EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Old and young alike fill the room with animated chatter as they stake out their spots and settle in.

They eagerly await the debut of an episode of TLC's "Trading Spaces" that hits particularly close to home: the stars of the show are right there, sitting beside them.

Eagle Mountain residents Lance and Brenda Heal and Doug and Christie Gardiner are ready to watch the final product of their experience, and you've never seen anyone more glued to the TV screen.

"The only people we invited were people we were worried were going to gossip about us," said Brenda Heal as she and Christie Gardiner gave a "disclaimer" before the show.

"And we'd like to say we're desperately in love with our husbands," Christie Gardiner added.

Especially since they teamed up with the "Trading Spaces" crew and used the redecorating opportunity to put a little romance into each other's bedrooms.

"Maybe if our bedrooms are romantic, then they'll take us out to a movie once in a while," Christie Gardiner said in the episode.

Friends and family roared with laughter as the show played off the women's colorful personalities.

"I come off as a total airhead, but I'm not," Brenda Heal said. Her peppy personality packed into her petite frame matched the orange of her "Trading Spaces" shirt as she jumped around onscreen.

The couples reminisced about their relationships as they spiced up each other's bland bedrooms in blue and green, red and orange.

"Our house is completely a blank canvas right now," Christie Gardiner said before their bedroom's transformation.

The men also had an opportunity to add an extra romantic element for their wives.

"It's got to be a water feature," Lance Heal said in the episode, "Brenda goes crazy over water." A water fountain was included in the Heals' bedroom as the finishing touch.

They said a few of their lines were scripted.

"Water feature?" Lance Heal joked during the next commercial break. "I'd put an extra toilet in the room."

In the end, though, they were thrilled with the final product.

"I feel like we're in a really fancy hotel," Brenda Heal said.

Christie Gardiner cried. As she watched herself onscreen, she hid her face between her husband's knees.

But, she said, it's relieving that the episode didn't turn out as bad as she had expected.

"They are making this so much tamer than it actually was," Christie Gardiner said.

The couples are neighbors and have been friends for the past two years, and the Heals said this will be a good memory for them to share. Plus, each couple has a spot in their respective homes just for them.

"Now it's a romantic retreat where we can get away," Brenda Heal said.

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E-mail: asnyder@desnews.com