Trading Spaces My wife and

Trading Spaces

My wife and I enjoy the TV show Trading Spaces.

As described in a Washington Post article ("Trading In Trading Spaces When the Facelift Flops, The Homeowners Take Action ") last spring,

"...The "Trading Spaces" format, modeled on a popular BBC show called "Changing Rooms," features two pairs of neighbors -- each duo led by one of the show's eight regular designers -- who are given 48 hours and $1,000 to make over a room in the others' home. At the end, each pair, eyes closed, is led into the new space for the climactic "reveal." Happy homeowners shriek and leap about. The disgruntled do nothing of the sort..."

One possible outcome:

"...But nothing tops Jessie Stephens's explosive reaction to designer Hickson Smith's handiwork in Las Vegas in March. Before the first change was made, Stephens told relentlessly perky host Paige Davis, "If I had to walk into our living room and see brown, I would probably be sad."

Sad? Try homicidal. During the reveal of newly cocoa walls, she grimaces to avoid weeping, then briefly leaves the room. She returns and is greeted by her smiling neighbor, which "made me mad. I didn't want to hit her. She went to hug me and I said 'It is not funny, it is not funny.' "

In a blink, Stephens is shown wrestling the woman to the ground. "I just kind of went a little crazy for a second," she concedes.

And what of the offending walls? "Much as we still hate it -- my husband more so -- we are leaving it up because we both have big families who live far away. They told us, 'Before you change it, we want to come see it.' "

The different interior decorators, their personalities and decorating styles are central to the show. Here's a recent blog review, focusing on the regular decorators: "Trading Spaces and the Apotheosis of the Expert"

"...but the meat of the show is the conflict between Good, represented by Vern and Laurie, and Evil, represented by Hildi and Doug..."