Top Design

"Was there any question, really, people? Seriously." — Matt.

No, Matt, no indeed.

Both his and Carisa's final projects were gorgeous and inspired personal visions. But Matt dependably exuded his polished, sophisticated and serene self — an aesthetic that's a bit older and more refined than Carisa's, and a better match with the tastes of Elle Decor's Margaret Russell.

Though Todd told them they'd have two months for this challenge, let's be honest: They really only had five days. Two months of conceptualizing and formulating a plan and phoning the PDC, yes, but five days to install flooring, walls, paint, furniture, kitchen cabinets and appliances, curtains, etc, throughout a 1,700-square-foot loft in downtown Los Angeles.

Two months later and three days away from the deadline, both found themselves over budget at the PDC and behind schedule back at their respective lofts, despite the added carpenters (did you see Sarah?) and crew.

Both finalists chose black floors that looked beautiful… but after lots of white paint and dry-wall dust and tape… not so much. I don't understand why Carisa's floor needed to be hand-carved mahogany if she was just going to paint it black. It was so heartening, though, to see her really stepping up, pulling an all-nighter, refusing to be the "Mayor of Excuses Village" and painting into the wee hours without complaining and/or blaming her carpenter Carl. (In fact, two months apart seemingly transformed that relationship, and they got along swimmingly those last five days.) Ed, Matt's initial carpenter, was back, too, but all his handiwork couldn't save Matt from also having to repaint his black concrete floor until 4:45 am, when he literally painted himself out of the loft and was ready to "lay in a corner and cry."

I don't know how they did it, but somehow both designers pulled it all together. I loved Carisa's ping-pong/dining-room table, bed pit (and Adler's "I can imagine getting into some freaky scenes in that pit") and layout, as well as Matt's daughter's princess bed, purple bathroom (Michael, take note), furniture selection and color scheme.

I've never seen Carisa and Matt so nervous in the white room. Understandably, it was tense: There was a lot on the line, and past Bravo reality shows have been known to pass over the polite and composed talent for the more… conniving artiste. Plus, Adler kind of matched and Kelly's hair could pass for tousled-chic and guest judge "La Styler" (aka Trudie) was more harsh and persnickety than Margaret Russell. So I was puzzled by such a (relatively) staid, almost grim judging panel, and was unsure what kind of decision would come from this new dynamic.

Well, then again… was there any question, really? Carisa took the loss so graciously; she was alarmingly poised. But surely she's smart enough to know that assignments and job opportunities will now come streaming in and she has a great career ahead of her.

In the meantime, I'm curious to see what happens with the Top Designer, and wondering what the other Designers will be up to in the coming months. If anyone stuck around for those "exclusive" contestant interviews that aired during the Shear Genius premiere, and if anything interesting was said — do tell.

Thanks for watching with me, and thanks for reading!

Addendum: Sorry for the belated add-on, folks, but I've been under the weather. Here's TVGuide.com's interview with winner Matt Lorenz, in case you haven't read it yet.

Oh, Matt, don't scare me like that! Why that momentary crisis of confidence?

I was quite surprised he wasn't more gung-ho about tonight's task. Granted, designing a high-end living room inspired by an Elle Decor cover for $7,500 total was a tall order. Still, chic luxury is his shtick and he's succeeded with a limited budget several times in this game. And surely he knows how to spell "Los Angeles." Clearly, the pressure was finally getting to him.

Indeed, by the end of the second day, every member of the Design trinity had pulled a Goil/Jan Brady by freaking out over some aspect of the challenge. Carisa made a biting but hilarious crack about Andrea's wall color ("nothing says happy like gray"), and suddenly Andrea realized she'd wasted time and effort (not to mention some embroidering) painting her room's gray walls with another horribly neutral shade of gray. Carisa's drama centered on her carpenter (as usual), as they bickered over divergent visions of the back wall's stone aesthetic. Where Carl saw exposed brick, artistry and old-school handiwork, Carisa saw round blobs in a Montana log cabin, and much eye-rolling ensued.

