BEND, Ore. (CNN/Money) – Americans, it seems, can't get enough of paint and power tools.
By day, we wander the aisles of Home Depot and tackle do-it-yourself projects. By night, we tune in to television shows to watch our fellow homeowners doing the same.
There are now more than 30 television series dedicated to real-life makeovers in and outside of the home.
Home & Garden Television (HGTV) has 22 home makeover shows, among them: "Date with Design," "Design on a Dime," and "Designing for the Sexes."
The Learning Channel (TLC) has four such shows, including the two most popular in this genre, "Trading Spaces," and "While Your Were Out."
In MTV's "Crib Crashers" and VH1's "Rock the House," celebrity musicians call the shots in making over fans' rooms. In Lifetime's "Merge" and Women's Entertainment's "Mix It Up" the shows focus on combining couples' tastes and possessions.
Both "House Rules," on TBS Superstation and "House Wars" on USA Network, meanwhile, combine home improvement with big-stakes competition, as couples duke it out for a house of their own.
Down-home drama
Why is it suddenly hip to be a homebody?
"I could think of about a hundred reasons (for the shows' popularity)," said Michael Dingley, senior vice president of programming for HGTV. But those explanations generally fall under two categories. "There are people who primarily want to be entertained, and there are people who are information seekers."
Richard Pierce, for one, is a fan for both reasons.
"These shows have been wonderful resources for my wife and me," said the 55-year-old New Yorker who's been fixing up a second home outside the city. "There is a practical purpose for us, but it's also fun to see how people handle certain issues and, frankly, how they live."
Ted Taylor got hooked on "Trading Spaces" shortly after the program debuted in September 2000. "I'd watch it every day," he said of the hour-long show in which neighbors spend 48 hours and $1,000 redoing each others' rooms with the help of the show's designer. "I just hadn't seen anything like that on TV."
On a typical Saturday night, "Trading Spaces" draws 3 million to 4 million viewers. In September, it was the highest-rated basic cable program, according to Nielsen ratings. And on Oct. 5, more than 9 million viewers tuned in for a special $100,000 episode, in which the budget was $50,000 rather than the usual $1,000.
"Originally, the show wasn't even going to be a primetime show," executive producer Kathy Davidov said. "The fact that it's leading prime time is amazing. We didn't think it would be this popular."
The audience seems to be as interested in the drama as they are in the decorating.
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"The show is about real life, and we try to stay true to that without distorting reality," Davidov said, referring to participants' reactions when they see what their neighbors have done with their house. Some love it. Some absolutely hate it.
An entire department at "Trading Spaces" works on weeding through the 100 applications coming in daily for pairs of neighbors who'd like to be on the show. The show screens applicants based on their location and other criteria, such as the size of the rooms, and the expressiveness of the owners.
There's a "DIY-er" in all of us
While other segments of the economy have suffered over the past few years, the business of home renovation is flourishing. Not only are home improvements considered worthy investments, historically low interest rates on home equity loans and lines of credit have given homeowners the cash to pay for those improvements.
According to a study released by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies in mid-October, homeowners spent $125 billion on remodeling in the 12 months ending Oct. 1, 2003, a 6.6 percent increase over the same period a year ago.
"We have seen across all genders a very healthy increase in home improvement projects, particularly those geared toward the inside of the home," said David Sandor, director of public relations for Home Depot, which expects to sell more than 100 million gallons of paint this year.
Design and remodeling shows have, no doubt, been a boon for these and other home improvement stores. "A couple of years go that was mostly neutral colors, but now we're seeing a dramatic increase in the purchase of color tints," he added. "I think the shows have been a big influence."
Naturally, advertisers of power tools, paint, furniture and cleaning products have found a home on these programs.
Both Home Depot and Lowe's sponsor multiple home makeover shows, and not just with traditional advertising. For example, all paint used on "Trading Spaces" comes from Home Depot, a fact viewers are reminded of when a can of paint is opened. The folks on "House Rules," meanwhile, make regular trips to Lowe's for their supplies.
Is the market cluttered?
Can cable handle all of these homey shows? "Right now I think it can," said Dingley. "Speaking from our perspective, our ratings have never been stronger." Indeed, HGTV's primetime ratings increased 50 percent between October 2002 and October 2003.
Nevertheless, Dingley concedes that this season could be the peak for real-life home makeover shows.
In the coming season, viewers will see new takes on design programming. In addition to shows that bring in relationships ("Merge" and "Mix It Up") and competition ("House Rules" and House Wars") viewers will see at least two shows that deal with do-it-yourself disasters.
In January, TLC plans to roll out its fifth makeover show, "In a Fix." HGTV will have a similar program called "What Have I Done?"
Of course, at some point viewers could simply lose interest home improvement altogether.
It's been almost a year since Ted Taylor turned the dial on home makeover programs. "I guess I kind of got bored with it," he said. "It seemed like they were doing the same things."
"Lately," he added. "I've been watching a lot on the Food Network."
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