The ultimate trust in your neighbors.
What do those three things create?
One of our favorite shows from the early 2000s.Trading Spacesfirst aired in October 2000.
What’s the catch?
They can’t see the changes until they are done.
Oh, and they aren’t just sitting and waiting for it to be complete.
The homeowners assist with their neighbor’s renovations while those neighbors are helping with theirs.
The show continued for eight years untilTLCmade the decision to cancel, with thefinal episode airing in December 2008.
Let’s take a look behind the curtain of one of our favorite original reality shows.
The plot is actually based on a British show calledChanging Rooms, which aired onBBCfrom 1996 to 2004.
The article also mentioned fan-favorite carpenter Handy Andy, whose reactions helped keep viewers entertained.
Could Andy be better thanTrading Spaces' lovable Ty Pennington?
The jury is still out on this one.
Will they love the changes?
Will there be tears (happy or sad)?
Leaderman said that the show’s tractor trailer required enough space to pull up near the house.
The trailer included all of the carpentry tools that helped create new looks for the rooms.
Another deal breaker for the show?
“They hung sheets on the windows and other shielding mechanisms around our homes.
She compared the two-day experience to being under “house arrest.”
Couples didn’t even know who the designer working on their home was until the first morning of filming.
“The homeowners have no control,” Rhea Wisherop said.
“They want us to say what we like or not, but it’s all their concept.
I guess they want the shock factor.
I did not say,I think my neighbor would like hay and straw on the wall.
“The designers are working with cheaper products, cheaper fabrics to stay within budgets…
I hear the word cheap a lot; I’ve heard cheesy.
A lot of people are fussing about paint jobs that are not finished and about inferior carpentry.”
With just 48 hours to complete, it was hard to create perfection.
Andaccording toGood Housekeeping, normally designers and the couple didn’t even have a full two days.
As Leaderman said, “Actually, it’s more like a day and a half.
And it wasn’t just adding, but removing, that proved to be a challenge.
Kilstrom was the homeowner with the well-known hay-straw wall.
Kilstrom’s neighbor Rhea Wisherop toldSFGatethat the problems started right after the show left.
“The baby the next day was gagging on the hay.
What if that fell on the kids?”
Kistrom said it took 17 hours and five people to remove the glue from the wall.
But after that change, ratings went down quickly.
The new format wasn’t working with the audience.
So, in 2008, Davis was back.
However, she only agreed with a few conditions.
“I know what the fans love.
And what they don’t like.
They wanted the old show back.
They wanted the theme music and the fast-motion overhead camera and the goofy antics.
And they wanted the family back.”
And that is exactly what Davis included within her conditions.
First, she wanted the original designers to return.
Two couples, two days, $1,000.
The connection agreed and Davis was back as the bubbly host.
In 2004,Davis joined the cast ofChicagoon Broadway, showing off her singing and dancing skills.
She alsoperformed stints in a variety of other shows, includingSweet CharityandBeauty and the Beast, among other productions.
Even in 2016, the designers still kept in touch.
I bump into Paige now and then in New York, too.”
And then came Gorder’s most important statement: “I wishTLCwould throw a reunion.”
Yes, c’mon!
And there’s more to come
The best news of all?Trading Spacesis coming back!
