'Trading Spaces' mixes paint and friends

Watching amateurs peel off wallpaper, paint old chairs and create art out of tissue paper doesn't sound like must-see TV, but it's a plot line that's keeping as many as 6 million people glued to their screens weekly -- and in some cases, daily.

They're fans of "Trading Spaces," a slice-of-life show on The Learning Channel that gives two sets of neighbors two days to redecorate two rooms. TLC supplies a professional designer and a $1,000 budget for each team, as well as the services of a carpenter.


	Part of the popularity of "Trading Spaces" is the cast, including carpenter Amy Wynn Pastor, left, and host Paige Davis. The show is appealing to a wide range of fans. / The Learning Channel Click for larger photo

This is no run-of-the-mill "how-to" show.

The neighbors trade houses and carry out the projects -- projects that usually involve hours of painting, sewing, and refashioning a room that, they hope, their friends and neighbors will enjoy when complete. Only at the end of the second day can the couples return to their own homes and see what their friends and the Trading Spaces crew have wrought.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Either way, it's entertaining.

John and Julie Tarr of Everett were paired with their across-the-street neighbors, Lennie and Nancy Puetz. The makeover team arrived in December to do the Tarrs' family room and the Puetz's living room for a show that ran in February.

John says their family room was "pretty average" with blue walls, stereo, TV and slipcovered sofas. "It was really quite attractive but we were tired of it."

The room is now draped in fabric, ceiling to floor, in a magenta/taupe color palette. "We call it the theater," John says. The design team, headed by Hilda Santo-Tomas, ran into trouble when they tried to spray paint the sofas outside on a windy and rainy day. The spray room they improvised under an upper deck blew away. The spray gun malfunctioned. The sofas were soaked.

Luckily for the Tarrs, the $1,000 budget went out the window and the show bought them two new sofas at Ikea. "They'd never gone that far over budget before," Julie says.

Their neighbors were less fortunate. Nancy Puetz had floral sofas, white walls and envisioned a less formal, multi-use room. She got Asian decor complete with orange wall, an obi (Japanese kimono sash) used as a valance, and black slipcovers. Julie says she kept telling the decorator Nancy wouldn't like it. And she doesn't. "It would be gone by now, but we haven't had time," Nancy says.


	The mix of designers for "Trading Spaces" includes countrified Frank Bielec, shown working on a kitchen wall close to the ceiling. / The Learning Channel Click for larger photo

But the friendship is still intact. John says they all went into it knowing they wouldn't have any influence in the design. And both Nancy and Julie say they'd do it again.

One couple in Denver, Colo., wanted their neutral kitchen jazzed up. They got wine-red walls, pale avocado cabinets and panels in their cabinet doors replaced with plexiglass.

Their partners on the program got a blah beige living/dining room united by paint, elegant fabrics and reconfigured furniture. As the show ended, the two couples were all smiles, toasting each other with glasses of red wine.

A segment featuring two families from Puyallup had mixed results. One couple appeared shocked and unhappy when they returned to find a slick, contemporary living room, courtesy of designer Doug Wilson. The woman ducked out of camera range to have a good cry. Her sobs could be heard in the background as the show went on.

Both the sobbing owner and the neighbors who worked on her home had told the decorator not to paint the fireplace. He didn't. Instead, he covered it with a facade. The owner liked neither facade nor the brown denim covers on her once-floral furniture. Her neighbors, however, got a bright family room.


	The cluttered, unfocused living room of a Raleigh, N.C., home ... / The Learning Channel Click for larger photo

"Trading Spaces" may not always give participants dream rooms, but it doesn't prevent about 100 homeowners per day from applying to appear on the show.

"Spaces," the American version of a British show called "Changing Rooms," made its debut in 2000. Since then 95 episodes have been shot -- episodes that are replayed throughout the week with new episodes premiering on Saturday nights.

While the viewer numbers are surprising, it's audience mix that has network officials and advertisers smiling. Women 25-54 are big fans, but so are men and teens.


	... was transformed into the striking, functional room below. Designer Laurie Hickson-Smith added drama with built-in bookcases extending to the ceiling and repeating the fireplace molding on the bookcases. / The Learning Channel Click for larger photo

Part of the appeal is carpenter Ty Pennington, a former model who's generally described as "a hunk." John Tarr says Ty groupies loitered outside their Everett homes when their show was being filmed. The show's other carpenter, Amy Wynn Pastor, has plenty of fans of her own as well.

Add a host fresh from Broadway (Paige Davis) and a mix of designers with a wide range of styles (from countrified Frank Bielec to urbane Vern Yip), personality quirks and work habits, and "Trading Spaces" is one colorful show.

Kathy Moser, a Seattle mom in that coveted 25-54 bracket, says she and her teenage daughter often watch it together. "We just get a kick out of watching the designers. Some are wilder than others. "It's fun to see what they can do on a $1,000 budget," Moser says. And though she's seen ideas she likes, she has yet to try any of them.

Even the staff of Jennifer Randall and Associates, a Seattle design firm, tunes into "Trading Spaces" if they have time.

Mij Convery, a four-year professional there with a B.A. in interior design, calls the show " 99 percent ludicrous." The person whose house is being worked on never gets to speak to the designer. It depends on how well their neighbor interprets for them. There are only a couple of designers who do a good job, she says. The TV show also can set up unrealistic expectations because in the interior design field, $1,000 renovations are rare.

On the TV show, the carpenter is free. So are the work hours provided by participants. The six designers also use their wholesale resources in Texas, Georgia and New York to get deals on fabric and other items they want to use on a project.

Tara Playfair-Scott, spokeswoman for the show, says paint is almost always from Lowe's (a show sponsor) and both Pottery Barn and Ikea are favorites with the team for accessories and other pieces.

And they don't rule out other sources. Playfair-Scott says designer Genevieve Gorder was en route to one "Trading Spaces" assignment when she spotted something at a flea market that she could use. They stopped the car and she went in and shopped.

This kind of ingenuity, the ability to make do on deadline and the personalities involved all contribute to the show's appeal.

Seattle designer Jennifer Vick says she watches because it helps satisfy a habit she's had since childhood, a habit of changing things around and trying new ideas. She's even found an idea she'd like to do some day -- covering a wall with padded squares.

She understands the show's wide appeal. "Design and interior designers are out of reach of many because of cost. The show lets the average person know what they can do."

For Julie Tarr, "Trading Spaces" was an empowering experience. "We're incredibly brave now. We're thinking about doing built-ins."

FAVORITE 'SPACES'

"Tracing Spaces," The Learning Channel's popular show about neighbors decorating for neighbors, is having a viewer's choice marathon tonight starting at 8.

Bedrooms for two teen girls in Boston earned the most viewer votes. It shows why "Spaces" is so popular with mothers and daughters.

Second went to a "Seattle" show that really took place in Puyallup. A living-room remodel left the owner sobbing over her altered fireplace area and dark walls, while her neighbor got a family room makeover that was bright and cozy.

Third place went to an Oregon kitchen that went South, waaaay South, with a painted serape on the ceiling and chili pepper lights.

The show usually airs weekdays at 4 p.m., with new episodes debuting Saturday nights at 8. To learn more online, go to www.tlc.com and click on Trading Spaces.

P-I reporter Susan Phinney can be reached at 206-448-8397 or susanphinney@seattlepi.com.

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