082-095 Genevieve FINAL

“
We were awkward with the cameras at first, but then Gen was so
easy to be with. She listens in a way that’s so completely undivided,
you feel chemistry. Soon it was like we were all just friends hanging
out, having regular conversations, and the cameras just happened
to be rolling. —David Smith, Delta Upsilon fraternity (Berkeley: Prospect Street)
”
When Genevieve Gorder walks into a
seductive strut. Her unmistakable allure lies instead in the way
room, heads turn. It’s not because she’s
this good-gal designer brims with her own contented spirit.
instantly recognized as a Trading
Gen has the smirk of a girl who approaches every day as
Spaces designer—that moment
her birthday. She’s prone to flirting and roaming barefoot and
usually coincides with her giveaway
she hates symmetry. Despite some grunts about an early
giggle—and it’s not solely because she’s
moss-covered wall, she’s received rave reviews for rooms
a tall, striking, green-eyed blond with a
ranging from a Moroccan teen fantasy to bright, happy
kitchens, a groovy “retrofly” lounge, and comfy, woodsy dens.
She’s found design inspiration in old cigar box labels, sliced
vegetables, a homeowner’s favorite sea-glass necklace, and a
few brief tango lessons from an Argentinean cowboy named
Orlando. Many have described Gen’s style as eclectic and
whimsical. The resident free spirit of Trading Spaces is
anything but random in her mission to make America rethink
white walls and beige carpet. “Decorating comes down to how
geneviegvoerder
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While some fans have referred to Genevieve Gorder as “The Barefoot
Designer,” flashing her feet on TV serves a practical purpose: Gen adores
her collection of shoes and doesn’t want them dappled with paint,
adhesives, or numerous other materials she works with every day.
In Defense of Moss
Gen stands behind one of
her most daring designs.
didn’t get it, and that they had
allergies,” Gen continues, “but at
least I got someone out there thinking
about the design merit of a material you
won’t see on a store shelf.” To that end maybe her organic
wonderland was a success: As they stapled on the
unconventional wallcovering, Gen’s team members were
definitely thinking “Why?” They kept at it and got at least
some viewers thinking “Why not?”
Gen makes no apologies for the only room in the history of
Trading Spaces to be rejected before it was even seen.
“Something smells,” said the pair of San Diego homeowners
before opening their eyes to see their bedroom wall covered
in floor-to-ceiling moss. “That room was hot!” insists Gen,
who’s built five more moss walls on commission since that
show aired. All were in Manhattan, where urbanites can
appreciate portable greenery that grows without light or
regular watering. “I’m sorry the San Diego homeowners
OK, so...
enough about
the moss!
you find your joy,” she
is
Lew
Ge
n
explains, “and I’m there
to help make yours visible.”
That joy can be tough to define when Gen’s only
contact with her homeowner client is a 20-minute
video. Her solution? She mentally puts herself in
her homeowners’ place. Take the couple who
enjoyed sitting by the fireplace in their cramped
basement dreaming of a cozy cabin makeover: Gen
conjured memories of autumns spent at
her grandpa’s
Minnesota cabin
Adrian
The always cheer-ful Gen with her two brothers
and responded with
a design that included not only the look and feel of heavy timber but also
the smells, tastes, and overall warmth of the season. She painted the walls to recall the
cinnamon she remembers wafting from hot cider; she sewed pillows from 99-cent thrift
store sweaters and a corduroy shirt (snap buttons, pockets, and all).
Coincidentally, it was also a shirt that inspired Genevieve’s first decorating effort at
the ripe age of 7. Taking a cue from her do-it-yourselfer parents who restored their
share of south Minneapolis Victorian homes, Gen boldly drew up plans for her own
custom headboard patterned after her favorite (and oh-so-’80s) T-shirt, which boasted a
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bright rainbow arching up one sleeve and down the other. She had some help building
that masterpiece, but by high school Gen’s family experiences on house projects had
instilled within her the know-how to strip wood, varnish, lay tile, and take down
wallpaper by herself.
