Design Star, Episode 6

I've been looking forward to this weeks Design Star all week based on the promos with Donald Trump Jr. and the oh-so-chic Trump Plaza Residences in Jersey City (can you imagine?!). The show kicked off with Vern chatting up "Don" and had him describe what would be expected of the designers. He explained that the apartments had an incredible view of Manhattan and that the focus should be on luxury and attention to detail. "But wait!", I thought as my heart skipped a beat. Could this actually be an individual challenge? Each designer is going to get their own apartment?! OH HAPPY DAY! Skipping through fields of lilies and twirling and twirling!

Yeah. Not so much. Yet again, this ridiculous show decides it would be brilliant to make them each choose a NYC souvenir package that they then have to incorporate into their group design without being too kitschy. Sure. Cuz that's gonna work. As a side note and to totally jump ahead, Vern says in the end that there's no easier way to ruin a design than to do it by committee. WHAT? So you know that and still choose to make us watch group challenges week after week after God blessed week?! But, I digress...

Once again, we're whisked through one brief segment of shopping and decision making..you know the most interesting part...only to have to sit through 30 minutes of judging and departures. Someone give me a dull knife...it would be less painful.

Blue Team

Anyhoo, Casey, Alex, Emily and Michael's team decide first and foremost, based on Casey's selection of the architecture and buildings package, that they need to do crown moulding. Well, Casey decides that and Emily is like, and I'm paraphrasing, "Hmph. Yeah, good luck with that." And she's right. Moulding can go really wrong, really fast if you don't know what you're doing. And low and behold, sure enough Casey cuts all the molding straight on...(needs to be mitered and angled)..and when she realizes it's not gonna work she decides to apply it flat against the wall instead of angled. Um, okay. Oh, but wait! Then she nails it all in upside down. Wowza. At least they made the smart decision to paint it dark gray...which is smart because leaving it white would have really given it a traditional vibe when the Trump vibe is a bit more sleek and chic.

Alex selected the "Big Apple Package" which came with a tote bag and a plastic souvenir. It appeared he spent alot of time struggling with what to do with it. See that little pillow to the left...the gray one with the black pleats...yep, that's it. Even he didn't seem to love it and yet, somehow, someway, he won the whole challenge for that darn thing. Won! He won! For that! Have they utterly lost their minds. I mean, Alex, I like you and all...but if this is the most creative and ingenious thing about the winning room then what does that say about the rest of the room?! Oh, and by the way, we were supposed to have an interview with Alex posted here yesterday...but he was a no show. Busy guy, I'm sure, but can I get an email? Common courtesy has fallen to the wayside. :(

Michael ended up with the "Broadway Package" as he chose last, but seemed really happy with it. Yes, he created the light to the left and no, he didn't seem to be impressed with his creation. At least he knew it was mediocre. What I did love about Michael this week is the fact that he seemed to be the only one worried far less about his stupid souvenir and far more with the big picture. I mean this is Trump were dealing with...not Crafty Carol and her Cloggers. He goes so far as to say, "You're ugly pillow or that silly art piece is not going to affect the overall design that much. It's a waste of time." Amen.

I'm sorry, but is anyone as bored reading about this as I am writing about it? I feel like at this point they don't even deserve the write up. Even by little ol' me. "They" being HGTV, not the designers. But, I'll trudge along...

Emily chose the NYC Subway Package and created this art piece out of it. Thanks to the black frame, it ended up to be a fairly good statement against that light wall. I personally thought her brush stroke canvas was better. Emily, as I stated earlier, was the only one unsure about the moulding. And rightly so. I mean did you see those close ups of the moulding? They didn't even reach the corners and instead seemed to have black paint used to visually extend them to the corners...I guess the big black smudge of paint on the ceiling was just an extra added art piece. Insanity that they would leave that like that. Insanity!

The blue team ended up having the winning design in the end. I'm looking at the picture to the left and am getting sooooo mad! Why can't they just give them an extra day and if money is that tight, work it out with local vendors to let them borrow furnishings for a bit of free promotion. I mean, look at how sparse it looks. That sad little eating area and tiny framed print. No accessories but for the "brilliant" pillows. I think I've officially decided to never...ever...eva!...try out for this show. There's no way you can really show off your true talent and instead it seems you're set up to fail! No thanks. I'll pass.

Red Team

Do I really have to even talk about this one?

Taxi Cab Confessions: OMG. How hilarious was Stacy's melt-down...or should I say...meltdowns. Geese. Get it together! The above tray...not so bad. The plastic taxi in a cloche? A cop-out. The bed situation? Are you effing kidding me? No mattress? No down bedding with crisp and luxurious details? Nah. Let's just use the box springs to show off the headboard, throw a wrinkled sheet and a couple of pillows on the bed and step back and  call it a day. Actually, let's then say, "It's perfect!". Wow. I need some aspirin. Needless to say, Stacy, after giving herself "a 60%, is immediately told she's out of the competition. Ta ta. Oh crap! I almost forgot about the drapes she decided to make for the bedroom. She explained that they "didn't have time" to go to the fabric store...so, they COULD have, but didn't...so instead she decides to use a drop cloth for the fabric and incorporate some of her tacky souvenir crap. Did I mention she'd never made drapes before? Oh, and they were bad, my friends. Trump wouldn't have used those drapes for toilet paper.

And then there's Tom...

So, Tom chose the Statue of Liberty Package and huffed and puffed his way through painting the bathroom and the ceiling "blueberry blue" as Courtland called it. I actually think it could have worked had he chosen a more midnight blue but with the way it was accessorized or not accessorized and the fact that he chose to not do a shower curtain...a bold nave and white quatrefoil fabric ceiling to floor would have been great...it was bound to fail. So, Tom was the second one to go. Ba bye.

Courtland. What's become of you? This sad Ikea looking floating shelf and a lipstick smeared note and mug, a well designed room doesn't make. You know the show is stifling when someone with this much talent continually produces mediocre at best results. I gotta give it to him though, he was at least embarrassed by the end result and seemed to want to just crawl under a rock at judging.

Ok. That's all I can muster. So, what would I have done? What do I think they should have done? 

How about something like this:

Feels very Trumpish doesn't it? Yet, totally doable. Are we expecting too much? Maybe. 

Jen, out. (a la ryan seacrest)

 (David Scott Designs)