# Trading Spaces 5/24, Or Damn TLC for Their Misleading Promos
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [May 25, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328 "2003-05-25T02:08:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/1 "2003-05-25T02:08:13Z")
Ah, the promos. They implied that the HO’s were having problems with Vern’s design, and that we had another Crying Pam at the end. But, please, people, _it’s Vern_! When has he ever let us down?
Vern and Laurie in LA with Amy Wynn, Vern doing a kitchen, Laurie doing a living room.
That kitchen, with the slaughterhouse red paint walls, the dark wood cabinets, the country blue flower vinyl tile…it is so nice to see them redo a room that needs it, instead of a room that just needs a change. Vern did a phenomenal job with everything, and was still only $1.94 over budget. He brightened it up considerably, and unlike what the promos led us to believe, the HO had his doubts about finishing on time, not about Vern’s design, and the lady was crying with joy, not horror. But this is our Darling Vern, after all, not Kia, so there was no question it would be done in time and done beautifully. I have noticed that whenever Vern lays a new floor he stays to help. Covering the bench with flooring was great, and I loved how he personalized the kids’ coathooks with the existing artwork of their hand and feet prints. I wasn’t too keen about the wire shelving above the sink for the dishware. I thought it looked too dineresque. Just one question…what the hell was that thing on his right arm? It didn’t look like a tatoo, and I don’t think it was a patch. The kitchen, though, was a vast improvement. Kudos again to Vern.
Laurie…I have read on TWoP that Laurie never picks a paint color that doesn’t match her hair. This time it was “maple sugar,” better known as “orange.” I’m still not sure I like that fireplace facade, but anything would have an improvement over that nasty wood thing. When the HOs said they wanted the other large wall to be a focal point, I was thinking some sort of mural, not wainscoting. Doesn’t Laurie know by now popcorn ceilings just absorb paint? Shouldn’t she have accounted for that when she did her research on the room and budgeted for extra paint? And how come she gave us a lecture on fluffing stuffing for pillows before shoving them into the cases, but Vern wasn’t fluffing? Or maybe he was and I was just too distracted trying to figure out what that thing was on his arm. I think Edward does better slipcovers…I don’t like loose slipcovers. And wasn’t Paige such a trooper with all the creepy crawly pets? I don’t think feeding the lizard and the snakes and the spiders is in her contract, but she was a good sport about it.
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### Author:  [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/2 "2003-05-25T02:22:09Z")
Blech, Laurie’s room didn’t do anything for me, especially that … thing over the fireplace. Kudos for painting a room a color other than yellow, though, even if it was ugly-orange. I notice she couldn’t resist sticking some striped pillows in there, though, and the floral fabric she had on the other pillows was hideous.
Vern’s room was really nice as ususal, and I like seeing HOs as happy as that.
> [@](#):
>
> Just one question…what the hell was that thing on his right arm? It didn’t look like a tatoo, and I don’t think it was a patch.
I was wondering the same thing.
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/3 "2003-05-25T02:35:01Z")
Laurie’s room-The thing over the fireplace _could_ have looked nice, but it turned out incredibly ugly. I’m glad that I’m not the only one that thought that. Also, that was so totally bitchy of Laurie when Amy Wynn said “here’s this fireplace piece that I designed” (meaning made) and Laurie says “um, no, _I_ designed it.” Laurie, sweetheart, that’s not something to be proud of.
I used to be a big Laurie fan, but her rooms are just so, so, so predictable. Step 1-Paint the walls yellow or orange. Step 2: Find an amaaaaaaaazing vintage light fixture. Step 3: Make some art project based on an artist that no one has heard of. Step 4: Make a billion pillows. Two thirds should be in a stripe pattern, the rest should be a floral or a toile. Nearly go over budget and say that you are “stressing out here, folks.” The end.
Vern’s room-Awesome as always. But on to more important things: what _was_ that on his arm?! Someone has to know!
