Is ANYONE out there watching Design Star?

[anna_chronistic]

I just caught an episode of a new (?) show on HGTV last night. The family renovates a space and gets consulting advice from a designer/contractor, and when they're done, a team of contractors comes in and estimates what it cost (or what contractors would have charged) to do the renovation. The family gets the difference!

In the episode I saw, the family redid the basement and did a really good job. The contractors' estimate was just under $14,000, and it had actually cost less than $5,000, so the homeowners "won" about $9,000!

THAT's the kind of show I miss and would like to see more of. Plus, since the majority of the cost savings in the episode I described above was for labor, it explains why all these shows like "Design on a Dime" are able to do a room for $1,000. Those shows, of course, don't include labor costs!

I would enjoy an episode of Design Star that pits these "real" designers against regular people. People they grab off the street to design a room couldn't do much worse, in some cases, than these "pros."

 

[missypie]

Plus, since the majority of the cost savings in the episode I described above was for labor, it explains why all these shows like "Design on a Dime" are able to do a room for $1,000. Those shows, of course, don't include labor costs!

Right. I remember one time they were doing a travel themed office/guest room. They had an artist come in and paint a wall-sized mural of a stylized world map. Of course, the "cost" was only the cost of the paint, not the thousands of dollars it would cost to hire a professional artist to paint a huge mural.

 

[missypie]

I would enjoy an episode of Design Star that pits these "real" designers against regular people. People they grab off the street to design a room couldn't do much worse, in some cases, than these "pros."

Like someone said on another board, after Nina tried to brag about furnishing the room (with a black leather couch, chair and recliner): "Nina, anyone could go online and order leather furniture from Sears."

 

[jackemail]

Watching it and thinking the challenges are laughable (but still somehow enjoying the show)

 

[khertz]

I have watched every season of this show, and this season with all the changes is just AWFUL. I haven't watched this past Sunday's episode yet, but I'm sick to death of all of the "inspiration" challenges. We don't see the designers actually DESIGN anything, just watch them buy things and try to make it fit the theme. Plus I miss Clive too! It feels like an entirely different show, and not in a good way.

 

[southernbohemian]

I guess I'm the only one who likes this season better than the other ones. That being said, I thought the other seasons were very dreadful and could never seem to figure out why I watched them, except for the hope they would get better. I find this season much improved. I do think that the challenges have been fairly crappy and I don't think group design should be every episode - I wish they would go more Project Runway and let them do individual designs most of the time. In real life you don't usually run into 4 designers doing one room.

What I like more about this season has been the lack of them simply going out and buying stuff (i.e. Nina's "furniture design"). On the other seasons, so much of it was them walking into a store and saying "Oh, yeah, let's buy this furniture set-up." And they would have a HUGE amount of money. I would much rather see challenges like, "Here's $500, redesign these people's bedroom." or "You can only shop at thrift stores."

I also like the fact that they don't spend half of the episode recapping what went on before the commercial break. I don't miss Clive - he was nice as the host in the final part of the episode, but the show seems to go much faster without the constant recaps.

I do miss more design shows. HGTV seems to be dropping the ball on these. I still like seeing a designer do a really cool room and getting inspiration plus execution ideas. I don't really like Designed to Sell because I don't want to design my house to look like a model home with no personality - it always looks nice, but boring. I like Color Splash, although I think they spend too much time on every episode showing David's painting. I like tips - like when his painter assistant tells you she did a treatment. I also like Candice Olsen's show, Genevieve's show, and Sarah Richardson's shows.

And I loved Antonio from last season but his show (or specials) seemed like no effort was made to create a show that would get a following. He has a great personality, but most of his design was unattainable for your average person just wanting to redo a room (since so much of it was getting his pals to fabricate special stuff). I personally thought they really dropped the ball on a great host for a kid's room design show - he could be as outlandish and loud as he wanted, and people really seem to be looking for that in a kid's room.

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Have watched all shows this season and the last few seasons as well.