Matt's stress level only increased when Sarah, Goil's former carpenter, was assigned to Matt since his (evidently) efficient and dependable go-to guy was too injured last week to work on this project. She got bogged down in intricate flooring and French doors, while reupholstering turned out to be Matt's kryptonite. At least we got to witness some quick thinking from Todd and see him relay some great advice. But unfortunately, Matt still turned in his most incomplete and unpolished product in the competition so far. Eeek!

Honestly, by the time the judges came around to their rooms, I was unsure who of the last three designers wouldn't make the finale. Andrea's living room was mellow and neutral again, but at least she had splashes of color and was able to do away with her initial grayer gray. I was too distracted by Kelly's garish earrings during Matt's explanation of his living room, but what I gathered was that he tried to go "dreamy," and he later rattled off several things he didn't have time to complete. When Adler (again sporting a range of color and design palettes from the waist up) emphasized both the importance of imitating the Elle Decor cover as well as creative inspiration in this challenge, I feared Matt's might not have enough of the former and too much of the latter. Carisa did a great job adapting her room to the magazine cover and keeping her voice. But that meant she still had way too many pillows and too funky a design and color palette for luxury. I was so glad that her (well, Carl's) wall worked out, though Carisa couldn't seem to muster much of a compliment or credit his way in the white room.

Even though Andrea was able to depart from her standard gloominess, the architect was shown the door. I couldn't believe Carisa's delirious response to Adler's "Why do you deserve to be in the finals?" didn't seal her fate. (After all her opinions about her competitors and all that cocky self-promotion, how could she have been so tongue-tied by that question?) Well, you all know I would have preferred to see Andrea and Matt battle it out next week. But at least Matt can still win the war.

Opening tonight's show with a trip to the Viceroy Hotel to see Kelly Wearstler's handiwork was evidence that while her sense of taste may be lacking on her person, it's not half bad when adapted for walls and furniture. But there wasn't much Wearstler worship before the contest's final four focused on their latest task: Design a luxury hotel suite for a high-end/boutique hotel that incorporates a natural element. (Each randomly chose between earth, air, water or fire.)

With three days (positively lengthy for this show), Goil still had his weekly nervous breakdown, and Carisa was pouting yet again (though with an added cocky smirk, I noticed). Andrea's verbal claws were sharper this round, talking a little trash about her competition and bemoaning her assigned "earth" element. As for Matt — please, someone just give him this competition already! He quietly designs sleek, cohesive high-end visions, and the nice lad works well with others, too. His focus shifted entirely to his carpenter when he cut his finger on a saw (ouch!); Matt didn't care at that point whether the injury would cause him to lose the challenge. Somehow I don't think Carisa would have had the same reaction if Carl, her carpenter, had done the same. That poor guy quietly puts up with her perfectionist tendencies and micromanaging, and still she consistently talks down to him and blames him for anything that doesn't meet her unrealistic expectations.

Goil, on the other hand, seems at his best when he can collaborate and receive feedback, and work with someone (like his carpenter) who can rein in his many ambitious ideas. Still, their efforts weren't enough to save him, and it was, "Goodbye, Goil" (said Jonathan Adler, whose pea-green velvet suit, blue-striped shirt and brown polka-dot '70s tie actually bested Kelly in this week's Wearst-wear challenge, though that's not to say a close-up of her ruffles put a smile on my face).

Maybe Goil's incorporation of the element of fire was a bit too literal; however, his room (they all agreed) was the most practical in terms of actually being a hotel room. Besides, speaking of literal, grass for nightstand tabletops!? I'm guessing (hoping) they kept Andrea over Goil because of her entire repertoire in this contest so far. Her room didn't look very luxurious to me; then again, Goil's wasn't especially rich, either. Meanwhile, Carisa... she's talented, she has some good ideas, but I'm not sure her affinity for mod works in every situation. And I know this isn't a popularity contest, but I'm having trouble separating her designs from her whiny, arrogant attitude.

Good news and bad news. Good news: an individual challenge. And Michael is finally gone! While he has accomplished a lot by the tender age of 23, and learned to get his hands dirty, he needs someone else to pick out the colors and fabrics on his future projects. That was positively the ugliest rug I've ever seen (and I've been through many airports).

