Trading Spaces Behind the Scenes:

Including Decorating Tips and Tricks

I've become a big fan of Trading Spaces. It's not because I'm interested in decorating or room design. Trading Spaces is about people. It's an honest "reality" show about homeowners reacting to the designers. So it is natural that the first Trading Spaces book wouldn't be about the designs. It's about the designers. (And the host and the carpenters.) When watching the show, I've often wondered who the designers are, and what happened to them along the way. What events in their lives are they drawing on to create the rooms. And this book attempts to begin to fill in those blanks.

The book is also filled with pictures. Pictures of the rooms. Pictures of the designers as they are now. And, of course, pictures of them as children.

Yes, they do talk a little about their theories on design, but this book is about them. It's not about design. It entirely fullfills it's purpose as a fan's guide to the show's stars (at the end of season 3).

There are some people missing from this "official" book: The departed. Alex McCloud, as well as designers Dez and Rodrick are mentioned in the episode guide, but they don't have even a single page devoted to them.

I eagerly read through most of the book the first night I got it, but it will be sitting near my TV chair so I can relate the reruns to the blurbs in the episode guide. But then again, I'm a fan of the show and the people on it.

Now if only one of my neighbors had a room they wanted changed...