A Letter to Trading Spaces/While You Were Out/Insert HGTV show here

Dear Home-Improvement Reality TV Show (I really don't care which one):

I need your help.

I inherited our house when my now husband Chris and I moved in together in 2006, just shortly before we got engaged. Upon moving in, it became very obvious that Chris hadn't done much in the ways of decorating when he moved in back in 2001. Which is a shame, because the woman who lived there before Chris was colorblind or just flat out lacked taste. This woman - who is actually an interior decorator (a really, really bad one) had an obsession with dark drapes in plaid and paisley, adorned fabric poufs in the same color scheme.

In short, the window dressings made the place look like a hunting lodge decorated by Laura Ashley.

So, I slowly went to work - taking down the drapes, stripping the paisley wallpaper from the kitchen and repainting, stripping the dark navy paisley (notice a trend here?) wallpaper from the half bath and painting the walls a soft lemon...you get the picture. It's taken me two years, but I'm making inroads.

But it's not enough, and I know it. The carpet needs to be pulled. And steam cleaned, again. Many of the walls need new coats of paint. I need to change the lighting concept. Some of the furniture is old and seems out of place.

Worst of all - and this may be the sticking point for Chris - my house is overrun by pictures of the Rat Pack, Boston Red Sox memorabilia, and random sports pictures from hockey games, baseball games, etc. My living room no longer looks like that hunting lodge, but it still looks a little like a game room.

So, HGTV, TLC, ABC, BBC...whomever: Help me. I'll be the best guest/contestant on your reality TV show, ever.

Sincerely,
Tempe