MPDP stands in front of a barn and some silos as she promises us that this episode will be "a real barn-burner" since they are in Indiana. Ooh, are they going to do farm houses? Because that would be awesome.
Both sets of homeowners are introduced at the same time this week. Bob and Becky and Mike and Rhoda are "not just neighbors, but lifelong friends going all the way back to grade school." MPDP attempts to milk a cow, but really she's just holding onto the udder, as she declares that the homeowners have to create great rooms quickly and under budget because "they have no udder choice." She laughs at herself and asks the cow why she's not laughing. I have to admit that I laughed a little bit at that bad pun, because at least she acknowledged that it was bad. Plus, cows are funny. The designers are Doug and Vern, and the carpenter is Amy Wynn. The three of them toss bales of hay onto a wagon.
MPDP voice-overs that you never know what's going to happen with these couples, "given their penchant for practical jokes." Mike explains that while Bob and Becky were out of town, he and Rhoda took all the labels off their canned goods. Come on, that's amateur hour. Bob explains that while Mike and Rhoda were out of town, he and Becky hung a bed sheet on the garage that said, "Welcome home, Mike and Rhoda: Indiana Square Dance Champions." Okay, that's kind of funny. Mike says that last time they went out of town, they came home to find all of their Christmas decorations up. That seems like a lot of work for a small payoff, but maybe I'm just lazy. Mike says that Becky and Bob are one ahead, so he and Rhoda need to catch up. I would just never go out of town again. What if they TPed their house? I shouldn't make fun; at least they are obviously homeowners who can take a joke and aren't totally serious all of the time. I think those are good qualities to have on this show, especially if Hildi or Kia are designing the rooms.
Mike and Rhoda's bedroom has soft green walls, vaulted ceilings, and a plant shelf that is holding no plants at the moment. The bed has no headboard and is covered with a quilt; the window has a plain white roller blind. There is minimal furniture in the room. Mike says that when they first moved in, he had great plans, but he hasn't done any of them. I hear that. Rhoda doesn't want any pastels, because they're not her. She would hate "peach and pink and mint green." Good thing Frank isn't doing her room, then. That dude loves the peach.
Bob and Becky sit in a dune buggy while they describe their desires for their bedroom. Their bedroom has white walls and vaulted ceilings, and the ubiquitous plant shelf over the closet. It looks like these two couples live in the same development and have very similar houses. Bob and Becky have a giant four-poster bed with a frame for a canopy that is currently empty. Their bedding is a blue and tan stripe. They have a cellular blind on the window and a pine dresser with a mirror on top. Pretty bland. Becky says their room is "a blank slate" and they are "ready for change." Becky wants color, some new lamps, and some new bedside tables. We see that they are currently using TV trays for bedside tables. I had TV trays as end tables for a long, long time. Becky would hate to see "anything crafty, country crafty, with the hearts and country blue." Bob says "that would be a heartbreaker." Wow, I'm surprised the producers didn't just have Frank do both rooms, since his style is exactly what they both hate.
Indiana: Fieldhurst Lane
“ Vern says that he mixed two paint colors together to get the shade he wanted. Vern claims that 'someone at Lowe's' taught him that trick, but who doesn't know how to mix paint together? I think I learned that one in kindergarten. ”
At the key swap, MPDP discusses the "outlandish practical jokes" again. With this kind of setup, they had better follow through and make sure there is actually a practical joke in the episode. MPDP asks them to play a practical joke on Doug. That would be awesome.
Bob and Becky run in to meet Doug. Becky gives him a hug, and then Bob kisses Doug square on the forehead. That's an auspicious start. Doug asks what they want to see in the bedroom. Becky says that she thinks the room already looks great, so maybe they could just go to the movies instead. She's got a point: the room could use some more furniture and maybe better space planning, but it looks pretty decent already. Doug says they need to revamp it anyway. He says they are going to paint it "a sunset orange-y color" above a chair rail that will be about sixty inches from the floor. They'll put slipcovers on the chairs, a new coverlet on the bed, new blinds, shelves by the bed, a new armoire, and some artwork. Doug adds that the room is called "Sunset Harvest," and that he's back in his homeland and ready to work. Doug actually helps them clear the room this time.
