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"Trading Spaces" Designers Give Tips on Dramatic Changes

by Veronique Kipen

It's easy enough to go astray when redoing a room on a big budget. (Shag carpet, velour slipcovers, the harvest gold fridge—need we go on?)

So when the organizing theme of your new dcor is more about cash than cachet, it's time to call on the experts from "Trading Spaces," a one-hour decorating show on TLC.

Part scavenger hunt, part slumber party, the show pairs two sets of homeowners with an interior designer, a $1,000 budget and two days to re-do a room in their neighbor's house.

"Trading Spaces" designers paint walls, build furniture, sew slipcovers, create artwork and make lamps with stuff from the basement scrap heap. No material is too humble (a picture frame made from a rain gutter) or too ritzy (a teenager's bed hung with silken sari fabric). The unifying principles are thrift, imagination and optimism, and the results are often amazing.

Four of the show's designers—Hilda Santo-Tomás, Genevieve Gorder, Laurie Smith and Frank Bielec—reveal their tricks in turning a drab room into a showcase, albeit one on a budget.

First step—take stock of the stuff in the room, says Hilda Santo-Tomás, an Atlanta-based designer. Empty it out and put stuff back, piece by piece, ruthlessly editing as you go.

"We tend to inherit stuff but the truth is, if your mother doesn't want it, you probably don't either," Santo-Tomás said. "I'd rather have a few nice, appealing things than a bunch of stuff in a room. The biggest design faux pas is excess."

When putting stuff back in the room, experiment with new configurations.

"People think they have to put furniture against the wall and they don't," Santo-Tomás says. "Pull it away from the walls, float it in the room and create your own environment rather than letting the shape of the room dictate where things have to go."

Santo-Tomás once used aluminum foil and spray-on adhesive to give a painted ceiling a gleaming new look. Another room got brown felt walls, a nod to the billiards room of a gentlemen's club.

"Look through magazines and catalogs and you'll get a lot of ideas," she says. "Then browse your home supply store and you'll find alternative ways to make things happen."

Genevieve Gorder relies on her background in graphic design to turn so-so rooms spectacular.

"Lighting is one of the first things I notice about a room," she says. "It's easy and inexpensive to change and it gives you instant gratification."

Put lamps on dimmers to give a range of lighting options, Gorder said. Sconces on walls rather than track or overhead lighting can add romance and glamour.

"I like to bring candles into every room," she says. "You don't necessarily have them lit all the time, but they're there as an alternative."

A little research helps, too.

When faced with an ugly linoleum floor, Gorder hit the books to learn how to strip the linoleum so it would accept a coat of paint, then covered it with several coats of brick red deck paint. The result? A dramatic kitchen floor with the look of tile but at a fraction of the cost.



All "Trading Spaces" designers agree—color makes the biggest change in a room. It's also the last thing you should tackle, says designer Laurie Smith of Jackson, Miss.

"Wall color is the icing on the cake," Smith says. "Yet I've found that many people work backwards when it comes to design—they want to start off with a color."

Resist the impulse to start your design project at the paint counter. "Wait. First let's find some fabric, a rug, a pillow or a painting, something you're in love with, then let that object influence the color in the room," she says.

And don't be afraid of dark colors—in moderation.

"I think every room needs a touch of black," Smith says. "Contrast gives a room drama, and I find that can be achieved through bolder fabrics with a paler wall, black lamps where you wouldn't except them. I love a room that has the slightest bit of tension to shake things up."

And don't forget the kids.

Texas-based designer Frank Bielec ("I'm a 5-year-old with chest hair") is emphatic on one point—children's rooms should be their rooms, not a reflection of a parent's taste.

"As early as possible, a child should have a say in his room," Bielec says. "The room should be a place to go sit, to play, to read, to just be."

Thrill your 5-year-old with a picnic table to spread out on.

"It can be two saw horses with a cheap door from a home improvement store," Bielec says. "Anchor a roll of newsprint at one end, a bungee cord across the top to hold it down, and he can eat there, draw on it, make roads for cars. It's a big space to let his or her imagination loose."

Large blackboards and bulletin boards also give kids a place to spread out and experiment. Bielec sometimes uses blackboard paint, a specially formulated compound which turns any wall into a blackboard, to create a safe space where it's okay for kids to draw on walls.

He also finds unusual uses for everyday objects. "You can buy an old bathtub at a salvage place for $10, clean it up, paint it with animals, fill it with pillows and it's great reading nook," he says.

For kids heading into their teens, cover a wall with cork and let them loose—they'll have the surface covered in no time. If you're painting the walls, let the child choose the colors.

"It's important for kids to have a say in what's happening in their room, and the more choices they make, the more they'll learn," he says.

And for kids turning 16 or 17?

"By then, I say check in and say hi, but basically just shut the door," Bielec says. "Life is too short."

Budget Tips From the Designers
• Get clutter out and remember that excess is the biggest design faux pas. Less is more when it comes to interiors.
• Create your own environment rather than letting the shape of the room tell you where things should go.
• Browse design books and magazines, then think of inexpensive ways to recreate the look you want. Make it yourself!
• Put lamps on dimmers and add candles to a room to give you a romantic ambiance.Lighting makes a big difference and doesn't have to cost a lot to change.
• Select your wall color from other items you love, such as a rug or upholstery. Paint makes the most impact, but it's the last thing you should pick.
• Try unique uses for familiar things, such as adding a picnic table to your child's room.


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