Bad news: Matt's (lack of) favor with the judges. What is their problem with him? How could they have chosen Andrea as the challenge winner? Hers was elegant and loved the stone walls, but still.... OK, more on that later.

Now down to five very unique designers, TD departed from home/garage design and opted for restaurants. The assignment was to create a private chef's room/table for a mystery chef client that would combine his or her affinity for nature, arts and crafts, mid-20th-century aesthetics, handmade and sleek cuisine, and upscale ingredients. Oh, and high-end luxury, courtesy of a $40,000 budget to pillage the Pacific Design Center for furnishings and another $2,000 for materials.

Watching them shop in the PDC — viewers got barraged with clips of the exorbitant price points — was fun if for no other reason than that I will absolutely never have the kind of lifestyle conducive to purchasing/owning $10,000 tables and $5,000 chairs. And my skepticism was triggered early by some of their choices, like Carisa's patio furniture or Michael's mismatched chairs and "uncharted territory." I also questioned his color palette, but his odd color schemes are definitely not uncharted territory on this show. To infuse a natural, handmade feel, Matt chose a leather floor and Andrea had suede walls: It was a big day for cattle. Did anyone else notice that Carisa said the two shades of teal blue on the walls were not like her, yet she was wearing a striped shirt of those exact two shades?

As pressure mounted and deadlines approached, Goil's carpenter helped calm him down while Carisa fought with hers. Goil keeps cracking under the pressure (and now every time I see him I think of Jan Brady), and he doesn't adapt his vision as he goes along. When his thin straight painted lines didn't work, Todd Oldham thought Goil had pleasantly departed from his "crazy sharp edges" and that the blotches were intentional. Goil should roll with the punches like that. Carisa is also consistent in her efforts to blame others and make excuses, this time turning in a slightly incomplete, less-than-perfect product because supposedly her carpenter was too slow and a perfectionist. Thankfully, Andrea and Matt quietly excelled and turned in finished, cohesive chef's rooms with all requested themes intact.

The White Room got off to a rocky start: Adler's tie tonight was wider than his face and Kelly's hair has now exploded. Maybe she was trying to cover up those poufy '80s prom-dress sleeves (to no avail). So I was concerned that their lack of fashion sense would translate to an admiration for Michael's airport rug and L.L. Bean motif. The mystery client and guest judge was Tom Colicchio, top judge on sister show (with sister format) Top Chef. He sported a bewildered scowl the entire time, perhaps leery of the state of professionalism in the room.

But thankfully the judges agreed that, due to Michael's incongruous chairs, muted background shades mixed with "violent" red and orange canvases — not to mention an outright refusal to answer the awkward "worst room" question posed to each contestant and his defensiveness toward any and all criticism — it was time for him to go, at last.

If Matt doesn't win this show, I'm gonna be pissed. He's had consistent, cohesive visions, no drama, works well with others, is hardworking, manages his time well, produces clean, upscale looks, and listens to his clients. Here's hoping he will be able to prove to his wife and child that his extended absence was worthwhile! But for a different opinion on who will be named Top Designer, click here.

Unfortunately for this group, even the prospect of a party leads to turmoil. (Of course, they might've had more fun if they'd been able to celebrate afterward with their own party and some of that Bacardi.) But team challenges among these unique, strong-willed designers who are used to working independently and who are stubbornly loyal to their visions only yield a lot of angst. (And all this conflict comes even though Ryan has left the building!)

Once the six remaining contenders were divided into two teams and attempted to work together designing an upscale "sensorial" bash for Bacardi Limon more product placement, we were subjected to a hefty dose of bickering, complaining, he-said/she-said, idea stealing, bossing, ignoring, eye rolling, even crying. (Thanks, I didn't get enough of that earlier tonight.) In fact, in the first half hour, nearly every comment was some kind of gripe and neither team seemed to agree on design, execution, time management, order of projects.... No one was happy.

