For TV show, homeowner pals give each other a space lift
When the crew from the home-improvement TV show ''Trading Spaces" showed up at Lisa and Jeremy Blackowitz's Davis Square condo, the scene was about as quiet as a tripped car alarm. White production tents dotted the street, a table saw buzzed at all hours, and camera crews came and went from their third-floor walkup.
But just what were workers doing inside the home? Were they ripping apart the bathroom, the living room, or the kitchen? Painting, wallpapering, or cutting old furniture in half? Staining hardwood floors, or plunking down thrift-store rugs?
Curious neighbors and passersby could only wonder.
''Trading Spaces," which airs on Saturday nights on The Learning Channel, features a pair of friends who swap homes for a few days and pick a room to redecorate, with an interior designer's help, for less than $1,000.
''Ever sit in someone's home and wonder what would happen if you stripped, ripped, and painted as you pleased?" asks the show's website.
Security on the set is tight. Crew members aren't allowed to talk about the show or let anyone inside the home.
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''If a crazy designer bolts your things to the ceiling, you've got to have fun with it," said Jeremy Blackowitz, a 29-year-old lawyer, about his approach to the show. ''You can't take on the opportunity dreading it."
The Blackowitzes switched homes for two days with friends Andrea ''Dre" Canty and David Eng, who live in Arlington Heights. The twist? Canty and Eng lived in the Blackowitzes' Somerville condo for seven years before selling it to them in 2003.
''We made some very poor decorating choices," Canty said of their time in Somerville during the show's filming three weeks ago. ''We're here to right the wrong."
But details she could not reveal.
Still, like a trail of sawdust, there were clues. As carpenters worked outdoors on Kingston Street one afternoon -- including on-air carpenter Jimmy Little, with his bleach-blond hair -- a piece of furniture began to take shape. By Thursday evening, it appeared that they'd built a new kitchen cabinet.
''Joe, will you bring up two orange paint trays?" someone yelled from a third-floor window, letting slip another hint of goings-on.
''There sure was a lot of tile work," grumbled another worker within earshot.
At some point, an old red door emerged from the condo. Later on, a new, glass-leaded French door went up the stairwell, where the pinging sound of an automatic nail gun echoed.
Downstairs neighbor John Corcoran said the Blackowitzes' kitchen was filled with ''bright colors" before Canty and Eng showed up to remodel it. But he couldn't say what had been changed.
''The production people have been nice, but they haven't even asked me if I wanted to take a look," he said during the filming.
Over in Arlington, Canty and Eng's neighbors were just as intrigued -- and mystified.
Next-door neighbors Peter Cox and Sue Aman said Canty was hoping the Blackowitzes would remodel her half-finished basement. (Canty and Lisa Blackowitz work at Rape Crisis Services of Greater Lowell, where their boss saw an ad for the show and encouraged them to apply as contestants.)
Crew members, however, appeared to be filming on the first floor of the house, Aman said during the week of the shoot.
''My son has a Bob the Builder outfit. I was going to send him over there in it to snoop," Aman said, referring to her 1-year-old, Ian. ''Who could resist a cute kid?"
Still, Aman had seen something of note: On the second day of shooting, she spotted on-air interior designer Hildi Santo-Tomás climbing into a pickup truck.
Another neighbor, Lydia Cummings, said she couldn't imagine what was happening inside Canty and Eng's Dutch Colonial, the interior of which she described as ''simple, plain, and elegant."
Once the crews disappeared, however, Cummings figured she'd find out fast enough.
''I'll invite myself over and see what happened," she said.
For everyone else, the episode will probably air in late January.
''We are not allowed to tell what our reactions are to the room. We're not allowed to take pictures of the room," said Canty, apologetically. ''You'll have to wait for the show to see whether I love it or hate it."
