Does anyone watch these shows? "Trading Spaces" is on TLC and is the Americanized version of "Changing Rooms", seen here on the BBC America channel. For those not familiar, the show has a set of neighbors trade houses for two days while they redecorate a room with the help of a designer. At the end of the show, they get to see what their neighbor did to their own house, sometimes with horrified reactions.

I have been a Changing Rooms fan for awhile so it's no surprise that I think that Trading Places pales in comparison, although it is getting more tolerable.

The problems with Trading Spaces is the designers don't seem as good. A few of them (Frank and Genevieve) seem downright childish with some of their designs. "Let's put live moss on a wall!" "Let's paint little cutesy pictures on everything! Changing Rooms always seemed to give the room an all-over new look (new floor, new walls) where Trading Spaces sometimes just changes decorations in the room. (Surprising since CR has a 500 pound budget (approx $750) while TS has a $1000 budget.) I would think that home improvement stuff would be cheaper in the US.

Also the music on Trading Spaces sucks. Where Changing Rooms had cute, upbeat music (especially for when they clear out the room or towards the end when they do the "finishing up" montage) the music really worked. Trading Spaces music is really slow and plodding. I sometimes imagine the producer's friend in a studio beating the cymbal or picking the bass. It is so simplistic, it makes the show seem really cheap.

Also the slower paced music doesn't help the fact that Trading Spaces is an hour compared to Changing Rooms brisk 30 minutes. Although it is sometimes nice to see a project shown in greater detail, most of the time seems pretty padded. They do too much telling us what they are going to do at the beginning. I think Changing Rooms is funner because you don't see how it is all coming together until the very end. You almost seem like the neighbor.

And I think they could have found a much better host. Let's face it, Alex McLeod is NO Carol Smillie. While CR's Carol comes across as warm and motherly in a young way, Alex McLeod seems more like a no-personality fashion model who is using this show to get her big TV break. Carol always got her hands dirty in all the projects, but Alex seems more like a hall monitor bugging them on time and budget all the while looking like she's been in the makeup tent between scenes. Roll up your sleeves and mess your hair up a little, Alex!

All that said, I am still watching! I have pretty much seen every Changing Rooms that BBC America has shown so Trading Spaces gives me something new to watch.

I'd be interested in hearing people's thoughts about these shows.

Not that this will add much to the discussion. Having never seen the other show I can only speak on Trading Spaces, Alex, Amy Wynn and Geiveve are hot so they keep me comming back every week.

Timber,

Amen to that! :)

My son and I watch it...



I love when they kick off there shoes...... :)

Yes but Changing Rooms features the even "hotter" Linda Barker and Anna Ryder Richardson!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/changingrooms/images/i_t4_anna.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/changingrooms/i...i_t5_linda.jpg

Here's a vote for Changing Rooms. Handy Andy is my idol.

Go Handy Andy!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/changingrooms/images/i_t7_andy.jpg

I want to see Handy Andy whoop Ty's butt. :)

My girlfriend is a huge fan of Changing Rooms, and somehow I have become a fan as well. Her name is Andie so I had a "Handy Andie" shirt created for her with the required home improvement tool in the center. I've never seen the americanized version.

One night I happened upon the Lawrence Llewellen website. My favorite part is his pics of celebrity impersonations. You can imagine how flamboyant they are, my favorite was his Tom Jones.