Genevieve Gorder rose to fame as the out-of-the-box thinking designer on TLC’s "Trading Spaces." Now, Gorder is branching out with the new TLC series "Town Haul." Instead of making over simple rooms, she is making over entire towns. Genevieve took some time out of her busy schedule to talk about her new gig, her fiancé Tyler Harcott, what it's like to be on "Oprah," and so much more.
Interview With Genevieve Gorder.
Are you enjoying this new job?
It’s good to do something new and to spend a little bit more time [on my projects] so I can have longer relationships with people. So I'm not just like "Hi. See ya!"
What is the best part of being involved with a show like "Town Haul"?
I had the idea for the show like a year and a half, two years ago. And it was all about the things that I didn’t like about TV. I was trying to create a positive solution for it. And it actually worked. That’s the best thing I like about the show is that from concept to execution, it works. People actually like it and it’s helping people. It’s about the power of design and the power of the human spirit. It's above paying anybody to do something stupid for money like reality television does -- like ambushing people. That’s really not what design is for me. So, to really execute design in its highest form and making people feel joy, that’s a great reward.
I wasn't aware that the show was your idea. Was it hard to get it going and to get people to believe in it? Or was it easier than you thought it would be?
It definitely wasn’t easy by any stretch. The birth of any show is always a rough one. But TLC has been really good to me supportively and they really made the transition from "Trading Spaces" to this show easy, but the actual execution of figuring out what makes beast and how it works and runs and how many people we need and how much money we need, I mean that’s absolutely the biggest challenge of my life. And so is all of the design involved because it is enormous.
How much time do you spend in each town?
About a month and a half…I move in. This isn’t a two day job. It’s a long and hard process. There’s hardly any time to do this big of stuff, but you know, as we move along, we get better and better about getting what we need to execute. But it seems like a longer time. And the relationships that happen become so intense, deep, involved and complex and really hard to say goodbye to. The hardest part of the show is saying goodbye when it’s all done. It really breaks you.
I know you live in New York City, so what is it like adjusting to small-town life for weeks at a time?
I grew up in Minneapolis and then I’ve been living in New York so I haven’t really lived in a small town per say. Big adjustment! Like coffee in the morning – not good. Restaurant choices – not available. But instead of that stuff you get relationships with people and neighbors that you would never get in a city. People in small towns are a lot more open. The adjustment has been a really superficial one. But the new stuff that is introduced way outweighs what you lose from living in the city. But you definitely find out about your character and who you are and where you can and can’t live. I’m a city girl! But you need balance in your life. This experience has definitely brought that back.
Next, Genevieve talks about her fiance Tyler Harcott.
