Thanks Everyone!

That's All Folks!!!

Thank you, the readers, for all the support and for dropping in each day. TD was an ... uh... fair show with some outstanding designers.

Our thanks to all the designers who dropped by to chat with us as well. We wish them all the best and appreciated them having some fun with us.

Now come join us for more fun and laughs over on Bravissimo. We are blogging everything Bravo.

Designer's Wedding Bells

Congratulations to Carisa and Sebastian!!

Click HERE to read more.

Top Design Loft Floor Plan Challenge!

The talented Linda Merrill of ::Surroundings:: has created a basic floor plan of the loft spaces used in the final challenge on Top Design and is hosting a challenge. Can you figure out a way to use the space better? I know I'll be submitting an entry! I love floor plans! Fun!

Check out Linda's post here!

Update: Linda has updated the basic floor plan and has already gotten a few entries. Get those entries in! There will be a prize!

Diva of the Week

The final Diva of the Week award goes to......

If Top Design had been their first attempt at a reality show, I could understand the amateurish drivel that they cranked out each week. The designers were not allowed to show the full scope of their talents with the stupid challenges that Bravo kept throwing at them. And couldn't they have let the designers design actual rooms and not those claustrophobic cubicles that they were stuck in so often? The judges never took into account the time restraints, miniscule budgets, ect, ect, ect....I would have loved to have seen Jonathan, Kelly, Margaret or any of the guest judges in the same situations. I bet they would have made Carisa look like Mother Teresa.
Let's hope that they get it right next season!

(((MUAH)))

Posted by TheHoInMO

Final Taste Patrol

Note: Our wonderful Ms. Place is jetting around the globe and asked that we fill in for her this week. Miss you Ms. Place.


Three Hula Men Bobble Award

The Three Hula Men Bobble Award goes to Ed and Carl and their hard working teams. This would not have been much of a season without all the talent these individuals brought to each designer.



Week after week, they were the backbone of each of the finished rooms.

They faced demanding challenges,

time lines,

supply issues and diva designers.

They lost their cool at times and almost a thumb...

but hung in there for each episode. They gave their all long before they learned they might also win $10,000. They did it for the designers, not the money.

Two Hula Men Bobble Award

The Two Hula Men Bobble Award goes to both Matt and Carisa for the designs of each loft.

You both put heart and soul into those lofts ...

but did not sit on your ass and watch the crew do all the work.

You noted their talent and gave credit where credit was due.

Then gave up the diva role, and let them do what they needed to do.

Kudos to both of you for a job well done.

The Trash it Award

The Trash It Award goes to Bravo. What a load of shovable crapola you put this crew through. Watching them work this hard was almost as painful as watching Ed cut his thumb.

First, no freight elevator for moving the tons of materials, appliances and furniture up to the 3rd and 6th floors. Bravo we have 1 word for you, used 3 times. Learn it, remember it, don't let it happen again. LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION.

You hand out a wad of money for each of the designers to use, assure them their lofts will be painted and the floors done... BEFORE construction begins. Then you cut corners in doing the floors. WTF!?!?!

More than once, you made our beloved Carl hold his head.

Top Design Recap: Season Finale Shocker!

Posted by Eric3000

Wow! Who saw that coming?!

Oh, yeah; everyone.

Matt: "Was there ever any doubt?"

Unfortunately, no. It was pretty clear weeks ago who the judges wanted to win. Of, course, it didn't help that Margaret accidentally leaked that Elle Decor article about Matt winning. And I didn't buy her lame explanation about writing an article for each designer. [joking!]

But, I have to say that when I saw how much better Carisa's loft was I did have a tiny bit of doubt, thinking, "Maybe the judges will have no choice but to reward the best design, even thought they've already decided who the winner should be."

We start the episode with a clip of Matt telling us he's going to kill himself if he doesn't make it into the final two. Well, that's certainly a mature and professional attitude.

Then we play a little game of catchphrase:

Jonathan: "He's the mayor of excuses village."

