S10.E08: What's Old Is New Again

[FormerMod-a1]

Quote

Everything old is new again as two of the original legacy designers must revisit signature rooms they've designed from past episodes; Paige Davis, Laurie Smith and Doug Wilson relive fun flashback moments with SuperFan neighbors.

Original airdate: May 4, 2019

[ams1001]

So much screaming...

Doug just revealed the paint and I already hate it.

I like Lori's Laurie's green (so far).

Edited May 5, 2019 by ams1001
yes i meant laurie

[DVDFreaker]

13 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

So much screaming...

Doug just revealed the paint and I already hate it.

I like Lori's green (so far).

You mean Laurie, I was confused who the hell is Lori? Haha

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, DVDFreaker said:

You mean Laurie, I was confused who the hell is Lori? Haha

Oops, yes I did! 🙂

[ams1001]

I actually really like Laurie's room. I wouldn't mind having that room myself.

I didn't like Doug's really, but it's better than the original inspiration...but I do kinda like his nested coffee table.

[DVDFreaker]

All I can do is shake my head, both using the same design a decade later is a terrible idea! Both rooms honestly sucked! Time to stop redesigning the same design a decade later! At least both homeowners loved their rooms except for the husband and I honestly do not really blame him since he is tired of brown

[Bastet]

Has anyone in the history of gestation talked more about being pregnant than Laurie?  She’s so drawn-out and dramatic about everything, but she’s at her worst when talking about being/having been pregnant.

I liked seeing that the couple having their bedroom done had done checkerboard walls in their previous bedroom – finally someone open to something a little different in their own room, and who won’t get “scared” when the paint can at the house they’re working on contains something other than white, beige, or grey.  So, of course, instead of giving them a room done by Doug, producers gave Doug to the other couple, and had Laurie - who does nice but typical designs - do the bedroom.  (And then they did get scared by the paint colors!  But then when it started coming together, they were into it.)

I did not like wasting time with the plug for Sherwin Williams.  At least this time they didn’t put the two Wayfair segments back-to-back, because last week it was really annoying hearing Paige go through her spiel just a couple of minutes after we heard her tell the first couple the exact same thing.

Laurie’s room is still quite sparse for a bedroom that large, but she gave them something to build on.  Another room that doesn’t look like a designer did it, but looks like a nice job by a homeowner, and the owners are indeed happy with it, so that’s a success.

Doug’s room is a lot more interesting, but I knew the guy wasn’t going to like it.  I wonder if it grows on him, because he seems like his initial reaction to things is resistance.  It wasn't as overdone as the safari bedroom Doug was rebooting, but I can still understand someone finding it too much.  I'd have felt that way if it was my bedroom, but for a family room I'm also not surprised to see the other person love it.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Bastet

[ams1001]

24 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Laurie’s room is still quite sparse for a bedroom that large, 

I think that's why I like it. It's light and bright and not full of tons of elements. Aside from the fact that I personally wouldn't go for a safari theme, Doug's just had too much going on with the stripes and texture on the walls, all the dark brown, curtain over the doorway, fabric on the ceiling...

[FormerMod-a1]

I liked Laurie's room, overall.  The sitting area in front of the bed, I thought looked odd.  Not having a seating area in itself, that's fairly common, but hers specifically.  Something about the size of the tables and style of the chairs.  Not horrible or anything, just not quite right, 

I'm one of the people that likes Doug, his personality, his designs, the whole thing.  Even the outlandish ones.  That said, both times, I thought the zebra striped walls were "too much".  As a design show room, or as a concept I think it's great,  For every day living, not as much.  That said (again) I liked the rest of the room, and would even like the zebra stripe as an accent wall.  So if it were my house I'd just paint all but the wall behind the couch in the solid base color and leave the rest.  Easy fix.  

[DVDFreaker]

Is it really necessary to see shirtless Tygert again next week?

[gorgy]

I think I would have liked to see the designers interpret one of the other designer's "classic" rooms. Hildi could turn one of Frank's chicken motifs into inspiration for a butcher shop or watch Laurie attempt to shoot a paintball gun.

[Thalia]

Another problem I had with Doug's room was that it was in such a small space.  I'd have zebra inspired daymares just sitting in that room.  That couple should paint over three of the walls, leave one of the striped walls behind, then decorate around that.  Frankly four of those walls would be too much in any room.  

