Finding the Right Paige

[cahwyguy]

This morning, Buzzfeed had a list of 17 Reality Shows that Need To Come Back. Now, most of these were forgettable tripe, but there was one, oh one, that really needs to come back: “Trading Spaces“, with the wonderful Mindy Paige Davis Page (a/k/a Paige Davis).

For those of you not old enough to remember, Trading Spaces was a home-improvement show that had two neighbors trade spaces in their house. TLC brought in a decorator and a carpenter, and they had $1000 per room to redo the room. Simple concept, and it would work well in today’s economic times with constrained budgets. Trading Spaces had a mix of designers each with their specific quirks and styles, and would mix them up on the different shows. It spun off a number of variants (including a children’s version), most notably WYWO (While You Were Out).

A number of things killed Trading Spaces , but they all devolve into “tinkering with the format”. They over-emphasized two of the designers — Doug and Hildi — and their outrageous designs. They kept playing with “surprise” rooms and larger budgets. They had contests to find new designers. They even eliminated Paige for a year! These all hurt the show and its viewership.

Still, I believe that a back-to-basics Trading Spaces would succeed these days, especially on a network such as DIY or HGTV. I’d love to see it… and I’d especially love to see it with Paige!

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