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CNN Live Today
Host Discusses 'Designing for the Sexes'
Aired July 25, 2002 - 10:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Folks out there have probably heard this music as well. They've also heard the men are from Mars and women are from Venus. All right. While you can see the differences right here on earth, especially when it comes to decorating. So what do you do when he wants plaid and she wants paisley? Well, what you do is you tune into the HGTV show "Designing for the Sexes." Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We entertain every weekend, and it's the best seating for a lot of people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think having a sofa and chairs, as a set up, offers more personal space than a sectional does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dave means well, but he needs a lot of help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that I'm going to win this battle, but I'm going to fight it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: You know, when they come to a point when they have to fight over these sort of things, our guest this morning referees and even offers some solutions. Our guest is Michael Payne. He's the host of "Designing for the Sexes." We're glad to have you with us here in Atlanta.
MICHAEL PAYNE, HGTV HOST, "DESIGNING FOR THE SEXES": It is an absolute pleasure to be here, Leon. I have to tell you it's a pleasure.
HARRIS: The pleasure is all ours. Now, don't cast your professional designing eye on us just yet.
PAYNE: Well, I'm kind of looking around at that.
HARRIS: We'll talk about that off camera, but not on camera. Now, listen, this is really an interesting idea. How big a difference is there really between men and women? Is it all anecdotal or is it really -- is it really there?
PAYNE: It really is there. There really are some marked differences between men and women. It's true. It's true.
HARRIS: OK.
PAYNE: Take wall color, for example. Men just seem to embrace the color white. And then, if they're really adventurous, they might get into some beiges.
HARRIS: Oh, that's adventurous.
PAYNE: Women, on the other hand, oh, they're so adventurous. They want to paint rooms burgundies and blues and greens and all sorts of wonderful colors. But almost across the board, men are fearful of color, really.
HARRIS: All right. What happens with the show here, just for those who are the uninitiated out there? I've seen it myself, but those who haven't seen it yet, what happens? Do you just let one person design the room and just let the other one deal with it, or what?
PAYNE: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. The way I approach both couples, husband and the wife, as truly equal partners. I give the husband 50 percent of the time and the wife, too. I listen to both their opinions, and then I come up with a compromise. It's all about compromise.
HARRIS: Is it always easy to find a middle ground or ...
PAYNE: No.
HARRIS: Have you had to separate people or what?
PAYNE: Well, not exactly force them apart. But on the other hand, sometimes it takes a lot of work to find that middle ground. But there is always a middle ground, always.
HARRIS: Yes. Now, one thing I will say is this. I know, I speak for the rest of the guys in the club. We do like electronics.
PAYNE: We do.
HARRIS: And most women don't.
PAYNE: That's right.
HARRIS: Now, is that one of the big hurdles that you have to deal with a lot of the times on the show?
PAYNE: It's one of the biggest single hurdles because I don't know if you are any different from other men around, Leon, but the TV just doesn't get big enough for you. Is that true?
HARRIS: That's me, guilty. Guilty as charged.
PAYNE: And how many remotes do you have?
HARRIS: Probably about five or six, and I do have a 100 inch screen, so...
PAYNE: See? I told you. I told you. Women hate that. They don't want the big -- they don't want to see the big screen TVs when they're not on. They're happy to look at them when they're on, but when they're not on, even you would admit to me that it is not the prettiest site in the world, the big black box.
HARRIS: If it's not on, I don't pay attention to it.
PAYNE: Oh, really? You're just going to ignore it?
HARRIS: Well, it's...
PAYNE: It's not a decorate element to a woman.
HARRIS: Well, that is true.
PAYNE: Women like to see pretty things.
HARRIS: Yes.
PAYNE: And it goes with the same with the equipment. I'm sure you just love all of your electronic boxes with their twinkling lights.
HARRIS: Oh, yes.
PAYNE: Women don't like that either.
HARRIS: Well, what...
PAYNE: So I have to come up with a compromise and do something about it.
HARRIS: Well, tell us what you did with this one couple. We're going to take a look at this one couple that you worked with on the screen.
PAYNE: Excellent.
So I have to ask you both, has it really sort of turned out the way you wanted it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
PAYNE: I'm delighted. Dave, are you happy too?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never want to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we don't.
HARRIS: All right. So what was their story here?
PAYNE: You see, here is the situation where they had this great big television just sort of sitting there.
HARRIS: Yes.
PAYNE: I mean it was an eyesore, truly an eyesore, all the electronic equipment. What I did was to design a cabinet, put it in the cabinet, so when the doors were closed, the television just disappeared. It was perfect.
HARRIS: OK.
PAYNE: It was a nice piece of furniture.
HARRIS: OK. OK.
PAYNE: That's the way to do it.
HARRIS: OK. Now, have you ever done something in someone's home where they absolutely just did not like it and couldn't stand it, either one of them?
PAYNE: Never happened. And the reason it has never happened and hopefully will never happen is before I do anything, I always bounce it off them first. I tell them what I'm going to -- I'm not going to spring this surprise on them, Leon. Come on!
HARRIS: All right. Finally, I have to ask you this one real quick. There are differences between men and women.
PAYNE: Yes.
HARRIS: Do those differences change as they age?
PAYNE: No.
HARRIS: Have you found older couples to be a little bit more acquiescent or different or what?
PAYNE: No, sometimes it goes in the opposite direction. They've put up with those differences so long that it's time that they get their own way. You know how it is?
HARRIS: Well, I'm glad it's time that you finally got your own show on this. Way to go, Michael Payne, congratulations. It's a fun show, folks. You really ought to check it out, even though it is on another network, HGTV. Check it out. It's a good show. Michael Payne, glad to have you with us.
PAYNE: Absolutely a pleasure to meet you. It truly is.
HARRIS: Good luck. And I'll talk to you about our decor here later.
PAYNE: OK. Yes, let's talk about the color of the carpet.
HARRIS: Yes, we need -- we've got some work to do here.
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