m s n c h a t

The MSN Live chat with Doug and Genevieve Gorder took place on August 28 at 8 pm EST. The chat was promoting a special back-to-school episode of Trading Spaces where a college fraternity and sorority get a makeover (Berkeley: Prospect St).

The transcript has been edited to remove superfluous comments by the chat moderator(s) and the fans asking the questions. Doug and Gen's comments have been left intact, typos and all!

DishDiva says: Gen, Doug, welcome to MSN! It's great to have you here!

Gen: Whatup?! Peeps!!

What was your reaction to when you heard that the people in Puyallup, Washington cried about what you did to their fireplace?

Doug: I would have to answer that because I am the culprate of the crime. If you go on "Trading Spaces" you have to be open to change. I gave the couple a hint of a design that would work great with the bones of their home. They weren't ready for it, and they embarrassed themselves and that's too bad.

Gen: We spend months with our clients and in this game, we spend no time with them at all, so it's a gamble. Whoever is telling us they have a problem, you can't throw a stone if you're living in a glass house.

Doug: They don't know they're living in a glass house.

Gen: That's true. You are working with a lot of controversy and it's baby steps and you have to sneak some stuff in.

I spend 8 months out of the year in my dorm room though with virtually no room to get crazy with decorating. What can my roommate and I do to liven our room up?

Gen: We're dorm professionals aren't we Doug?

Doug: Yeah, I spent about 20 years in a dorm room. It took me a while to graduate. (laughs)

Gen: I think first off, both Doug and I living in Manhattan we have an edge because we live in tiny spaces. I've been here since 1986 and I have found many ways to store things. I was 12 in 1986. Everything has to be multifunctional in small spaces. The first thing you see is a bed, instead of just throwing a duvet on it, make it a sitting space.

Doug: I saw at Bed Bath and Beyond they have these cups that raise the bed so you can have storage underneath the bed. You can use tension rods, use big frames, use bold colors.

Gen: Lighting is a huge depressent. Bring in lamps that you can control the wattage. Flourescent buzzing isn't good.

Doug: Use plants to bring life.

Gen: Usually the rugs and bad and nasty, it's good to bring in throw rugs.

Doug: Inexpensive is good.

Gen: We are good, we should have a show!! (laughs) A good trick when you make holes, use toothpaste to fill the holes.

Doug: I know a bucket of spackle will be $2 and I know you won't have that. (Iaughs)

Gen: I painted my dorm room.

Doug: Did you get in trouble for that?

Gen: No. I painted it white again before I left. But it was so cool, it was party central.

Doug: I have no doubt you were party central. We were building rooms inside of rooms at the fraternity. The Berkeley episode house smelled like pee.

Gen: There mattresses covering the windows.

Doug: We had so much fun on that show.

Gen: And Doug wore leather pants!

Doug: That was my debut. And then I didn't have shoes to match. (laughs)

Gen, first if I didn't like you I'd have to hate you, lol. My hubby thinks you are a hottie. Do you work as a designer on your own as well as on the show?

Gen: If you want to hire me as a hottie, prices go up. (laughs)

DishDiva says: No, her husband wants to hire you as the hottie! I believe she wants to hire you as a designer.

Gen: I'm very flattered, tell your husband "Big kiss." You know what, it is so flattering to be asked to come into so many homes after being broadcast. I wish I had time to do it. Like we said, when we work with people we like to establish a relationship and that doesn't happen in 2 days. We don't have that time now. We do do consulting and part time hottie hiring. (laughs) Doug is experienced at that. (laughs)

HAS LAURIE HAD HER BABY YET?

Gen: Gibson Witherspoon Smith. There's pictures at BaptistBabies.com.

Do you feel offended when people don't like their rooms?

Doug: NO. Absolutely not. I know I've given them a good product. I didn't entend to give them something bad.

Gen: I did feel bad once when I did a room for two children in Plano Texas and the parents came home and were thinking like adults and weren't thinking like children and they responded to the room in an unappreciative manner. The kids liked it and they didn't change a thing.

Has anyone ever yelled at you for not liking what you've done?

Gen: No. We can high tail it if we need to. Two days we're over and we're done. People are emotional because they are so tired.

Have you ever finished a room and thought, "Wow, I really screwed up, this is ugly"?

