The rumor I heard was that someone (a production staff person) agreed with the HOs and thought it looked so horrible that they accidentally-on-purpose knocked over the tarps that the furniture was under (it was being painted outside) so it would get ruined. They were in Seattle and knew it would rain. That was the “Big Top” room. Good God, what an ugly, ugly room. I would have cried if that was my living room. The big ugly pink and white striped drapes all down the walls? No freaking way.
Thanks, I knew there was a logical explanation.
FTR, I knew when I asked the question that you have to sign up for the show, but it’s my understanding that you have no choice of decorator and no indication of who it will be until they show up.
If it’s Hildi, you might just as well put the paint cans on the shaker with the lids off and save everyone time.
The problem I have with Hildi is that she generally likes really ugly material, and Laurie always chooses paint that coordinates with her hair.
I believe it might’ve been her grandmother, but in addition to not being able to go and see her, she wasn’t even allowed to make or receive phone calls with updates on the woman’s condition. She was only allowed to get relays via some crew member’s cellular phone or some such. Personally, I think that’s over the damn top. Their stupid little television show isn’t going to be ruined if a homeowner takes a five minute break to call and find out if her (grand)mother is still in the ICU.
But enough about Crying Pam… 
I would have a problem working with Doug, because he’s by all reports even more of a preening primadonna than he comes across on the show, which is saying a lot. If he started giving me the attitude he’s given to a lot of the homeowners (especially the women, I don’t think he likes women very much, especially ones with opinions of their own) I’d have to tell him about himself, big time.
I’d be frightened by Hildi in my home, but that’s almost a given. My style wouldn’t mesh well with Frank, but I adore him and I think he has wonderfully imaginative ideas. Laurie and Gen would be fine, (Laurie would want to kill my ceiling fans, darn her) but Vern would be the absolute ideal. I love me some Vern.
What’s the name of the new African-American woman desginer, the one who did the grave bed and the gaudy eye of Horus room?
That’s Kia, tlw. I have not seen a single one of her designs that I liked. Why the hell did she give the career military people a living room full of ugly camoflauge pattern?
Genevieve and Kia both are inexperienced, but I think Gen has good ideas… even if they’re inspired by random things.
Doug and Hildi seem to view the rooms as future portfolio pieces, rather than spaces that somebody has to live in. I would bet money that the rooms in their houses are not so garish or impractical. Sometimes Doug really does nail it, though, I do like a lot of his designs.
There are only two words to describe that:
- Bull
- Shit
I don’t give a damn what I’ve signed up for, a family member is in the hospital, I’m leaving and you’re getting the fuck out of my house.
[/rant]
Sorry…
Calm blue ocean. Calm blue ocean
What with all the attempted snarky-ness about TS? Well for what its worth here are my toughts on the designers. Feel free to post your version:
Good and bad points about each designer:
Vern- Good: great designs, execution and attitude- the whole package. Bad: not much- but he doesn’t have a ton of range in his designs. While he will stray from time to time, he sticks to certain design themes alot (fine with me- I like them).
Gen- Good: she is the best with wood and newly built furniture. She is wildly creative at times, but still will listen to the homeowners to an extent. She doesn’t get rattled, and adjusts on the fly well. Bad: (mini-snark) please wear some shoes, moss wall, leans on the blown up black and white photos too much (as does Vern), can be a bit too daring with color at times.
Laurie- Good: she has the best eye for fabrics (even better then Vern), and often finds fantastic deals for the home owners. Has a good eye for lighting fixtures. Likes rich colors, and her rooms tend to actually match the desired theme. Will listen at times to the homeowners on the big things. Bad: can be a wiff on the lazy side, even before she had her kid- fine line between delegates well and lazy. Doesn’t use the Ty and Amy well. Not as flexible on the fly and can get rattled.
