S10.E02: Fit for a Queen

[FormerMod-a1]

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Host Paige Davis, designers Frank Bielec and Doug Wilson and carpenters Joanie Sprague and Brett Tutor honor some fierce females with fabulous designs.

Original airdate: March 23, 2019

[DVDFreaker]

I am glad Frank changed his taste in design and he did a great job! On the other hand, Douglas’s room sucked! I am glad to see both homeowners liked their rooms! I swear that Paige eats something in every episode! 

[ams1001]

Thoughts as I watched:

• I don't think I've ever seen anyone so excited to see Doug.
• I like Frank's blue. My kitchen is a similar color.
• Please don't talk about "sexual overtones," Frank.
• How many references to sending the pregnant homeowner into early labor if she doesn't like something are we going to get? (I counted 4.)
• People who say "OMG" out loud drive me nuts.
• I like Paige's shirt.
• If you are "scared" of paint, you are on the wrong show.
• "Silver leaf" to give it a "gilded pop"...um...
• "a pile of dead Ice Capades skaters" 😂
• The red team wife is getting on my nerves. Clearly he's planning to change the chair so maybe shush and see what it looks like when it's done.
• Not feelin' Frank's artwork...
• Power tools are "man tools"? Don't tell Joanie that.
• You're worried because no one will tell you what's going on in your house? That's the whole point of the show.
• Damn, those are some giant sunglasses.
• How do they have time to bake a cake?
• I can already tell Doug's room is going to be way too ornate for my taste. Not sure about Frank's yet.
• Preview: "A room so shocking..." and of course it's Hildi.
• Yeah, Doug's room is way too much.
• Not crazy about Frank's room, either, but if I had to pick one of 'em...I do like the fabric headboard and the TV stand.
• Glad the homeowners loved them. That's what matters.
• Where did that chair end up, anyway?

[Bastet]

I've always liked Frank as a person, but not at all as a designer, so I was curious to see how his style had changed over the years.  That big painting was awful, but I didn't see it in the finished room.  And no stenciling!  It was much better than his old work.  Are they supposed to toss those petals or whatever on the bed each day after they make it? 

I love that he stayed late to help with homework, probably so the pregnant woman could sleep.  And he was hilarious worrying that the pillows would look like a pile of dead Ice Capades skaters.

I can't with the "man tools" thing from the woman on Doug's team, and her husband needs to know that something from Overstock.com is, by definition, not unique.  But they were funny and good sports.  I didn't love the way the room came together, though - for all the talk about diva and opulence, I found it kind of boring.

[Madding crowd]

I thought Doug’s room was awful and I would feel claustrophobic with those white panels. Frank’s was better and I liked the TV stand/dresser. I never like the home made art work but it can be switched out. As soon as I saw the pea green paint I figured Doug was back to his thing of picking ugly on purpose.

[DVDFreaker]

22 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Thoughts as I watched:

• I don't think I've ever seen anyone so excited to see Doug.
•  
•  

There was a old episode that aired last week or 2 weeks ago that one of the homeowners were so excited to see Douglas when he went in the other homeowner’s house to see her, I am not sure if you saw that one? 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I wonder how long the silver foil took to start falling off?  I thought the colors in Doug's room looked disgusting, and I bet the second they could the homeowners changed everything.     I think enough people have watched what happens to people who pitch a fit about a their hideous rooms on this show, to know they should act like they like it, even if they don't.    Remember Crying Pam? And the other woman that tackled her neighbor for doing a hideous room in her house?   And the one that Paige asked if there was anything she could stand in her room, and the homeowner said no?  (That was Sunrise something).

Frank certainly has changed his decorating style, hasn't he?    To change that room, they just have to put the painting somewhere else, or auction it off for charity, and that room will be nice.    I thought the husband was going to hug the TV.    I liked the wall color, the bed spread, and everything Frank did, except the painting.    

The woman who baked the cake should never set foot in a kitchen again.  

Edited March 24, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Bastet]

49 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I thought the husband was going to hug the TV. 

Maybe he was having flashbacks to all the old episodes where designers took the TVs out of bedrooms, and was thrilled to see it still there (not to mention the furniture much improved).

49 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I thought the colors in Doug's room looked disgusting,

I liked the green in the can, but not once it was on the walls; it also had too much of a yellow base to work with the silver.  There were only four colors in the whole room, including accessories, which could work, because there were maybe five in Frank's and rooms have been done with even fewer, but it was so lackluster.  And all those candle sconces looked gimmicky, especially in combination with the canopy.  Like an attempt at set dressing for a play set in Antoinette's time.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Bastet

[gorgy]

Doug’s room looked like it was done under the old rules of $1000. He's always been hit or miss for me (hit might too strong), but this was just ugly. Plus, I can’t support any design that involves gold/silver leafing.