Kelly: "I feel like I'm in an assisted living facility."

Margaret: "You can't just design a room around a cat."

Yep, those are classics.

Todd: "Designers, you will be designing a 1,700 square foot loft in one of the hottest areas of downtown Los Angeles."

What difference does it make that the lofts are in a hot area of town? We don't have to live there; we just care what the designers do to the inside, right?

Todd: "Santa Fe Lofts is paying us to say the building is in a hot part of town."

Oh, of course.

The lofts are identical. They laugh alike, they walk alike, At times they even talk alike; what a crazy pair of lofts.

The designers will have two months to plan the space and then five minutes to actually do the project. OK, they actually have five days for the project. But I still wonder why they have such a generous amount of time for planning and then have to rush like crazy at the end. They also have a generous budget: $12,500 plus $150,000 from the PDC and $25,000 in GE appliances.

Matt: "Well, I'm not used to such a small budget but I guess I'll just have to do my best."

Todd gives them envelopes containing their clients. They are designing for themselves:

Matt: "My client is me! I couldn't ask for a better client! I couldn't ask for a better designer, either! I am so in love with myself!"

They get to see the loft space.

Carisa: "Do you want to measure together?"

Matt: "No. you won't measure it as well as I will because I have so much more experience."

OK, it's two months later and the designers are back in Los Angeles, ready to start work. Todd tells them he's going to have their floors done while they are shopping. Carisa is getting black lacquer "hand carved" something-or-other floors. How can you tell they are hand carved? And how can you tell what kind of wood they are if they are covered in black lacquer? Matt just has his concrete floors painted black. I happen to like concrete floors but this is still a little surprising since Matt is usually all about the floors and this is a little boring. I also wonder if those floors are going to get messed up with all the work that's going to go on.

We get reacquainted with Ed and Carl. It's the Ed and Carl show! Oh, wait, no, it isn't. But they both work really hard and do a great job, with the assistance of some other carpenters.

The stupid freight elevator for the Santa Fe Lofts doesn't hold shit so they have to carry everything up the fire escape, which really sucks. We get a weird scene with Carl talking with two of his helpers and Carisa comes in:

Carisa: "What's going on?"

Carl: "They didn't know they were going to have to carry things up the fire escape."

Carisa: "This is bullshit!" [storms off]

Two Guys: "What the hell was that?"

Carl: "That was your boss."

Two Guys: "Oh. She seems like a real bitch."

Carl: "Yep. OK, let's get back to work."

Two Guys: "OK."

Seriously, what the hell was that scene about? Were the guys threatening to quit? Were they demanding more money? Were they just complaining for the hell of it? Anyway, they get all the stuff up to the lofts with only minor injuries: Ed shows up with his hand bandaged on the second day:

Matt: "What happened?"

Ed: "Oh, I lost my thumb in a freak elevator-call-button accident. Don't worry; I'll be fine."

Oh, that Ed; what are we going to do with him?

Unsurprisingly, all the construction work in the lofts completely fucks up the floors. Matt has to completely repaint his, causing me to wonder why they bothered painting them first or why they didn't cover them up during construction.

Carl and Sarah destroy Carisa's floor. The floor she loves so much and had been dreaming about having her whole life.

Sarah: "Oh, my god! Carisa's going to kill us! Carl, what are we going to do? Oh, no; here she comes! I'm scared!"

Carisa: "You ruined the floors? C'est la vie. You did a great job on those cubes!"

Sarah: "What have you done with the real Carisa?"

With one hour to go Todd makes an announcement:

Todd: "Models, this is also a competition for you! You'll get a spread in Elle magazine!"

Ed and Carl: "But we aren't models."

Todd: "Oh, I forgot. We got most of the carpenters from a modeling agency so I got confused. Well, we'll give you $10,000 then. How's that?"

Ed and Carl: "That's great. Of course it would have given us more motivation if you had told us that earlier."

