Mining 'Spaces'
By Pamela Sherrod Hoping to capitalize on the fanaticism over 'Trading Spaces,' the show's host network gets ready to roll out namesake bedding, bath products, lamps, paint, crafts, stencils and more — so much moreWith "Trading Spaces" in its third season and fans following episodes with the rabid enthusiasm once reserved for the hottest dramatic series and soaps, the home-decorating reality TV show is rolling out a lot more than new episodes. They want to be in the house 24-7 — in every room, ceiling to floor, whether televisions are on or off. How? Well, like the show — which has one pair remaking a room in their friends' home, while those friends are off doing the same to a room in the first pair's home (with an interior designer's guidance, with a 48-hour deadline, with less than $1,000, and with no peeking) — "Trading Spaces" has a plan and a budget in mind to make it real. The show, which airs new episodes on cable's TLC at 7 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, soon will be introducing a namesake line of home furnishings and decorative accessories with prices meant for modest but stylish spenders. "The Reveal" — in "Trading Spaces" lingo, the moment when the design work is unveiled — comes in the fall. That's when the collection, which will include bedding, window treatments, lighting, picture frames, stencils, paint and more, will be in stores. So does that mean that Doug's upholstered headboards will be for sale to bring home? Or furnishings with Vern's rich sense of color and simplicity, accessories with Kia's flair for the dramatic? (By the way, for the two of you who haven't caught the "Trading Spaces" bug, that's Doug as in Doug Wilson, Vern as in Vern Yip and Kia is Kia Steave Dickerson — three of the show's eight designers.) The answer: not quite, according to Sharon Markowitz Bennett, senior vice president of strategic partnerships and licensing for Discovery Communications consumer products. Discovery Communications is the parent company for TLC. "We're not re-creating the designs on the shows," Bennett says. Instead, she says, the designs are being produced to inspire consumers to creatively let loose and not feel intimidated when redecorating their home. "The concept of the merchandise line is inspirational." But inspirational is hard to picture. So try this: chic, casual, contemporary and romantic. These are the four design themes you'll find in the collection when it hits stores in the fall. Designs still are works in progress, but if you haven't seen the show, tune in and you'll get an idea of the kinds of things you'll probably see in the fall. In the meantime, you can get your hands on creative inspiration and fun in the form of the just-released book "Trading Spaces: Behind the Scenes" (Meredith Books, 176 pages, $19.95) or the DVD "Best of Trading Spaces" (Artisan Family Entertainment Inc., $19.95), both of which hit Chicago area stores this weekend. The softcover book, which has a colorful cover featuring "Trading Spaces" designers and the show's host, favors a thick People magazine yearbook with entertaining profiles on the show's designer mixed in with how-to decorating tips. Since "Trading Spaces" first aired on Sept. 29, 2000, it has given new energy to TLC. Now the network's No. 1-rated show, it draws an average 14.9 million viewers each week — up 160 percent over a year ago, Bronagh Hanley, TLC's director of communications says. That's more viewers than "The Simpsons" on Fox (14.6 million), CBS' "60 Minutes" (14.4 million) and NBC's "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" (14.4 million). Growing tween audienceWhile about 75 percent of viewers are female (and viewers, on average, are 37 years of age), the show also has a growing audience of "tween" girls (ages 9 to 14). In fact, the tween following has gotten so big that Discovery Kids will launch "Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls" on NBC on May 17 (check local listings for air time). On that show, boys and girls will volunteer to work with a designer from a new team of professionals to create a room for their friend. The show's popularity has as much to do with the designers-turned-celebrities (and carpenters-turned-stars) as it does with the design ideas and suspense of "The Reveal." Lines forms around blocks when any of them — designers Frank Bielec, Laurie Hickson Smith, Doug Wilson, Hilda Santo Tomas, Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip, Edward Walker and Kia Steave Dickerson; carpenters Ty Pennington and Amy Wynn Pastor; and the show's hostess, Paige Davis — makes a personal appearance. (Carpenter Ty Pennington will make two appearances in Milwaukee on March 30; see sidebar). It's not the first home show to take its celebrity from the small screen to picture frames and comforters. The most well-known home design guru who perhaps paved this path is Martha Stewart, who now has her hand in everything from paints to dining tables. In October, Stewart introduced her first furniture line, Martha Stewart Signature, with Bernhardt Furniture at the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C. The line is expected to become available in stores later this spring. And then there is Christopher Lowell, who hosts "The Christopher Lowell Show" on the Discovery Channel. He has his own line of furniture with Flexsteel Furniture Co. And former fashion model-turned-home fashions designer B. Smith, whose name and style is on everything from shower rings to bedding. But, Bennett points out, "There is a difference between 'Trading Spaces' [home furnishings] and what is already in the market. We reach a different group." "We don't see ourselves going after the same audience as Martha Stewart. We attract different people. There is competition in our field. There always will be. We're not looking to be Martha Stewart." Still, "Trading Spaces" will be happy to enjoy some of the same success and name recognition in home furnishings as Martha Stewart Everyday, which includes bedding and bath. And Discovery hopes to achieve it by "providing the consumer with the tools — metaphorically speaking — to be creative and to empower themselves to redecorate their own home and make it into a dream home," Bennett says. "We want people to be able to put together the looks they want and to see things that will inspire them," says Carol LeBlanc, vice president of marketing and retail development for Discovery consumer products. One more time"Inspiration" pops up a lot when talking to anyone connected with the Trading Spaces collection. David Beyda, chairman of Town and Country Living, one of the licensees working with Trading Spaces, says inspiring consumers to try their hand in redoing or updating a room is what he's excited about. Beyda's company produces table linens, kitchen textiles, decorative pillows and throws. "We are excited to work with 'Trading Spaces' on these products," Beyda says. "The designs and the products are going to be fresh and comfortable in colors and fabrication."The products will sell for $3 to $19.99 in department and discount stores. There will be: lighting designs by Alsy Lighting, a division of Emess Design Group in Ellwood City, Pa.; slipcovers by Ellery Homestyles in Minneola, N.Y.; picture frames, mirrors, memo boards, decorative ledges and clocks by Fetco Home Decor in Randolph, Mass.; bedding, bath, fabric, window treatments and rugs by Spring Industries Inc. in Ft. Mill, S.C.; and stencils, adhesive ribbons, wall borders and murals by Wallies, a division of McCall Pattern Co. in Belmont, Vt. Hasbro Inc. is working with Trading Spaces on a game. Look for it to come out closer to the holidays, as well as a paint line and more inspiring videos. With all this inspiration floating around, the new Trading Spaces line means that fans and newcomers to the show can get into their own designing grooves. And in the words of the show's resident bad boy, Wilson, who once shouted back to an auditioning carpenter "Who's the designer here," fans can tell him: We are. |
