[advertising]

By KRYS GRANDMOND
Staff Writer

In the middle of a huge home-improvement show fad, Much Music has added its own version of the surprise room makeover show. It's called Much In Your Space and features a pair of VJ's and their teams who storm in on an unsuspecting fan, whisk them away for a makeover in the style of their favourite artist and a day of fun. Then surprise them with a homecoming fit for a star. All their friends and family (and a Much VJ) in their newly made over room.

I must admit, I'm a fan of the reality makeover shows and have been pulling the "While You Were Out" trick on my father every time he goes up north. This time, though, the trick was on my 12 year old sister.

A huge fan of Avril Lavigne, her pale-pink-walled and Mickey-Mouse-covered room needed a major overhaul. So I took it upon myself to create a space fit for someone just entering their teenage years.

And I made sure to add the Avril twist.

My mother and I took her shopping to Home Depot. She knew that while she was up north with my father, we'd be redoing the living room (again). I suggested a green to my mom that she wasn't too sure about. Turning to my sister, I asked her opinion. "You don't want to know what I think," was her response, but with a bored look on her face she pointed to the same green I had suggested just moments earlier. Unknowingly, she had just picked the new colour of her room. Add a quart of a lighter shade, red, white and black and we were set.

After setting the main colour down on the walls, I got to work on the finer details. Three stripes around her bed feature hand drawn army print, a row of stars and the lyrics to one of her favourite songs, "Take Me Away". Another row of white stars goes across the top of the wall where her dresser goes. A thick red outline separates the white of the star and the deep green of the wall.

Another feature, a large black box outlined in red, graces the wall across from her bed and has lyrics to another favourite, "Who Knows".

A new tiger striped quilt and 2 small red accent pillows create a more mature feeling in the room. With all the childish stickers and pictures gone, I decided to give her a couple of cork boards to post some new photos of her friends and family.

To top off the design, I put 2 new avril posters on the walls and Avril's new CD "Under My Skin" in the cd player. When she walked in, she didn't know what to say. But her friends did. They all loved it, and later on, she admitted that it's the coolest room she's ever seen.

She loves the end result and feels better about bringing her friends in. And ultimately, that's what I was going for.

See for yourself what the room looked like before and now. I can't wait to pull off another one. Maybe I should apply for a Much In Your Space designer? Think Andrika would like some competition? ;)