Last night we enjoyed our brief moment on HGTV’s Rate My Space — more like 15 seconds of fame, after about thirty minutes of nail-biting nerves beforehand. Did you catch the episode? What did you think? Sherry and I are relieved we came across as coherent (right?) and didn’t look too awkward, although Sherry insists her voice sounded odd. Thanks to everyone who messaged us about watching — we’re so glad you tuned in!
Now for the behind-the-scenes scoop on how it all went down, complete with screen-shot-style photos of our paused TV screen to help tell the story.
Before this, we assumed homeowners were offered a few preselected inspiration rooms to choose from. That turned out not to be the case. C.V. and Noel, the friendly homeowners in our episode, really did browse the entire RateMySpace.com site and chose our bedroom as one of their favorites. After they picked our room, the producers contacted us and asked for a video tour and a short interview. That screening video is apparently how they verify that participants aren’t total weirdos — somehow we passed.
Once our room and interview cleared screening, a crew was booked to fly to Richmond just two weeks later. We cleaned like crazy for a fortnight and kept pinching ourselves the whole time.
“Crew” is a bit generous — it was essentially a one-man operation. Dan, the cameraman, shoots all of the inspiration rooms for the show, no matter the location. He had just returned from Hawaii, so Richmond was probably a change of pace. Dan filmed B-roll of Sherry doing bedroom-y things like contemplating her wardrobe. Most of that footage didn’t make the final cut — scenes of us reading on the bed, Burger lunging at the camera, me blogging in the chair, Sherry admiring shoes, and a longer interview were all edited down. Dan filmed for about six hours, so a lot had to be condensed into the roughly 90 seconds the show allotted us. I’m grateful they trimmed the part where I accidentally called Angelo “Anthony” — I froze under pressure. Angelo, you have to forgive me; thankfully we’re Facebook friends now.
The best part was speaking with homeowner C.V. and designer Angelo Surmelis. That conversation was actually the first thing filmed, roughly 15 minutes after Dan arrived, and it unfolded just like you saw it — no trick editing. They caught us mid-makeover, and C.V. was genuinely excited and natural on camera. Using the crew’s laptops, we connected via Skype for about 15 minutes and chatted about where her husband was, what other inspiration rooms they’d selected, Angelo’s vision, and why we hung curtains on either side of the bed (they hadn’t realized there was storage behind the curtains; Angelo liked that detail). In the final episode, only a few of our comments about paint color and spa-like fabrics appeared, but we were glad to have managed full sentences with nouns and verbs in the right places.
We peppered Dan with questions about production — curious minds want to know — and learned a few fun details. For now, the show selects homeowners in California to keep production close to their headquarters. Also, the production company covers all makeover expenses, though homeowners are responsible for paying taxes on the value of the improvements. Still, a major makeover with most costs covered is a great outcome.
That’s our peek behind the Rate My Space curtain. The whole experience was enjoyable, and we love the final result. Apart from Sherry joking she needs a voice transplant, we couldn’t be happier with our 15 seconds of fame.
If you missed it, check out a clip of the episode and let us know what you think of the makeover. Wasn’t the room’s spacious layout fantastic? Rate that space and feel free to ask any behind-the-scenes questions we might have missed while basking in the HGTV afterglow.