Dear Genevieve: Keep Up the Good Work!
If you haven’t checked out HGTV’s new show, Dear Genevieve, what are you waiting for? It’s one of the network’s newest makeover shows, and it’s hosted by a designer you may recognize. I first fell for Genevieve Gorder when she was an unpretentious, bouncy, barefooted designer on Trading Spaces whose work was almost always wow-worthy. As the host and designer of Dear Genevieve, she’s slightly more composed but just as passionate. From what I’ve seen so far, Genevieve carries her own show with grace and exuberance and offers up plenty of good design and creative ideas to boot.
If you’ve missed Dear Genevieve, here’s a look back and a sneak peek of the episode premiering tonight at 8:30 p.m. On the show’s premiere, Genevieve went above and beyond for a family of six, even taking them to get their first family photos in more than a decade for wall art that’s truly memorable. Genevieve created several storage solutions and activity zones and left this deserving family with a stylish, functional space. Check it out!
Before: A Space Plan That Wasn't Working
After: Fabulous for the Entire Family
Before: Boxed-In and Mismatched Basement
- After: Colorful, Current and Personalized
Like what you see? Get in on it! Upload your problem room(s) here and Genevieve just might knock on your door! Be specific about your design dilemma, and be sure to show off your family’s personality in your video.
Dear Genevieve
I live in the State of Rhode Island. I have lived in my home since 1972. A few years ago, I hired a contractor and removed a wall that seperated the kitchen and the living room. I also moved the stairway from the center of the home to the back of the room. now when you enter my home you can see from one end of the home to the other. I am now comfortable in my own home and I have no idea how to make it comfortable., it is not a large space and I do need help, please. Rosalie in RI
Dear Genevive,
I am on the board of a wonderful Cancer and Heart Fund Charity, which will have been in business for 50 years in 2011. We have a small office space that is sadly in need of renovation and we need your help. We are a completely volunteer organization and try to use the majority of our funds to carry out our pledges to the area hospitals. The name of our organization is the Ruth Newman Cancer and Heart Fund (RNS).
Many of us on the board watch your show and love what you do, and would like your help with our office renovation. We hope you will be able to help us.
Sincerely,
Lois Braithwaite, Immediate Past President
Dear Genevieve–my husband and I have a 63" space to put a 45" flat screen tv on the wall and create shelves around it for speakers and components to sit on. He is handy with woodworking skills, but an idea of a design is what we need. Our home is traditional style. I would appreciate any suggestions.
Hi,
I love your work! Hopefully you can help me with this question. My house is oak trimmed from, all cabinets, windows, baseboards, stair rails. I HATE OAK! If I use a dark stain do I stain everything, or can I stop at some point?
Thanx' for any input. Dawn
Crazy question, but really, how do I write a letter to you? First off, I love the style, sensibility and functionality of your design. I'm a mom of two crazy boys, so we sold our charming and historic home and moved into a larger, newly constructed home with a nice backyard. But really, the new house has too much space, or at least if feels that way. I'm in a total design dilemma, one room after another… super high ceilings, very open layout, there's a mix of modern and earthy finishes… I know I need to connect it all with color, texture and character to make it feel like our home, but I don't know where to start… Please help!
Dear Genevieve,
I have loved watching your show and have learned many things but I have a problem- my home is stuck in the 70's (the whole house) and I just dont know what to do to get started. There is all this dark paneling. Can you just paint over the panels or should they be taken out? There is cathedral ceilings throughout which make it nice and open, which I like, but with cheap wood beams – should we just paint them to match the ceiling? I plan to do some work in the kitchen so I would have to be careful with money when it comes to the rest of the house. Could you make some suggestions?
OMG! Has anyone been watching DG? Last night she 'made over' a dining room. I have to say in years of watching HGTV, I've never seen anything more hideous. Who seriously paints a ceiling dark, metallic gray? And, who puts a bunch of wrinkly dark curtains all over the room. And that rug, …..are you kidding me? She's got a lot of nerve calling herself a designer.