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### Author:  [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/4 "2003-05-25T02:35:41Z")
I really liked Laurie’s room, but then I always like Laurie’s room. She only does one, and I understand that, but I always like it. She’s really good at turning cold, disorganized rooms (and this was certainly one of those) into warm and inviting ones. I’m not sure about that fireplace thing, either, but hey, she only had a thousand bucks. It was pretty good, considering that this room needed a lot of help and I doubt she could spare more than $200 or so on the fireplace. If the homeowners want to replace it with terracotta tiles or something, they can do it on their own nickel.
Naturally I liked Vern’s, too. I’ve never not liked a Vern room. It wasn’t quite as stellar as the bedroom with the big maple wall and ceiling panels - that was the Best Room Ever. This kitchen was nice, but it didn’t blow me away. I mean, wood floors and white walls. Can’t go wrong, and anything would be an improvement over the Lurid Red Goth Kitchen that he started out with, but it didn’t wow me. The enlarged island was nice.
I don’t know about the thing on Vern’s (handsomely toned) arm, but I’m assuming it was a temporary. Vern just doesn’t strike me as a tattoo guy.
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### Author:  [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/5 "2003-05-25T02:51:43Z")
**slice** , I had to giggle. What a wonderful summary of Laurie’s design style!
I liked her flower pillow, though. I thought it pulled in a lot of colors of the room.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/6 "2003-05-25T02:54:46Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Glassy \*
> \*\*Naturally I liked Vern’s, too. I’ve never not liked a Vern room. It wasn’t quite as stellar as the bedroom with the big maple wall and ceiling panels - that was the Best Room Ever. \*\*
That _was_ The Best Room Ever! I loved that maple bedroom with the dark blue walls. I could have moved right in there and never left. 🙂
This may be my Second Favorite room of Vern’s after the Maple Bedroom. I loved the soft yellow walls and the white cabinets, and especially the hardwood floors. Actually, anything after the Hannibal Lecter Bloodbath walls would have been an improvement.
I don’t know how he does it, though. New hardwood floors, the little bench, paint, curtains, a new light fixture, the new top for the island (prefab) and the shelving… and he was only over by $2.00?
He’s getting some great deals somewhere.
Laurie’s room. Eh, it was okay. I didn’t care for that vertical wood on the fireplace before, so the new thing was a little better, IMO. Not great, since I’m not big on geometric shapes, but I really hated that wood thing they had before.
I wondered if they had ever tried to take it off, since they hated it so much. It just might have been more brick underneath.
I didn’t like the “Maple Syrup/Maple Sugar” paint. Make up your mind what it’s called, Laurie. It was too orange-y for me. And it didn’t seem to match the bookshelf that they painted black and red. That clashed, IMO.
And they should know by know that those popcorn ceilings soak up the paint. I was glad Paige called her on that.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/7 "2003-05-25T03:03:19Z")
I thought the blue thing on Vern’s arm was paint, but no one was using blue paint.
I liked Vern’s room better than Laurie’s but not by much. I loved the double island thing and how everything was pulled together with the flooring pattern. I liked the paint in Laurie’s room although it looked like just one more variation on yellow. But a nice deep yellow. I liked the thing for over the fireplace and the bamboo mirror frame. Glad she axed that “art” project; that was fugly.
The ep needed more footage of the lizard eating the egg! More lizard! More egg!
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### Author:  [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/8 "2003-05-25T04:31:42Z")
And the thing on Vern’s arm is…
An Edmonton Oilers (hockey team) logo temporary tattoo. Well, at least according to the nice people on the TLC boards. Apparently he was in Edmonton in March for a trade show.
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### Author:  [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/9 "2003-05-25T05:47:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> The ep needed more footage of the lizard eating the egg! More lizard! More egg!
I’m glad I’m not the only one that thought that. During the exchange between Vern and Amy-Wynn when he was telling her about… something that he wanted built, and she was holding the lizard, I zoned out on what they were saying and devoted 100% of my attention to the lizard while it tried to crawl all over the place.