Doug: No, not quite. I've had rooms that didn't come out to my liking. Case in point, the Pullman Car wasn't what I wanted it to be. It wasn't like I thought, "What was I thinking?" It was 90% there, it just needed 10% more to make it a great room. That's the closest to failure I've gotten.

Gen: Never. No, I haven't ever thought that.

Doug: Well aren't you perfect, let me tell you when you've screwed up. (laughs) Just kidding.

Gen: It's all in the eyes of the beholder, of course because we've done it it's beautiful to us. There's always times where I want to add more, but there's only 2 days and $1,000.

Doug: This isn't like real design because it's just about changing the room, they can finish it up the rest of the way.

Gen: It's about inspiring change for all the other rooms.

Why do the designers ALWAYS remove the ceiling fans? So do you guys like have an aftermarker resale on the ceiling fans you remove and how much extra money does it make for you?

Doug: Yes. I've made an incredible amount of money stealing fans from homeowners. (laughs)

Gen: There's so many times we've left the fan, people just remember when they go away.

Doug: There was a recent episode that I took down two fans, painted them, and rehung them.

Gen: And ceiling fans are behind the times as far as design.

Doug: And the price of a new one doesn't work in the budget.

Gen: There are a few culprits on the show that do that.

Besides straw, what other bizarre material was used by decorators on TS?

Doug: Neither one of have used straw.

Gen: I have used moss and will never live that down. Next month I have made an entire Halloween costume out of moss. (laughs) What I think is crazy is that we get this done in two days. I am amazed too that it's being the right time for a show like this. We're not acting, there's no BS.

Doug: Sometimes we're embellishing a little bit.

Gen: I think it's unfortunate times and we've made something fortunate.

Doug: We're able to influence younger generations on design and art. They might not have realized they were an artist.

Gen: I can't tell you how many letters I get from kids. I grew up with "Designing Woman" and who wanted to be Dixie Carter in a big scarf? And to show that you make mistakes and be real.

What is the best way to get on Trading Spaces? Any "back-door" tips?

Doug: BribestoDougWilwon@ws (laughs)

DishDiva says: I see this has been a profitable venture for you! (laughs)

Gen: Remember we're on cable, we have to do whatever we can to make it. (laughs) You go to the TLC website and there's an application to fill out.

Doug: You can apply a few times because you never know who is skimming one day to the next.

Where do you get the great discount fabric?

Doug: Gen and I get them in New York on 8th Ave and 38th or 36th. I think it's Kingdom Fabric.

Gen: We don't get a designer discount, we just try and talk them into a better price.

Doug: We don't get special deals just repeat customer discounts.

Gen: You can find it in any city, you just can't go to the franchise shops.

What do the producers look for in places to show?

Gen: A) You can't be a total dud, it can't be boring. There are requirements, it has to be a certain size and you can't be too far apart. About 3 minutes walking distance. And NO hills please. (laughs) I'm so tired of walking hills.

Doug: We don't have the golf cart anymore.

Gen: We are a ghetto show.

Does any of the Trading Spaces staff stay with the home owners at night to make sure they don't go home to sneak a peak?

Doug: No. It's the honor system.

Gen: I've seen homeowners try to sneak peeks while we were there.

Doug: I yelled at one neighbor to get back in the house.

Gen: It's like get hold of yourself, it's TWO DAYS! (laughs)

Doug, in my opinion, you are the sexiest man walking the planet! Has it been difficult dealing with your "sex symbol" status?

Doug: I don't know how to respond to that.

Gen: You do too! (laughs)

Doug: I'm very flattered, but I don't think I'm the sexiest man on the planet. Thank you, what's your number?

HELP! I need creative furniture ideas for my sunroom! No wicker!

Doug: It's hard to design a space when people just say they need help with a sun room. You can do anything with any room.

Gen: You don't know what part of the country she's in.

Doug: Or if she's looking for a country look. Sun rooms don't have to look like a sun room.

Has the show ever considered decorating trailer homes? Maybe called "Trailer Spaces"

Gen: I love that name Wily. We have talked about it, but we'd have to do double-wides because of the size. I'd love to do all kinds of alternative housing situation.

Do you know anything about the personalities of the homeowners before going on the show, to help with the design of the room?

Gen: We don't talk to them, but we get a video. They tell us what's going on in their house, but they don't tell us what they want.

Doug: It's like judging a book by it's cover. We get about a 10 minute interview and some words from neighbors.

