See a list of all BravoTV.com blogs
We have a winner! And what a fantastic one indeed!
Congrats, Matt! You earned your title and you certainly deserve it. It was a pleasure to see your singular brain at work. It is going to be a lot of fun watching Matt redesign the world. And, I have to say, it was a pleasure to see all 12 designer's brains at work.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
The skill sets of the designers on the show are off the charts. Whether or not they could achieve their designs in the few hours they had to execute them ultimately has nothing to do with their talents. I know of no actual design project that must be realized in such a short time -- so can you imagine what this stable of talent will be able to do with proper time frames.
I love Carisa....]]>
I can’t believe it’s down to two!
What a crazy ride this has been. We have seen some amazing ideas, some intense situations and some authentically great design. I thought this week’s challenge, the Elle Décor cover challenge, was a smart one as it really presented an exciting platform to let the designers shine.
We were down to Andrea, Carisa and Matt, all major talents. This challenge mirrors a situation a lot of designers encounter in real life projects, a client showing you images they like and wanting something different. Interpretation of design is often more challenging than coming up with completely original efforts, but all three did terrific jobs.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Andrea came up with a design detail that I am so jealous that I didn’t think of it first, her beautifully hand-embroidered baseboards! How luxurious and smart. I think this detail so perfectly captured the...]]>
This week’s adventure was the Metropolitan Home magazine challenge and I loved this one!
Our special guest judge this week was the brilliant Linda O’Keefe, one of the coolest people in the industry. The four remaining designers are all major and so was their effort. Each designer drew a card that had one of the four elements on it. The chosen card would act as the design inspiration for a hotel suite design. Amongst the four elements, some are easier to interpret than others and one is just plain tricky, and lovely Goil got the tough one, FIRE.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Fire is about the very last thing one wants in their hotel suite, but there are inspiring aspects of it as a design motif. The judges and I all appreciated Goil's always-unusual take on the fire idea but, sadly, it ultimately got in his way and he was...]]>
What a terrific challenge! This is the kind of dream job that most designers long for and we saw a lot of great design this week. As it should be at this point, everyone is doing excellent work.
Andrea won this challenge and her room was fantastic. It was a great pleasure getting to see at Andrea work because I find her so stealth and calm and she has clever ideas and terrific taste. She calmly cut all those slate shards herself and she seemed to have her room finished early. Andrea has a HUGE future in design.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Goil’s room was charming and peculiar, a perfect combination. Goil is one of those rare designers that just seem to see it all differently. He is clearly smart and sophisticated in his spatial ideas and there is always this quirky international charm that we now can recognize as pure...]]>
Welcome back. This week’s challenge tasked the designers to create a party design that would blend the elegance of its host, Elle Décor magazine and celebrate Bacardi Limon. Designing a great atmosphere for a party is certainly an important part of a gathering’s success.
The six remaining designers gave it there all within a time frame that for once is close to real life. Parties have to pop-up and disassemble often just as fast, so a stealth design and plan is in order. A good approach to designing a party space is to define a few bold moves and maximize them. I loved Goil's strung lemon chains. A new way to use an everyday material. Also I was so impressed with his makeshift threading system of a bent nail and some white twine.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
The addition of mirrors was a great idea. It was a surprise...]]>
Sometimes as a designer we are asked to design rooms that are very low on the glamour list, but ultimately are very important to the overall function of a household.
One of these rooms is indeed the garage. This week the designers were challenged to reconsider the family garage with the added pressure of meeting five different family members needs. The almost impossible task did yield some inspiring results you can use at home to simplify and organize your life.
A good start is to find a way to install a storage system that honors the old adage of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Clear storage bins with tight lids are a perfect choice. Check out The Container Store either online or in person for so many options your head will spin.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Spend a...]]>
JD wrote:
Todd -- who makes that long-sleeve striped polo you were wearing in an episode?
It was probably from Penguin.
Jill wrote:
Can anyone help me find the sweater that Todd wore at the beginning of last week's episode? It would be perfect for my boyfriend's birthday ... it was brown argyle, I think I was Lacoste?
It was Lacoste. It's thin wool and was heavily altered.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Jennifer wrote:
Why doesn't Todd Oldham judge? Everybody watches to hear what he has to say. I wish he participated in the judging.
When I was asked to join the show, I felt like I would not be able to be a judge and...]]>
This was a particularly exciting challenge for me because the safety net of good choices and fine taste that the Pacific Design Center offers was tossed out the window. It was time for reinvention and fast imaginations.
A lot of good ideas were in action and these were among my favourites. Goil’s peculiar and smart re-imaging of a pair of dilapidated antique chairs seemed new and brilliant when he chopped the back legs off and slipped them over a ledge to level it out. It is a treat to see Goil in action.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
Ryan came up with some terrific ideas. Loved his portable table and bench with the beautiful painted targets top and seats. I saw that table work perfectly before the judging so I know that must have been very frustrating for him when it didn’t work for the judges. Ryan’s technique of painting...]]>
The cabana challenge proved to be no day at the beach for our remaining nine designers.
Three teams of three were each randomly assigned a resort destination (Tahiti, Saint Tropez, or Miami) to use as design inspirations for their cabana designs. The usual crazy time schedule was in order, but with the added challenge of re-assembling the designs on the beach in front of Kelly Wearstler's dazzling hotel, The Viceroy.
Watch Todd's videoblog about episode 3!
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
There was no electricity on the beach so tools were to be battery or manually powered. As usual the designers gave it their all but the ultimate challenge of team work often seemed to get in the way. A good designer has to believe in their abilities and their ideas -- and this alone can create tension in an effort of like-minded people.
Three down, nine to go. This weeks challenge was intense. The designers had to work alone and come up with the perfect bedroom for their busy clients. When they actually meet the clients they turned out to be 10-year-olds.
It was fun to see which designers turned ashen and which brightened up when they found out. (I think it would be more fun to design for kids!) The budget on this challenge was far less than than the first one and that undid a few designers.
__MTPAGINATE_PAGE_BREAK__
A talent like MATT, with his very refined taste, was really challenged working on a budget like that while the smart CARISSA , who has an apprecition for all kinds of materials, zipped right thru with ease. While I liked most of the rooms, I was excited to se that ERIK had won because, if you were a kid pirate...]]>
