SPACE INVADERS
The grande dame of home-improvement shows returns
‘TRADING Spaces” — the popular home- improvement series that spawned a cottage industry of doit-yourself TV — is back after nearly a decade’s absence. The TLC program gives neighbors 48 hours to redo a room in each other’s house with the help of well-known designers (like Doug Wilson, Vern Yip and Hildi Santo-Tomas) and carpenters (including still-hunky Ty Pennington). Bubbly actress Paige Davis — who previously hosted the show from 2001-05 and 200708 — will again track the progress of the renovations and conclude each episode with reveals that spotlight the home owners’ ecstasy — or, conversely, despair if a designer’s ideas offend. In the revival’s premiere, two sisters living next door to each other in Simi Valley, Calif., set out to spice up bland bedrooms.
Davis, 48, recently spoke to The Post by phone from Manhattan, where she lives with her husband, Broadway actor Patrick Page.
Why bring back the show?
Fans were asking for it. People wondered if there would be a reunion special. So with the wave of nostalgia happening in TV, it was the perfect time for TLC to get on board.
The construction budget has increaed to $2,000 per episode. Has anything else fundamentally changed?
We have six “legacy” designers, three new designers and two new carpenters. Other than that, it’s essentially the same show. We did double the budget, which was imperative, based on inflation.
How did the show change the DIY television landscape?
“Trading Spaces” not only altered and added an entire genre of television, but I think it made people across the country open to the idea that they could do home improvement and design on their own and that it’s not a snooty, only-for-the-elite experience.
How is “Trading Spaces” unique for reality TV?
I want people to know that “Trading Spaces,” above anything else, is 100 percent real. Things aren’t scripted, staged or forced. We found that truth was always stranger than fiction, so we could never make up anything that was more crazy and wild than what was happening for real.
Do the reveals make you anxious?
Very much so. I stopped long ago guessing whether or not homeowners would like or dislike a reveal because I found out that I was often wrong. I just try to understand and facilitate their feelings, their concerns, their joy, everything. Sometimes the very best thing I can do is just stay quiet and listen.
The show’s often the most fun when there are negative reactions. Will that continue?
I can absolutely promise that the reveals will hold surprises, the same as they ever were. That’s a testament to human nature.
Among your family and friends, whose house would you most like to remodel on the show?
Oh, that’s a really good question. I can’t think of anybody. And even if I could I wouldn’t throw them under the bus [laughs]. People often use the word “perky” to describe you. At this point, do you hate that term? Yes — I prefer “effervescent.”