I loved Laurie's room.  And if it was mine,  I would love it until the day I didn't.  Or until I wanted to sell the house.  Because I would be trapped by that particle board nailed to my drywall.  Painting over squares was a breeze compared to fixing that. 

I will need to watch the start of the episode, but was the man who got Doug's room really a "superfan," or was that just his wife?  I kept wondering if he'd just been talked into this by his wife.  That may be why they chose that small room as it was something he didn't use all that much.  

[SHD]

I hope the couple that got Doug’s room doesn’t have allergies. Draped material on the ceiling is such a dust catcher and it’s impossible to clean. (Or did I miss that it was attached in a way that it could be removed and washed?)

[Mabinogia]

13 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

That said (again) I liked the rest of the room, and would even like the zebra stripe as an accent wall.  So if it were my house I'd just paint all but the wall behind the couch in the solid base color and leave the rest.  Easy fix.  

I think that's what I would do too. I do like the effect of the zebra stripe, it was interesting and well done, it was just too much on all the walls. Another thing I would do, for Mr. I Am Sick Of Brown, is start by painting the doors the lighter cream color instead of the brown. I think that will lighten the room a lot and might make the rest of the brown easier to take. 

Laurie's room was...pleasant. Not much else I can say about it. 

I am not thrilled with this gimicky "returning to past seasons" schtick they have going right now. Reusing old designs, returning couples, enough. Design has changed a lot since this show first ran. Time to let go of the past. I have to admit, at this point I'm only half watching. I watch the beginning to see what the rooms were and then the end to see how they came out. All the rest is just pointless noise. 

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, Thalia said:

I loved Laurie's room.  And if it was mine,  I would love it until the day I didn't.  Or until I wanted to sell the house.  Because I would be trapped by that particle board nailed to my drywall.  Painting over squares was a breeze compared to fixing that. 

It's also gonna collect a lot of dust. 

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

It's also gonna collect a lot of dust. 

Yes.  I thought it was a nice look, but not worth having to dust at least the bottom of however-many squares every week or two. 

I wouldn't paint over most of the zebra stripes in Doug's room and just leave an accent wall, as I think the size (just big enough) and purpose (family room) of the room support the effect encompassing the room.  But I would tone down/remove a few other things around the room to make the overall effect less busy.  I'd ditch the ceiling "tent" first.

I'd love to get an update on that room, because the male homeowner's first reaction to things in general seemed to be resistance, and his (male) neighbor who worked on the room predicted there would be an initial overwhelmed reaction that would give way to liking it, so I'm curious to see if that's indeed what happened, or if he's down in the basement and she's enjoying the safari room.

4 hours ago, Thalia said:

I will need to watch the start of the episode, but was the man who got Doug's room really a "superfan," or was that just his wife?

I thought I had the answer to this, but then I remembered it was the other man who specifically talked about watching it for years.  So I don't know.

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I am not thrilled with this gimicky "returning to past seasons" schtick they have going right now.

The even squeezed in Crying Pam, by staging that TS Trivia game in the opening segment.

It's really glaring not just how little we see of the process (of working on the rooms) now, but also how much more superficial the review of the finished room at the end is -- we see it from fewer angles now (which is particularly ridiculous given how changes in camera technology make it even easier to film today), see far fewer close-ups on design elements (to avoid an HD reminder of why MDF screwed/nailed together is not at all a proper substitute for properly-constructed wood furniture [which, of course, isn't an option given the budget and time constraints]?), and spend less time on Paige and the designer reviewing the room.  Heaven forbid they risk losing America's nanosecond attention span.

[Mabinogia]

42 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Heaven forbid they risk losing America's nanosecond attention span.

Haha, they lost mine. I have better things to do with my time than watch a bunch of people shrieking at each other, rolling down hills or skating around in the driveway or whatever other antics they think are cute then not really seeing much of the design on what is meant to be a design show. 

The best part of this show was always the reveal for me, it was the whole point of the show IMO, but you are right, they seem to be rushing through that part and glossing over it a lot. They are producing it more as a slapstick parody of design shows than an actual design show. 

I do love Joanie though. Loved her on Top Model and was happy to see here here, until I realized this show is a shadow of it's former self, and it's not like it's former self was the pinnacle of reality television or anything. 