But when the show was over, I was happy. I'd been thinking lately how underutilized and underrated Matt has been. This time, his talents outshone the dramatics of teammates Michael and Carisa. And we saw some kinks in Goil's armor, but no kinks in Kelly's hair (thankfully, it was tastefully pulled back).

I'm still stunned either team was able to pull it all together in time. And to me, both of their festive setups looked good. Granted, the Matt/Michael/Carisa team put forth a sleeker, more cohesive product. Andrea, Erik and Goil's result was more cluttered and scattered. But I thought Andrea's low, dark red "furry flowers" were cool and different and perfectly exuded one of the five senses (touch) that were required in the challenge. (Speaking of which, just which sense was Doc Holiday as bouncer supposed to invoke? I didn't have a problem with him per se, but the judges seemed to put undue emphasis on the bouncer in their critique of the entire design concept.)

I'm also still on the fence about Goil's plight. While he should have better pursued his vision and made his voice heard, he was on a team — one that had two days to make a plethora of design decisions and construct a party place. If I were him, I would have stepped aside, too, and put all my energy in just getting things done. I wonder if the judges would have told him he wasn't a team player if he'd been more stubborn. I mean, Matt stepped aside on his team and let Michael and Carisa battle things out, and the judges perceived his actions as "keeping a clear head." Ah well, Matt had the better design to back it up; Goil's (or Andrea's) chandelier tiers were clunky disasters. Regardless, it appears Goil isn't a calm, easygoing architect, and he (and Carisa) will have breakdowns again next week.

Other thoughts:

— Winning only a single extra hour of time in the next design seems like a small reward.
— I was disappointed to see Erik go; I cannot believe Michael is still around (I mean, go-go dancers?). I guess his team's winning design saved him this time, despite his and Carisa's innumerable arguments.
— And thanks for holding down the fort while I was away. Good job!

Hey Design groupies, I'm on vacation this week (sunny California), so I'm leaving the blogging to you. Since I often find myself agreeing (and laughing along) with your comments and assessments (e.g., Kelly Wearstler's crimped hair, etc), I'm looking forward to hearing/reading your thoughts. I'll be back for the March 14 episode.

For further inspiration, click here to find the show's website, which has oodles of videos, blogs, polls and other Design-DIY goodies.

Yay! This show is getting more interesting, as we learn more about the players and as the challenges heat up. Going into tonight's episode, I knew Ryan and Carisa would have to step up their game in order to avoid Jonathan Adler's "See you later, decorator!" line (which I think is so lame, by the way, but that's just my teensy opinion).

I thought tonight's challenge tested the designers on many levels. It looked as though they were each assigned their client, as opposed to them randomly choosing for whom they'd create a live/work space. Once the contestants started brainstorming with their respective clients (themselves interior-design students), the reason for such purposeful assignments seemed clear: Since many of the clients had similar taste and style to their designated designer (or "mini-me's" as Felicia explained), I had to wonder whether this setup was an opportunity to get a better idea of each designer's unique style, and not limit them with client (or destination, as in last week) parameters.

The next obstacle was that they buy all furniture and accent pieces at garage sales. As Andrea expected, I was totally surprised she'd never been to a garage sale. I always thought designer types were just the sort of creatives that thrive on finding some obscure castoff and turning it into something fabulous. And it seems that was exactly what the judges were anticipating them to do — refurbish castoffs, or risk being cast off. I think (and I could be way off) that it's easier to be trendy, stylish and modern when money is no object. But surviving the "one man's trash is another man's treasure" situation takes imagination and a strong design sensibility. (I mean, there's a reason college dorm rooms often look the way they do. Well, several reasons I suppose, but hopefully you get my point.)

Though Todd Oldham's arrival at the PDC usually signifies another brutal twist in the challenge at hand, his presence the next day was a good thing. He announced that after this challenge and through the end of the contest, designers could pick their carpenter (à la Project Runway's fashionistas picking their model), and the live/work challenge winner would get first dibs.

Following that news, there were several scenes of designers working with their respective carpenters, and that gave a clearer sense of how important the carpenters are to the end result and how a designer-carpenter tiff can hugely affect a project. Case in point: Carisa freaked out again this week after her carpenter apparently brought back wood that was too heavy to implement her "rolling desk" design, which was her space's main feature. In a dramatic gesture, she tore the desk apart. At that point, I was envisioning Adler's nasal offing phrase being projected in her direction.

