• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, January 26, 2006

Who knew that high-thread-count, granite-topped America wants to celebrate its own design disasters? HGTV's upcoming series, set to debut in May and tentatively called "Bad Baths," will employ a new model in which consumer-generated content makes over well-worn programming strategies.

The idea for the series came from the responses HGTV.com's Kathy McCleary received to an e-newsletter column last spring. McCleary bemoaned the dizzying plaids in the bathroom she inherited from previous owners. A tiny text note invited readers to weigh in on their own crazy loos.

The result was "an avalanche" of pictures, says site director Christy Curley. This wince-inducing portfolio -- one bathtub featured wrought-iron railing -- showed that Americans are eager to share their real-world bathroom remodeling challenges.

"It took off on its own," Curley says. An online photo gallery compelled HGTV executives to produce a special last fall called "Bad Baths USA." The new series will build on the flood of consumer e-mails and comments and include makeover contests and voting on a Website.