Vancouver native Dawn Buckler and her partner Rocco Barker (guitarist with 80’s new wave band Flesh for Lulu) recently appeared in the HGTV series ‘A Place in Spain: Costa Chaos’.
Dawn and I used to work together here at 95.3 back when it was Z. Now she’s gone and written a book about her Spanish adventures, and I’m helping out a pal by pimping it a bit.
Here’s the hottie herself and a little interview on the project.
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Wow. A Place in Spain. Sounds glamourous.
I wish. If you watch the show you’ll see it’s anything BUT glamourous.
How did you end up there?
Well, I guess I’m a bit of a world traveler. I moved from BC at the age of 22 to London, England and after a few years there, I got tired of cold weather and made it my mission to live in a warm climate. We didn’t have any money to do it, but that’s what banks are for, right? I’m a bit crazy that way. I think it’s pretty obvious why the TV show was interested in us!
How did the TV show come about?
Well. There was a tiny ad in a London paper saying something about ‘Are you starting a business overseas. If so call…’ I had no intention of starting a business but I lied to appease the ad and said we were about to renovate an old Spanish house into a 5 star vacation villa for tourists - complete with butlers, maids and chauffeurs. When the TV company called me, I couldn’t remember what I said! Regardless, they liked us and the idea, and the next thing I knew, we had to buy a house in Spain fast!
Your partner is Rocco Barker of 80’s Flesh for Lulu fame. What’s it like living with a rock star?
Hell. The series finale is on Monday May 10th. I don’t want to ruin the outcome, but you’ll find out then.
What’s it like renovating a house in Spain?
Again…one word…hell. Keep in mind when we started the project that I didn’t even know what the purpose of foundations were for or how a light functions aside from a switch on a wall. Add to that, not knowing a word of Spanish. And then there’s the manana attitude of the Spanish…we were screwed from the get go.
So this was your first house renovation then?
Yah. Rocco was intent on starting from scratch and building from the ground up, but I knew Rocco’s work ethic (which is very limited considering his previous job of playing a guitar) so I pushed for what I thought would be a much easier task of renovating. I thought that our house would be finished in 3 months, as they are in Canada. Three years later and here we are…still pushing on. I now know that there is a HUGE difference between wood houses and a brick and mortar construction.
Has it really been that bad?
Well…take for example our state of the art Jacuzzi. We waited months for our electrician to eventually come and hook it up. We finally had it all running, put water in it for the first time, had the bubbles going and were just about to use it for the first time when we experienced a rare thunder storm. Because our electrician for some unknown reason (as is customary in Spain) took down our lightening conductor, our Jacuzzi was struck and blew the whole electricity panel - $3,000 repair bill. We also had involuntary air conditioning for a year, while we waited 8 MONTHS for our windows to arrive. And I won’t even mention the flooding of our basement or our builder who disappeared for a few months.
And now you’ve got a book about your experience?
Yah, it was my therapy. I can now vouch for the statistics that prove home renovation is one of the leading causes of divorce. While our experiences are funny to look back upon, it’s been quite a tumultuous few years. The TV show ends just as we’re about to start renovations. I still receive emails from around the world, describing our journey as ‘inspirational’, and our relationship as a ‘love affair of grandeur’. Yet the reality of the situation was quite the opposite. My life and my sanity were falling to pieces. I guess it’s a support manual of sorts for couples around the world engaging in the hugely popular property building and renovation genre. No matter how bad they deem their situation, one only needs to read my book to realize that it can get a whole lot worse!
Any regrets?
I will never regret my journey as I refuse to live life with regrets. I would rather have done this project than continue to wish I had – trauma and all. It’s what colours us as individuals, and it’s true what they say – that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.
Dawn Buckler’s book ‘Stripped in Spain – One Woman’s Journey through Foreign Relocation, Renovation and Relationship Disaster’ is available for purchase at www.dawnandrocco.com.
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