Trading Spaces Goes Live in Las Vegas
By Renee Taylor When the Trading Spaces crew hit town the excitement started to rise. The vans pulled up on a quiet Henderson street, the satellite dishes went up, cords were strewn between two homes which set immediately across the road from each other. Soon the "building" tent was set up, the camera crews were testing for lighting, and the "stars" showed up to oohs and aahs. Little did the two Henderson homeowners know that the eminent "bad boy" designers were in town to makeover a room in their homes. It was Doug Wilson and Hildi Santos-Tomas have a reputation on the TLC show, because they always "push the envelope" with their designs and homeowners have had some wild reactions to their work. Joining the designers were host Paige Davis, and Amy Wynn Pastor with all of her tools set to go. If you don't watch Trading Spaces, the premise is a simple one — two sets of neighbors swap keys to transform a room in each other's home. They have two days, a set budget of $1,000, and they're not allowed back into their own homes until the moment of truth. They also have special designers who do most of the planning, and an on-site carpenter to build any projects the designers create. What was special about the site in Henderson, was that this would be the first-ever "live reveal" for the ever-popular show. And being in Las Vegas, the cast and crew went all out. After working two full days on the homes — Hildi was adding color, lots and lots of color, to a family room; Doug was creating a warm and toasty master bedroom — the cameras went live with the homeowners who saw their newly decorated spaces for the very first time. And the "live reveal" was nothing short of wild. The homeowners went crazy....they loved it. Hildi's room featured deep red walls, a purple faux ceiling, orange tiles, and bright, vivid colors on all the furniture, drapes and columns (yes columns). The room was based on a Grecian style painting the designer had picked up in London. Meanwhile Doug's cozy master bedroom walls were layered with deep browns, the ceiling was peach, with a blue bedspread, curtains and accessories. The odd color combination went over well, especially with a beautiful round armoire built by Amy Wynn. During the two days of action people lined the streets watching to catch a glimpse of their "favorite" on the show, or to see how it was all done. The coordination between the film crews (one for each designer) played out like a ballet, and everyone had to be cautious that there was no hint of what was going on in the house across the street, when they entered a home. It was also choreographed so that when one set of homeowners was being filmed indoors, the other set were out working in the "building" tent or working on projects outdoors. The live show was a big success but left viewers with another question... Did Doug and Hildi really get married at the wedding chapel? Guess we'll never know for sure. The live show was a big event in television land, and with fans of Trading Spaces. It was telecast Jan. 18, but if you missed it, watch the listings. It will run again. |
