The show that started encouraging people to redecorate their homes with family and friends started in 2000 when two pairs of neighbors swapped houses for two days to design a room in each home for under $1,000. The name of the program was “Trading Spaces”. The series introduced Americans to six designers who took turns designing rooms for different episodes and after first, two carpenters who also rotated each episode as there was only one carpenter per episode. The designers were supposed to come up with creative designs each episode to fit each pair of neighbors who were trading homes. One designer in particular, Hildi Santo-Tomas, was known for her love of contemporary style and use of Bauhaus furniture and Modloft furniture designs to create a contemporary look for small cost.
At the time “Trading Spaces” started its first season, reality television was just starting to intrigue American audiences, with “Survivor” being the first extremely popular reality show since the “Real World” in the late 1980s. “Trading Spaces” illustrated to Americans how to redecorate their homes on a budget of a $1,000. It became popular mostly since it appealed to such a wide audience. Women could see it with their husbands and Moms would watch with their daughters.
Also, the show was so well-liked mostly because of the cast. The show had a host who was really positive and who was always encouraging and explaining what the designers were doing in each room, so that everyone who was watching could understand the designers’ visions. There were the designers themselves who created incredible spaces with little time and on a small budget. They also had designers with unique tastes and each of the designers fit nearly every kind of taste the American audience could have. The show had a fun-loving middle-aged designer named Frank, who was known for his whimsical country kind of style. Hildi Santos-Tomas and Doug Wilson were well-liked for their Contemporary designs. Laurie Smith was thrilled audiences with her classic, southern look. Vern Yip was the designer who preferred to design rooms with clean lines combined with a classic style. And Genevieve Gorder was the designer who liked to please the couples on the show so her designs were centered around her travels and her ability to find beautiful color and shapes in anything from a ring from Afghanistan to an artichoke. Finally, the cast was rounded off by two carpenters, Amy Wynn Pastor and Ty Pennington. The carpenters were responsible for aiding the designers in building anything that needed to be built or fixed in the room, like headboard for a bedroom, an entertainment center for a family room, or new cabinets for a kitchen.
“Trading Spaces” really helped illustrate to audiences that they did not have to spend a fortune or a long time redecorating their homes. Because of “Trading Spaces” audiences all over the country realized they can redecorate their homes, even if they don’t replace everything in each room. It also created a a good time for mothers and daughters to bond over the decorating and for husbands and wives to start thinking about how they were going to redecorate their homes. The show became popular because of its ability to appeal to a large range of Americans and because of its fun loving cast of designers, carpenters, and their host.