# Trading Spaces 3/15, or What Have You Done with the Real Frank?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 16, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711 "2003-03-16T03:05:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711/21 "2003-03-18T00:19:49Z")

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Sometimes I really wonder where $1,000 goes. All they do is paint and make pillows and maybe make something out of cheesy MDF and steal furniture from other rooms and call it a Make-over.

I’d love to see some actual receipts from a show.

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**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711/22 "2003-03-18T00:43:49Z")

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This was the first room from Frank that I would not have sued him for mental anguish and bad taste…although he just couldn’t resist and had to overdo it with the pillows…wouldn’t that be fun, throwing 16 pillows on the floor before you can even get in bed, and then having to pick the damn things up and re-arrange them every morning. Also, it wasn’t only Frank’s fault, but here was a room with two really great, large, arched windows and the best the HO’s and Frank could come up with was to completely hide them? What a shame.

The “red room” idea was so-so, but the wall could have been a little lower. Plus, I like to watch TV from bed and he made sure the HO would never be able to do that again…I think Doug is confusing being a designer with being a construction worker. The two don’t mix well, and neither do most of his rooms.

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**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711/23 "2003-03-25T17:01:19Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \*
> 
> \*\*…I didn’t like the tulip paintings sideways. It made them look like brooms. \*\*

It seems the artist liked the concept quite a bit, as pictures of Doug’s room design from both sides are the first 2 images on the [portfolio page](http://warrenknapp.dominodeveloper.net/members/warrenknapp/home.nsf/Paintings!OpenPage) of the artist’s website!

And seeing those still pictures again made me realize what a sloppy job Doug did installing those light sconces. There’s really no excuse for leaving those chords hanging like that. All he’d need to do to give it a clean and finished look is to pull the chord taught and put an industrial staple around it at the baseboard.

> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by tlw \*
> 
> **Doug’s room, though, I would’ve been up in arms over. He left those homeowners with one of two crap choices: live with an empty room elsewhere or ante up several hundred dollars to replace the sofa and armoire in one of the rooms.**

Not to mention a couple _thousand_ dollars to replace those paintings. Warren Knapp’s works _start_ at $950.00 a piece!

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**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711/24 "2003-03-25T17:23:28Z")

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The HO apparently loved what Doug did to the room, but was also a bit miffed that he’d moved the tulips (though they’ve since moved the last one into the bedroom, as well).

> [@](#):
>
> \<snip\>
> 
> It was mildly annoying that Doug “borrowed” things from the rest of our house (mostly the tulips because we loved where they were), but his additions really made the room. We’ve reassembled the living room and bought different mirrors so our bathroom mirrors could go back where they belong. And we’ve added candles and other items to make the room more personable, and put the third tulip, hanging upright, in the room next to the dresser they stained. All in all, it’s a very comfortable room that still has space to spare.
> 
> \<snip\>

You can read her full comments in her [post on the TS message boards](http://discovery.infopop.net/1/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=6801993295&m=7501955526&r=8801967526#8801967526).

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-3-15-or-what-have-you-done-with-the-real-frank/161711/25 "2003-03-25T17:41:06Z")

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They paid _three thousand dollars_ for the tulip pictures?!? **THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS** for something that looks like it was bought out of a gas station parking lot? Christ, I have _got_ to get myself some paint and start pulling in some of that scratch. If somebody can get three grand for those pieces of shit, I’m gonna be rolling in it!

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