# "Trading Spaces" When did you realize ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707 "2003-03-03T03:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Naz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@Naz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/41 "2003-03-04T23:28:25Z")
Ah, so the Crying Pam story didn’t work out. Oh, well, that outta teach me to ask for a cite, huh? 🙂 If I had been her, I wouldn’t have cried over that room…but I would’ve made a shopping trip to Lowe’s for some new paint. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/42 "2003-03-05T00:20:40Z")
Crying Pam had no taste. That fireplace was a tacky country-bumpkin piece of shite, and the fact that she was so proud of it makes her look like a pathetic yokel. AFAIAC, she didn’t embarass herself by bawling like a baby. She embarassed herself by making a spectacle out of how much she loved such a hideous thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/43 "2003-03-05T02:04:37Z")
Trading Spaces sucks. I’m ok with Ty and Amy, but I don’t like any of the designers very much (Frank would be fun to work with, but I don’t really like his style too much. A little too “Welcome Friends” for me. And I would cheerfully shoot Doug on sight. He totally ignores what the homeowners want for their friends) and I hate Paige. She is soooooo vapid and annoying. And she never does any work, and she always tries to be cute. Carol Smiley and Handy Andy from Changing Rooms are much more likeable. And who wouldn’t like Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/44 "2003-03-05T21:56:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elf6c \* > \*\*What with all the attempted snarky-ness about TS? Well for what its worth here are my toughts on the designers. Feel free to post your version: > > Kia- Good: doesn’t kick puppies on the air. Umm, errr, that’s all I can think of. Bad: Every room but one. Combines bad designs, with poor execution, lack of common sense and a mistaken belief she knows what she is doing. Cannot be fired no matter how bad she designs are (unlike Dez). > 🙂 \*\* Great summation **elf6c** pretty much my thoughts too…I didn’t realize that Dez got fired though…I kinda liked her Beetlejuice-esque rooms. But I like things that don’t match…Hmmm… ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/45 "2003-03-06T10:25:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mirror Image egamI rorriM \* > **Carol Smiley and Handy Andy from Changing Rooms are much more likeable.** Handy Andy can come cover my radiators _any_ time 😃 I’ve never seen Trading Spaces, but I’m hooked on Changing Rooms. Even when the room as a whole is insane, there are usually some clever ideas to be found. Equally important, they usually give the insane rooms to the slightly wacky homeowners, so it all works out. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/46 "2003-03-06T14:28:01Z")
It’s an entertaining program, but I knew I’d shoot them as soon as I saw the first episode. I actually watch the show, but shake my head about all the cheap crap they use. My rule in life is to avoid shortcuts and cheap crap, and that’s the meat of all their projects. MDF board, slipcovers, painted floors, painted cabinets. El Cheapo. A much better aproach is a show called Design on a Budget, or sumthin’ like that. With a budget almost the same as TS, this show actually buys new fictures, removes old junk and updates the rooms they work on. ---
**Author:** ![broccoli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707/47 "2003-03-06T14:38:18Z")
**Mirror Image** Paige’s job is to _be_ cute. That and make sure things are done on time and under budget. Think “foreman” and “host”, not “worker” or “designer”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trading-spaces-when-did-you-realize/158707.md?page=2)