Trading Spaces Fans: Crying epsiode today
 

The fireplace crying episode is on like three times today for those who haven't caught it yet....

whats the fireplace crying episode?

I think it's the episode where one of the female designers reveals that she's a he.

right...? ;)

Fianlly caught it today. Both the husband and wife were clueless. I couldn't hear most of what she said but he remarked. "I see a lot of firewood." I felt bad for Paige.

Also finally caught it today. It was like a train wreck. Hearing the woman sob off-screen... yikes.

Now see I'm not a top thinker. So I watch an entire hour of this just to see the "reveal". When nothing happens I come back here to re-read this post and realize how damn clever it is.

I'm not a viewer of this show, was this (the woman leaving to sob off camera) something very unusual? It seems that this would happen alot.

wait. what happened? the chick hated it so bad she started crying? or what happened/ what makes this the crying episode?

Yes. She and her husband loved their fireplace. The designers came in and TOTALLY changed the room, including their precious fireplace. Even though they could always change it back, she was distraught... she could barely say a word, except something about going to take a break (or something along those lines). She walks off camera, and the next thing you hear are these deep sobs coming from off camera. Sad.

Why even put that room up for the option to change it? They do have a choice on which room gets the make over, they should have realized the fireplace was in harms way so to speak and suggested a different room.

Basically what happened was they didn't want it changed so of course the designer (Doug) wanted to change it. The team he was working with refused to let him do it so instead of painting it like he wanted he had the carpenter build a wood front to go over the brick. The front could easily come off and the fireplace returned to it's original condition but this chick started bawling anyway. Her husband was about ready to start crying too. Whipped.

I used to hate Doug but now I like his attitude. If people don't want things changed then they shouldn't be on the show. That must be frustrating for the designers.

No kidding Kilcher. you should say "change this room" if you don't want some aspect of it touched at all. all or nothing.

It was just on, and I have to admit, I laughed during the crying scene. :o

I thought the rooms were nice, though. Each group did a nice job. If you aren't willing to have your room totally redesigned, don't do it!

That Doug guy didn't even like the fireplace at all, so he was more than happy to change it. The carpenter guy was is in a pretty bad mood, though.

I thought the designer was an ass personally. I did agree with him that the fireplace needed some work, but the homeowners specifically stated that they didn't want to fireplace messed with. So of course, Doug immediately wanted to mess with it. His whole attitude was that his ideas of what was right held more weight than what the homeowners saw as what was right for them. I loved his little pissy fit: "Fine. I'll just leave and you can do the room yourselves. *sniffle* What are we even doing here anyway? *tears*" Sheesh.

I agree that people on the show should be ready for anything, but the designers should design FOR the homeowners, not for themselves.

I actually prefer Changing Rooms on BBCAmerica. It's a shorter show, they get less money, and it's a bit faster paced. Plus, they have some nifty episodes where the people are fighting with the designers. I saw one episode where the designer threatened to quit because the people were being so difficult and refusing to come up with any ideas while putting down all her ideas. It got really intense and seemed as if it should have broken down into a catfight, complete with hair pulling.

boot, somewhat i agree. HOWEVER, it specifically states at their website (and i'm sure it's in whatever papers they had to sign) that even though they could make requests for certain things to not be changed, the designers had the ultimate say in what was or wasn't changed. if they were gonna be THAT sensitive about it, they shouldn't have VOLUNTEERED for the show. having probably seen previous episodes, they should've KNOWN that most of the designers tend towards the more modern designs and not the laura ashley cottage in the woods type look that they originally had.

anyways, IMHO, they were being asses. i wanted to bitchslap that woman when they got together with their neighbors and she whined to the other woman neighbor, "why didn't you SAY something about it then???". i hope those other neighbors stop being friends with these 2 lunatics.

On another board I read someone's feelings about this, and it went kind of like this:

"....and then that woman actually cried when they changed her Holly Hobbie meets JC Penny living room!"

That about summed it up! The room was bad/no style before, after, albiet not what they "like" it still was a major improvement!

This lady "let" Frank put "wood self portrait heads" on the wall of her freinds room! And she didn't think THAT was tacky?????

Doug is a total ass who never asks the couple he's assigned to if they have any opinion on what's being done. If they dare contradict him, he gets all PMS-y. The worst part of what he did to that room was not the fireplace, but the doody-brown, Boogie Nights-esque pattern he painted on the walls.

*shrug* i liked it. oh well, to each their own...

I liked it too.

My wife is addicted to this show...it is pretty cool but I am always waiting for one of the couples to get pissed or cry...I will have to look out for the episode you are talking about.. :)

Has anyone noticed that Doug wasn't really around much after this episode (although he is in that recent commercial for official Trading Spaces shirts)? Did his stint with the show end? Will he be back next season?

The "crying" couple did explain themselves on one of the show's official message boards. Supposedly, they loved Frank's thrift-store country-cute style and should've had Frank re-calico their Holly Hobby living room. While I didn't think Doug's re-design was terribly progressive (he used "chocolate" on the walls yet again), it certainly didn't merit the stunned deer-in-the-headlights reaction it got. Let's face it - from glimpses of other rooms in that house, the "crying" couple had zero taste. But then - I'm personally allergic to power-blue upholstery, carved hearts on orange-stained woodwork and dried flowers of any kind.

And I do agree. The husband in that relationship is "capital-W" whipped. And if he ain't getting it on the side someplace else, he ought to at least consider it.

rotfl rotfl

i agree, doug is an ass, however, i believe he does it on purpose so that people like that can actually come outta their box and experience change! geez, that lady was irritating throughout the episode and in the end she made a spectacle of herself. if they weren't willing to surrender to the designers then they shouldn't have signed up to do the show!

i hated that hideous fireplace anyway! (boring brown/white/tan brick with absolutely NO flair)

I have read much about this episode (esp when the "Best of" marathon ran at the beginning of summer).

The couple ends up undoing <a href="http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,218812~3~0~,00.html">everything.</a>

My understanding was that Doug's idea was neither practical nor safe for someone who intended to actually USE the fireplace. Note the section in the article above which reads:



While both parties have arguements for their re/actions, I still think Doug sucks ... and I think this episode is hilarious!

My major beef with this show is that I have rarely seen finished rooms that had any practicality to them for use in everyday living.

I have a relative that is an interior designer. She says it has gotten so bad with spouses arguing over redesigning homes, some have even been divorced over it.
As for interior designers wanting to "create" their own designs, this must be a common trait. My sis-in-law will listen to her clients then do what she wants anyway. You would think they would fire her or something, but that never happens.
Personally I like the Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom) approach. Take a Sears card and redecorate over a weekend.