And that egg eating thing was just cool.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/10 "2003-05-25T12:45:52Z")
vern’s kitchen was great. he listen to what the family does in there and gave them everything they needed to do it. the island was fantastic. i thought the homeowner was gonna need the paramedics.
i thought one of the kids gave him a temp tattoo and he wore it so he wouldn’t disappoint them.
laurie’s room was nice. her usual colours, her usual fabrics. she didn’t seem as singy this time.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/11 "2003-05-25T13:01:27Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by rocking chair \*
> \*\*vern’s kitchen was great. he listen to what the family does in there and gave them everything they needed to do it. the island was fantastic. \*\*
Vern _always_ listens to what the HOs want, and knows what they need. By covering the bench with the flooring material, he made it really durable and practical. No one else would have done that. Hildi would have told them to tell the kids not to step on the bench. :rolleyes:
**Slice** nailed it with Laurie’s room. I’m still laughing. Yep, that’s Laurie. Paint it yellow, but call it something else. What was it last week, cork? Toss around the word “amaaaaazing,” sigh a lot, make way too many pillows, call everyone “folks” and then be done with it.
I’m surprised we didn’t get one of her patented Art Lectures this week. Maybe they edited it out, since she dumped her art project.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/12 "2003-05-25T13:15:14Z")
I honestly wonder of Laurie is really an interior designer. She has never actually displayed any interior design skills; every room she has ever designed was just painted to match her hair. Never in the show’s history, that I or Mrs. RickJay can find, has she ever done anything else. I’d be more confident in her qualifications as a designer if she could actually design something else.
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### Author:  [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/13 "2003-05-25T15:22:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RickJay \*
> \*\*I honestly wonder of Laurie is really an interior designer. She has never actually displayed any interior design skills; every room she has ever designed was just painted to match her hair. Never in the show’s history, that I or Mrs. RickJay can find, has she ever done anything else. I’d be more confident in her qualifications as a designer if she could actually design something else. \*\*
I don’t agree. I admit she’s repetitious and predictable, but her rooms are usually attractive, which is not something one can take for granted with this show. If I had to have one of these clowns decorate my house, I’d pick Vern first (of course), Laurie second.
If we’re wondering about design qualifications, I have to bring up Frank and Kia. Frank never even rearranges the furniture - he just paints things twelve clashing colors, throws in some art projects involving PVC tubing, and calls it good. And I don’t know what to say about Kia.
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### Author:  [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/14 "2003-05-25T16:36:57Z")
Oh, you won’t get an argument from me about Frank. He is the only one of the bunch whose rooms always LOOK like they only cost a thousand bucks. If you want to have a Trading Spaces experience without actually applying to the show, just buy $500 of worthless my-Mom-made-this crap at an arts and crafts fair, have two friends spread it around your living room, and pretend Frank did it.
Kia’s just incompetent, but at least she actually tries to design a room, which is more than you can say for Laurie, who just carries around paint that matches her hair.
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### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/15 "2003-05-25T17:37:31Z")
…Vern got to touch Paige’s butt. ::_Sigh_::
I wouldn’t have called Laurie’s room orange. It looked like just another shade of yellow.
She knows how to paint (I recall her once showing some home owners a watercolor of what the room was supposed to look like), she should learn to do it more quickly so that she doesn’t have to leave around any more of these awful “art” projects.
Maybe it was my mood, but the episode seemed uninspired. The rooms ended up looking nice. Both were big, if predictable, improvements. The episode just didn’t pop.
I didn’t mind that thing above the fire place in Laurie’s room. It would have been better to put a large painting over the fire place, though. I don’t understand why the designers don’t put some of their considerable shopping skill into finding actual works of art to hang. I don’t mind the personal touch of art done by the team, as long as it doesn’t look like crap. But that doesn’t mean that they have to eschew putting more visual art in the room. Certainly there has to be enough second hand art out there to find _something_ worth hanging! For the free television time, the could probably get some great pieces from an as-yet undiscovered working artist on the cheap. Surely Laurie could have found a big 6’ x 10’ piece to go on that big wall for a good price in exchange for saying, “I got this from this great young artist, such-and-so, in such-and-such-city.”