But, meanwhile, there were other questionable finished products. Felicia's bold tie-fabric-as-wallpaper might have worked — without that completely dissonant rainbow-colored crochet blanket on the bed. Gross. Indeed, the judges questioned her about the crochet afghan, and her client likened the room (aside from the wallpaper) to grandma's house. So I thought maybe she'd be the goner.

Then we caught a glimpse of Ryan's creation. His refurbishing handiwork was really impressive, and using his own artwork as seating — very creative. He certainly showcased his artistic side tonight. But I did agree with the judges that it was too busy. Taking down that screen would have helped, but his color palette and all the furniture made his 12X12 room look smaller than everyone else's.

I didn't realize how evenly decorated and high-end Matt's room looked until I saw the succeeding ones, with their mismatched furniture and scattered themes. Several were too obviously created using junkyard finds. There were some flashes of brilliance, though: loved Goil's shelves halfway under the table chairs. Great space-saving idea.

Carisa's room turned out looking surprisingly put together and seamless, despite the rolling-desk debacle. So why did she (as far as we saw) begin her discussion with the judges by talking about the failed table? Her design was consistent, the client loved it, the deco furniture finds were a perfect fit; I was thinking, keep your mouth shut! The judges liked her room, too — so much so that she won the challenge!

But Felicia was out, doomed by the tacky bed covering. I can't believe the judges didn't kick off Ryan — or just kick him in general. He said to Top Design judges that he didn't think it was hard to "make a room pretty," was consistenetly derogatory toward them (Margaret Russell said) and had a "badass maverick attitude" (according to Adler). So why is he still on the show — to be a further source of drama and contention? Something tells me he will follow through on that.

Though team challenges don't offer us much insight into each designer's unique tastes and talents, they sure supply lots of verbal sparring, stubborn individuality and bruised egos. In tonight's venture, teams of three set out to create a beach cabana that incorporated the mood and sensibility of a specific sunny destination. The various grievances seemed to result from each team member overseeing furnishings, fabric or hardware/construction.

Elizabeth on the Miami team said the city had a specific color palette, but they were "in agreeance to" infuse different colors and create "a respite" from the typical Miami milieu. Matt didn't seem to agree with the purple and yellow/green colors but chose to keep his mouth shut. Erik wasn't too worried; he had immunity from winning last week's challenge.

No team seemed to have to struggle to stay within budget, but all suffered under time constraints. After making designs and purchases, Todd Oldham revealed a new twist: teams had to completely finish in less than five hours (by midnight), disassemble the cabana for transport to the beach the next day, and assemble it there in four hours, with no electricity (using only hand- and battery-powered tools).

Most of the controversy revolved around Team St. Tropez, as Carisa and Ryan fought over the furniture and fabric assignments. Ryan, a 35-year-old artist, insisted he buy the furnishings; 26-year-old Carisa, a set designer, resented being stuck with fabrics (because she was the team's only woman, she surmised) and had no confidence in Ryan's ability to decorate a space. Goil did his best to neutralize the situation, but the team was still arguing over construction and design with only 15 minutes left of Day 1.

At the beach the next day, I was really impressed by what everyone was able to accomplish after a mere 16 hours of work. Still, as judge Jonathan Adler later said, everyone made "some very bad design choices" amid the fun and sun. Team Tahiti (Andrea, Felicia and a hyper Michael) worked well together to create a cabana fashioned after a Tahitian hut, with a sturdy deck on stilts, some ethereal, sheer, flowing curtains and... no roof as shelter from the sun.

Team Miami stayed true to its original acid-green and eggplant-purple colors, which were used as accents for a base wash that Elizabeth said was a "sophisticated silver tone" but looked like bland oatmeal to me.

