'Out' and About

How do they select the designers for these shows? Do they look for bitchy divas?
Well, kind of. ''The goal is to have people who'll do exciting stuff,'' says Schwartz, and he isn't just talking about nifty floor plans. Schwartz, who also executive-produces ''Trading Spaces,'' says it comes down to a 50-50 split between design skills and presentation. But even he isn't quite sure what a designer will be like on screen until the cameras roll. ''It's not like you're hiring a news personality who's done work in a smaller market,'' he says. ''These are people who do something for a living, and we just happen to be filming them.''

On ''Trading Spaces,'' Frank's the country designer, Doug's the modern designer, and so on. Do the producers try to match homeowners to designers who share their taste?
Unfortunately, no. ''When we hired the designers for 'Trading Spaces,' we didn't really think about that,'' Schwartz admits. ''But it's ultimately all about scheduling. These people have their own businesses, so it's just who we can book when.''

On ''Trading Spaces,'' there are two homeowners to help out. Will this show be short-handed?
To make up for the missing homeowner, two carpenters will be provided instead of one. Expect this male and female pair to give ''Trading'''s Ty Pennington and Amy Wynn Pastor a run for their buzzsaws. ''They're really cute,'' says Schwartz. Sigh...

Is there anything else that's different from ''Trading Spaces''?
Each makeover on ''While You Were Out'' has a $1,500 budget instead of ''Trading'''s bare bones $1,000. However, don't expect the money to go to nicer sofas or other luxuries. ''One of the things we were never able to do on 'Trading Spaces' because of the budget was flooring,'' says Schwartz. ''This gives us that opportunity.''

What about the new host?
Anna Bocci is the resident cheerleader for the first 10 episodes, but don't get too comfortable with her. ''We had to let her out of her deal. It was too much for her,'' says Schwartz. ''This show requires a lot of travel, and she's getting married in August. I don't think she considered that when she took the job.'' A new host will be chosen this month.

Homeowners have sobbed over newly designed rooms on ''Trading Spaces,'' and ''While You Were Out'' is even more likely to shock. Is there recompense for the disappointed?
''We comfort them,'' says Schwartz. But that's about it. The homeowners on both ''Trading'' and ''While'' sign iron-clad releases that say no matter how hideous the new room may be, the show isn't responsible for changing it back. On ''While,'' disgruntled surprisees will only have their well-intentioned housemates to blame. ''We aren't going in to mess up anybody's house,'' Schwartz explains. ''You want to do something nice. Just not everyone appreciates it.''