Hildi Santo-Tomas
Encyclopedia
Hildi Santo-Tomas is an interior decorator best known for her appearances on the TLC
home renovation TV series Trading Spaces
. She is of Cuban
descent.
s, using old phonograph records as the cover for another room, and creating a mural
-sized self-portrait of herself across a living room wall. She has from time to time created daring designs, sometimes appearing to ignore the tastes and wishes of homeowners. For example, in one episode, homeowners with small children had the walls of their family room covered with hay
. When the homeowners pointed out that toddlers tend to put things in their mouths and threatened a lawsuit, the costs for removing the hay was settled out of court. In another home she ignored the fact that the family did not drink alcohol and used a wine label
theme in the kitchen decor.
Despite, or perhaps because of these controversies, Santo-Tomas is one of the Trading Spaces designers who has stayed on the show through all seasons and has a large viewer following.
She lives in Paris, France.
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
home renovation TV series Trading Spaces
Trading Spaces
Trading Spaces is an hour-long American television reality program that aired from 2000 to 2008 on the cable channels TLC and Discovery Home. The format of the show was based on the BBC TV series Changing Rooms. The show ran for eight seasons....
. She is of Cuban
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
descent.
Biography
Santo-Tomas is known on Trading Spaces for her convention-defying room designs, which have included covering walls of rooms with non-traditional materials, often to the dismay of the homeowners. These projects have included covering the entire walls of a bathroom with artificial flowerArtificial flower
Artificial flowers are imitations of natural flowering plants, used for commercial or residential decoration. They are sometimes made for scientific purposes .Materials used in their manufacture have included painted linen and shavings of stained horn in Egypt, gold and...
s, using old phonograph records as the cover for another room, and creating a mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
-sized self-portrait of herself across a living room wall. She has from time to time created daring designs, sometimes appearing to ignore the tastes and wishes of homeowners. For example, in one episode, homeowners with small children had the walls of their family room covered with hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
. When the homeowners pointed out that toddlers tend to put things in their mouths and threatened a lawsuit, the costs for removing the hay was settled out of court. In another home she ignored the fact that the family did not drink alcohol and used a wine label
Wine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...
theme in the kitchen decor.
Despite, or perhaps because of these controversies, Santo-Tomas is one of the Trading Spaces designers who has stayed on the show through all seasons and has a large viewer following.
She lives in Paris, France.