Todd or Kim? For those who have stuck with it, the final design-off was tonight with Todd and Kim redoing a luxury suite at a hotel in Hawaii. I’m going with Kim. She has an open, friendly TV personality and her rooms are pretty and well thought out. The wow 'em, totally different stuff the judges like doesn’t translate into useible space. That’s Todd’s problem - very dramatic room, but why put the bed right next to the kitchen?
Already voted for Kim.
I intended to vote for her no matter what, as I find Todd totally annoying - but was glad to see Kim was FAR better than Todd on this final challenge.
Todd did the same surfer dude crap all season and now I will not have to suffer through another show with him stripping off his shirt trying to be Mr. Studmuffin.
Geez - the guy comes from San Francisco - certainly he has to know he ain’t all that and a bag of chips. “Hey Todd - take a walk down Castro Street and learn why you should either go to a gym or keep your shirt on unless it really is hot and humid.|”
I hope Kim wins and, if there is any justice, she will pick Will as her assistant on the show.
Kim’s room was better than 99% of most beach bungalows - what you saw in the “before” is pretty much what you usually always get. She turned her room into a nice cozy place to hang out in the evening and wake up in the morning. She divided the room nicely and her choice of colors was fresh and had a “vacation” feel to it.
Todd’s room was simply horrible…notice how they kind of ignored the elephant in the room (aka a hideous bedroom dresser plunked in the now-dining room)? If I were staying in that penthouse, the first thing I would have asked is "why is my bed next to the fridge and why are my socks and underpants in a drawer by the silverware? Plus, the wood in both the kitchen and old bedroom (now dining room) stuck out like a huge sore thumb.
I have to admit a part of me wouldn’t mind if Todd wins - just to see the train wreck of a show as he puts surfboards in every room (no matter if the house is in Wisconsin or Indiana) and paints every wall blue with dolphins flipping up in the air. How fun to have 25 episodes of surfer dude rooms…the homeowners will be tarring and feather him by episode 6 - but then again, he will be shirtless so it will be an easy task to dip him in that vat of tar before they run him out of their hometowns.
I really don’t think Todd takes off his shirt to show off his body because he really doesn’t have the classic American male show-off physique. No muscles. No abs. Patchy, aging skin. I think it’s just part of a life-long pre-wet-suit surfing lifestyle. I doubt he even gives it a second thought.
I liked Todds room although he should do something NOT water themed. Oops, too late. I couldn’t watch Todd’s hosting. I changed when he started hooting and hollering right in the beginning. Worst than Emeril-- and that’s saying a lot.
I voted for Kim, of course. Now I’m wondering. . … I can see what kind of show Todd would have. It would be called Totally Rad Designing! He’d do nothing but beachhouses and skateparks with maybe a few shots of his “hot wife”. (Yeah, I cannot believe he actually said “My brother rules and my totally hot wife!”) and there would be lots of skin and screaming and jumping up and down.
For Kim though, I hope they can dream up something other than going to people’s houses and re-doing the living room. I think she’d do well instructing. A show that incorporates designing a living room and teaching how one could do it themselves.
Many people like the frentic, look-at-my-chest, high-energy, high-annoyance type host. I’m not sure who will win.
Side note: I was on Waikiki Beach last November and saw the Outrigger. 
I’m not a fan of Oahu because of the crowds, but I could definitely get used to that view. Can you believe how bad that interior was? I just love watching design shows when they can really make a huge difference with a talented designer and a workable budget.
Voted for Kim. Plan to vote for Kim tomorrow and Wednesday morning, too. Not only was her room awesome, but Todd is just too 8th grade for me. I’ve known women who are so beautiful that I’d consider sleeping with them, I’ve never once heard their husbands refer to them as “my hot wife.” Dude, if you’ve got it, it’s gauche to flaunt it. Really. And his wife acting like he was already the winner got under my skin.
I was very surprised at what both got done in 3 days. I am so glad that Kim took their advice and pulled up that rug because it was really bad. (And I’m sure the Outrigger will install wall to wall carpeting anyway.) The only thing I wasn’t so sure about was that divider screen. It would have been fine for a privately owned condo, but not a hotel. The first kid that walked into that room was going to either pull it down on top of himself or hang himself with it.
Todd’s theme was more of the same. I really do think he’s a gifted artist, but he’s a one-trick pony. Once you’ve seen his nautical theme, you’ve seen it all. And, truly, when you have the most gorgeous view (you know, the OCEAN) imaginable, why try to mimic it or compete with it? You don’t. I also have no idea what he was thinking, moving the bedroom into the living room. Once again, this is a hotel not a privately owned condo. In hotels, you have to consider that people bring their kids. Where are the kids going to sleep – on the dining room floor? If ANYTHING, I would have put a patio table and chair outside and converted the “dining room” to another bedroom, so that a family would have plenty of space.
See, Will would have thought that through and gotten a pull-out sofa. Not as nice as the sofas that Kim and Todd picked out, but functional. Design without function is useless. I really wish Will had made it to the finals instead of Todd. I really enjoyed his simple designs (reminded me of Vern) and honestly, I never thought he was a horrible host, just a tad nervous. He was certainly no worse than Todd’s “WOO-HOOOO!!” form of hosting.
If Todd did win, I imagine he’d host something to do with outside spaces that involved lots of carpentry and construction of big projects.
Kim is very comfortable and seems like everyone’s best friend. I’d like to see her host something with a cozy, intimate feel. Agree that a How To type show would suite her.
