Considered a pioneer in the category of home-improvement television, Discovery this spring will revive Trading Spaces, which returns to TLC on April 7 after a 10-year absence.

Following the same premise, neighbors redecorate one room in each other’s home within a 48-hour window, this time with an increased budget of $2,000. Paige Davis hosts, most of the designers are back—as well as Ty Pennington as the go-to construction guy—five new designers will be featured, and the emphasis remains on the simplicity of making over one room per home.

”Trading Spaces made design accessible to middle America, as opposed to just the upper echelon of society,” said Davis on a panel at Winter TCA in Pasadena. “Even today, 10 years since we have been off the air, we want people to know these are creative ideas they can do in their own today.”

”The show has always been about being resourceful, creativity, doing the most for the least amount of money, and using what you already have,” she added. “Even through we are in a period where design is so accessible to everyone, those rules and those ideas still apply to us as a show. The designers never focus on any particular trend or not trend.”

“It’s a fantastic format; you really get to understand who these people are and why they open their doors,” said Pennington, who, when asked, also expressed interest in returning to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. ”There is the comfort factor on Trading Spaces. You know our voices.”

One notable absence at the panel was original carpenter Carter Oosterhouse, who last month was accused of sexual misconduct by a makeup artist on his HGTV series Carter Can. Oosterhouse has said their sexual encounters were consensual and initiated by her.

“We did look into the allegations. We also looked into everything that we did throughout our production on this run of Trading Spaces, and we take it all very seriously,” said Nancy Daniels, TLC president and general manager. “At the end of the day, we feel very comfortable continuing with Carter in the show.”

Airing from 2000-08, the original Trading Spaces was a signature series for TLC, which, at the time of its debut was deemphasizing its original focus on educational programming in favor of more entertainment value. The emphasis on TLC was shifted to reality and interior design shows, with entries like Junkyard Wars, A Wedding Story, A Baby Story and aforementioned Trading Spaces the ticket to a more mass-appeal audience.

”I think a of people are looking for familiarity and comfort, particularly at this time in our country, and a lot of people have been seeking advice on how to transform the most import space in their lives, which is their home,” said designer Vern Yip. “This just feels like the right time.”

Following the Trading Spaces session was the returning Nate & Jeremiah by Design, featuring interior designers and husbands Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent as they help distressed homeowners turn renovation failures into dream homes. The two series, which will air back to back, will feature a crossover episode later this year.

[Cube image courtesy of USA Today/Getty Images]

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