The St. Tropez structure was inventive, breezy and modern, plus I could totally see the design had influences from yacht and mast shapes. (So far, Goil appears to be a strong contender as top designer.) But I understand the judges' point that it may have been too modern and minimalist for such a rich resort town. Regardless, Ryan's boring furnishings, myriad tchotchkes and "city of candles" reminded Adler of Buffalo, New York — ha!

Carisa's bad attitude, incessant complaining and near-tears in the White Room would have been far more annoying had she been wrong. But the judges sided with her: Ryan shouldn't have done the furniture shopping — not that Carisa's work won them over. Her heavy fabrics and primary colors didn't exude ritzy beach bumming in St. Tropez.

Still, once Miami's Elizabeth admitted that their hideous color scheme was her idea, the judges had no interest in keeping her around the PDC any longer.

There is a really good reason that John and Michael fought so much in the last episode: They are both equally strong-willed and stubborn. You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you? Well OK, yes, within the first few minutes of tonight's episode, John announced to his fellow contestants that he's HIV-positive. After working 48 hours alongside teammate Michael, during which each became livid toward the other, John explained that, prior to joining the show, he had received a high dosage of testosterone as part of his treatment. He added that he wasn't making excuses, but clearly he was attributing his aggressive behavior in part to the medication. But his disclosure didn't have (and won't have) tremendous ramifications in terms of drama because A) this is 2007 and we've learned a lot since the days of Pedro on The Real World, B) this show is serious about design, C) tonight we saw both of them being confrontational, having the gall to argue with the judges and tell them they were wrong, and D) John was booted off the show. (A related aside: What's your opinion of Jonathan Adler's "See ya later, decorator" line?)

That said, let's move on to the primary aspect of this show. An individual challenge of designing a client's bedroom allowed the designers to better showcase their tastes and talents and us to get to know them more. I wondered in the first episode how long it would be before the high-end prices of PDC became an issue for the contestants. I didn't have to wait long, since they were given only eight grand, née last week's $50,000. But that wasn't the biggest obstacle: After creating a concept and shopping for furniture, they discovered their clients were 10-year-olds. Adjustments were made; pirate, feline, rainforest and soccer themes ensued. And then another twist: the beds were twin-size.

After watching everyone scramble to paint, penny-pinch and think like a child, the overarching obstacle was clearly the time factor. I know giving them only two days creates entertainment, but I wonder whether their creations would be even more "outside the box" if they had more time. Maybe not, I don't know. I was pleased and impressed that Michael put in that wood floor by himself — not to mention the fact that he is now a proud and experienced painter! It seemed like Todd Oldham was also coming into his own; he was less stiff and had more conversations with everyone (that we were privy to, anyway).

Of the finished products, I had several faves. Loved the mobility of Goil's room and Andrea's Murphy bed (both useful living situations if their 10-year-old clients are New Yorkers). Being a cat owner, I immediately recognized that the high shelf in Ryan's bedroom was for the cat, not for tchotchkes (though I agree that the bed was too high for the client). Erik's winning pirate theme was incredibly creative and fun. I didn't quite understand why he could go so over-the-top, but the soccer room was said to be too much. And Carisa's room was pretty, but it didn't seem like a child's bedroom. I immediately noted those rough wooden edges; plus, the only real "kid" elements I saw were the hanging ropes. The judges' critique of Michael's reading room was hilarious, comparing it to a nursing home or an assisted-living situation and saying it was depressing, mournful and "very granny." When Adler said that they were ultimately judging on design (as opposed to finishing the task), I assumed Michael would be let go and John would stay. I think I would have preferred to see what John did in future tasks, but maybe the judges see more growth and promise in Michael. Regardless of John's talent, Adler seemed happy to oust the "mayor of Excuses Village."

Next week offers up another team challenge, and it looks like that will inevitably lead to much verbal sparring and the clashing of egos.

Hi there, Designer groupies. Sabrina Rojas Weiss is taking over the
Lost blog, and I'm going to head up this one. As she confessed in the last Top Design blog entry, I too have an apartment decorated courtesy of IKEA — and myriad mismatched items nabbed from Manhattan sidewalks. But I'm a big fan of Bravo's Project Runway, so I'm hoping for some similarly creative and fun competition and looking forward to this Wednesday!