Carisa: "I'm more interested in Carl getting that $10,000 so he can send his girls to the cheapest college on earth than I am in winning $100,000 for myself. That's just the kind of selfless person I am."

So, the finished lofts:

Matt really butchered his loft space. The point of a loft is to have a large, open space and he made it feel very cramped and narrow. I understand that he had to incorporate sleeping spaces for his family but I think he could have done it better. He could have put a bedroom in the corner, which would have left the central space more open and he could still have used a movable wall to open it up so you wouldn't lose the corner window views. Or he could have put a small bedroom right when you come in the front door, which would have created a hallway that would lead into the living room. I don't like how you have to walk around the living room furniture to get to the rest of the apartment. I just don't think he used the space very well.

Trudie Styler: "I don't think he has a grasp of architectural space, though he's a good decorator."

Matt: "What gives you the right to judge my space, Mrs. Sting?"

Trudie: "I'm the guest judge. That gives me the right to judge, you jackass."

His daughter's room is really cute. I think his bathroom is ugly. If Michael had painted a bathroom eggplant the judges would have ripped him a new one. But Matt did it so they like it. Trudie thinks the bathroom is sexy. She would totally have tantric sex with Sting in there. She wishes Matt had made his bedroom a little sexier:

Matt: "God, there's no pleasing that woman! I'm just going to be in the bedroom with my wife; why would I be thinking about sex?"

Well, the judges think his loft looks really expensive. He spent almost $200,000; it fucking better look expensive!

Carisa's loft looks really cool! As far as furnishings, I know it's subjective; I happen to share her aesthetic taste more than I do Matt's. But objectively, I think she used the loft space better. I wish she hadn't had to use the exact dining room set that Andrea used for her winning design but apparently the PDC only carries one dinette set and a ceramic pepper and that's it. No, but really, I'm sure there were lots of items that were reused in several of the challenges because they had a limited number of stores to shop in, but because it was Andrea's winning design it was pretty obvious. I didn't think her work space was very exciting, though it did seem pretty functional. her bed pit was totally groovy! I loved it!

Margaret: "I was really prepared to hate that bed pit. In fact, I tried really, really hard to hate it. I just couldn't; I don't know what has come over me."

Jonathan: "I could really get up to some mischief in that bed pit."

Margaret: "That's nasty, Jonathan! Hee hee!"

Matt wins.

Duh.

Carisa: "This is the best possible outcome. I'm pretty sure if Matt had lost he would have ended up as a trannie hooker on Santa Monica Blvd. but I'll be perfectly fine. I'm really happy for him. That's just the kind of caring nurturer that I am."

Matt: "If I had lost to a design student I would have robbed a bank and spent the rest of my life drinking in Mexico. Actually, I may do that anyway."

I Can Do That

I wasn't overly impressed with the winning design...sorry Matt. They were equally interesting and equally "eh". Carisa losing is directly related to me I think. You know those magic tricks they have on tv and computers where they ask you to think of a number and them add and subtract and multiply and then they guess your number...bang! That's how I feel about most reality show competitions...the minute I pick who I think might win, the magic producers read my mind and make them lose....weird!

Anyway, since Matt's loft didn't have very may distinctive items...ahem...I thought I would choose pieces from both spaces that caught my eye...

CB2

I thought this was an interesting pop of color that didn't appear anywhere else in the space...besides his daughter's room

Hive

I think Carisa likes to be enveloped in things...this chair...the bed "nest"...

The Light Shop

Matt's sexy bathroom...is very feminine...?...

West Elm

Carisa's was not a useful mirror...but it was very chic. In the real world function usually needs to accompany form.

IKEA

I was excited to see something I actually own in the final designs last night. Obviously this one does go to the ceiling but it is a good room divider.

Art.com

I think collections of things add personal touches to a home...Matt's photographs brought his family into the space.

Pier1

While Matt's bedroom was lacking something...as Trudie Styler pointed out (and wouldn't she know about bedroom...um...stuff*wink*)...Carisa's had a physically challenging yet appealing space.