I miss Changing Rooms (the original UK show this one was based on).

[athousandclowns]

54 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Yes.  I thought it was a nice look, but not worth having to dust at least the bottom of however-many squares every week or two. 

I wouldn't paint over most of the zebra stripes in Doug's room and just leave an accent wall, as I think the size (just big enough) and purpose (family room) of the room support the effect encompassing the room.  But I would tone down/remove a few other things around the room to make the overall effect less busy.  I'd ditch the ceiling "tent" first.

I'd love to get an update on that room, because the male homeowner's first reaction to things in general seemed to be resistance, and his (male) neighbor who worked on the room predicted there would be an initial overwhelmed reaction that would give way to liking it, so I'm curious to see if that's indeed what happened, or if he's down in the basement and she's enjoying the safari room.

I thought I had the answer to this, but then I remembered it was the other man who specifically talked about watching it for years.  So I don't know.

The even squeezed in Crying Pam, by staging that TS Trivia game in the opening segment.

It's really glaring not just how little we see of the process (of working on the rooms) now, but also how much more superficial the review of the finished room at the end is -- we see it from fewer angles now (which is particularly ridiculous given how changes in camera technology make it even easier to film today), see far fewer close-ups on design elements (to avoid an HD reminder of why MDF screwed/nailed together is not at all a proper substitute for properly-constructed wood furniture [which, of course, isn't an option given the budget and time constraints]?), and spend less time on Paige and the designer reviewing the room.  Heaven forbid they risk losing America's nanosecond attention span.

I don’t know if I missed it but usually if these is a fan in a room nowadays there’s a reason and removing it for an ordinary small shade doesn’t make  sense. I live in an old ( original windows walls ) duplex and use the ugly fan in bedroom every darn day during summer. Ugly or not. 

[Bastet]

23 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Haha, they lost mine. I have better things to do with my time than watch a bunch of people shrieking at each other, rolling down hills or skating around in the driveway or whatever other antics they think are cute then not really seeing much of the design on what is meant to be a design show. 

No, that's what I meant, that they seem to have broken up the old design show by interspersing more antic segments, out of fear of losing viewers' attention (in this "I can't possibly concentrate on one thing for more than a minute" age of media) if they aired extended segments of how each project was accomplished and a proper recap interview between host and designer like they used to.  Also that everything has to be a big surprise, so they show less of the room coming together so the final reveal is more of a, well, revelation than it used to be.

I'm too lazy to compare ratings, but I wonder if the strategy is effective (because they are also keeping a number of old viewers frustrated with the changes who nevertheless keep it on/record it and just pay proper attention to the beginning and end).

23 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

I do love Joanie though. Loved her on Top Model

I've never seen that show, so she was new to me on this one, and I like her.  I'm glad they've done away with the gimmick of both teams sharing one carpenter -- that's one improvement over the old show.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Bastet

[Mabinogia]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

I'm glad they've done away with the gimmick of both teams sharing one carpenter -- that's one improvement over the old show.

In the spirit of being positive, I do like that there are two carpenters now. I like the carpenters as well. They have good, positive energy and don't have the ego Ty had. I'm not overly thrilled that he's a "designer" now. But at least he's not on all the time so that is a positive. 

[caitmcg]

1 minute ago, athousandclowns said:

I don’t know if I missed it but usually if these is a fan in a room nowadays there’s a reason and removing it for an ordinary small shade doesn’t make  sense. I live in an old ( original windows walls ) duplex and use the ugly fan in bedroom every darn day during summer. Ugly or not. 

I've never lived in a place with ceiling fans, but this has been an issue since the old days on TS. The designers almost always take down the fans and replace them with light fixtures, privileging form over function. Especially in all those really big suburban rooms, I assume the fans make a difference,

I don't much like Doug's zebra rooms, old or new, and I thought Laurie's new room was better than the original yellow one, though still a bit bare. I'm over the producer challenges, though (use only these colors, repeat a concept you did 15 years ago, etc.), although it probably restrained Hildi in the previous episode and she needs it.

[DVDFreaker]

7 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

In the spirit of being positive, I do like that there are two carpenters now. I like the carpenters as well. They have good, positive energy and don't have the ego Ty had. I'm not overly thrilled that he's a "designer" now. But at least he's not on all the time so that is a positive. 

