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<Mdm_Maestro> It would seem that the aesthetically-challenged commoners have found a messiah in the TLC show "Trading Spaces", in which neighbors redesign a room in each other's house on a limited budget, with seemingly fantastic results.
<Mdm_Maestro> I
<Mdm_Maestro> have always been suspicious of such plebian attempts to emulate the artistic mastery of expensive professional designers, and now I have proof to back up my so-called "elitist" attitude.
<Mdm_Maestro>
<Mdm_Maestro> First I present to you the harrowing tale of how the Trading Spaces crew ruined a room by covering it with hay, souring the friendship between two neighbors in the process:

The homeowners have no control... they want us to say what we like or not, but it's all their concept. I guess they want the shock factor. I did not say,'I think my neighbor would like hay and straw on the wall'.

<Mdm_Maestro> Next we have a more in-depth look at the way the show works, and how the various machinations involved actually led to one of the neighbors breaking down and crying on camera Witness the attitude of one of the show's designers (who are actually responsible for the makeover ideas, not the neighbors):

"If it's going to be so great," Wilson says, "why don't you guys go ahead and do it? I'll give you guys a plan and you guys can just do it yourselves. I came here for a reason, to redo the room. If I can't do the room how it needs to be done to make a whole, you know, a wonderful change, I don't know what I'm doing. You guys can do it yourselves."

<Mdm_Maestro> Heh. I've just discovered that this Saturday from 8:00 - 12:00 EST, TLC will be showing a block of Trading Spaces episodes about people who hated their rooms. I admire them for actually having the courage to air shows that show a less than optimal result-- perhaps the people I've mentioned will be featured.
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