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Publication Date: Friday, March 01, 2002

Bedroom makeovers from Pleasanton

Two Pleasanton couples who starred in this week's "Trading Spaces" television program have been chosen to promote the show in 10 national publications.

Patti and Bob Bodnar and Liesl and Jess Bettencourt, neighbors on Corte Rosa, appeared in the battle of the bedrooms in this California episode of the popular decorating program, which airs locally on The Learning Channel, cable Channel 50.

In April and May, they will also appear in front of the Bettencourt's house in People, Glamour, In Style, O: The Oprah Magazine, TV Guide and other national publications. The show, itself, will be aired again at 9 p.m., Saturday, March 16, and at midnight and noon on Sunday, March 17. Re-runs will be aired during the rest of March and in April.

Limited to a $1,000 budget and the services of a "Trading Spaces" designer, each couple moved into the other's home for 48 hours to re-do the master bedroom. In the Bettencourt's bedroom, the Bodnars, with the aid of a program-sponsored carpenter, built an armoire and storage cabinets above the closet door. The Bettencourts built a window seat in the Bodnars' bedroom along with a French-style frame to hang sheers around their bed. Both couples painted and wallpapered the rooms as the show's producer Paige Davis pressed them to work faster.

"We'd be working too slowly so even the camera guys would occasionally come in and grab a paint brush to help us out," Patty Bodnar said.

"It's an amazing process, very emotional," she added. "We worked from 8 a.m. to midnight the first day, and finished at 7 p.m. the second. Only then could we go back to our houses and see how our bedrooms were made over."

That can be a difficult time for "Trading Spaces" participants. About 20 percent of the makeovers are quickly rejected - on air - by the homeowners, and some results even bring tears to their eyes.

"Fortunately for us and the show, all four of us liked the changes to our bedrooms and we plan to keep the makeovers that were done," Bodnar said. "A number of the couples we've watched on recent shows, however, weren't so pleased, and it showed. There was one episode where the woman told viewers how she hated everything about what was done to her room and started crying. She said there was nothing in the room she liked and demanded that the camera crews stop taping and get out."

The re-decorating show has become one of the most popular late afternoon shows in the country, both at home where it is often taped for evening viewing and on college campuses. Discovery Communications, which handles programming for both the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel, receives hundred of requests each week from homeowners wanting to participate in the show.

"That's how we got on," said Bob Bodnar, who is a fire department captain in Newark. "We've watched the show and sent in an application on its Web site. It was fun."

But the work isn't over, both couples agree. The $1,000 and services provided by "Trading Spaces" didn't cover the costs of all the materials needed, and each couple was prohibited from going out on their own to finish the bedroom projects completely.

At the Bodnars, Jess Bettencourt, who manages a Harley Davidson outlet in Fremont, and his wife planned to paint the new window seat in a solid cream color. But the cream paint ran out, so only the top is cream and the bottom is brown. The Bodnars ran out of ceiling paint, so the Bettencourts' bedroom ceiling is only half repainted.

"For the most part, we were both really pleased with the makeover," Patti Bodnar said. "We'd recommend it to everyone for a venture like none other."

For more information and program schedules, look up http://tlc.discovery.com.