Before & After

Resources

Tales From The Set

Letter From Debbie

It is rare, but it does happen. Facelift is all about making homeowners ecstatically happy with the makeover of their dreams, but occasionally it all goes wrong. We were approached by Christine and Tomas's daughters, both in their twenties. Ali lives around the corner from her parents and Ingrid in Paris.

Their wish was to thank their parents for their wonderful childhood through a surprise bedroom renovation. We flew Ingrid in from Paris for the big event. While their parents' traveled to Washington for a teacher's conference, we moved into their home. This went slightly awry as Tomas had a change of plans, went on a different business trip and arrived home early. But that was the least of our problems.

The biggest job was the demolition of the adjoining wall between their bedroom and Ingrid's childhood room, now unused. According to their daughters, their bedtime dilemma was Christine's love of reading in bed and Tomas snoring, a common dilemma. Our goal was to join the two rooms with French doors that when open created a large suite and when closed allowed for piece and quiet.

My vision swayed towards a bright cheerful room with a wall color that complements all the dark wood. Throughout the renovation process, the girls were unsure of both the design and color scheme. However, listening is not my greatest asset, and I learnt my lesson well.

Mom hated the color and loathed the furnishings we had made. The heartbreak was the headboard we had painstakingly built from an old pine door. Jim had rubbed and antiqued for days. Although we all thought it a magnificent makeover, the room was a 'thumbs down' with the family. We left their home tired and exhausted with our tails between our legs.

Fortunately, they loved the French doors, and newly stained floor. And I'm always saying, if you don't like the wall color, it's just paint. So a fresh coat of the palest butter yellow was applied and that looks gorgeous too.

Debbie

Letter From Christine

Dear Debbie,

Unaware of all the preparations that had gone into the project, I had my first reaction when I arrived home on Sunday afternoon to find neither my husband nor daughter at home as expected. My daughter's fiancé had picked me up at the station, but had uncharacteristically left me like a hot potato on the front porch.

I had noticed trucks on the street, but didn't give it much thought as there are frequently films or TV shows being shot around town. I must confess to having been very concerned, not only to have found my husband and daughter absent, but to see a total stranger wielding a camera to welcome me home! After asking several times where my daughter was and receiving no reply, my nervousness was increased when the cameraman invited me upstairs-I had images of her being gagged and tied up!! Needless to say, I was relieved once upstairs to see her and my husband unharmed.

Seeing my daughter I thought was in Paris, and my sister from the U.S. was a wonderful surprise. I've been told I looked dazed when I saw the transformation. If this is so, and it probably is, it's because I was very tired from my long trip, and totally unprepared for the dramatic transformation of two bedrooms and for a gang of people to welcome me.

I must say, my first reaction was quite negative. I found the ochre color of the walls both shocking and aggressive. While I appreciated all the work that went into the transformation, my first impression was that it looked like a set, not somewhere I'd feel comfortable living.

Taken separately, I very much like the French doors, the detail on the floor, the very comfortable bed, the lovely pillows, slipcovers, plants, chairs and the sitting room effect. The photos of the girls behind the bed are terrific! Oh, the removal of the TV from the bedroom and the installation of the two reading lights was very much appreciated. I did, however, dislike the pseudo-antiqued back of the bed. I thought that with the beautiful but enormous ficus tree, the already small bedroom looked minuscule!

Now, with the rooms repainted a lovely rich creamy yellow (very relaxing) that I love with the woodwork, I am much happier. All in all, the experience was a positive one-the rooms are definitely an improvement and we are now appreciating the transformation. As for the crew, they were impressive, helpful and efficient. All the small details unfinished when I arrived home were promptly attended to, and the color I found so offensive was covered up as promptly as could be scheduled. Need I say the two sisters had a wonderful time in the process and are not responsible because their parents are not trendy enough to appreciate all of the touches?

Christine

Letter From Tomas

Dear Debbie;

My first impression of the Facelift activities, at a block's distance from the house, was that I had a bunch of robbers in the house, or maybe as I got closer, by what appeared to be renovators, chosen surreptitiously by Christine and Ali, followed by this home invasion of highly motivated professionals.

The high point of my first day at the house was finding my baby Ingrid flown from far away Paris. That was the nicest surprise.

My initial trauma at the ochre colour, bearing wall demolition, and electrical wiring mods, was assuaged by having a single malt scotch with Jim (the Scotsman), and by collapsing in a great bed at the trendy Place D'Armes Hotel.

The evening of the second day passed quickly, having a "ballon de rouge" from Argentina with Debbie and getting to know some of the hard working gang.

The remaining time till Christine's arrival was a blur of work, home and hotel interspersed with visits from friends, with the last day feeling hurried. But somehow everybody had the assurance that everything would fall into place at the end.

The only indication that the timing might not have been what was expected, as we did not hear the warning phone call, were the famous lines of the cameraman (who shall remain anonymous) "...she is here", followed by a general stampede to the deck.

Christine's arrival would have been less traumatic to her if somebody she expected to see would have answered her desperate call. Her fertile imagination fed by all the murder mystery books she perpetually reads, imagined this macabre scene upstairs, followed by concern over our kids funding the renovations and finally the tired feeling after a long trip.

The overall impression of everybody in the family, that might not have shown on camera, was very positive (particularly after the ochre colour mutation). The opening up of the bearing wall between the two rooms makes the upstairs into a more open, spacious environment.

A consequence for me is that I have considerably more interest and respect for shows like Facelift. I did wonder some why a bunch of nice and professional people have chosen such a high pressure, masochistic occupation.

Tomás