Design Star

I watched The Next Food Network Star and HGTV Design Star and I'm hooked! I love both of them. I'm going to look forward to Sunday Night TV!

Did you watch? What did you think?

Ooooo, which one to talk about first? Okay, Design Star. There are 12 designers in the competition to win their own show on HGTV. And it IS a competition. Hehehe. You can tell Mark Burnett is a producer, there was Drama - with a capital D. I loooooved it!

The Design Star wanna be's were paired up and had to design a bedroom based on the personality of their partner. The dreaded "white box" challenge. The first challenge and it was a doozy. Here's the before, yikes, yup, white box! Note to Design Star producers: Wassup with the twin bed? C'mon you're a big show on HGTV, make bigger boxes and at least put in a queen size bed!
Hey, who's "designing" the challenge rules? They had to shop at an Asian marketplace and they had a $500 budget. One of the judges said it was a designers job to make "wow" from "meh" (sorry, my paraphrase) but seriously? 500? To do an entire room? Dear Vern Yip, you would have to be a magician to make $500 look like $5,000! To be fair, HGTV did hit a home run with pairing up the designers - we got to see as much about their personalities because of the way the challenge was structured, as we did their designs. Very effective, brilliant! Here's the final rooms grouped by the judges top 6 and bottom 6.

Do you agree with the judges choices?

Winners? Here they are! Nina was chosen as the first episode Design Star winner, but I disagree, I would have chosen Tera.


Individual bedroom designs:
This was my favorite room, although the judges chose Nina as the winner. I give this room eight design stars. On a $500 budget, no one could get ten stars, but Tera came the closest to achieving a designer look. Colors? Oh yes, perfect for a bedroom! Balance? Sweet! Lighting? A little stark for a bedroom but great for television. Flooring? Coordinated with style of room, fits a bedroom, all in all good. Texture? I like the texture of the wall art and the grasses in the smooth vase. Glass, nice touch. Space? And somehow it looks bigger than a twin bed in a closet. Functionality? Okay, but not outstanding. Style? Not outside-the-box (sorry, couldn't resist), a bit too hotel-ish, but given time constraints, shopping constraints and budget - an admirable effort.

The judges chose this as their fave but I think the umbrella's are a little too.....common. The colors aren't the best for me - I like the walls and the blue and green - just not together. When you look at the before and after, it is amazing, but not a home run. Seven design stars.

I love what Stacey did on the divider wall. The wall and bedding colors are perfect. The long table doesn't fit the rest of the room. The wall art? Uh, what wall art?! Big oops! Five design stars.

Love, love love the floral on the wall - Micheal created a nice focal point. Definitely made the room look bigger. Somehow though the colors, textures, accessories, don't quite pull together. My eye jumps all over because it just doesn't look polished. Five design stars.

Good beginnings, a few nice elements but just not enough. Four design stars.

I like the wood on the bed, but walls are a touch too dark, scale is off. What was he thinking with that plant? Four design stars.


The Losers?

Individual bedroom designs:
Pluses - I like the headboard and the wall paint treatment. Minuses - no balance, everything is on the left side. A bit cruelly, they made fun of his empty frame but it is kinda lame! Three stars from me.

I struggled with this one, many things I liked but just a touch to ordinary.... not designer-ish enough. The things hanging under the canopy? Ick. Three stars.

Alex had a shopping mis-hap and didn't buy all the things he had picked out. It showed, looks like he didn't finish. He has good potential though! Three stars.

Yuck, yuck, and more yuck. Can you say b-o-r-d-e-l-l-o? Looks like a bad porn movie. Okay, I've never seen a bad porn movie, but it's what I imagine one would look like. Two stars.

Oh, Emily, you are so cute and everyone wants to like you and your designs, but ending up only liking you. And I think that's what kept you in, you are just so likeable! One star.

Oh, Julie, Julie, Julie. Just bad. One design star.

And who went home on the first episode of HGTV Design Star?
Julie. It's so sad seeing nice people go home.

Where was the drama? Oh, Nina is gonna be the bad girl! She totally set up Courtland, when she described her style to him as someone very social, loved having friends over, going out. When the judges asked her, "bohemian chic". Ouch, bad girl!

Great quotes....

Emily: "I don't do sketches, I don't draw, I stare."

Look at your room? Maybe you should re-think that, girlfriend.

Courtland about Nina: "She just threw me under the bus! Wow, you are a *bleeeeep*!"

Judge Candice: "The red shows through, it was just this nauseating pink color."

Tell us what you really think, Candice, hehehe. Love you!

Casey about the room Alex designed for her : "I wish that he would have time to do something with the floor. It seems like a little unfinished. Am I unfinished?"

Vern: "If you let another designer roll right over you, you're gonna be gone, pal."
"It looks like a prison cell for a monk."

That Vern, is always so sensitive, isn't he? NOT!

Leave comments, please! What did you think?