Gen: And they don't know what designer they're getting, so when we show up on their door, it's either tears of joy or tears. (Laughs)

What's the most you've ever gone over budget?

Doug: I may have gone over a few times. I have not gone over since 5 shows in the last season. There's one specific show and I know I went over a lot and they wouldn't tell me how much.

Gen: My biggest over budget is $30.

Doug: You're out of your mind! I beat that. It's hard not to go over. You don't know the perameters of what you're working with.

Gen: It's become easier and easier and you can always return things.

Kim says: Doug, do you wear your hair that way as a tribute to the late Jim Varney?

Doug: I don't think about how I wear my hair. I get out of the shower, put on some gel and it dries. I got blessed with good hair from my parents.

I think it would be cool if you redesigned two celebrity rooms. Have you ever considered the idea?

Gen: Doug and I didn't do one, but this year we're going to do three celebrity shows.

I have a huge pink tile steam shower. Aside from taking a sledgehammer to it, is there any other way to make it look halfway attractive?

Doug: Turn the steam on high and you won't see it.

Gen: I wouldn't suggest painting it. You can tile over tile.

Doug: You just have to prep it first. Gen, you're the tile girl.

Gen: I really love tile.

Our new home has carpeting in the bathroom as an UPGRADE! How hard is it to rip this up and tile?!

Doug: Ripping up carpet is easy, tiling is the issue. If it's got a good subflooring, just tile right over it. Just put some mastic down and tile.
Get a good tile cutter, don't get a cheapy little thing that you have to fight with.

Gen: And take the toilet out, don't tile around it.

DishDiva says: Is there something your prefer? Limestone? Ceramic? Granite? Marble?

Doug: Limestone is great.

Gen: I wouldn't do granite because it's black and black is hard on the floor.

Doug: There are lighter colors of granite and I like to break the rules. (laughs) Just use what you like.

DishDiva says: Gen, has the class of men who proposition you gone up since you've gone on TV?

Gen: The kind of men yes. I would have to say I get a lot more husbands. I will be driving a paddywagon across country picking up stray husbands. (laughs)

Doug, where can I get that Venetain glaze that you use on walls?

Doug: There's a number of companies that supply that. Go to your home center and inquire about it.

What does your favorite room in your home look like?

Doug: I have bare bulbs hanging from my ceiling. I got this gig when I was renovating my apartment and didn't get to finish.

Gen: People think we live in these palatial homes. We live in modest apartments in New York. It's an eclectic mix from my travels and flowers.

Any chance Trading Spaces would consider doing a show in an apartment building with exactly the same space in each home?

Gem: We did in the L.A. episode that were the same room. We've done it several times.

Doug, how would you decorate for Anna Nicole Smith?

Doug: I'm going to get in trouble if I comment on that. (laughs)

Gen: The first thing I'd do is find out what her likes and dislikes are. She's funny. I love that girl. I think what she has has suited her fine. That show is so funny. Lots of pillows.

Why does Hildi only wear black?

Gen: We all wear a lot of black.

Doug: She wears other colors than black.

Gen: I get asked that a lot and it's for practical reasons. I'd rather you not see me with a big stain on my shirt. I don't know how she does it, she stays so clean, she's amazing.

Doug: And she works. I know people don't think I work. (laughs)

Doug, you didn't really rummage thru that girl's drawer, did you? Was that lingere picture pre-planned?

Doug: If I answer that question, it will ruin it for everyone.

Gen: That was not preplanned, she did not put that in a packet of things for him to use.

In the upcoming Fraternity/Sorority episode, what college were you guys at? Tell us about what to expect (I'm excited).

Gen: It's going to be good.

Doug: It's so much fun. It's the University of California at Berkeley.

Gen: There's some drama and we had a BLAST making this one. All college kids want to do is party and getting them to work was a struggle.

Doug: Your boys were a struggle, but the girls weren't so hard. They were drinking a lot of soda weren't they?

Gen: If that's what you want to call it. (laughs)

DishDiva says: Gen, Doug, thanks for being our guests tonight on MSN Live! We had a LOT of questions for you!

Doug: Thanks for everyone out there making the show such a hit and supporting us. I'm having the time of my life and I'm glad people are enjoy it.

Gen: I'm just surprised that people are able to sit through my life for so long and not change the channel. (laughs) And I'm happy that people are so into design now. The paddywagon is coming! (laughs)

Copyright & other credits. Email the webmaster. View the sitemap.