Pottery Barn

Both kitchens left little to be desired...a bit sterile. I think Matt could have been more creative with his canisters

Amazon

I don't know...they look more like targets for ping pongs to me...but...

And finally, just incase you have been admiring the edited snippets they've been showing all season...

Hive

So, congratulations veiwers. We made it through a very strange, and sometimes comical, reality show season. I'm not sure if I'll take odds on a Top Design 2 but if it comes...I guess I'll be here...trying "to do that".

And The Top Designer Is...

Congratulations to Matt. The Top Designer!!!

Carisa, you came a long way. You will go far honey!

A very special congratulations to Carpenter Ed.

We love you here at TDB and thank you for all your support

of our little blog.

We will be back with more to say here

and be sure to join us over on Bravissimo for Shear Genius.

Final Live Chat With BTD!

You’re invited to the Top Design Party
Over at Blogging Top Design to discuss Episode 10!

Grab a seat and chat with the BTD folks
Phaolo, The Scarlett, Laura K, and TBone
as the show airs live tonight,
then come back here and tell us what you think of the new episode!

Click here to join the party!

Then come back and tell us what you think!

Who Will Be The Top Designer?

12 designers, 10 challenges.

2 are left.

Who do you think will be the Top Designer?

Don't forget the premier of Shear Genius

tonight following Top Design.

Join us as we blog Shear Genius over on Bravissimo.

Preview Time

One last time everyone.

Let's see what a 2 month break to prepare does for Matt and Carisa.

Click HERE to view the Bravo preview

and do not miss the shopping over on the Yahoo video. Click HERE

Taste Patrol

Three Hula Man Bobble Award

This award goes to Carisa for the most exciting design of the week. My jaw dropped when Matt's unfinished room won.

I had not been liking Carisa's taste in decor all season. (Too many tschotsckes, Margaret was right.) Then it dawned on me (silly person that I am) that she's been channeling the unabashed gaudy, in-your-face sense of color and design of the 60's (this room) and 70's (previous rooms).

This room had zing and excitement.

But can anyone recall how awful the kitchens and shaggy rugs of the 70's looked? Rust-Avocado Green-Clementine Orange-Sunburst Yellow. Those were the predominant colors back then. Uggh. No wonder I had a visceral reaction to Carisa's early orange and green striped interiors. She should have won the competition, but I don't think that Margaret wanted this funky interior showcased in Elle Decor magazine.

Other designers have jumped onto the same visual bandwagon as Carisa. Witness these Thomas Paul pillows for Blue Flye...

...or the interior of the Continental Lounge in Rosslyn, Virginia.


Now view Carisa's own living room.

She's giddily happy with her own inspirations. No wonder Jonathan loves her style. Yet I feel that her design sensibility is destined to become tired and outdated in the blink of an eye ... as all trendy styles do. Let's hope that as Carisa matures, she broadens her design horizons.

"Admit it, you yap flappin' bitch, I had a hand in helping you achieve your vision. Now, move your bloomin' ARSE, deal with your trust issues, and let me finish this friggin' room!"

"Yeah, up yours, too, Carl. Whatever. Notice the title of this series is Top DESIGNER! Not Top Carpenter. Me, myself, and I intend to wallow in all the glory."

"So? The TD fans love me more!"

Two Hula Man Bobble Award

This award goes to Matt and Andrea.

To Matt, because he is the pater familias to this adoring and adorable child.

"My daddy's bona fide!"

"You're just a boy. Only a boy."

"He, he, he. I'm effin' 30 years old. What are you? 80? I'm also gonna win this show 'cause Margaret loves me."

Too bad Andrea didn't zero in on fabulous furniture shapes like this one by Jelly Bean Contemporary Furniture. Variations in shapes and textures would have jazzed up her bland room's quietly balanced but passive design.




There are no other categories this week, dahlings. The show is down to the final two. From the previews it looks like the designers will be asked to design real interiors, and I for one can't wait to see the results!

By Ms. Place