There’s a scene in “The Blues Brothers” in which Dan Ackroyd’s Elwood gloomily drones, “It’s 106 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses.” Elwood’s brother, Jake, played by John Belushi, orders him to “Hit it.” They are, after all, “on a mission from God.”
BBC America’s “House Invaders” is more likely on a mission from a goddess — the goddess of hearth and home (Hestia for the Greeks, Vesta for the Romans). Each episode makes over three rooms “with no money,” according to the show’s Web site, in less than 24 hours. (Remember, it takes shows such as “Trading Spaces” two days to do one room, and its budget starts at $1,000.)
Viewers soon learn what “no money” means. Designers including Linda Barker and Anna Ryder Richardson lead the crew on alternate episodes, raiding garages, sheds and other dusty corners for makeover supplies. Paint and fabric are the most common treasures. Extras that cannot be found in the house, Richardson explains, come from a “few crafty bits from [our] design kits.” This can be anything from MDF board to sewing supplies.
“It’s an eco-friendly show that recycles and restores,” says Barker, whose shrieky voice makes you think of a young Sharon Osbourne.
If the premise sounds familiar, that’s because HGTV debuted a similar show last month. “Design Remix” mines homeowners’ basements, closets and garages for castoffs that can be transformed into eye-catching gear, all for less than $50, excluding paint. Both shows put the homeowners to work and send them away shortly before the “reveal” of the finished room. The BBC version, however, has been around for a couple years. And because it redecorates three rooms per episode, the series has multiple-reveal punch.
The show starts with a tired “Charlie’s Angels”-like montage with the crew lunging and posing with paintbrushes and tools instead of guns. This includes hunky carpenters Phil Turner and J.J. Martinez, who cheerfully do most of the heavy lifting and building for the team. Homeowners state their likes and dislikes for the rooms to be prettied up, and everyone gets to work.
Like “Design Remix,” the outcome of “House Invaders” involves much de-cluttering, painting and projects that use “loads of leftovers that need a new lease on life,” designer Barker says.
On a recent episode, Barker checks in on a curtain-making project. “It’s like a little sweatshop in here,” she screeches in delight to the homeowner and her sister, who are dutifully sewing.
In another episode Richardson remakes rooms for two sons of the homeowners. Two of her tasks, she says, are “butching up the bathroom” and “losing all the girly bits” in their bedrooms.
Before the reveal, Richardson says she’s “very excited” about the headboard and fabric in the older son’s room. But he disagrees. “It looks feminine,” he sighs, pointing to the eyelet-trimmed duvet and dried flowers on the bed.
“Well, it was the only extra bedding available” in the house, Richardson explains. Kudos to her for sticking to the rules.
But maybe the team should’ve made an offering to Hestia/Vesta by burning the ivory lace bedspread as a sacrifice.
“House Invaders” airs several times a week on BBC America.
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Carmel Carrillo is assistant editor of Real Estate. You may contact her at ccarrillo@tribune.com, or write to her at Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
