I will be at my in-laws this weekend and will not be able to watch/post about Trading Spaces tonight.
If someone can pick up for me tonight, I will add my two cents tomorrow.
Thanks!
I won’t be home tonight, either, but I have the VCR set. I’ll be watching both episodes tomorrow morning.
The 8:00 episode looks to be the one done on base housing on an Air Force base, where Kia does a room in camoflauge, which is one of her more infamous rooms. I’ve never seen it, so I’m looking forward to it.
Just because someone’s in the Air Force and lives in base housing does not necessarily mean they want they house deocrated in camoflauge, okay, Kia?
The previews for the 9:00 episode look like they get rained on quite a bit. There’s a shot of Ty trying to dump off the tent roof and dumping rain water all over something he’s building.
I saw it an I am now convinced that Ty ain’t too bright. First he dumps the water on himself, then he’s too stupid to move the bench instead fighting an unpluggable hole.
The 8 p.m. episode was a travesty. Kia’s military room, Doug’s car room.
The 9 p.m. episode was really good. Genenieve and Frank both did wonderful jobs. Frank took a room that was almost completely without anything worth mentioning, other than the architecture, and turned it into a really nice living room. It was not even remotely folksey, but it didn’t suffer from the self-conscious “I’m not folk” expression that has informed some of his other rooms. It was a lovely blue with a built-in fireplace that he painted (it was already painted) in a pattern that was an excellent complement. He came up with a really great room that seemed perfect for the young guy who owned it. Kudos.
Genenieve’s room was another hit. She took an already good looking room that was packed full of “chotchkees”, or however you spell that, and turned it into a very elegant living/dining area. The home owner I’m sure now has a huge pile of brick-a-brack that she has to do something with, but it was worth it. The walls were a sunburst yellow. She covered them with a sort of cream with green trim. It was that sort of green that could look like puke green, but doesn’t. The trim lent a green hue to the cream to create a really nice overall effect. She had a dining room table built. It was another fine piece of work by Genevieve.
I think the green that Genevieve used was pretty risky. It could have turned out to be really, really ugly. But it didn’t. I really liked the blue Frank used as well. At first I was afraid that it may have been a little girlie, but it turned out to be really nice. It was not really pastel, but almost. It was sort-of a sky blue, but a little bit darker than sky blue proper. The effect ended up being really relaxing, IMO. It looked like a great place to relax and entertain. The room was divided and he decorated to put that to use, with one half being the television-type area and the other half being where the bar (which he had built) was located along with four stools.
It was an all around good episode. Paige proved that she doesn’t have a fake tan, and was stunning as usual. She also got a good rip in on Frank. 
really nice rooms.
i loved the blue frank used. it was wonderful. all new furniture, owner art, good room. no sheep!
jen toned down the yellow and cleared up the room. her inspiration was an orchid this week, i don’t know if it was the rain but she seemed to have a plan and it worked.
i am amazed ty did not electricute himself.
I loved both rooms in the 9:00 episode (I saw it at midnight Eastern, and missed the other one).
Frank essentially had a blank room to work with. Paige was ripping him on being over budget, but with what he had to start with, he did an excellent job to come out only $9 over (from the way they were talking, I figured he was a couple of hundred over).
Gen’s room also looked amazing - the lighter walls were great, and the green fed into the HO’s desire for brighter colors.
Two beautiful rooms at the end, at least from my view.
I thought the green trim on Gen’s room was close to being ugly. She did need some color there, but I’m not sure I’d like that green if it was my room.
I liked Frank’s room too.
I’m also surprised that Ty didn’t get electrocuted! At least he had the wit to move the power tools off the table. Of course, that was AFTER the water came down.
Sorry, Ivylass, but I only watched bits and pieces during commercials of The Winston NASCAR race on F/X. But it looks like others have given you a really good Reader’s Digest version of what went on. I have no doubt that I’ll be able to see these episodes in future airings.
BTW, I was strolling through the Mall yesterday afternoon and came upon the Discovery Channel store. . . where they have all kinds of Trading Spaces merchandise for sale. There’s the book. And the DVDs, including “They Hated It!” And there are shirts and other tchotchkes. I did not buy.
And was Kia’s camouflage room on the cover? Ai chihuahua!
I also liked both the rooms – but thought the paint on the fireplace upstairs was a little dark, and also didn’t care for the way the green trim turned out. (I think it did cross the line to puke green.) I did love the pillows they made for that room.
i caught the afternoon re-run. two things jumped out at me.
a. was that a jesus throw rug? i think i saw a jesus throw rug!!! was that what gen was talking about when she said iconic art?
b. the fireplace in frank’s room in the after shot looked like it had a face. the 2 shelves were eyes and the firebox the mouth. interesting…
Both of the new rooms were fine, but was it just me or was every man on that show (with the possible exception of Ty) a big queen? Even Frank ratcheted up the queeniness a few notches with his little glamour fit about the budget, even snapping!
I loved Frank’s little tizzy fit about the budget. He put his foot down, dammit, and considering all the wiggle room he’s had in other budgets, he should be allowed to go over by nine bucks. It’s not like, oh I don’t know, he tried to spray paint the furniture. In the rain. And had to go buy all new furniture to replace it.
Could Gen’s shirt be any more low-cut? I admit she’s attractive and all, but there’s something to be said about subtlety.
I also thought Gen’s green was puke green, but she didn’t use a whole lot of it, so it wasn’t overwhelming.
I hope all that wood doesn’t warp from getting wet.
Thanks for filling in, js. I’d seen Kia’s military room. This was a couple that wanted an escape from military life, so of course, Kia has to implement a military theme. Military chic, my ass. And Doug’s Route 66…that left the kid even less room to play than he had before.
