Design Star, Episode Three

Sooooo, after being so excited that Emily, a designer on Design Star, popped in last week and commented on my post, I REALLY...I mean, REALLY wanted to love Episode 3. I wanted to be able to leave a fabulous review of the episode as a whole and of course of Emily's work. But, darn it, HGTV! You seem to be making it impossible for the viewers to really love any aspect of it this season. Gone are the high stress scenes where you, the viewer, get to feel the designers pressure and the intensity of the challenge. At least let us know where they're allowed to shop and what the budget is! I mean, is the budget $1,000, $10,000...$25,000? To me that's imperative information! If it's $25,000 then the challenge is much less challenging! And seriously, an outdoor patio challenge on episode 3? We're still trying to get to know these people and their design aesthetic...do you really think we can do that by allowing them to choose outdoor furniture and a few plants?! Argh!@!

For those of you that didn't see it, the designers walked out onto a roof-top terrace to find a bunch of musicians performing. They we're then asked to choose one of the instruments and, separated into two groups, design a small outdoor space that represented all of the instruments. Ooooo...ingenious! Not! (Yes, I just did.)

Before we know it, the designers have shopped for all their items...again, no clue about the budget and only about one minute of showing us the actual shopping...and then they get to work. Here are the before pics of the spaces:

The men's space and inspirational instruments.

The women's space + Dan

After very little shown discussion about how to create an amazing and cohesive space, the teams started working on their respective spaces. Because we didn't have a chance to really see or hear what went on during the shopping phase...you know, the reasons they thought this piece of furniture or that accessory worked for their instrument, we were left to try to figure it out. Frankly, I still thought the designs were totally uninspired for the most part and I really wouldn't want to spend much time in either space. What do you think?

Here's the ladies (and Dan's) finished space. On tv the purple looked far more aubergine and actually worked well. Meana (Nina) was the brainchild behind the color and the walls in general shown here. I agreed with Emily when she told Meana that the white squiggles were distracting and she should paint over them. I get that she was trying to create movement that the music would create, but I didn't think it was so amazing. The judges, however, did and she won the challenge. Great. Just what the mean girl needs...more confidence.

Emily had the Tuba and she chose the chaise lounge as her piece. This is what's so frustrating! Did she blow her whole budget on that one piece? Did she do anything else besides the chaise? I saw a brief glimpse of her working on a table...but with no idea how she felt that represented the tuba I was left wanting more. Talk about wanting more! Can we get a rug? Even a nice big jute rug? Can we get some side tables? Some great outdoor lighting? How about some chartreuse plants to pop that aubergine?!

I assume this is the table that Emily was working on. Did it just not translate to camera well? I mean...I think the pop of simple white and the tablescape are lovely, but inspired? Fabulous? Eh. Not so much. The back picket wall was actually my favorite. I got it and love how the varying heights of the boards makes me think of music note and that she pulled some green through the boards. She did however seem to need quite a bit of help from  Dan on their team which bugs me a bit. Is it really yours...can you really take credit for something...if you couldn't do it on your own? Not sure...at least in this kind of competition. And poor Dan, the nice guy that he is, had to suffer timewise a bit to help her. Good teamwork though.

The judges really ripped this one apart but frankly, I'd rather spend time here than in the girl's space. I thought the day bed was great and the art piece on the wall done with extension cord was interesting and I got the wink and a nod. Overall though, what bugs the hell out of me is that none of these things were showstoppers! Someone is going to get their own tv show based on these competitions so shouldn't we be in awe?! Even I as a designer want to see things that I would never think of in a million years! Inspire me! Make me want to be like you! Strive to be as good as you! Emily, if you're out there in this big ol' blogosphere, I'd love to hear some more insight into the budget constraints and what was behind your decisions. I'll be checking her blog, The Brass Petal, to see what she has to say. Oh, and by the way, if anyone wants to do something next Sunday night I'm fine with dvr-ing Design Star. I'm afraid it's no longer must-see-tv. :(