“Trading Spaces” was the “It” renovation series of the early 2000s. Host Paige Davis became a household name for her spunky personality.
More than 25 years after the TLC series premiered, Davis opened up about one of the most iconic moments of the show’s 10 seasons.
During a 2003 episode filmed in Las Vegas, a woman named Jessie was furious after her living room reveal, claiming she told her neighbor not to do anything “brown” in her home. Turns out, brown was the overall theme of the design. Jessie became physical with her neighbor, putting her friend in a headlock.
Paige Davis Explains What Went Wrong in the Infamous ‘Brown House’
During the March 13 episode of her “Revealed: Trading Stories with Paige and Butz” podcast, Davis explained what happened behind the scenes that led to one homeowner’s worst nightmare reveal.
“This is where Angry Jessie hates Brown,” Davis began as she rewatched the clip. “The thing is that this room is already planned. Yeah, that’s the thing. The homeowners are pre-interviewed. Even before we interview them on camera when we get to their homes for real, and we’re about to do the episode.”
She continued, “To the best of my knowledge, I think I’m correct about this…In all of her pre-interviews, she never once said she hated brown.”
Davis went on to explain that, despite contestants having plans for their neighbor’s home, much of the renovation is pre-planned long before renovations begin.
“The neighbors never knew which designer was going to show up. The designers were never chosen for an episode. It was just who was available on what date. Sometimes even before the homeowners were assigned, the designers already knew I’m flying to this city on this date or I’m flying to whatever city on this date to do an episode for these days,” she explained.
According to Davis, designers often picked out pieces for their renovations before arriving at the worksite, and “day zero” was spent purchasing paint colors and buying accessories.
“So if out of nowhere on day zero, [a homeowner] says, ‘Oh, anything but brown.’ Too late. It’s just too late,” Davis said. “So everybody thinks this was some Machiavellian thing to piss this homeowner off, but it wasn’t.”
Paige Davis Hilariously Re-Enacts Upset Homeowner’s Reaction
While it appeared the clip of the angry homeowner’s reaction was unavailable, Davis took it upon herself to re-enact the infamous moment.
“I could reenact Angry Jessie, I think,” she said during the podcast episode, before jumping up and shouting, “All I said was no no brown.” That’s all I said was no brown. That’s all I said. I just said don’t do brown. That’s all I said. I said no brown.”
“And then she attacked you. And then she choked her,” Davis recalled in shock. “She took down her friend. Choked her to the ground.”
According to “Trading Spaces” lore, Davis revealed, “She is the only one who did not remain friends with her neighbor. It is my understanding that she never spoke to them again. And the friendship was over. She felt so betrayed.”
