Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

'free' makeover

I’ve always wondered what really goes on behind the scenes of those HGTV and TLC home makeover shows. A story in yesterday’s Washington Post offered an interesting glimpse into that world, as a local reporter had her living room made over by the HGTV program FreeStyle. The show’s premise is that its designers come in and make over a room without spending any money, changing things around by rearranging furniture and bringing in “found” objects from other parts of the house. But according to this participant’s account, there’s something a little fishy about those “found” objects: In her case, they were purchased for the show.

During the audition phase, the producer allowed as how the reality show really does budget $200 or so to spend on each apartment. I promised not to mention this during my fleeting appearances on camera.

One other thing: Prior to giving me the green light, the same producer confirmed with me several times that I would be willing to spend my own money on an additional piece of furniture of the designer’s choosing. It seemed that absolutely free would be an abstract notion from the get-go…

The show’s on-air game starts by totally emptying the living room, creating a blank slate that gets filled up again. My designer was an enthusiastic filler, removing furniture and doodads from the rest of the apartment for the glory of the living room. Five new pumpkin spice pillar candles were discovered in my bedroom. Gold-and-brown sateen pillows I’d never seen before were rescued from the study. The burly moving guys couldn’t get the new daybed up into my study, so they quickly converted my dining room into a cozy den for us to “find” it there.

(Washington Post: “My $1,000 Free TV Makeover” - 06/22/06)