North Carolina Customers Lineup to see TLC Designe
Asheville, NC, November 10, 2005--Leicester hairdresser Anne Puckridge doesn't pay much attention to the occasional celebrity visiting Asheville. But when Puckridge heard that Frank Bielec of cable television's popular "Trading Spaces" home decorating show is coming to town, that was different, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.
I really like that show because it teaches me things I can do with my home," she said. "Frank is this big old Santa Claus of a man who really knows what he's doing. I would love to meet him."
Bielec is a fixture on the show that has two sets of neighbors switch homes to transform a room in each other's house.
He will answer questions and offer decorating tips from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Leicester Carpet Sales, 119 New Leicester Highway. The public is invited.
"We're excited to bring Frank Beliec to Asheville. He has a real flair for creating beautiful spaces affordably," said Brad Snelson, president of Leicester Carpet Sales. The Asheville store was one of only three in the nation to win a visit by Beliec sponsored by Tarkett, maker of Nafco tile.
A former educator and longtime artist, Bielec appeared on The Learning Channel's very first episode of "Trading Spaces" Sept. 29, 2000.
He and the show have built a following of people interested in achieving a stylish look on a limited budget. Each couple works with Bielec or another designer and two carpenters - they have two days and $1,000 (sometimes more) to redo the other neighbor's space.
Participants are not allowed back into their homes until the "reveal moment" - the dramatic unveiling of the transformation when they discover they love it or hate it.
Younger people also like "Trading Spaces," said Sandra Smith, an English teacher at North Buncombe High School. "I remember one student based her senior project on the show, decorating a bedroom in another student's home," she said. "They both seemed to really get into it."
Bielec will give tips on everything from floors to furnishings to walls and explain his "eclectic country" style, a fusion of artistic vision with practical solutions.