I do not like Brett, Brett pretending to be pregnant Laurie is honestly embarrassing! 

[seacliffsal]

I don't have any idea why they want each episode to be "historic."  Twins, married/divorced repeaters, limited colors, redesigned rooms...  Maybe the producers and designers are out of ideas?

[txhorns79]

I thought Laurie's room was better, but I agree that it seemed strangely bare, like she blew her budget on the squares and ended up with nothing else for the walls.  I didn't really care for Doug's safari room.  I remember the couple's original complaint was that there was too much brown in the room, but they still ended up getting brown stripes all over the walls. 

[HunterHunted]

On 5/4/2019 at 8:38 PM, aquarian1 said:

I liked Laurie's room, overall.  The sitting area in front of the bed, I thought looked odd.  Not having a seating area in itself, that's fairly common, but hers specifically.  Something about the size of the tables and style of the chairs.  Not horrible or anything, just not quite right

It was underthought and strangely unanchored. The bookcase/floating shelves seemed arbitrary and purposeless. All of this stuff was at the dead center of the room. There was no architecture or reason for it to be there. There wasn't much in the way of space planning and it showed.

Quote

I'm one of the people that likes Doug, his personality, his designs, the whole thing.  Even the outlandish ones.  That said, both times, I thought the zebra striped walls were "too much".  As a design show room, or as a concept I think it's great,  For every day living, not as much.  That said (again) I liked the rest of the room, and would even like the zebra stripe as an accent wall.  So if it were my house I'd just paint all but the wall behind the couch in the solid base color and leave the rest.  Easy fix.  

I remember seeing the show house room that was original inspiration. It was stunning. I believe it was the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

[Eeksquire]

I am shocked that I am about to say this, but: I liked Doug's original room better. Or at least the way the stripes were painted - something about the scale of them in this room seemed off.  Like, they were too small or didn't cover enough of the wall or something?

I liked Laurie's room, but then I usually do - even if what she does is not exactly your taste, it's usually not a total horror show like some of the other designers. 

[RedbirdNelly]

I liked Doug's original room and this one. Would I want it in my house? no, but I think it's cool. You could definitely take down the ceiling part or adjust it once you took it in.

Both couples were fun and seemed to enjoy it. The red shirt woman had the happiest laugh.

I thought Laurie's looked nice but agree that it was sparse. I suppose the nice thing is you could go buy additional furniture to fill it in pretty easily.

[bilgistic]

I know the answer to this is "because Doug", but why paint a ceiling if it's going to be obscured by "tenting"?

I laughed and laughed at Safari Room Husband's reaction to the room. That room was hideous and he was having no part of it. And then Paige said, "Can you live with it for awhile and see if it'll grow on you?" The camera panned to his ecstatic wife then back to him, who said, "I'm going to have to."

[nightowl]

Laurie's room was fine, but I think it would have looked better if the wood squares had been painted with the slightly darker shade of green.  

[jcbrown]

I hated the particular shade of green Laurie chose. Too institutional for me. I agree Doug's would have been better with the zebra as an accent wall, or at least take down the ceiling tent and door curtain and repaint the doors light.

[Jsage]

On 5/5/2019 at 1:51 PM, Bastet said:

It's really glaring not just how little we see of the process (of working on the rooms) now, but also how much more superficial the review of the finished room at the end is -- we see it from fewer angles now (which is particularly ridiculous given how changes in camera technology make it even easier to film today), see far fewer close-ups on design elements (to avoid an HD reminder of why MDF screwed/nailed together is not at all a proper substitute for properly-constructed wood furniture [which, of course, isn't an option given the budget and time constraints]?), and spend less time on Paige and the designer reviewing the room.  Heaven forbid they risk losing America's nanosecond attention span.

This is very true. Sometimes when they go to the Wayfair tent I wonder how they even know what to pick because there still hasn't been a scene showing us the overall concept of the room.

As for the reveal, I could be remembering this wrong but I thought the designers came out at the very end too so the homeowners could thank (or possibly strangle) them. To me, that is a moment I would like to see much more than Paige antics or Trading Spaces quizzes.

[guilfoyleatpp]

That safari room was completely cringe worthy. Who thought that was a good idea?!