Mike and Rhoda go meet Vern. They hop on the bed; Vern asks what they want to see. Mike says that there is too much furniture and clutter, and Vern agrees that the space plan is bad. Rhoda doesn't like the brown and wants to add more color. Vern thinks that brown is "so, like, '96." Vern explains that they are going to do a new space plan, paint the furniture black, wrap the bed in glass beads, and put oak squares on the wall, with sconces on top. They clear the room.
Doug pulls out a fabric that will go on the wall. He plans to upholster the whole wall. At first he was just going to do an upholstered headboard, but then he decided to take it all the way around the room with a rail at the top. Doug wants the rail to be about four and a half feet high. Doug reveals the paint that will go above the chair rail; it's bright orange. His team laughs. Doug promises that it will dry richer than it looks in the can. MDPP asks if Doug is planning on priming over the green, but Doug is sure it will be fine. I don't know why he can't prime it first: it doesn't take that long, and it looks so much better. Becky says that Mike and Rhoda will be shocked, but that it's good.
Vern shows his team paint chips, and says that he mixed the two colors together to get the shade he wanted. Vern claims that "someone at Lowe's" taught him that trick, but who doesn't know how to mix paint together? I think I learned that one in kindergarten. Vern shows them the final paint color, which is a light grayish-blue. He explains that they are also going to use the same color to stain the oak squares. Mike asks the name of the color as Vern paints it on the wall, and Vern says it's "kind of like an ocean or...I just want it to be restful." In the bumper to the commercial, MPDP feeds a calf from a bottle. Aw, it's cute. (The calf is cute; not MPDP.)
In the bumper back, Doug expertly drives a tractor, pulling Vern and Amy Wynn on a hay wagon. In his room, Doug asks MPDP to go get Amy Wynn so that they can remove the baseboards and start measuring the panels. MPDP asks if Doug' team knows about the panels, and Doug says that they do, and we know they do because he mentioned it during the paint color reveal. In case you thought Doug was, as usual, trying to gloss over something he didn't want his team to know about yet. Doug gestures to indicate the whole room, and then realizes that he's flapping his arms like he's flying. MPDP picks up on it and starts flapping around the room like an idiot. What is it about Doug that brings out the supergoof in MPDP?
Vern paints a darker blue on one wall. Mike says that it's Bob's high-school color. Vern asks what the high school was called, and Mike says that they were the "Rockville Rocks." Oh, that is sad. Vern says it's original. Not as good as my favorite Upstate New York team -- the Fort Edward Flying Forts. The Flying Forts! They're not just regular forts. They're flying. I don't know who came up with that one, but I want some of whatever they were on.
Becky and Bob discuss how bright the orange paint is. It is quite bright. Doug interrupts to say that it's not orange -- "it's Harvest Sunset." Becky says that she's freaked out, and asks if they are going to be painting a sunset mural on the wall. Ha! That would be funny. Doug says he's going for "the essence of sunset," and he remembers that when he lived on a farm, they had some beautiful sunsets, and that's what he wants.
MPDP tells Vern's team that they have a lot of painting left to do. Vern says that they have a lot of time left, and asks whether they are on schedule. MPDP says it's too early to tell. Vern assures her that he's got it all under control. MPDP leaves. Vern tells Rhoda, "Wow, I totally fooled her!"
MPDP walks out of the house and asks whether anyone has noticed that the orange team is painting their room blue, and the blue team is painting their room orange. So when the homeowners switch back, they will match their rooms. I can't believe she just wasted ten seconds of my life to make that observation. I would have rather watched Doug drive a tractor again.
Doug shows Amy Wynn where he wants the panels to go. They need to remove the baseboards first. Doug asks Amy Wynn about the plywood she bought, and she corrects him to say that it's particleboard. Doug wants it to be fifty-four inches high. Amy Wynn looks puzzled and says that the boards are all four feet tall, so to get the height Doug wants, they would have to buy a lot more wood, which would be expensive. Doug thinks for a minute, and then says, "You know what? Four feet's really great. Four feet's a perfect height. I like four feet! You know what? Four feet just says what I want it to say." Amy Wynn agrees.