I wasn’t blown away by Frank’s room, but it was pleasant enough. Back in the day, I would've taken a Hildi room over a Frank room, but it seems like he’s toned down his aesthetic.

On a side note, I get the producers want a certain energy and drama, but the recent homeowners are a little bit too much for me. If there is another self-proclaimed diva showing up, I’m out.

[ams1001]

33 minutes ago, DVDFreaker said:

There was a old episode that aired last week or 2 weeks ago that one of the homeowners were so excited to see Douglas when he went in the other homeowner’s house to see her, I am not sure if you saw that one? 

Probably... Sounds vaguely familiar now you mention it.

[txhorns79]

I liked Frank's room.  The blue was soft, the built ins looked nice, and it felt like a place where someone could actually live.  Doug's room was the kind that might impress someone at first glance, but it felt like it would be completely impractical for everyday use.

And yeah, "man tools," just blech. 

[buttersister]

Frank! Nice to see you without any gingham!

[MsTree]

To the homeowners working with Doug: You can pick anything from the overstock tent and you choose 3 ugly metallic things that wound up somewhere in a corner of the room. Ugh!😞

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, gorgy said:

Doug’s room looked like it was done under the old rules of $1000. He's always been hit or miss for me (hit might too strong), but this was just ugly. Plus, I can’t support any design that involves gold/silver leafing.

Every last bit of it looked so cheap. The wall panels looked horrid. The fabric on the bed was too shiny. The silver leafing looked half-assed. I'm curious what your issue is with gold/silver leafing? This looked like garbage, but I don't have objection to the technique.

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I wasn’t blown away by Frank’s room, but it was pleasant enough. Back in the day, I would've taken a Hildi room over a Frank room, but it seems like he’s toned down his aesthetic.

It was a toss up between who I hated more as a designer. I hated all of Frank's designs back in the day, but Hildi was likely to wreck a house and give you something baffling and ugly. Frank's room was kind of generic, but fairly nice.

[ChicagoCita]

I recently inherited a 120-year-old family home that was last modernized in the 1970s. With all the antique furniture that came with the house, I want a country kitchen! So I was hoping to catch some tips from Frank on tonight's show... guess it's gonna be reruns for me.

I did not like either room tonight. They really did look like stage sets rather than living spaces.

[Broken Ox]

5 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

It was a toss up between who I hated more as a designer. I hated all of Frank's designs back in the day, but Hildi was likely to wreck a house and give you something baffling and ugly. 

Yeah, the difference was that Frank's could generally be undone without a lot of extra problems. Scraping feathers and flowers off walls? Not so much.

[txhorns79]

7 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

It was a toss up between who I hated more as a designer. I hated all of Frank's designs back in the day, but Hildi was likely to wreck a house and give you something baffling and ugly. Frank's room was kind of generic, but fairly nice.

It does kind of say everything that they had Hildi show up for a minute in the last episode just to scare a homeowner into thinking Hildi was remodeling her home.  

[BradandJanet]

Does anyone really ever want a Marie Antoinette room, especially in a suburban ranch? Well, the homeowner woman seemed to like it, but the husband not so much. He has to sleep there too. That silver leafing looked like it was flaking off. Does the silver tarnish? I'd also worry about that wooden thing on the ceiling hanging over the bed. Frank's room seemed fine, but I didn't get the Beyonce connection. 

[Sharonana]

I didn't care for either of the room designs.

[Mollysmom]

I liked Frank's room - it looked much better than what the room started out as. It doesn't surprise me that Frank's aesthetic has changed - it's been what, almost 15 years? No on has the same taste after 10 years. 

Hated Doug's room. It might have been a little better had he not used puke green. I absolutely loathe the color green, so I may be biased. I had avocado green shag carpet in my bedroom that my parents wouldn't let me change, so that might be where this aversion to green comes from. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

 I thought Doug's room looked like it was done in a couple of hours, and the bedding looked like the cheapest stuff ever.     I hated the green, and thought the silver leaf was a very bad application job.     The nice thing is that I'm sure the second the show was done, the homeowners pitched in, redid the paint, removed the silver leaf (probably with a vacuum off the floor, because it looked like it was coming off), and bought new bedding that wasn't shiny and cheap looking.  

I hated the wall panels in Doug's room too.    It was like wainscoting on steroids.   