“
She really does dance spontaneously—but only to one or two
songs on every CD that she says are upbeat enough for
the spirit of the room, and after that she’s up again to change the
music every two songs. —Jennifer Quinn (Missouri: Sunburst Drive)
Gen
Walls and floors soon took a
Gen’s mom, “but we weren’t
m
Mo
”
Ad
ria
n
backseat to hip-hop, soccer, and
hippies either. Arts and travel
some ambitious language and
were about giving our kids the
cultural pursuits. Growing out of
education they need to get out
her embarrassing preteen
there in life and keep moving.”
permed bob and fascination for
Gen’s mom is co-owner and
all things Cyndi Lauper (any
instructor of a yoga studio as
surprise this girl just wanted to
well as a women’s health
have fun?), Gen committed
nurse practitioner and former
herself to studying Spanish and
modern dancer. Her dad and
the violin. Both endeavors
brother Lewis are talented
stemmed not from school
amateur photographers, her
requirements but from seeds
stepdad a classical bassist, and
planted by her parents, who
her grandpa a former big band bass player. Both brothers have cut their own
wanted their children to see and
CDs—one creates techno, the other hip-hop and spoken word. Gen raves about
embrace cultures the world over.
both. Says youngest brother Adrian, “What you see? Gen really is that cool. And
“We weren’t conventional,” says
more. She’s all about family. I know I can count on her.”
Gr
an
dm
a
“
Who would I hang out with? All of them. Brains, geeks,
jocks, the artsy crowd, and yeah, Molly Ringwald. But
I’d always date the skateboarder.
The always reliable Gen learned at a young age to follow
her own dreams with a sensible mix of caprice and drive.
”
College brought Gen to Portland,
Oregon, where besides breathing in
She traveled as far as France (twice) to play violin with
that first fateful scent of Oregon
her youth orchestra and, during a summer break in high
moss, she majored in international
school, studied as an exchange student in Barcelona, Spain.
affairs at Lewis and Clark College.
Passionate about world cultures but
While she debated world politics and
contemplated life in the foreign service, a
weary of memorizing political
poster of Prince in Purple Rain hung above her
science acronyms, she enrolled in
bed. (She’s still a huge fan.) Asked whom she
art classes, eventually finding her
would have hung out with if she had been a
character in the film The Breakfast Club, Gen
calling in a graphic design class. “It
all just clicked. Everything
answers, “All of them. Brains, geeks, jocks, the artsy crowd, and yeah,
changed,” she recalls. Her newfound
Molly Ringwald. But I’d always date the skateboarder. Probably for his
talent landed her an internship at
sense of adventure,” she muses.
MTV in New York City, which later
Pretty
in pigta
ils
High
scho
ol da
ys
soNice
Ge cks,
n
Gen’s snapshots showcase the evolution of a
free-spirited trendsetter. Clockwise from left,
Gen drying off after a swim, breaking hearts
in high school, strolling the beach (in high
style!), and acting coy in grade
school.
me
Howeet
S ome
H
Above: Question-and-answer sessions and autograph signings at the
home and garden trade show. Below: Gen and her family kicking back in
the hotel between Gen’s appearances.
became a full-time job; soon she
corporate T-shirts or
dropped out of Lewis and Clark to
benefit dinner menus. “It
start over at the School of Visual
all comes down to color,
Arts in Manhattan. Working and
form, balance, and
studying full-time, she followed that fast
knowing your materials.
track all the way back to Amsterdam in
You use them all to flesh
the Netherlands.
out a character,” she says.
Landing back in New York, Gen found
Gen’s description of
work with an award-winning studio
three-dimensional graphic
called Duffy Design. Her credits there
design isn’t too far from
include the bottle and label on Tanqueray
her current idea of a
10 bottles, but her interests strayed
successful room
toward three-dimensional graphic design.
makeover—materials,
As she explains it, that means she might
design a logo for a company, then its
Gen and a homeowner try to decipher manufacturer’s instructions.
exhibition booths, and maybe its
color, form, and balance all come into play in home decorating. Back when
Trading Spaces called, Gen had yet to see the connection between
graphics and interior design. “I grew up with Designing Women and just
didn’t think decorating was cool. I pictured all interior designers wearing
big perfumed scarves and bursting through swing doors balancing bolts of
purple chintz,” she explains. Never saying no to the possibilities of
serendipity, she got on a plane. Gen recalls, “They sent me a copy of
Changing Rooms [the British TV series that inspired Trading
Spaces], and I thought, I could do that.” She auditioned along
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genevieve gorder
Born: July 26, 1974
Raised: Minneapolis
Adopted Hometown: New York City
Favorite Saying: “That’s so sick!” (a compliment)
Addictions: Tortilla Española and MAC lip glass
Most Embarrassing Moment: During an interview on the Today
show, she quipped, “Matt, I can do anything for $1,000.”
Photographed at Le Souk in New York City on November 7, 2002