This season is horrible! Take your inspiration from a trumpet, a carnation or an urban outfitters get-up? These poor people - oh and don't take it literally, be inspired. Yuck!

Glad that Nina finally went. All her bragging was so obnoxious.

I also think the judges are all too snarky and down right rude. My respect for Vern is eroding, I never liked Genevieve, always liked Candice's designs, but her facial expressions are killing me.

I was wondering why it was so different - Mark Burnett

The new Professional Grade looks interesting as PP mentioned.

 

[missypie]

Have watched all shows this season and the last few seasons as well.

This season is horrible! Take your inspiration from an tuba, a carnation or an urban outfitters get-up? These poor people - oh and don't take it literally, be inspired. Yuck!

Do you think maybe HGTV is trying to steer the direction the winner's show will go - something about finding inspiration in common objects? Because otherwise it makes zero sense.

Can you just see a homeowner telling a designer, "I want to hire you to remodel my greatroom and kitchen. I have a budget of $50,000. The only thing I ask is that you take your inspriration from this gardenia? (or clarinet?) (or pair of socks?)" NO ONE hires a designer that way. They say, "We don't have enough seating, the kitchen floor plan doesn't work, I want stainless steel appliances and I like blue."

 

[luvmy3]

Like someone said on another board, after Nina tried to brag about furnishing the room (with a black leather couch, chair and recliner): "Nina, anyone could go online and order leather furniture from Sears."

I love that she made it a point to tell the judges that she was instrumental in getting the furniture. Thats probably not something you should admit when you don't even plan your space to incorporate a recliner since one would probably want to recline in it. Her getting the boot was the only thing that made that epsiode worth the time to watch it. I love when the oh so full of themselves get shown the door

 

[missypie]

I love that she made it a point to tell the judges that she was instrumental in getting the furniture. Thats probably not something you should admit when you don't even plan your space to incorporate a recliner since one would probably want to recline in it. Her getting the boot was the only thing that made that epsiode worth the time to watch it. I love when the oh so full of themselves get shown the door

We were laughing so hard at that part...we were like "no don't mention the furniture, it's a trap!"

We also made fun of the 5 and were sarcastically saying that it would end up being the winning signature piece. (I could go to Hobby Lobby tonight and buy a wooden 5 and a wooden circle and paint them.) We were laughing so hard we could barely breathe when it WAS the winning piece.

 

[luvmy3]

We were laughing so hard at that part...we were like "no don't mention the furniture, it's a trap!"

We also made fun of the 5 and were sarcastically saying that it would end up being the winning signature piece. (I could go to Hobby Lobby tonight and buy a wooden 5 and a wooden circle and paint them.) We were laughing so hard we could barely breathe when it WAS the winning piece.

I thought it looked like an AC Moore kids class craft project I'm not surprised it won because there was nothing else that could have, there was nothing in there that was "designed" other than that. Did you hear Candace's comment about the panelling on the entertainment unit looking like charred wood? Oh and I hate calling a divided box an entertainment unit. No, its just a wooden box.

 

[missypie]

I thought it looked like an AC Moore kids class craft project I'm not surprised it won because there was nothing else that could have, there was nothing in there that was "designed" other than that. Did you hear Candace's comment about the panelling on the entertainment unit looking like charred wood? Oh and I hate calling a divided box an entertainment unit. No, its just a wooden box.

That's so incredibly pathetic - when a craft store looking project is the best design element! But wait, I guess the firefighter painting was the "moment of joy" and the 5 was the best thing in the losing room, right? Sorry if we are providing "spoilers" - the show is so horrible that I don't even think it counts.

The "entertainment unit" was just a step above milk crates.

 

[Daisy&Max]

Is it just me or were tonight's rooms worse than last week's? I'm tired of this giving them a theme and telling them to incorporate it. Is that what the new show is going to be about? ugh!

 

[jackemail]

Is it just me or were tonight's rooms worse than last week's? I'm tired of this giving them a theme and telling them to incorporate it. Is that what the new show is going to be about? ugh!