My guess is that people that are applying to be on this show watched a lot of the old shows, and know that if you throw a fit, and say you hate everything in the room, that you'll be ripped to pieces all over the internet.    You'll also probably end up on a clip show of participants who are the most unhappy (Crying Pam, Sunrise something house with a woman who hated everything in her room), and be shown endlessly and ridiculed.  So even if you hate the room, you suck it up, and don't say a word about it.  Then the second the show people have left, you fix your room.    

I still remember the cardboard room Hildi did, with Liquid Nails used to bind the cardboard to every surface of the room, and the cardboard smell horrible, plus the adhesive.    My understanding is the only way to fix the room was to rip the cardboard, and dry wall off, and replace the dry wall, and fix the room.    The budget then was $1k or $2k per room, and it took over $5k to fix the room.   Those homeowners just looked in shock, and said nothing.   Then fixed their room.  If you Google "Crying Pam" you'll get her scenes where they left her mike open while she was crying off camera.  

Edited March 25, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[DVDFreaker]

7 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 I thought Doug's room looked like it was done in a couple of hours, and the bedding looked like the cheapest stuff ever.     I hated the green, and thought the silver leaf was a very bad application job.     The nice thing is that I'm sure the second the show was done, the homeowners pitched in, redid the paint, removed the silver leaf (probably with a vacuum off the floor, because it looked like it was coming off), and bought new bedding that wasn't shiny and cheap looking.  

I swear the homeowners said they loved the room and paint last night and if they do, they would not change anything 

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I liked Doug's room, surprisingly enough. I was skeptical of the green but it ultimately went well with the silvery fabric he had. I thought the way he interpreted the theme was playful but not so incredibly over the top that it won't be useful for the owners. 

I also liked Frank's room, which was a bigger surprise to me than liking Doug's. Frank's style tends more towards country-cutesy, but this was not that.

[Dobian]

What Doug did isn't my kind of thing at all, but I thought his design was alright.  It's one of those designs though that's kind of cool for a time but after awhile you'd get tired of it.  Frank's room to me looked like something a teenage girl would want.  The only thing I liked about it was the entertainment center which was very functional and in a good spot.

[buttersister]

Themes, what is it with Doug and Hildi and themes? Design a beautiful, livable space, famewhores. 

As to executional details, your labor is performed by a carpenter or two and two amateurs. Maybe the outlandish bs is to cover whatever is thrown together in less than 48 hours.

[Shermie]

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Are they supposed to toss those petals or whatever on the bed each day after they make it?

I assume you're being facetious, but if not, obviously the petals are for staging the room, the way you would put a try with wine and glasses on the bed to look romantic even though no one actually drinks wine in bed. 

If you don't want to risk a theme room or a design that isn't to your liking, don't go on the show. It's that simple. It's a reality show that wants outrageous participants (homeowners and designers) to get viewers. 

[Shermie]

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If you Google "Crying Pam" you'll get her scenes where they left her mike open while she was crying off camera.  

Crying Pam was a big baby. Her reno was not horrible, she was crying because her brick fireplace was covered with a wooden facade. Big frickin' deal. It's not like Doug painted the brick or sandblasted it into oblivion. All they had to do was remove the facade. 

To cry about that and act like it was the end of the world was childish and stupid, and she deserves to be ridiculed for it.

Again, if you don't want to risk getting a reno you don't like, don't go on the show. It's not like these people are being dragged  on Trading Spaces, kicking and screaming. They probably enjoy the free room reno, plus their 15 minutes.

[vibeology]

Doug's room was ugly and weirdly spartan considering how "ornate" everything was. The silver leaf looked bad. The wall sconces looked bad. There was nothing in that room. Those gold things sitting on the floor only highlighted that there was no furniture anywhere. Where did all his money go?

Frank's room was a nice looking room but it looked like what an average person achieves when they redo a room rather than something designed. Again, where did all the money go? (I'm actually certain the answer to this is fabric.) The room had no focal point and if it was supposed to be the bed, the headboard needed to be grander. I wouldn't be upset if I got Frank's room and I wouldn't rush to change anything, but it's a let down for a design show. 

[alexa]

8 hours ago, vibeology said:

Doug's room was ugly and weirdly spartan considering how "ornate" everything was. The silver leaf looked bad. The wall sconces looked bad. There was nothing in that room. Those gold things sitting on the floor only highlighted that there was no furniture anywhere. Where did all his money go?