I have really enjoyed Genevieve's new show! Seeing beautiful, liveable spaces created on realistic budgets makes me think that we could do that, too. My question is about the opening montage of the show – could someone tell me the manufacturer of the cream-colored sofa Genevieve is sitting on at the end of the opening? It's perfect!
Thanks!
Dear Genevieve,
My family and I have just suffered a traumatic tragedy with the death of our infant granddaughter to hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Our daughter and son-in-law who were living with us for several months in order to get the proper care for their daughter, our granddaughter, have just retuned to their home. My husbnd wants to move to get away from the bad memories, but I want to stay for the 25 years of good memories. We just found out that our two bathrooms will need major renovtions, and I have been wanting a new kitchen for years. We are definitely on a tight budget but would greatly appreciate your help. Could you help us fall in love with our house again, as we try to re-estabish a new sense of peace and tranquilit?. Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Corrie Trattner and Henry Hasenbush
Dear Genevieve,
I have an older home and want to put a bathroom into an upstairs closet. It is very small, and I don't know how to accomplish all that I would like. There is definitely room for a sink and toilet but I am not sure if I can "squeeze" in a shower and I don't know about configuring plumbing with bearing walls, etc. The width of the space is narrow – only about 3.5 feet – and the length is about 5 or 6 feet with a sloping ceiling. I am considering having a manual skylight installed for lighting and ventillation. I am lost and funds are tight. I would like to be able to maximize my expenditure.
Thank you, Pat
The walls of one of our Sunday School rooms is painted yellow (medium bright) and blue (medium). What color would you suggest for the 3 fairly large windows which are on a yellow wall. We don't the room to look too feminine.
Hi Genevieve,
I need your advice on kitchen remodel. Where do I upload pictures and pose specific questions regarding the spruce up?
Thanks,
Priya
Dear Genevieve,
Where do I begin? Well after a long 13 years of waiting we finally purchased a home and to my surprise at the right price with a lot of potential. First off, I am a person who loves to play with decor and lives in HOMEGOODS but, that was with a small space (apartment), now in a 3000 sq ft home with open floor plan i find myself lost and confused. What color, what style? I am shocked when looking for a bedroom set I find myself going ornate and thats never been my style. We're moving in soon and would love to send you some pics of the rooms especially the family room which has a whole wall of stone and has become the focal point of the room (I cannot see myself taking that down its beautiful!). Can I send you some pictures?
Lost and Confused
Just saw the kitchen make-over for Greg and Jill. Loved the kitchen, except the floor was a huge mistake! It detracts and distracts from the rest of the beautiful room. You should have gone with the tile they picked. Though it wasn't the greatest, it would have let you focus on the rest of the kitchen, not just stare in horror at the floor! You're usually right on, but you goofed on this one.
Dear Genevieve, I have tried to send an e-mail but it keeps coming back.. I wanted to show you and tell you how great your idea for hanging my Christmas upside down worked.. It turned out great.. I really wanted to show you a picture of it , but it came back.. Oh well you prolly won't ever see this either.. But I did like it very much.. Thank you for all the really great ideas…
Dear Genevieve, I totally love your show and need your help desperately. We just recently re-did our kitchen and it is almost complete if I can find the chandelier that I saw in a magazine. I have looked online for hours on end and almost gave up when I spotted the exact chandelier I have been wanting for months in a shot in Episode #312 Battle on the Block. I couldn't believe my eyes! You were visiting with Dawn & Joe about furniture they had just seen and the camera man was shooting this through the chandelier. Could you please give me the name of the store that this light was in? I would be eternally grateful!!! Yah, know, it's like you find the perfect accessory and then nothing else will do. Well, that's the way it is for me with this chandelier. If I can actually find it and put it in my new kitchen, it will be completely done! And WOW would my husband be happy about that!!!
Karen
Dear Genevieve,Please tell me what to do to be on the show . My husband passed and I cant stay in my house,so I am moving in with someone, the house needs help,So please help me !!
