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Props to starcrossedkat.
Okay. I'm going to try to remain calm, even though this episode sends my blood pressure through the roof and makes the veins in my head throb all cartoon-like.
We begin with MPDP informing us that we're in Oakland, California, and throwing in some sports-related yatter about the homeowners tackling each other's houses. Let me tell you right now, the only sports metaphor that could come close to doing justice to this episode is that of bullfighting. I'll leave it to you to figure out which party is the bull and which is the gored, bloody matador.
We see Mike and Rhea (one of only three interracial couples I can remember ever seeing on this show) coming down their stairs with their adorable young son, Thane. They want their kitchen done; we see a shot of a kitchen with white counters, a large window above the sink, and lots and lots of orangey-stained, knotty pine cabinetry. It's an okay kitchen. Not exactly hellish. Then we are introduced to April and Leslie (and I'm guessing they're a couple, though it's never made explicit) and their two kids. They want their living room done. They've got what appears to be a very nice Craftsman bungalow with a living room typical of the style: simple but substantial woodwork, coffered ceiling detail, a simple brick fireplace, hardwood floors, etc. The room is a bit overrun with toys, and the mantel is overrun with framed pictures, but there's nothing wrong with the room that a little judicious furniture and accessory shopping and some well-chosen paint for the walls wouldn't fix.
MPDP tells us that Genevieve "Bj�rk" Gorder and Hildi "Princess of Darkness" Santo-Tomas will be designing the rooms with the help of Amy "No, It's Not My Last Name" Wynn Pastor. They each grab a power tool and feign a Charlie's Angels pose. MPDP informs us that Mike and Rhea want to make their kitchen "more inviting and colourful" for their son Thane, as well as incorporate Rhea's collection of cobalt blue glass. We see a big line of cobalt blue bottles and containers along her windowsill. She'll be happy as long as her glass is still around somewhere. Mike says they have lots of space in their kitchen, but that they'd like to do something with the cabinets, since they're nothing special. Mike says the kitchen's a little boring; Rhea laughs, semi-insulted, since she decorated it. They seem like a good-natured couple. He points out that all she's done in there is paint one wall a sort of soft green. Mike says it would be bad if the floor (which is vinyl) were painted. Ah, so you've seen this show before. He also would not like to see the cabinet space diminished at all, since they have a lot of stuff and they use all the cabinet space they have. Rhea says she doesn't think there's too much that would upset them, since they are "ready to go and ready to have some fun with this."