Oh, my---how could 3 people have made a room look so terrible? The blueberry bathroom was unspeakable....and the little taxi under the glass dome? C'mon!

Trump Jr. is so skeezy looking..

 

[missypie]

Oh, my---how could 3 people have made a room look so terrible? The blueberry bathroom was unspeakable....and the little taxi under the glass dome? C'mon!

Trump Jr. is so skeezy looking..

I agree about the little taxi BUT please tell me what she should have done with it. I so wanted the three judges to tell me what in the world THEY would have done with that freakin yellow taxi. (Smashing it into a million pieces was the best idea I heard all night.)

This season we're never told how much time they have, or what their budget is. At most, the contestants are decorators, not designers (if you can even call them that.) There's not even anyone left who can install crown moulding! When I think of the fabulous things that were built in prior seasons, this season seems more ridiculous than ever.

And really, the winning room wasn't that much better than the losing room. The bedroom was admired for having a "sophisticated color palate." Jeez- can't anyone buy bedding in a trendy shade?

 

[Daisy&Max]

I agree that the winning room was no better than the losing room. Neither one exuded opulence like I would expect from a Trump room. And I agree the blueberry was bad!

But I loved Courtland's on camera part. He was funny and seemed so at ease.

I only watch it because other people in the house watch it, but my goodness its like watching kindergartners decorating. It is really painful.

 

[wdwfan16]

Both designs sucked but what would you expect with a limited budget and that crappy stuff to incorporate.

The team with the basic walls will not stuff on the walls was also down one person. That is unfair. By sending two home yesterday they will put one team at a disadvantage again.

If one team has 10 and another 11 not so big a difference but when one has 4 and the other 2 or 3 and the other two this is a big difference.

The blue bathroom just sucked.

I disagree with Vern. They make all the challenges team challenges but when Cortland was overruled he cut him down for it. Do they just want to see arguements?

 

[missypie]

Do they just want to see arguments?

Duh, yeah!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I recorded the newest episode, so I don't know about it yet. I watch it every week. But this season is just a shadow of what it once was. No talent, no interesting challenges, just "bleah!" But whatever happened to the last two winners anyways? I saw one show with Antonio, and one with {was her name] Kim, the African-American, I think she was a hairdresser-very nice with a good eye for design.

 

[southernbohemian]

Hated last night's designs - it is like they aren't given enough time to go shopping, or they are not giving them enough time in the room. Didn't they used to have X number of hours - and it was stretched out a bit more? Now it seems they go shopping one day - have to do the entire project the next, plus have time to get judged and filmed. And if you only have 3 people in a one-bedroom apartment that has to be painted and everything - of course they aren't going to have enough time to complete the room. At that stage they should have had carpenters or something to help them.

Neither team even staged the kitchen area - it was so weird. And "incorporate this crappy souveneir into your luxurious design"?????? What are they thinking? If they want to give them silly challenges, then they should have a mini-challenge where the winner gets extra money or a carpenter or something. Then have them design a room inside certain parameters.

I hope they do an individual challenge soon - I couldn't tell you from who is left if any of them have the ability to design a room themselves. The judges have gotten rid of pretty much everyone who had a nice room in the white box challenge - so only those who "work well with others" are surviving.

I thought it was harsh to get rid of Stacey like they did. As someone else put it - what the heck would they have done with the stupid taxi? Plus, she did try to incorporate it into the curtains - it looked like crap, but she tried. But I kind of thought all of the souveneir stuff looked like crap.

I thought Tom was on the right track with the blue bathroom - but didn't have time to do anything except paint it - the color would have been great if he could have broke it up a little with some white accessories - there wasn't even a shower curtain up? And of course Courtland was better at hosting - wasn't this like his fourth time in the bottom two - he's had lots of feedback on his hosting skills.

Still love the show though, just not for the "design" aspect - because I haven't seen one cool thing yet.