What the hell is up with Hildi?

By Sammantha Hays
Red Streak (Feb. 18, 2003)

I hate bugs. And worms. And rats. And about all the other squirmies we have seen contestants on "Fear Factor" eat.

But the question is: Do I hate them more than I would hate the estimated 36,000 staple holes that were mashed into the bathroom walls of homeowners while stapling 6,000 faux flowers over every inch of available wall space.

Probably not.

TLC's "Trading Spaces" is truly a different kind of reality TV show. If the idea of faux flowers (or hay for that matter) covering every inch of your walls doesn't convince you, how about the idea of two days and $1,000 to entirely redo a room in someone else's house.

We are talking tearing up floors, changing furniture, building all kinds of funky stuff, like a circular armoire for a TV, painting walls, ceilings, cabinets, blinds and even upholstered furniture on occasion. You, the homeowner, don't even know what to expect. It's all up to the designer.

The designers (8 of 'em plus 2 carpenters and host Paige Davis) have covered walls in record albums, wine labels and moss. They have put stripper poles in bedrooms and cut a car in half to make a bed out of the trunk for a little boy's room. They push the limits of design, carpentry and structural integrity. Not to mention the tolerance and imagination of daring homeowners.

Move over "Survivor," "Big Brother" and "Fear Factor." "Joe Millionaire," please step aside. There's a different kind of reality show in town, and we are hooked.

The show's recent Las Vegas Live Reveal episode got the highest ratings of any TLC show ever, not surprising, given its cult following among peeping-Tom TV viewers who get some gruesome thrill out of seeing people's homes redecorated or trashed, depending on your point of view.

"Trading Spaces" has taken off and given us something else to talk about around the water cooler.

But why do we love it so much?

We love to see what our peers are capable of and wonder if we could do it, too. That's what reality TV gives us; the joy, the pain, the excitement but none of the after shocks: We'll leave that to the mom who had her living room covered in hay and glue last season by that blasted Hildi.

Executive producer Stephen Schwartz sums it up ideally.

"It's a non-elitist approach to design."

It's like baseball, he says, it brings design to terms with the average person. "You can see Doug at the plate throwing paint on walls," Schwartz said, everyone can follow it. "It's the Mac of design."

Designer Doug Wilson, one of the original five still on the show, says "Trading Spaces" should not be seen by viewers as instructional. "It's not an A-to-Z, how-to kind of show. It's conceptual and about putting out ideas and showing homeowners how to think for themselves."

You don't have to follow in your mother's footsteps when decorating your home because everyone has their own tastes although they don't know it yet.

Indiana homeowners Ronda and Mike McHugh found a taste they didn't know they had when their bedroom was given padded walls and a coat of orange paint.

"It was an amazing and overwhelming transformation," Ronda says, "You walk in and it's not your room, but it is."

Doug, who Ronda says is really a sweetheart despite his bad-boy rebellious act we see on TV, was responsible for the transformation in her room while Ronda and Mike worked with designer Vern Yip on their friends Becky and Bob Bridge's room.

Everyone chips in, Ronda says, even the camera crews work when they can, painting or sanding to help get stuff done on the tight schedule. Ronda said the entire experience was wonderful and they would do it again in a heartbeat. It went from "Why not let someone else spend $1,000 on our bedroom" to "How can we get you to come back?"

Think you can take the dose of reality design?

Good luck. Schwartz says the show gets about 400 applications a day. Ronda went as far as posting her pleas on theater and business marquees around town.

What the hell is up with Hildi?

Hildi Santo-Tomas has emerged as one of the more controversial designers on "Trading Spaces" because of her devil-may-care attitude toward redecorating people's houses.

Funky color schemes (think: orange and blue, together)? Hildi's got it.

Don't drink alcohol? That won't stop Hildi from plastering wine labels all over your kitchen.

Think she's cute? Hildi must think so, because she painted a gigantic version of her head on a homeowner's wall.

Think hay is for horses? Not for Hildi; she glued, like, a bushel of it on the walls of a house where small children lived.

Is she sadistic or what?

"I don't know if it's confidence; if I don't like it, I know I can fix it, redo it or get rid of it," says a harried Hildi on a recent Friday after shooting a segment.

Hildi wants us to know she's doing us, the viewer, a favor by implementing outrageous ideas we can steal and revamp according to our own tastes.

Does that means she paints her own couch? Nope.

Are the walls of her Paris flat slathered in loud colors? Nope.

"My house is a butter color; I don't do a lot of color," says Hildi, who describes her home as having an Old World ornamental style with furnishings that provide classic modern lines.

"I like to accessorize with color, such as dark wood, collectibles or flowers. I accessorize with color because when you get tired of it, you can change."

So apparently we can choose from two Hildis: She who brandishes sharp objects, loud colors and much to much glue or Little Miss butter-colored classy flat.

Hmm? Which one will you choose? Well, if we're to use Hildi's reasoning, we'll choose as follows:

That big giant head she painted on the ladies soccer player walls: Go paint your own big head on a wall.

Those wine labels in the kitchen of the couple who didn't drink: That's simply is a cue for us to think of ways to incorporate funky stickers or wallpaper alternatives in our own designs.

Hay? That's just classic thinking outside the barn, er, box.

"I have confidence. I have vision," Hildi proclaims.

We're glad you're convinced, Hildi, because we're still tuning in to cringe because we just can't quite believe it.

Designer Doug Wilson's tips for homeowners working toward a smarter, more stylish space.

• Give windows height. Lift window treatments above the frame and toward the ceiling. Doing so will add the illusion of space.
• Pretty with paint. In large rooms or spaces that seem cold, paint the ceiling a dark color. This will make the space more cozy and give it a more intimate ambiance. On walls that have flaws, use a flat paint. It will hide flaws better than an eggshell or gloss-finish paint, which will illuminate flaws.
• Less is more. Wilson really stressed this and it's a philosophy that shows through in his designs on the show.
• Get rid of clutter. "Throw out that dog with the bobbing head you got years ago," he says. People keep junk, stuff they don't even like anymore but just can't part with. Part with it.
• Start clean. The way to get started when trying to give a room a new look is to empty it out first. Leave it that way for two weeks, if you can. This way you can start with a truly blank slate and hopefully things won't wind up right back where they started.
• Renting? Don't despair if your landlord won't let you paint your ceiling dark green and frowns at the idea of your belongings in the hallway for two weeks while you dream up a new idea for your living room. You still have options.
• The key is to maximize space and use multipurpose items. Don't use a four-post end table if you can use one with a drawer or a cabinet. Don't forget about walls. And bookshelves are an excellent way to use otherwise wasted space.

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