April 4, 2007
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This challenge was particularly difficult because each contestant needed to represent a cover of Elle Decor magazine without imitating it. I think being able to pick up the nuances and essence of each cover -- which of which were very graphic -- was the key to success. It is so much easier to look at a picture and copy it, but this challenge was to go a step further without recreating the cover.
In addition to creativity, I was looking particularly at how designers set up juxtapositions between objects and shapes. Certain designers really know how to put the old and new together and find a fresh point of view. I’m constantly looking at the balance in a space.
Andrea’s space was very nice but it had a flatness to it. There was a void in the room because everything was at one level. There needs to be something at certain level that pulls your eye around the room; that’s a really important part of interior design. But more important is knowing how to balance the space. Even if everything is going to be brand new, which is fine, there still needs to be a tension between the heights of certain objects to keep your eye moving and then resting where it needs to rest.
I liked Carisa’s space. Yes, there were a lot of things to look at, but I think that’s what made it interesting. It’s what made her room original. I thought the back wall was really well perceived and executed. It looked like real stone until you got up close. She really gets an A+ for effort because it could have looked cheesy and bad, and I think it looked really great. She did really well based on the budget and the style.
I also really enjoyed Matt’s room. He has such a good sense of style. Everything he comes up with seems to come from the mind of a well-seasoned designer. He picks and chooses his products and shapes very well, and he understands the yin and yang of old and new. His work was the most sophisticated of the three.
My first day meeting the designers was when I arrived on the set, and that was judgment day. But I have been watching “Top Design” on TV at home, which has been interesting, maybe a little strange. I feel for some of the people who got kicked off earlier. I think if it hadn’t been for some mismatched teamwork, certain people probably would still be there. But that’s the breaks. You have to work with many partners in this business. That said, I can completely understand why these were the final three: they were the best.
When it came time to making our final decisions, the judges were all feeling the same thing on some levels even though we all have different points of view. The draperies that Matt hung in his room were very refreshing; they left a very gauzy aura. I think it was Kelly who didn’t agree with me. But that’s cool, that’s what makes the world go around.
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Comments
lisa wrote:
Carrisa shoukd have won challange. Matts room was bland
posted on April 5, 2007 at 12:10 AM
katie wrote:
I think it's so interesting that design professionals watch this show along with us non-design professionals! It definitely adds some credibility to the show to find out it's popular with successful people already in the industry.
posted on April 5, 2007 at 7:15 AM
Maria wrote:
I am curious as to your opinion as both an actual judge and an "armchair" judge of whether the rooms show very differently in person than they do on TV. I believe it was Margaret who once commented that Carissa's "design student room" was much better than it showed on TV. I am hoping that that was the case this week with Matt's room. Because from this armchair judge's perspective (non HDTV for that matter), the room seemed very flat and unfinished.
posted on April 5, 2007 at 6:17 PM
Nancy S. wrote:
Did you not think that Carisa's room was an almost exact duplicate of the cover she chose? So much emphasis was put on that, and yet it's exactly what she did.
Matt's room was nice, yes, but it looked like a museum. Where would you sit? Was the chaise to be used as a coffee table?
I honestly believe that the only one of those rooms that would ever work in a REAL home was Andrea's. Too bad.
posted on April 6, 2007 at 8:36 PM
kbf wrote:
I think this week's choice for both winner and loser must have been the hardest yet. Actually I thought Andrea's room was the best -- the furniture might have been ho-hum but the oranges were beautiful and made the room. I also liked the arrangement. Yes Matt's was neat and original but I agree with the poster above who said -- how would you ever use this room except for using the daybed as a coffee table. Carissa's was the same old thing she's been doing right along. I think her's was the weakest.
posted on April 11, 2007 at 4:00 PM
juni wrote:
Just as in Top Chef, the taste of the dish matters even more than the presentation, so Matt's presentations remind me of a beautiful platter whose flavor is just so-so. I do not get a sense of comfort or usability from this room. And, as in Top Chef, contenstants were penalized for leaving in disparate elements of their dish, so Matt could have been faulted for leaving in the curtain rod to nowhere.
Thanks for your insights on design and levels in a room.
posted on April 12, 2007 at 10:00 AM
Zoren wrote:
By far this must have been the worst episode. How Matt has become the judges pet, I dare to wonder. As the judges need to put aside the personal taste and judge sourly on the design, function, balance and finished presentation of the room. Clearly, the old school word "Value" comes in to mind, lack there of, on Matt's room. Quote Michael Bergman, "Andrea's space, There needs to be something at a certain level that puts you eye around the room" Hmm... Get a laser level Mike. The furniture did show a consistency in the overall perspective of the room, The French doors, the use of all the walls and there decorum, The colors complement each other. " Tension between the heights" Sense when it is that a good design epithetic!? " To Keep you eye moving" Who want to see a room that make you dizzy looking up and down and up and down. Andrea's room flows.
Now for Matt's... Curtains to cover up a mirror!!! Gee that's creative, my grand mother's house had that. Unfinished wall on the other side was left plain except for a desk, The black curtain rod stretching across the room should have been grounds for "See you later Decorator!" " He has such a good sense of style" " He understands Yin and Yang of old and new." Maybe in the 5th dimension Mike! ROL. The Cube end tables with the ink splatter paintings is in super contrast with my grandmother's furniture.The lamp cords are in the way! This room is just BAD! Poor on all levels. Tell you what Michael, you would look good in that room, it matches your brown striped brown pants as you realizes how 2 people can sit on opposite corners with a third person /Mike sitting in the center like Cleopatra... addressing both parties in the conversation. Ever think of that. Hears form me... "See ya later judges!" Andrea I hope you get far, your are Tops!
Zoren, Graphic and Industrial designer since 1980
posted on April 12, 2007 at 2:43 PM