Review: Trading Spaces
Media by David Schmitz
The mother of all design shows is back.
Trading Spaces, a show that inspired most of the design shows seen today, made its reappearance Saturday, April 7, on TLC after a nine year hiatus. The premiere was preceded by a reunion with the original cast of designers and carpenters. The fun, bubbly cast reminisced about their time together, making some viewers, and some of their own, rush for the tissue box.
When it was time for the episode to start, Paige Davis, host, once again rattled off her famous introduction, explaining the rules and time frame of the swap. The projects are just as the name suggests: two neighbors switch houses for 48 hours to completely redesign one room in each other’s homes. The catch is the homeowners cannot sneak a peek on the progress going on in their own home, rather they have to wait until the big reveal.
Not much has changed since the first episode aired, except for the teams’ budget and a surprise twist for the designers. In 2000, when the show first aired, the budget for each team was only $1,000. Now, since times have changed and inflation has gone up, the budget has been doubled to $2,000. Along with that monumental change, teams can now have more say in the overall design by choosing one item from a Wayfair sponsored tent, which designers must include into their design–a nifty fix to complaints from previous contestants about the over controlling designers.
Though most everything seems to have been frozen in time, the reboot was not a let down. Hildi Santo-Tomas and Doug Wilson, original designers who are known for their outlandish designs, did not fail to amuse viewers with their over-the-top rooms. Helping them out on the carpentry side of things were Ty Pennington and Carter Oosterhouse, both original cast members as well. Both men were able to create beautiful pieces of furniture for each bizarre room–something that is never really a challenge for them–elevating it to the next level.
The very successful reboot, which has been talked about non-stop on several different platforms, will carry on the legendary Trading Spaces title, once again making it a household name. This season will have so much more in store for viewers and will be sure not to disappoint.
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Tim Kruesel • Jun 1, 2019 at 9:11 PM
Why on every trading spaces episode, when it comes to the Wayfair Tent and they get to choose ANYTHING…..they always select the cheapest items? I could select a beautiful sofa ( that goes with the design) or a candle stick. They always choose the candlestick. Just wondering.
Angie • Jun 2, 2018 at 5:06 PM
OMG is this a joke .Of all the shows they could bring back !!!!! OMG .After the rooms are done the poor homeowners need to hire real decorators !!!! Does the cast get paid for their bad designs .It’s not the money or time it’s the bad ,cheap ideas .What a shame and what an insult to great decorators out there .How can all of the cast be that bad .Again is this show a joke or for real???!!!