They had a big article in my Sunday paper about TS. Apparently they’re doing some Orlando area shows starting May 31, with Hilde and Frank.
I had the opposite feeling. I thought it looked like a face before but just a fire place afterward. That’s funny how we’d pick up on that so differently.
Glad I could help, Ivylass. It was kind of a thrill. A lot of responsibility.
I thought the 8 pm episode was appalling. I expected that from Kia. I mean, if the home owners said, “We’d like to see something inspired by 19th century Russian interiors,” Kia would probably start making a paper maché onion tower with a bunch of faux nut crackers goose stepping through a minature Red Square. But Doug really bricked as well. Although I disagree, I guess that the bed was acceptable, but that other car took up so much room. That kid is going to break his skull for sure jumping around that cramped room with no storage for any of his toys. One more example of a designer thinking that a room is a canvas first and a living space second.
In the past I would disagree with you on the subtlety issue, Ivylass. I’m not the sort who thinks that clothes that leave more to the imagination are more sexy. But last night I made a mental comparison between Paige’s low rise pants and exposed midriff with what I saw last time I saw Britney Spears, and in some cases subtlety does matter. But I’ll be honest about Gen’s cleavage last night–it didn’t bother me. I always am a little dissapointed with a woman when she wears something a little low cut and then every time she bends she is covering up. It’s like a confidence thing. The cleavage itself is sexy in some cases (Gen is a little over-endowed and her bra wasn’t the best for the views she was giving, for example), but even more sexy is the message of self-assuredness and confidence that comes across when a women bends and exposes a bit of chest. It’s almost as if she should stand up and, imitating Mae West, say, “Merry Christmas, big boy.” I wish I could articulate it better.
I finally watched my tape last night.
The 8:00 episode was awful. I knew what Kia had done, and when the HOs said in the opening that they wanted to get away from the military feeling, I knew they were doomed. The woman was trying so hard to be gracious at the reveal, and but just couldn’t stop herself from crying. I would have cried, too. I mean come on, dull gray paint, dull gray parachute curtains and camouflage wallpaper and camouflage pillows? Paige kept saying it was just a little bit of camouflage, but it was a lot. It was just terrible.
And Doug’s car room was probably good on paper but two cars was too much in that room. Just the one car for a bed would have been better. And he didn’t even finish the toy box car. I didn’t quite get how that would make a good toy box. Wouldn’t the car hood/lid come crashing down on the little boy? How was he supposed to open it? Was it going to be propped open all the time?
The new episode was nice…I loved the architecture of both houses. I loved those long multi-paned windows in both rooms, and the ceilings. Such a nice change from the sterile McMansions we’ve seen lately.
I also didn’t care for the puke green Gen used on the windows. A nice sage-y green would have been better. And where did she leave all of the woman’s knick-knacks? She said it was a 1-bedroom apartment, and she didn’t have much storage; I guess Gen just dumped all the bric-a-brac on her bed. :rolleyes:
And another example of Trading Spaces patented Ugly Staining on that table.
I don’t think it was a Jesus rug; it was a Jesus blanket.
Frank’s room was nice, too, but I wish he’d painted the mortar on the fireplace. I didn’t care for the white lines. Personally, I would have perferred it to be unpainted, but I like unpainted brick, or stone. If it was my apartment, I’d strip all the paint off the fireplace. The blue was nice, but a tad too light for my taste. I liked the long low entertainment center he got, though. That was really nice. The bar was pretty cool, too.
And Paige was kind of snotty about Frank being a measly $9 over budget. Hildi and Laurie go over all the time and she just laughs it off, but she was kind of mean about it to Frank.
mr africanus, i thought the fireplace had a bit of a face in the before as well. the after with the way it was painted (for me) really made it pop.
sure enough it was indeed a jesus throw. many have mentioned it on the twop forum. there has been speculation on what kia could have done with a room based on it.
i have a feeling that next week is the week that frank teased at the philly home show. he said there would be an episode that one designer who never, ever does anything wrong gets a very bad reveal. i thought it might be laurie with bad, bad, jessie brown. i still can’t imagine what vern could do that could have a ho freak out.
rumour is that vern flew into philly mother’s day weekend. if only i had known sooner.
I read some of that speculation on the TWoP boards. I got the impression it was Vern who gets a bad reveal, complete with a Crying HO. I can’t even imagine what Vern would do that would warrant a Crying HO. Vern’s perfect in my book.
Kia, on the other hand…
I read some of that speculation on the TWoP boards. I got the impression it was Vern who gets a bad reveal, complete with a Crying HO. I can’t even imagine what Vern would do that would warrant a Crying HO. Vern’s perfect in my book.
Kia, on the other hand…
I’m glad someone else noticed this besides me. I’d TiVoed this episode while I watched a DVD and I confess by the time I got around to watching it I was pretty drunk. At one point I actually wanted to put my hand down her cleavage, LOL!
Franks room was really good I thought. I didn’t really care for the color the fireplace was painted, but the rest of the colors and the bar area were really nice. Gen’s room did absolutely nothing for me. “Who doesn’t like orchids?!” ME! I don’t like orchids. Spindly, pathetic excuse for a plant. Sheesh. I liked when he said something like “Even Vern couldn’t make that look good.” Heh!
Why would you watch Trading Spaces when there’s Changing Rooms on BBC America? (The only reason I can think of is because you don’t have digital or satellite TV)
Why does it take the Americans an hour to do what it takes the Brits only 30 minutes to do?
Why are TS designers such whinny drama queens?
Why do 30 minutes when they could just show a before and after in a few seconds?
I’m guessing the British version doesn’t have the stop-action room-clearing segment – and you call that TV.