‘Trading Spaces’ Reboot: Paige Davis Gives The Scoop On TLC’s Revival Of The Groundbreaking Home Makeover Show

Trading Spaces star Paige Davis is dishing the dirt on the upcoming revival of the classic design show that single-handedly launched the TV home makeover boom. In a new interview with Lancaster Online, Davis, who hosted the original incarnation of the groundbreaking home design show in the early 2000s, made it clear that the Trading Spaces designers do not set out to make “crazy” television with inferior designs.

“Everybody asks me if I can tell Hildi (Santo-Thomas) to stop ruining houses,” Davis said of one of the show’s most notorious designers, who once designed a room with a straw wall.

“I think there’s myths about Trading Spaces and what we’re setting out to do or not do in anybody’s home. I can definitely squelch any inaccuracies about our motives and where we come from in the show. People think there’s some Machiavellian plan to go in and make crazy television. I don’t think that’s ever our plan. Our plan is to always show up and do two rooms in two days for the budget allotted. We always hope there will be really great results.”

As Davis found out first hand, even the best-laid plans can often go awry. One of the most memorable moments from the original Trading Spaces came when designer Doug Wilson covered one couple’s beloved brick fireplace with wainscoting after they left strict instructions that it was not to be touched. You can see the furious couple’s reaction to their Trading Spaces room below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4pVZlRbwtw

More than a decade later, Paige Davis says one of the downsides to Trading Spaces is “you just never know if someone’s going to like it.”

Davis also revealed that over the years fans have regularly asked her if there would ever be a Trading Spaces reunion, and she credited TLC executives for being in tune with the “wave of nostalgia happening in the television landscape.”

“Coming back together again was like just getting back on the bike,” Paige said of the Trading Spaces revival. “It was really fun and it’s been really overwhelming and a blast at the same time. It’s like I’m back with my brothers and sisters again.”

The highly-anticipated Trading Spaces revival will feature Davis and nearly all of the show’s original designers, including Vern Yip, Frank Bielec, Doug Wilson, Laurie Smith, Genevieve Gorder, and Hildi Santo-Tomas. A press release from TLC revealed that high-end carpenters Ty Pennington and Carter Oosterhouse have signed on for the reboot, while newcomers Brett Tutor, Joanie Sprague, John Gidding, Kahi Lee, and Sabrina Soto will also be part of the Trading Spaces revival. Also, famed designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent are set to make a guest appearance on the new Trading Spaces.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bd3fgL7l2zR/?utm_source=ig_embed

The Trading Spaces format will be the same—two sets of neighbors trade houses for 48 hours and redesign one room while staying on a strict budget— but the budget for the new show has been doubled, upped to $2000 per room.

While Paige Davis seems excited about the reboot, she still has fond memories of the original Trading Spaces. The TV host told Lancaster Online that the landmark reality series “for better or worse, started a genre of television.”

“We spawned networks,” Davis said. “We spawned HGTV, DIY Network, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Not bad for a little show that started out with a $1000 budget.

The Trading Spaces reboot premieres Saturday, April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on TLC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOd_zC9egfU