Frank's room was a nice looking room but it looked like what an average person achieves when they redo a room rather than something designed. Again, where did all the money go? (I'm actually certain the answer to this is fabric.) The room had no focal point and if it was supposed to be the bed, the headboard needed to be grander. I wouldn't be upset if I got Frank's room and I wouldn't rush to change anything, but it's a let down for a design show. 

This kind of sums up my feelings as well.  Doug's room was so themed, it wasn't really a room anyone uses.  I thought that it looked like a room that would be in a Scooby Doo mansion in one of the Scooby episodes--it reminded me of a cartoon or fictional room.  It wasn't horrible, but it was kind of ugly the more you looked at it, and I can see that even if the homeowners are being nice, a few nights in that room and they are going to want to change it up.  The good news is that they can change it, it isn't completely ruined and it will motivate them to do something with the room.

Frank's room was a bit average, but in the end being on the safe end is always better than a Hildi demolition of a room, so I think any homeowner would take it happily!  

[eleanorofaquitaine]

17 hours ago, DVDFreaker said:

I swear the homeowners said they loved the room and paint last night and if they do, they would not change anything 

They did. The wife seemed to especially like it. People often project their own feelings onto the homeowners, IMO.

I thought that Doug was smart to not try to overdo it. The silver leaf, which I thought ended up looking okay, was the main element and I think he had enough balance that the room didn't look over stuffed.

[Eeksquire]

I was pleasantly surprised by Frank's room - he can talk all he wants about Beyonce and Rihanna, but to me it looked more old Hollywood.  I really liked the nightstands and the lamps - with the color blue he chose, it seemed to me almost like something out of an "I Dream of Jeannie" episode.  The only thing I didn't like much was the dresser/entertainment unit.  It was an ok idea, but it definitely looked like a piece of Franken-furniture when it was done. (No pun intended.)

[vinnieprice]

Oof, that green was terrible. Well, the whole thing was terrible IMO but to be fair, Versailles is pretty tacky so I guess it's in keeping with the Marie Antoinette spirit?

My husband said the blonde red team wife curses more than any other person he's ever seen on Trading Spaces and she's now his favorite person ever, I think he may be on to something.

You know you've messed up a cake when someone tries to "smash" it and it just poofs into dust.

[FormerMod-a1]

I actually liked both rooms.  I didn't love them, but I liked them.  If they were in my house I might do a few minor tweaks, but nothing much.  I liked the panels with the large sconces breaking up the green in Doug's room, and I really liked the canopy.    the bedspread did just seem to be a panel of that fabric layed across and that'd be easy to change.  I'd probably go with a light neutral in a non-shiny material, for the contrast.  In Frank's room I'd probably change the curtains.  I like the color contrast, but the fabric had a sheen or something to it that I didn't like.  At least not on camera.  

[movingtargetgal]

I have always enjoyed watching Frank work with the homeowners.  He is such a kind and lovely man. :)  

[xls]

On 3/23/2019 at 9:29 PM, Madding crowd said:

I thought Doug’s room was awful and I would feel claustrophobic with those white panels. Frank’s was better and I liked the TV stand/dresser. I never like the home made art work but it can be switched out. As soon as I saw the pea green paint I figured Doug was back to his thing of picking ugly on purpose.

Hated the color! It would have to be purple or reds for me. 

[Kitty Redstone]

I wish they had upped the budget to $3,000 for the reboot, but then that might just lead to more piss-poor decisions by the designers instead of better rooms.

Doug must have spent the majority of his budget on silver leaf and molding, because there wasn't much else in the room.  And what was there was hideous.  Just hideous.  Those wall panels and sconces were straight out of a 1970s bowling alley or Elks lodge and every bit as ugly as that icy green color.

On 3/24/2019 at 7:58 PM, buttersister said:

Themes, what is it with Doug and Hildi and themes? Design a beautiful, livable space, famewhores.

Exactly.  I'd enjoy this show a lot more if Doug and Hildi weren't involved.  They both have horrible taste. 

8 hours ago, movingtargetgal said:

I have always enjoyed watching Frank work with the homeowners.  He is such a kind and lovely man. 🙂

Agreed!  He seems like a very nice man.  I can only remember one time where there was tension between him and the homeowners he was working with.  Her name was Stacy (don't remember the husband's name).  She must have been a real piece of work when the camera was off because he was so put off by her.  His relief at the end was palpable through the tv screen.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Kitty Redstone
grammar

[ChicagoCita]

Just curious - why do silver leaf when you could probably spray paint silver and come up with something just as nice? Am I hopelessly naive?

