Building a following

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2003 (8126 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’M not a handy person. But I play one on TV. OK, maybe not. But wouldn’t it be fun to be the host of a home decorating show? Changing Rooms, The Decorating Challenge, Trading Spaces, While You Were Out and Debbie Travis’ Facelift are but a few popular options.

However, none of these shows would exist without the pioneering work of home renovating guru Bob Vila. This Old House was the first TV show that enabled the handy and not so handy to vicariously experience the joy of transformation. Vila knocked down many walls in the television landscape.

And when TV producers realized that home renovation could be mixed with sex appeal (plaid shirts and beards aside), the networks created a plethora of how-to shows quicker than you can say ‘advertising revenue’.

Like any good show, these practical programs need compelling characters, drama and conflict to be entertaining. Plots cannot be based on glue guns or faux finishes. Success of a show depends on people and their experiences.

The UK’s Changing Rooms was one of the first shows to combine attractive people with unattractive tools. Running since 1996 with former fashion model Carol Smillie as host, the show appears on HGTV Canada and focuses on humour, cleavage and real people instead of tool belts and measuring tapes.

The premise of Changing Rooms is that two sets of neighbours trade homes for two days. They are paired up with an interior designer, a carpenter and a small budget to re-decorate a room in their friend’s home. Homeowners don’t get to peek at their house until the two days are complete. Participants can only hope that the designer and their friends — who are, incredulously, their neighbours — create a room they like. It’s a concept that worked so well for the Brits that North America followed suit.

Canada’s The Decorating Challenge airs on the W Network. Hosted by the approachable Renee Montpellier, the show uses too many designers (the show’s Web site lists over 60 interior designers and decorators). Fortunately, this is about to change.

Interior designer Lynelle Madison says the show is beginning to concentrate on fewer designers. “I am happy to be one of them,” she says. “Viewers want to get to know the designers and their styles.”

Madison enjoys the challenge of transforming a blah room into something spectacular on a $1,500 budget. Designers must consider the space, the show, the camera and their reputations. “People love to see the awesome transformations that can be done with a small budget and lots of creativity,” says Madison.

The Learning Channel’s Trading Spaces is the bigger — and, some might say, better — version of the same concept. Perky host Paige Davis keeps the mood fun, while also reminding designers about time and budget. And she accomplishes all of this in low-rise jeans and a tight T-shirt.

Trading Spaces differs from its Canadian equivalent on many fronts. The first is sex appeal. For example, Ty Pennington looks more like a beach volleyball player than a carpenter. Whether or not this tanned dude can actually operate a skill saw, most female viewers don’t care.

Amy Wynn Pastor is his cute female counterpart. She encourages hapless homeowners who have never seen a power tool to embrace their inner carpenter.

The show also features eight designers, most of whom are quite attractive — with the exception of Edward and his freakishly worrisome high-waisted pants and slicked-back hair. But I digress. Because of the small number of regular characters, viewers are entertained by people they ‘know’.

One of my favourite designers is Doug Wilson — not necessarily because of his design talents, but because of his arrogance. Bossing around his team and throwing fits if an uneducated mind questions his design aesthetic, he’s got power and is not afraid to use it.

I also enjoy Genevieve. Often seen barefoot, her designs emote ‘eclectic world traveller’ and she is not afraid to get her hands (or feet) dirty. Genevieve has also been known to attach moss to living room walls.

But when it comes to uber-style, Vern Yip is everyone’s favourite designer. Ask anybody. He has a wonderful sense of balance and colour and has a knack for making rooms look simple yet luxurious.

I realize that Trading Spaces has a bigger budget than The Decorating Challenge, but I think the Canadian production team could learn a thing or two about tighter camera angles and focusing on the people involved rather than the mundane task at hand. Watching paint dry is not intriguing. Period.

Another interesting TLC production is While You Were Out. It differs from Trading Spaces because of the conspiracy angle. An unsuspecting partner has no idea a room is going to be redesigned because they are ‘out’ due to a pre-arranged trip.

While You Were Out also tests the knowledge of participants with revealing questions about their partners. Correct answers result in great gifts like stereo equipment or furniture while incorrect answers can result in a plastic toy or a TV dinner. Whatever the prize, the designer must incorporate it into their interior or exterior design.

Teresa Strasser hosts. In keeping with the TLC decorating program host formula, she is very pretty. Fortunately, Strasser is also clever and likeable, so us average-looking viewers don’t totally hate her.

The show also features beefcake in the form of Andrew Dan-Jumbo. A former runway model and surfer, he also happens to be a carpenter. Really.

Strasser says the show relies on drama to attract viewers. (Others might say buffness or bone structure, but we’ll go with her explanation.) “Ultimately, there’s something about a transformation of any kind — not to mention human beings under pressure — that’s always compelling,” she says.

Strasser notes the popularity of decorating shows can be linked to the appeal of reality TV. “We get to see how real people act under pressure. It’s moving to see a person cry or be thrilled by a new room, and fascinating to watch when the whole thing becomes a design train wreck.”

The While You Were Out team provides a lot of on-screen antics. “You can’t fake chemistry,” says Strasser. “Like any group of co-workers who work long hours under pressure, we can get short with each other, but there is a deep underlying respect that comes through.”

I’m sure Debbie Travis would agree with Strasser. Her long-running Painted House series earned her the respect of viewers and peers alike. Her newest project is Debbie Travis’ Facelift. It’s new. It’s exciting. And best of all, it’s Canadian.

Appearing on HGTV Canada, this well-paced show offers plenty of drama, great lighting and design, and a familiar, friendly and attractive host. “I used my experience from the seven years I produced Painted House as the catalyst behind Facelift,” says Travis.

The show’s concept differs from other decorating shows because it is not limited by budget or time. While one family member is away — and totally clueless about the renovation surprise — Travis and her team renovate and redecorate a room in whatever time is available. Each space they redesign combines the latest in flooring, furnishings, cabinetry and appliances.

“Facelift is all real,” Travis explains. “We literally turn the cameras on ourselves to show what goes on behind the scenes of decorating shows.”

“Facelift is not tied into a particular budget and we pay for the renovation and decoration,” she adds. “We move into the home and friends, neighbours and family must help to get the job done.”

Travis is thrilled with the show’s success. “The viewer response has been amazing. The participants initially seem more shocked about the invasion than the makeover, but when the reality of the situation sets in, they react as if they won the lottery.”

Facelift Production Manager Jessica Weller has some good news for Winnipeggers. She says the show will be filming in Western Canada in the fall. So if you want to arrange a secret renovation for someone special, log on to the Facelift Web site (www.debbietravisfacelift.com) to enter.

You never know where the Facelift team will appear next. But as Travis advises at the beginning of every show, “be careful what you wish for!”

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