This week’s Design Star challenge was to honor the NYC firemen by providing them with a relaxing and multi-functional space.
First off, did anyone notice how many times Vern and Genevieve used the word “functional” this week?!!!! Sorry Dan, apparently designs only have to be useable when they are made for firefighters. But I won’t get started on that again.
Good finally conquers “evil” this week as Nina is sent home. Her artwork ultimately does her in when she creates an abstract cork board (which is actually cardboard). And although the material could have been of higher quality I think Stacey nailed it on the head when she said “the intellectuals downtown would appreciate it, but not the boys at Firehouse #5.”
The rest of the workout area was simply BORING!!! No designer needed to put this space together! But once you walk into the next room, it doesn’t get much better.
I definitely liked Stacey’s idea to bring brass elements in, but let’s go with aged brass which has that time worn character rather than polished brass that screams GAUDY and let’s just be honest- ugly!! The teeny tiny chair rail, hideous lamp, and nothing special #5 were Stacey’s claim to the space and the judges considered them the best contributions! YIKES!!
Other than not being able to function, Nina’s furniture selections were fine. But the judges had a fit over the fact that the team put a chair in the space that could not perform (which didn’t seem to be a big deal last week). I’m just sayin’!
Courtland’s wall brought a fury of it’s own as Genevieve declared how much wood paneling she has taken down over the years and Candice fretted saying the wall resembles burnt wood (just looks stained to me) which is unforgivable knowing what these men have been through . Really ladies, it’s not that bad and it doesn’t resemble charred wood at all. But I kinda think it would have been cool if it was burnt to sort of pay tribute to what these heros do everyday. It’s all in how you look at it I guess.
Tom’s black ceiling seemed like a wash to me since the room is so small and the ceiling so tall. I doubt the firefighters notice it much.
The blue team won this week with the room below, but I can almost guarantee that painted floor looks like a hot mess right about now. It didn’t look like they did any prep work to those tiles. They kept making a big deal about the poly sealing it but it doesn’t matter if the paint and poly stick together if the paint didn’t adhere to the tile! Maybe they did do some prep and it was edited out. Let’s hope so.
Alex surprises me this week as he thrives under the pressure when Michael is hauled off the the ER. Not only did Alex finish the desks but his city line silhouette was very nice! I’m still not sure how the “plastic shoes” worked though.
Casey’s fireman silhouette was good but Emily’s coffee table was completely amateur. Props to her for trying to use tools though. Emily you might want to practice these things before you come on a show and try to win your dream job.
Although this space won it seems so bare bones to me. I am not seeing anything inspiring or new. I’m not sure if it’s the designers or the tv show constraints, but to keep viewers interested, somethings gotta change. Come on Mark Burnett, I want people to still be watching when I make it onto the show one day!!!
If I were a part of this challenge I definitely would have incorporated one of my huge American flags! I also would have gone with a men’s club sort of vibe similar to our guest bathroom below.
Hey Kara, congrats on being featured over at YHL!!!
THANKS, I am so happy people liked it! 🙂
i love what you did here. i love the shelves and everything you put on it. 🙂
*im a big fan*
I’m popping over from YHL for the first time…great blog!! 🙂
I just had to pipe in and say I didn’t see Design Star this week….but I am SOOO happy to hear Nina went home!! I really did NOT like her! 😉
I also think it might be the constraints the show puts on the designers that have the rooms lacking. Plus making them work together so much, you never get to see what each individual can really do. It’s just not near as interesting this year as in the past!
based on what im reading on emily’s blog, the designers are only able to shop in certain stores (really, really shitty ones!). That added with the time and the too many chefs thing and there is zero chance anything decent is ever going to result. I wish they would just give them free reign and then see what happens. Oh well, a girl can dream.
Your bathroom is looking great!
With Dan gone, there is no one left to root for! I agreed that the fit thrown over Cortland’s piece was insane (also, the studio they review in has wood paneling EVERYWHERE – just sayin’). Both rooms were totally mediocre, and I am SO over the group challenge! Maybe the cost/lack of space in NYC is what’s fueling all the group challenges?