[alexa]

During the episode I was wondering why last year they only had Frank work with someone else, but this season he got his own room to work on?  He seems to be doing just fine, so I am not sure why he had to wait a season.

[Lovecat]

Right??  They even have silver spray paint that dries with a finish that looks like it's been hammered a bit.  If Doug eschewed paint because he wanted some texture/dimension, that paint would have been an acceptable compromise.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:37 PM, Shermie said:

Crying Pam was a big baby. Her reno was not horrible, she was crying because her brick fireplace was covered with a wooden facade. Big frickin' deal. It's not like Doug painted the brick or sandblasted it into oblivion. All they had to do was remove the facade. 

Apparently there was some issue with it having interfered with the gas line.  Not that they could tell by looking, but not as easy a fix.  And there was also an emotional issue going on before the show, like a death in the family or something.  I'm not judging her as harshly as you do, because I wasn't there and I don't know what all was going on.

[seacliffsal]

Just watched this episode and it seemed to me that they really focused way more on the homeowners and their "hi-jinks" than in previous episodes.  I was surprised by the reveals as it didn't seem like we saw much of the work.  Heard about the silver foil leaf but saw very little of actually working with it.  The blonde wife also seemed like she was really playing to the cameras.  So, maybe the reboot is all about wacky participants instead of the designing and make-overs.

[meowmommy]

I just watched, too (had a water leak a week ago and am dealing with insurance and a gutted out bathroom, so I couldn't bear to see anything to do with home reno!).  

What's this whole diva thing, that they were designing rooms for the wives?  The husbands aren't sleeping there, too?

I thought one big reason they kept the two teams apart was because there's always paint on their clothes for the other team to see, but then they have a big convo in the evening?

Doug had the red team wife bake a cake?  What is this, 1960?  

All the colors in the rainbow available and you pick olive drab.  Why not just ask Kia to do another shitty camo room?  The silver might have popped nicely against a red or a blue or a purple, or hell, even a hunter green, but not shitty Army fatigues.  No storage.  The sconces and panels looked cheap and a waste of wall space.  A "headboard" that's really a curtain is going to get pulled and tugged and dirty every time the HOs' heads touch the pillows.

Very muted, for Frank.  No Mexican kitchen colors.  The upgrade to the dresser was nice.

On 3/24/2019 at 4:10 AM, Broken Ox said:

Yeah, the difference was that Frank's could generally be undone without a lot of extra problems. Scraping feathers and flowers off walls? Not so much.

Except for that time he used a Dremel tool to create a "stone" pattern in a countertop.  That was one of his worst episodes.

[txhorns79]

On 3/28/2019 at 7:23 PM, meowmommy said:

Except for that time he used a Dremel tool to create a "stone" pattern in a countertop.  That was one of his worst episodes. 

I remember that episode.  The kitchen was a 70s era kitchen, and Frank believed that all the kitchen needed was paint and a window treatment.  He even painted the laminate floor to try to make it seem like a tile floor had been installed.  It looked awful, and I would guess shortly after the Trading Spaces crew left, the entire kitchen was gutted and redone. 

[mlp]

I finally saw this episode and I hated Doug's room for all the reasons already stated above.  The silver leaf looked tacky plus it was a ridiculous thing to choose when Doug knew how fiddly it would be to apply and how long they had for the whole project.  Those silly gold things sitting on the floor in an otherwise empty corner looked ridiculous.  Frank's room looked a lot better but not very exciting.

I think the couples must be told what to choose from the Wayfair tent.  Every episode, they zero in on one thing without taking even a minute to walk around and look at stuff.  Nobody "shops" like that.  

The blond homeowner acted like her primary interest was to be on TV.  The whole bit with the crappy cake was absurd.

Paige drives me nuts.  She's way too "perky" and she can't keep her hands off people.  I would never choose to go on this show knowing I'd have to deal with Paige and also risk getting Hildi.  

[andipandi]

On 3/23/2019 at 9:38 PM, Bastet said:

  Like an attempt at set dressing for a play set in Antoinette's time.

There were too many sconces for a normal room. I loved Doug's fabric, but the bedspread was boringly just hemmed and thrown on, and not even made into a cushy duvet cover. The chair looked nice. With a slightly lighter green, or a sponge effect (yeah) to lighten the green walls, this would be nice. Maybe keep the silver leaf frames on either side of the bed and that's it. He spent all his money on fabric and silver leaf.

I liked Frank's blue room. It didn't scream Beyonce at me, not enough bling, but looked comfortable and cozy.

Edited April 3, 2019 by andipandi