I stayed tuned and watched Vern Yip’s new show - Deserving Design. Worst. Show. Ever. The show is trying to be Complete Makeover lite - people who are deserving because they are “heros” - i.e. in service jobs - or have been through some turmoil get their rooms remodeled. Vern is too formal and detached to pull this off - he doesn’t sell empathy very well. His actual rooms were the bomb, and perhaps he’s a good enough designer to keep the show afloat, because he’s so rigid doing the human interest part of it that it made me uncomfortable.
I loved Kim’s room - very sophisticated. Plus, removing that carpet made a huge difference. Todd is just too annoying - I would not watch his show. The other thing I like about Kim is that she actually gives good design advice, e.g., how to place furniture in a room to make it look bigger/smaller, how color affects the mood of a room, etc. As much as I love to watch the makeover-type shows, I also want to learn something that I can apply to own house (which is very much a “before” picture if I’ve ever seen one!).
As I was going to vote for Kim for the 2nd time today, I noticed the Design Star blog (or message board-- I don’t see the difference). The first thing that struck me was how the person who obviously runs it does not work for HGTV. Kinda like our mods don’t work for The Chicago Reader, I think.
The other thing that struck me was the almost universal Todd dislike. Not hatred just, like most of the sentiment here, annoyance with the bare chest hooting, aqua themed everything.
I was surprised by the Sparkle Josh love and not so surprised with the Will love.
And what is this rumor involving Kim? That she knows someone in InStyle Magazine? Anybody have the dish on this?
I grew up in a beach town, so I don’t mind Todd’s design style – but he needs to get out of his Blue Period. His exuberance is probably (sadly) all-natural. He’s not acting, he’s not over-emoting… he’s just kind of a goober. Do you remember his two-color room that he turned into a crashing wave? It was amazing. If you have any connection to the ocean that room is great; it would be a fantastic waiting room at a surfboard company. As living space, though, it fails – shelves aren’t level, usable space is gone, and can you imagine dusting the debris piles? Ugh.
Kim seems shy and tentative when hosting but she’s really finding her stride. I’m surprised she made it as far as she did, because her designs rely on wood grains, textures, and subtle color choices that the television can’t show. The judges have been good about communicating the effect, but often it doesn’t come through on TV. Especially in the West Virginia house and the hotel room, I felt Kim’s designs probably looked much better in person.
That said, her performance on the last challenge (despite the excellent color choices) was a B-minus. If you’re getting rid of the carpet, plan that from the start so you can account for the bare concrete floor. The divider she made from roof lumber looked like something you’d build in a grad school apartment because IKEA was too expensive. Her color choices were fantastic, but it was apparent that she had run out of money. Maybe the hotel could do ten or fifteen rooms in her pattern, and get enough bulk discounts to bump her budget up to $12k. Will was a very talented designer, and a great shopper/improviser – he really helped Kim finish on time and on budget.
So I’d like to see Kim and Todd do a show together. The yin and yang would be fantastic. Todd’s bold ideas would make good accents but are too radical for most homeowners – Kim could steer those ideas towards something everyone could live with, blend them into her smoother designs, and drive Todd towards new colors that aren’t blue. His enthusiasm could pep up her hosting skills. I’d like to see him as Kim’s “wacky assistant,” contributing flourishes that someone less sensitive to Kim’s subtlety could enjoy.
Kim is a more rounded designer, but she is somewhat lacking savior fair. Her inexperience shows.
Todd is more carpenter than designer. He’d fit in with the other carpenter/designers such as Carter Oosterhouse, Jason Cameron and Faber Dewar.
Both are wanting.
YAY KIM! I think she’ll be great. Loved her in that turquoise dress, too. Glad Todd took some digs for being so consistently shirtless.
That retrospective was kinda fun. And I love that this reality show didn’t really trade on who hates who, whose zooming who or who did what evil to who. Plus I got some real good belly laughs.
Robb in the hot seat:
I don’t know why people don’t like me. I don’t know what I can do to fix that. cut to
Ya moron! Ya idiot! Ya stupid moron!
Perky Blondie’s (forgot her name) signature saying:
Um, yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um-- no.
Blondie judge: He’s got the whole package, the package I like to look at.
Clive: I beg your pardon!
Where did they find Clive, anyway? Is there a Hosting School that he, Ryan Seacrest and Bob Barker graduated from.
Oh yeah. Go Kim!
Clive does (or did) Designed to Sell. He’s the best part of that show, but his hosting here was, well, weird. Very dramatic pauses–like he’s taking lessons from Shatner.
Yeah Kim! And I’d like to see Will back. I liked his aesthetic.
I watched part of the marathon this weekend and caught Robb v. Kim again at Wayne Newton’s guesthouse. Man, Robb’s an ass.
Him and LaPorte are my favs.
I think all the pausing was because there was 6 minutes of show left and nothing to do except read the name. So he draaaaggggggeeeed it out foorrrreeeeevvvveeerrrrrrrr. I wanted to throw a shoe at my TV.
P.S. David Bromwhatever is a cutie. He needs to learn how to close his mouth though. That mouthbreather look is not attractive.
I like David’s show, but he’s really dorky in his commercials, pointing his fingers at the camera like that. How does someone who looks so hip manage to be that dorky at the same time?
Even fast forwarding through it, I felt that they wasted too much time. And Kim standing there at the end, with no one hugging her or congratulating her was very odd. (Clue: Todd, as runner-up, your job was to hug her.)
David has a boyish charm about him, but I agree that his commercials kind of stink. I’ve only watched his show a few times and it was okay. But he’s no Candice Olson.