Watch out Trading Spaces, you have a new competitor. Discovery Channel has created a new show called Surprise by Design. The concept is different, but the feel of the show is the same.
In this case, someone wants to surprise their friend/husband/wife/cousin/whatever and brings in the show's crew to redesign a room while the unsuspecting party is out of town. There is no fixed budget and a looser time constraint, but you still get to see the transformation followed by before and after shots. The biggest difference is the greater focus on the people in the show. In the episode I saw, they talked about the relationship between the surpriser and surprisee using old photos and gooey music. Also, they spend more time showing you how they create all of the DIY aspects of the design. I like that a lot.
I wouldn't say the show is better than my tried and true, Trading Spaces, but it is definitely fun. There is only one design crew, who are entertaining, but you lose the fun of having 6 or 7 different personalities to love or hate.
Despite the differences, if you like one show you will most certainly like the other.
Update (01/22/04): For those who'd like to be on the show, please note that I have no connection with it. I just wanted to talk about it. If you'd like to try and be on the program, I suggest you fill out an application. If you want to try and contact people on the show or those affiliated, here is the information to do so.
05/05/03 5:12 PM
I'm in love with the show... I suffer with bi-polar depression, but the show is one spot in my day where I am taken to a 'whole new 'positive' reality'. My depression has temporarily gone. My mind has never been so creative and a-buzz in watching your show. I am a 60 year old African-American female and I am in love with both Robert and Rebecca... their personalities, alone, could light up any room, house, city, state, country or planet. Thankyou DISCOVERY keep up the good work!!! LOVE MARION
07/01/03 5:08 PM
I watch your show every day that I'm home, and there was one shown this month where you used record albums as "art", framing them on the wall. Where did you get those frames?
We have a friend who has a recording studio in his home, and I thought it would be great if we could find some for him to "artsy" it up a bit.
Thanks!
Bev in Olympia
07/06/03 6:28 PM
I'm desperately trying to find out the color name of the blue paint used in the July 4, 2003, 1:00 p.m. show in a kitchen. Can you tell me how I might find this out?
Thank you!!
08/13/03 1:41 PM
Hey i love your show. My mom and i always watch it. We think your ideas are just so cool. My mom wishes that we had enough money so we could do kinds of things to our home. I would love to give her that wish but like i said we don't have any money. So we'll just have to keep watching your show instead. My mom really likes Robert because he is so funny. And she likes Rebecca because she is so smart and talented. Keep up the good work. And maybe we'll see you in Ottoville,Ohio. Ally Flessner, age 15.
08/21/03 8:47 PM
I love the show and would love to be on it!
10/07/03 9:35 PM
love S by D!! my niece was home from school sick and caught your Oct. 7 show featuring yellow walls , beach mats and palm tree shutters. I was @work please tell me where and how to reference all the info and how to's that I need . She is determined "we" will transform her room.
11/19/03 2:18 PM
I LOVE the show! I watch it everyday. There are so many ideas I want to try that I dont know where to start. My mother thinks I'm crazy because I'm always trying to tell her ways to spruce up her new home. Keep up the good work!!!
01/13/04 5:55 PM
Iam looking for large grommets (1 1/2)
to use on drapes. I saw them used on one
of your programs. I have not been able
to purchase this large size. Could you please tell me where I can purchase them.
01/16/04 3:09 PM
How can I sign up to have Robert and Rebecca do a makeover. Our mother-in-law recently passed away, and we are buying her cabin home in Minnesota. It has been pretty much frozen in the 70's style since, "the 70's" Lots of dark paneling. The room we are looking to have done is a long combined Kitchen and family room. Looking to have something woodzy feeling, plaids, warm cabin feeling. Thank you
01/21/04 5:39 AM
I have written for my mother in law to have her yard done. She is sixty years old and just recently lost her husband of 30 years. This past year. She needs some excitement in her life.
Please help me.
01/22/04 3:07 PM
I would love to be on the show. My husband and I moved to the Philadelphia area and I have never been able to SURPRISE him. When I first moved her I used to tell him that I hated it and was moving back to Kentucky. This is my first time awaay from home and I'm very "HOME SICK". We have several rooms in the house that could use a bit of a face lift. When we left KY we left our dream home. It was a 100 year old house in a historical area and was just beautiful. Now we have this 24 year old Colonial that I have no idea what to do with. PLEASE HELP. There is one other problem. I have a mental illness and have been hospitialized several times. I have been able to make new friends so I have no one to help if I were choosen for your show. I love Rebecca and Robert. I watch them everyday. They are my Designer Hero's. They are GREAT.
01/22/04 9:51 PM
I am still a teenager but looking foward to a career in interior design I LOVE THAT SHOW!!! robert is soo funny.
01/27/04 5:50 PM
HI REBECCA AND ROBERT, I WATCH THE SHOW EVERYDAY. I LOVE THE WAY YOUR DESIGN PEOPLE ROOMS. I WOULD LOVE FOR YOUR TO COME TO BROOKLYN TO DESIGN MY KITCHEN. I WANT TO SURPRISE MY FINACE. CAN YOU E-MAIL ME BACK AND LET ME KNOW IF YOUR CAN HELP ME OUT.
THANK YOU,
TINA SAMS
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
02/12/04 1:11 PM
I had three surgeries in 2003 and have never watched so much tv in my life but
Robert and Rebecca are such a refreshing change to the same old boring tv menu that it has made sitting around a pleasure for at least 2 hrs a day. I love their interaction and have even made my husband a fan. Keep up the great work!
03/12/04 11:46 PM
How can I order a plexiglass headboard
to put shells, sea sand etc. in ?
05/17/04 5:21 PM
Suprise By Design is so exciting!! The chemistry between Robert and Rebecca is awesome!! They both are such a delight and brighten the day with their energy and smiles.
I look forward each day to watching the show and hate it when I miss it. I don't own my own home yet (older single parent trying to get through college), but hope to someday.
Keep up the awesome decorating you two.
Rita Dale
08/04/04 5:17 PM
SURPRISE BY DESIGN (DSC): Atlanta & Tri State Area
Apply to be on the FOURTH season of Surprise by Design!
Do you know someone with a truly inspiring story who deserves a house call from Robert and Rebecca on the Discovery Channel’s top daytime series, Surprise by Design?
If so, we want to hear from you! Surprise by Design is gearing up for another season and we're looking for homeowners with great stories in Atlanta and the Tri State Area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York). Submit your application today by logging on to Discovery.com and searching for Surprise by Design! OR click link below:
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/surprisebydesign/geton/geton.html
We are so happy you like the show! Keep watching!
10/07/04 9:00 AM
Iam looking for large grommets (1 1/2)
to use on drapes. I saw them used on one
of your programs. I have not been able
to purchase this large size. Could you please tell me where I can purchase them?
10/18/04 11:04 PM
Re "Back to Work Blues" aired on 10/12/04
My daughter and I are avid viewers of Surprise by Design - we love Robert and Rebecca, and always enjoy their design ideas and their interaction - we Tivo the whole season, and we just watched this specific episode, and were very disturbed by the culturally insensitive skits, and Robert's criticisms of the home owner's original furnishings were harsh and unneccesary. It was obvious, by their demeanor, that the family was upset This was so out of character for these two very creative and sweet designers.
Just wanted you to know how we felt about this episode. Hopefully this will not be a recurring theme.