Monday, September 04, 2006

How Do They Do It On Those "Trading Spaces" Shows???

We started work on painting the bathroom at 10 am Saturday.
(As luck would have it, the 16th anniversary is the "help your wife paint the bathroom" anniversary!)

We have done nothing but work on the bathroom all weekend. No getting dressed up, no going out for a fancy dinner and a movie, nothing but work on the painting project. So, it should be done, right?

I wish.

I totally wish.
We've got the ceiling painted. And we just finished all the cutting in work on the upper half of the walls (the lower half is beadboard wainscoting and, boy howdy, I'm looking forward to that!) and I am getting ready to roll the first coat of paint on them.

How do those people on TV do an entire room, top to bottom, in less time than this? How inept are we that it has taken us two-and-a-half days, and we are maybe halfway through?

To paraphrase my friend, Capello: stupid flipping prep work...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hear that the paint jobs on those shows are actually really shoddy up close. That the homeowners actually have to re-do or touch it up afterwards. So, to do it really well, like you are doing, probably takes a few days...so you are right on time!

Anonymous said...

Oh it's just the magic of television. I bet there are no less than 30 people working like ants on those rooms. There is NO way it can be done. Bubba is a very good man to know that the 16th anniversary is help your wife paint the bathroom anniversary. (I don't think Cappello said flipping)

Anonymous said...

I know how you feel except ours include total remodeling.I feel like it will never end!

Anonymous said...

"Reality" TV is highly subjective. The reality is that they have a huge crew and more than two days. Do you ever wonder why they all keep wearing the same clothes over and over? So you can't tell how many days it REALLY went on. Good luck finishing up. And I think undertaking ANY home improvement together is the true test of a marriage.

MéLisa said...

I say that man is a keeper! I agree that on those tv redo shows the work can’t possibly be that good. They drive my hubby nuts because he is kind of a perfectionist when it comes to home improvement. Probably not how you would like to spend your crappy anniversary but think how great your bathroom will look when it’s done!

Anonymous said...

elves. they have elves.

Anonymous said...

Ah, home repairs. Such fun, such a pain. Sometimes it seems that smaller spaces taking longer than bigger ones. I painted our bath wainscotting last year and remember well the fun that I had. Good luck with it. ;-)

laura capello said...

Stupid fucking prep work indeed.

And trading spaces uses a whole team of people -- one of my friends interviewed for it. The homeowners actually don't do much work.

So, unless you can hire a team of 50 to come in and help, it's gonna take awhile. Just look at my year-old entry project. And I'm not even done plastering.

Stupid fucking plaster.

Anonymous said...

Being from Knoxville (the home of HGTV) and in the interior design industry, I have met quite a few people who work on these shows or have had their homes on these shows. I will tell you this...the people doing these shows are not doing the same work you would do in your own home. I went out with a producer of one show (I won't say which one) and he said all they could do at the end was get the hell out of Dodge. Don't worry. I'm sure it will be lovely. Let us have a looksie when you finish.

beki said...

I have no idea how they do it, but I'll bet they do some crappy ass work. THere is no way, even with a team of professionals they can do quality work in that amount of time. Liars, a bunch of liars, LOL! Saying all that, I still like to watch those shows and dream...