Hi Genevieve,
I am writing to you, because my wife and I are about to have our first child (in August) and we would like to renovate our "master bath" to add a bathtub, and laundry. it is a condo in an old building, and they renovated the attic to add a bathroom attached to the master bedroom. Unfortunately, the "master" bathroom does not have a bathtub, or laundry. Currently, laundry is in the basement, and I don't want my wife trying to run up and down stairs with an infant to do laundry. We both think you are amazing, and my wife is worried about how we can complete the bathroom before the baby is due. We have saved for the project, but we need the help of somebody who understands how to design a space in a way that is the most efficient. I am trying to be the supportive husband, and thought I would reach out and ask- Genevieve, can you help us?
Best wishes,
The Rices
Dear Genevieve,
I know that you are always busy, but I think it would be GREAT for me and my family! My moms is a teacher and my dad is a football coach so they haven't been able to afford it. Thanks!!!!! 
I am a 14 year old girl and i love your show. My mom and I watch it every time it comes on. Our kitchen needs Help!!! We love our house, but when you walk in our kitchen its ULGY! yuck yuck yuck! The color is different shades of blue, the back splash is really bad. I would love you to come help us fix it. Is that possible? None of the appliances match and also it just looks bad!
Oh, and you would just love the little village where we live. It's called, Salado, Tx. Check it out. You would so love to shop downtown at the shops!! =)
I can't see where i could show you with some pics. Can you let me know if you are interested in our house and I could send you some?
I gotta go watch your show. Lata
Dear Genevieve,
I just caught the end of an old show (01/12/10) and saw that you had used some striated plywood above the white-painted panelling in the newly-renovated entry. I'm looking for that striated plywood for my 1949 Victor Civken double split-level here in Schenectady, NY. My neighborhood (West Hill) was the 1st planned community in the country(1948). It was developed by a group of GE engineers (all of whom bought into the development and built homes here) and of the 84 homes, 2 were designed by Civken. Several others were designed by young architects from Harvard. There were to have been several other portions of West HIll developed, but the clay soil and leach fields don't work well together, so only the original 84 units were built. The original 'pioneers' built their own houses in their spare time, sharing electricity and water from their own wells with whomever was still in the building stages. Since building material were difficult to find, they pitched in and ordered windows and plywood (including the striated plywood) by the truckload. So most homes here have pieces of the striated plywood, but if we want to add more, It can't be found. Where did you find yours?
If you aren't familiar with Victor CIvkin, he was young Russian architect who teamed up with GE to design the modern home for the returning GIs after WWII. He actually designed the modern kitchen – seamless countertops, large numbers of cabinets, modern small appliances (GE, of course), and went on to design a whole new type of house, modern, clean lines, corner windows and double-split levels. He designed homes for the GE managers in and around Fairfield, Connecticut and Schenectady, NY. My house was designed for the GE advertising manager and his wife.
So, about the striated plywood, does anyone have a source for 4'X8' sheets of this material?
I love to watch your show. The solutions you provide are very attainable and you really do pay attention the the owners needs. Pushing a little beyond the comfort zone works wonders.
Thanks for your time and consideration,
Clem
Dear Gen,
Firstly- love, love, love the show. Second- would it be possible to list or post the paint colors you select and use in the rooms you design? Most specifically, episodes like "Zest for Zoning", "From Dated to Delightful" and "Galley Kitchen". You always make such great paint selections.
Hugs and many thanks!!!
Tara
Querida G, eres una de mis favoritas de HGTV. Me encanta el diseño y decoracion de interiores desde que era niña. Me inspiras para crear nuevos diseños en mi hogar.
Genevieve – please come home! I know you are a native of Minnesota and I love your design ideas! I am in desperate need of a new kitchen. I emailed photos to your assistant, I think??? In any case, I live in Stillwater, have a lovely home (except for the kitchen) and need your help desperately. We just had an architect come over yesterday to consult with us. He will be doing a plan for us and we hope to begin (ourselves to save money) in early to mid-March, 2012. I would love your help and expertise. You could bring your crew too and I promise to feed you all some Minnesota Wild Rice Soup!
D Parker