# Trading Spaces: July 12, or the return of Hildious
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 13, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075 "2003-07-13T00:32:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/21 "2003-07-14T22:38:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Otto \*
> **Seriously…how come Frank can go 10% over budget and pay it off while Laurie (I think now it was Laurie and not Gen…the meat art kitchen was Laurie, yes?) is literally rolling up rugs to return to stay in budget?**
The Meat-Art kitchen was Gen, but there was a Laurie-kitchen where Paige did make her return some sisal-type rugs because she was waaay over budget. It was (IIRC) the one where she built big cabinets for the HOs grandmother’s china and spent a lot on fancy new light fixtures to replace old ugly flourescents. She had used real wood instead of MDF for the cabinets.
My opinion…
Frank’s room was a little too themey, but then again, it was Frank. I kinda like the beach/cottage look, so I liked the general idea. I hated that gravel stuff they had before, so covering it was great. I can’t imagine the thought process that went into putting that stuff down in the first place. I really liked the weathered blue wainscotting.
The netting was what I didn’t like, so that would have ended up in the trash. That was a little too Red Lobster-ish for me.
The curtains were a bit too heavy, IMHO.
Hildi’s room was just too red for me. I thought the fabric looked like a bag from Target. Not my taste at all.
Despite my unending love for All Things Vern, I’m not really into the Asian-themed rooms. 😉
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/22 "2003-07-14T22:50:16Z")
> [@](#):
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> \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \*
> \*\*Hildi’s room didn’t turn out that bad-but I wasn’t crazy about the print. However, I LOVED the lamp shades.
> …
> As were both couples-they were so annoying. \*\*
The lamp shades… I liked them, but I always worry when they pull something else out and say, “It’s really a _whatever_ but we’re going to make it a lampshade!”
Is it safe? Those things she used looked like fire hazards to me. How hot will they get?
And yes, both sets of HOs were seriously annoying.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/23 "2003-07-14T22:50:32Z")
I like Frank because he’s willing to work with the couple, and he doesn’t just shrug off any concerns.
Laurie’s okay-I’ve liked some of her rooms, but her ceiling fan phobia has GOT TO GO.
Edward’s pretty cool-but you rarely see him, or Kia.
I do NOT like the family show.
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### Author:  [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/24 "2003-07-14T22:54:48Z")
The thing that gets me about Hildi, and usualy Doug, too, is they’re so clearly into this only for themselves. It’s all about showing off their “talents”. Fer cryin’ out loud, Hildi papered the wall of a teetotaling minister with labels from wine bottles! How off can you get?? Whereas Vern usually seems to have some real affection and respect for his homeowners (in addition to wonderful, thoughtful design). Same w/Laurie, Gen & Frank, most of the time.
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### Author:  [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/25 "2003-07-14T23:35:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> My impression was that Frank had returned something already, so he had the money in hand to give back to Paige. Gen-or-Laurie probably had not had time to return the items that made her go over, so she had to remove them from the room at the last moment. That may have even been intentional-- to show how she really wanted the design to look before being forced to compromise.
I don’t think so. They’ve on more than one occasion had Paige in there telling a designer s/he has to return something (and now that I think about it in a recent repeat she did talk to Amy Wynn about finding $50 worth of Frank’s wood to return so he could buy more paint so I guess Frank doesn’t always get away with it). They don’t even get to replace things they break. There was an ep where Ty broke Frank’s lighting fixture and had Ty not bought a replacement Frank would have had to do without. Another time Ty broke some mirrors of Kia’s and they weren’t replaced (although that may have been time as much as budget). It does seem though that Frank gets away with going severely over budget when other designers don’t. Maybe he’s just better at hiding his receipts until it’s too late.
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### Author:  [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/26 "2003-07-15T05:52:26Z")
If you take both rooms in each episode, one with Hildi, the other with someone else, I think that Hildi’s rooms are the better of the two.
No, I havenn’t seen the Hay on the Wall episode.
But I was told about the stapling of 6000 flowers to the walls of the bathroom and when thepainted the sofa and chairs and left them out in the rain.
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### Author:  [@the\_O-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O-man)
#### Post date: [July 15, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-july-12-or-the-return-of-hildious/188075/27 "2003-07-15T11:43:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BiblioCat \*
> \*\*I hated that gravel stuff they had before, so covering it was great. I can’t imagine the thought process that went into putting that stuff down in the first place. \*\*
My housemate said that the gravel is there for drainage. You can have a whole bank of potted plants all along the windows and not worry about the water leakage. Could actually look quite beautiful especially if they are flowering plants. Certainly would have plenty of sunlight.
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