Also, I, too, really enjoyed the Lizard & Egg scene. Frankly, a whole hour of Paige feeding the animals probably would have been more enjoyable than that episode. Especially if she fed Laurie and Kia to some croco-gators! Heh, heh…
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### Author:  [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/16 "2003-05-25T19:16:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \*
> **That _was_I don’t know how he [Vern] does it, though. New hardwood floors, the little bench, paint, curtains, a new light fixture, the new top for the island (prefab) and the shelving… and he was only over by $2.00?
> He’s getting some great deals somewhere.**
**BiblioCat** , I was thinking the same thing!!! I’ve been pricing flooring materials, and I really wanna know how he got that much flooring and STILL had enough money left over out of $1000 to get anything else for the room!
Designers’ wholesale discount maybe.
Loved Vern’s kitchen, not so much Laurie’s LR. Hated the giant wainscoting. (I thought a mural would have been cool too.) And I expected a little more out of the thing over the fireplace.
It was nice seeing somebody cry for joy like the first lady. I was kinda touched.
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### Author:  [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/17 "2003-05-25T19:26:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Archergal \*
> **BiblioCat, I was thinking the same thing!!! I’ve been pricing flooring materials, and I really wanna know how he got that much flooring and STILL had enough money left over out of $1000 to get anything else for the room!**
I was cruising the TSBB and saw a thread linking to an article about Ty remarking on the designers [here](http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?31665). Anyway, vis-à-vis Vern he says, “Some of Vern’s rooms look like $5,000 rooms. It’s also Vern, and who knows if he’s playing a fair game. Have you actually seen his receipts? ‘Let’s see those receipts, Vern. Really, you got a deal on that sisal, huh?’ I think there’s a little bit going on there.”
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### Author:  [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/18 "2003-05-25T19:54:25Z")
I’ve heard some speculation about the source of Vern’s materials, as well. Friends of mine were on the show last year, and while Vern wasn’t one of the designers, that particular topic was discussed at length with Misters Pennington and Bielec, who both consider Vern’s “deals” somewhat questionable. He certainly isn’t buying many of his building materials – flooring, especially – at the retail Lowe’s price (or is it Home Depot – one is TS and the other is WYWO, I never remember which is which) like the other designers. Though why should he, if he can honestly get the stuff for under $1000, let him get it wherever he can, is my feeling.
Of course, maybe that’s just because I’d far prefer Vern and $1000 of wholesale-priced materials (or $1000 of blown up pictures from Gen’s laser printer) to $974 worth of crap from Hilde, coming in under budget but leaving behind a room full of wine labels, records, fake flowers or a mural of her own bony head. :eek:
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/19 "2003-05-25T20:01:35Z")
one of the people on the forum at twop gave the cost of stuff she recognized from ikea. the bookshelf etc. the counter top stuff is the same stuff my mum has so i know that is rather inexpensive. the flooring was laminte not hard wood that knocks down the price a bit. vern should be able to get that by the boatload and at a good arch’s discount.
the fabrics could be remnants. i saw this really nifty fabric in a store in philly, i took it up front and asked if i could get 1 yard, the clerk told me she would have to order it and there was a 2 yard min. the stuff was $45. a yard. i really liked it so i thought “happy birthday, buy it!” the manager told the clerk to check the floor to see if there was a remnant around, sure enough there was…2.5 yards. i got it for $5!!! i can see where vern could find 4 pieces of great fabric for $35. in the store i went to rems, were any where from $5-$15. depending on size and type.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [May 25, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-5-24-or-damn-tlc-for-their-misleading-promos/177328/20 "2003-05-25T20:07:35Z")
kinsey, when i discussed the show with my cuz, i told her only vern would cover the bench with flooring. hildi would have said, “why do the children need feet? they are sitting on the bench!”
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