within their intended scope without making anyone barf. Vern, with his formal training in architecture, is educated on the idea of form following function, and making spaces useable. That he can do so while also making them beautiful is a great bonus. Frank is kitschy, but I only remember one HO who was obviously disappointed with a Frank room because it didn’t fit their lifestyle at all.

Doug, Hildi and Kia continue to fail on that most basic level, and in increasingly worsening fashion as their resevoirs of ideas are more and more drained. The only reason why they are still on the show is to help the producers meet their goal of having 1 in 10 HOs unhappy or disappointed in the results in their room at some level, in their misguided belief that they have to keep the “excitement” and “game show” aspects alive in the show – despite the fact that most viewers are more interested in the show to see new decorating ideas and techniques and excited – not necessarily bad excited like Crying Pam or Crazy Jessie, just excited – responses from HOs during the reveal.

It’s going to be interesting to see, over time, if Rick can redeem himself and join Christy in the camp of Edward and Frank – occasionally but still workable and frequently quite good – or if he’s going to be a Doug/Hildi/Kia disaster waiting to happen every time he appears.

And Wintermute, the new host on “While You Were Out” is Evan Farmer, who is best known as being one of the members of the boy band on the MTV spoof show “2+Gether.”