Imagine signing up for a fun home makeover TV show, thinking you’ll get a stylish upgrade—and ending up with straw glued to your walls and a bright pink ceiling you specifically asked not to have.
That’s exactly what happened to Leslie Hoover and her partner April Kilstrom more than 20 years ago, and the memory still sticks like hay to glue.
Back in the early 2000s, the couple appeared on TLC’s hit show Trading Spaces, a program that paired neighbors together to redo a room in each other’s house with a $1,000 budget and just two days to pull it off.
It was meant to be fun, dramatic, and a little chaotic.
But in this case, chaos took the lead—and never let go.
A Viral Disaster That Just Won’t Die
Even two decades later, clips from Leslie and April’s episode continue to go viral on TikTok.
Every time it resurfaces, a new generation watches in disbelief as the couple walks into their “new” room with their eyes closed, smiles on their faces—only to open them and immediately regret everything.
April was the first to react, gasping and cursing when she saw the dreaded pink ceiling, a color they had explicitly said they didn’t want.
Leslie, trying to be polite at first, offered a restrained, “The wall is a little bit funky.
I’m not sure about this straw here.” But looking back now, she admits what she really wanted to say was: “What the f***!”
From Child’s Playroom to… a Farm?
The room that was supposed to be transformed into a more adult space ended up looking more like a barnyard.
Leslie recalled feeling utterly shocked, describing it as a “crap job” that had nothing to do with their requests.
Despite being asked by the production team what colors they didn’t want, they ended up with both red (on their shirts) and pink (on their ceiling).
It felt like the design was already predetermined, no matter what the couple said.
Their episode was helmed by one of the show’s most infamous designers, Hildi Santo Tomás—known for her love of bold, often bizarre design concepts. And this time, she went full throttle.
Torn Friendships and Production Secrets
The experience didn’t just ruin a room—it nearly wrecked a friendship.
The neighbors who participated in the makeover across the street had invited Leslie and April to join the show.
At first, Leslie thought their same-sex relationship might be a barrier to casting, but surprisingly, TLC was on board.
What the show didn’t reveal, however, was that the neighbors had almost no say in what happened.
Rhea Wisherop, one of the neighbors, said they had no control over the concept or materials. Everything was pre-planned.
“The homeowners have no control,” she said bluntly. “They want us to act like we do, but it’s all their concept.”
Rhea even pointed out that she would never have chosen straw and hay for anyone’s walls.
But production still had them gluing and tossing straw like it was a barn-raising.
Damage Control and a Hard Lesson Learned
Once the cameras stopped rolling, the cleanup began. It took five adults working 17 hours to undo what was done in just two days.
Leslie said they started fixing the room the moment the production crew left.
One of the biggest heartbreaks? The team ripped out their mantle—a detail they’d begged the show not to touch—and replaced it with flimsy bookcases.
Despite everything, Leslie and April were eventually able to forgive their neighbors after realizing the design disasters weren’t their fault.
“We trusted our neighbors,” Leslie said. “And the show just did whatever they wanted.”
The Designer Still Defends Her Wild Vision
For her part, Hildi Santo Tomás has always stood by her choices.
In a 2018 interview with People, she said, “I’ve always been different.
I push my imagination. I thought it was a great idea.”
She claimed to have seen the straw wall concept before—in an ex-boyfriend’s living room, no less—and thought it looked cool.
As for concerns about the couple’s young daughter possibly eating the straw off the wall? Hildi shrugged it off.
One Footstool Is All That Remains
Though they’ve since moved out of the house and restored the room to sanity, one piece of the past still lingers: a footstool from the makeover that their now 25-year-old daughter still has.
A strange memento from a makeover gone totally off the rails.
Looking back, Leslie says it’s oddly comforting to see that internet viewers share her horror when the infamous episode resurfaces.
“At least we’re not the only ones who think it was insane.”