WOW... I've been MIA for a while now! I've been a busy, busy bee at work and around the home (we had some damages to the new house in the last storm), and I also took a little vacation (much needed, I might add)! SO... it's time to get caught up... Starting with a long overdue Weekly Rant!
As I’ve said before, I’m a total HGTV junkie. I love it! However, I was extremely disappointed with last season’s Design Star. Granted, I did pick the winner- Emily Henderson- out in the first episode, even though she totally bombed the first challenge, so I was happy with the end result of the season. But the challenges and the judges really made me angry. Ok… I pardon Candice Olsen from my wrath… Candice is a talented designer with lots of valuable insight. I could stand Genevieve in about half of the episodes, although her terrible mullet was difficult to get past. Vern, on the other hand, gets the majority of my wrath on this one. He was heartless and cold in his commentary, he was unrealistic in his expectations, and he allowed the largest of mistakes to pass, while exaggerating the importance of mistakes that were rather miniscule in the overall design scheme. He also praised mediocre design elements that any amateur designer could accomplish as if they were enormous design feats! I felt that all three of the judges (although Candace was not present for many of the episodes so stand-in judges took part) made extremely terrible decisions in their choices of who to send home, and who to keep. I vented my frustrations on Facebook, but I had not started my blog at the time. Well now I have….
So my next few Weekly Rants are going to center around THIS season of Design Star. So far this season, 5 episodes have aired… so this week I’ll be summarizing my overall opinion of the season thus far. Next week I will really start to discuss the design! Let me start with this… from the first episode, I decided on Kellie and Karl as my two favorites. Kellie actually totally surprised me. As a designer from Edmond Oklahoma, I really expected the worst from her. As you know, I also live in Oklahoma and HATE the majority of the design in the area. It is ridiculously difficult to find modern pieces. It’s even difficult to find decent vintage pieces that aren’t extremely overpriced (I've been trying to find cheap used pieces to update with little luck so far). And yet I love Kellie’s designs! Surprise! I actually work in Edmond, and I keep hoping I’ll run into her one of these days!(By the way, you can visit the website for Kellie's design studio, Modern Whimsy, by clicking this link: ) Both Kellie and Karl are still in the running, and have been chosen as “top designers” by the judges on several occasions, so I actually applaud the judges on their decisions as far as these two designers are concerned. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, the judges have allowed the worst of the worst to remain in the competition for far too long… again.
[caption id="attachment_358" align="aligncenter" width="220" caption="Kellie Clements (photo courtesy of Modern Whimsy Interiors)"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_359" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Karl Sponholtz (Photo courtesy of Karl Sponholtz Design Blog)"]
[/caption]Now let me throw two names out there: Doug Hines and Cathy Hobbs. Both have displayed mediocre design talent at best, but that is not where their biggest flaw lies. Both Doug and Cathy have huge issues getting along with EVERYONE! Both argue over small details. Both argue over big details in favor of the poor choice. Both refuse to let anyone else get a single word in, let alone a full opinion or design input. And as we know, these design challenges are TEAM oriented. But rather than placing the blame on these two designers for their incredibly poor design choices, the judges consistently place blame on their partners for not pushing their design choices more. I see where the judges are coming from. As I said, these challenges are team oriented. However, when you have to blame every single designer that is paired with one of these two for not getting along with their partner, you would think the judges would catch on to the fact that the issue lies with the CONSTANT in each situation. And the constant has always been either Doug or Cathy.
[caption id="attachment_362" align="aligncenter" width="160" caption="Doug Hines (Photo courtesy of HGTV)"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_363" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Cathy Hobbs (Photo courtesy of powerpop.com)"]
[/caption]Doug was eliminated during the third episode of the season (finally), but Cathy still remains in the competition, despite the fact that she has failed to bring anything to the table. Not to mention that hosting your own television show demands that you are likable. Doug and Kathy are not only unlikable, but their mere presence on the television screen is reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard for the viewers. They are downright intolerable! Granted, Cathy does have experience in front of a camera, and can put on a good show (even winning this week’s camera challenge), but a design show is not solely about looking into the camera and speaking eloquently. The audience wants to get to know the designer, and once you get to know Cathy, you wish you didn’t know Cathy! Oh, and there is also the little bit about actually designing a space people want to see- Not going to happen when this one gets her way!
And what really drives me insane? Not only is Cathy still competing, but despite her poor design choices (of which the judges have expressed negative feedback on numerous occasions) and her inability to communicate and compromise with any other contestant, Cathy has also consistently remained in the “safe” group, never falling in with the judges choice of “bottom two” designers. Take a peek at the Design Star Blog on HGTV’s website… want to know what you will find? Comment after comment from viewers expressing their absolute disapproval of Cathy as the next Design Star. If only the judges weren't so blind! And, once again, praise to Candice on her Design Star episode recaps (also found on the Design Star Blog). She expresses her true feelings, even when they don’t align with those of the other judges on set. It’s about time someone pointed out Vern’s ridiculous commentary and poor taste (although Candice is not quite as blunt as I would be).
I’ll leave you with that… until next week when I plan to continue my Design Star commentary. Cross your fingers that Kathy gets sent home! Maybe next week I won’t need to rant!
In general, I wouldn't go for most wallpapers. But some wallpaper today does not look like your grandmother's wallpaper, and I have been finding myself gravitating towards modern wallpaper prints more and more. I'm a big fan of large scale, bold prints when it comes to wallpaper. And they can be hard to find. But when it comes to the majority of wallpaper, I still find most of it too busy; too much for the eye. However, I recently discovered Flavor Paper. Their busy designs are so interesting and so colorful and out of the ordinary, that they are actually appealing. I'm super impressed. And they can also create custom wallpaper. It really is eye candy for your walls. Flavor paper: Mmmm... Tasty!
