Good Morning.
The design show Trading Spaces is back after a ten-year hiatus. It was incredibly popular at one time and the producers have resurrected the same format. Two sets of neighbors trade houses for two days and work with a designer on a room their friends want redone. A carpenter is provided to build stuff like a headboard or a wall unit, and the budget is tight. Ten years ago it was $1000, but the new series will hand over a tidy two grand.
I watched the show fairly regularly during its earlier run, but it drove me nuts and there's no reason to think that anything will be different in that regard. The same designers are back with a few new additions, and therein lies the problem. They didn't listen to their clients then and won't be inclined to do so now. They decide what they're going to do with the room and pay no attention to the people who have to occupy the space. Ten years ago I actually knew a couple who were on the show, and the results were disastrous. The husband was a minister and the couple did not consume alcohol. They also had a flock of kids so the assumption was that they needed a family-friendly, spirits-free environment. Didn't happen. The designer blew in and laid out her plans to paint the kitchen cabinets black. She also had a wine theme going on with a border that featured bottles trooping across the top of the room. The neighbors who were supposed to work with this woman made it clear that the couple would not want black cupboards or anything that contradicted their views about drinking, but she refused to listen and when the big reveal happened, the minister and his wife gasped in horror.
This same designer has been known to paste fake flowers all over a bathroom for an odd 3D effect that would obviously present cleaning challenges, and one time she plastered a living room wall with old LP records. She's not the only one insisting on indulging her creative self even if it sends the homeowners into a state of profound distress. A couple who had just purchased a handsome sectional for their living room found the couch dismantled into smaller seating and moved into a den, despite the fact that the neighbors had told the designer their friends wanted the sectional to stay put. The color orange was also off limits but the room was painted orange anyway. When the homeowners saw the space at the end of the show, the wife had a meltdown on national television and ran out of the room with tears streaming down her face.
To be honest, some show participants like the results of their rooms and almost everyone on earth struggles to decorate a home, but they know what they like and what drives them to distraction. People who hate purple don't want a purple bedroom. People who like mid-century modern do not want Country French with a collection of ceramic roosters staring at them. Those who prefer a soothing, comfortable dining room are not interested in being surrounded by walls with geometric shapes. They have pieces that mean something to them, like a rich mahogany armoire that is suddenly painted a bright canary yellow by a designer who wants them to get out of their comfort zone. No thanks.
I believe I'll have a cup of tea now in a room with earth colors, mismatched everything, lots of books, and a faded oriental rug with the edges gnawed off by several cherished dogs. My style is called Old Lady Cottage, and nobody's gonna mess with it.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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