Party!!!

Still sleepy from last night's finale party ... little late here in getting my blog in, sorry, but the producers threw a finale party here in LA. We were graced with the presence of several of the contestants -- Preston, Andrea, Kerry, Teresa, Wisit, and Robert all made it! I immediately started to think back about what I may have written about each of them that might not have been so nice ... yikes! I tend to just write what I think after watching the show and I don't really go back to think through what I am saying, so I'm sorry for any harsh remarks ... As for the finale, I loved seeing the designers work on an entire house. This is where the real work begins. It's one thing to design a room or a vignette, but a whole house, now that's another story. A house has to be cohesive and well thought out. Do they have kids, in-laws, animals? Do they entertain or work in their home? So many things to consider... It's not about what we as designers want as much as it is about our clients and their needs. We have to check our ego at the door! Which leads me to Eddie...

Did he really have to come back?? Actually, I'm glad he did because you all got to see the real deal when it came to dealing with Eddie. He is not so nice. What a negative force he was behind Preston. I felt badly for Preston but regardless of Eddie's bad behavior Preston managed to pull together a beautifully finished project. I was very surprised to see that Preston didn't even notice -- he was oblivious to it all or perhaps he just told himself "ignorance is bliss?" I'm not sure but this was of concern to me because a designer needs to be AWARE. Preston really is in his own world and while he does have great style, he really isn't paying attention to anyone but himself. You saw the judges ask him who his client was and he hadn't even thought it through. He was just going about his business creating a beautiful space. Yes, very, very pretty and definitely photo worthy but not very well thought out as far as who he was designing for and their needs. If there were more of a story behind the reasoning, it may have played that extra bit more that was needed to edge out the others...

Ondine had a great time thinking it through, who her clients would be, child, work, etc. And she did a beautiful job pulling it together and I happen to admire her optimism in how much her team could get done. They should be pushed -- you get more out of them that way. I loved her use of color in every room\ -- the child's room being the most playful and the family room that made you smile, to the office that inspired and the living room that was more subdued and relaxed. It all worked so well together and each room served its purpose. Looking at Nathan's project is interesting from my point of view, what you saw on TV vs the feeling you got when in the space is quite different. I find this in every project I have photographed. It is very difficult to capture the FEELING with a lens. So you as viewers do not get the full effect and may wonder why the judges selected Nathan as the winner. Well aside from what they have mentioned over the course of the show like the fact that his work is so thought-provoking, intuitive, interestingly off-beat, etc, he knows how to make you feel good in a space and he knows how to take the ordinary objects and spaces and turn them into something EXTRAordinary.

I loved that he had created clients who were art collectors and not just collectors, but specific collectors, and their Bohemian style that he explained made them almost real! I wonder if he had actual people that he knew in mind... I appreciate the amount of thought he put into it. Even though he could have changed a few things here and there, overall the space was very exciting and anyone walking into the space would have a great time discovering each room. I was surprised by Margaret's objection to making the living room a gallery. It was such a tiny silly room and down the stairs, really it's just a walkthrough dust collector, so what better for art collectors who get such joy from displaying and viewing their collections than to create a gallery? He actually made the space for his clients USABLE rather than a living room that would have been wasted on them. Very, very smart! Congratulations Nathan! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us all to see in the future!