Frank- Good: the best artist of the group. Really good to work with and actually values homeowner input above all the other designers. Doesn’t do nearly as much Country as some people seem to think. His rooms tend to work well in the house as a whole. Perfect for kids or entertainment type rooms. When he does a classic or romantic room they tend to be very good. Bad: can easily move to kitsch if he isn’t careful. Sometimes listens too much to the homeowners- he needs a bit of Doug at times. Some homeowners are idiots and shouldn’t have any input. Tends to lean a bit too much on paint treatments.
Hildy- Does modern very well. Always has a strong vision for the room. Her plans tend to be executed well, and it is rare to see her in trouble with time (budget is another story. . . .). She uses Ty and Amy well. Bad: Overly ambitious at times. Doesn’t listen well. Sometimes the whole idea is clearly bad, but she doggedly sticks with it. Often is willing to try cutting edge stuff because it interests her more than it is necessary for the room. Can be a bit smug at times.
Doug- Good: Has the best “vision” of all the designers. His plaster jobs are stunning. Has good use of Ty and Amy. He is fearless when coming up with designs. He does well with “poor” homeowners- who I think the producers instinctively assign to Doug for “good TV”. He is very good with younger, fun homeowners. Has the most inventive “theme” rooms. Can do an impressive amount of the wood work and installation himself. Bad: loves to play to the camera. Some of the themes really didn’t fit in the house. Doesn’t like to adjust his designs, but will to an extent. Something always seems to be behind schedule or pressed for time with his rooms. Not a great listener. Has had a few well intentioned bombs (not as many as Hildy though).
Kia- Good: doesn’t kick puppies on the air. Umm, errr, that’s all I can think of. Bad: Every room but one. Combines bad designs, with poor execution, lack of common sense and a mistaken belief she knows what she is doing. Cannot be fired no matter how bad she designs are (unlike Dez).
Edward- Good: good designs, sly sense of humor, nice use of color, did a few really nice rooms. Bad: used very little. Could be a bit more take charge. Hasn’t run Kia over with that big GMC pick-up they have.
Off topic, but without a better cite, I do not for a minute believe any of this about the producers of TS preventing a woman from leaving her house, for any reason. They’ve got a name for that sort of thing. It’s called kidnapping. Plus, it makes no sense. It’s not like they were decorating a hospital room.
Darn it, logic ruins the story. 
Plus, they had a show where a homeowner was substituted out with her friend when she got sick.
Also remember to two clowns who went out on dates instead of doing their homework (was it season one?).
The show is not live, and they do edit them quite a bit. So if someone had to leave for a bit they could (and have, as mentioned above) work it into the show.
Just another reason heresay evidence is not admissible in court (except for rare exceptions).
Yeesh, typos in both my posts. Grrrrrrr.
:mad:
That was season two, because Laurie was pregnant. Apparently the designers usually stay and help with the homework, even though they act surprised the morning of day 2, but Laurie was too pregnant to stay, and those two went out on a date.
elf6c: I think that was season two. Also, I loved your summary of designers. That pretty much hits the nail on the head for me.
But what’s with that Kia “cannot be fired” thing? Please, say it isn’t so. That camouflage room pissed me off. While You Were Out did something similar. “Hey, the guy’s in the military, so let’s give the room a military theme!” Awful idea.
There was another one in the first or second season where two women went out on dates. It was two mother-daughter teams in New Jersey, IIRC. The ones who went out had friends come in and do the homework. Doug was the designer.
I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t let someone leave at night to see a sick relative or receive phone calls regarding said relative.
I’ve never seen the straw room. But I really like Hilde; first season she did some great work.
js_africanus I think that is the one I was talking about. They were some of the worst homeowners the show has had. That is one thing that the producers and directors have gotten much better at is selecting the homeowners (the first season had a few real stinkers).
Misha77 it is simply my opinion. It may not look very good to fire the only African-American designer on the show after a couple of months (no matter how badly she performs). Although Dez did get run off the show pretty quickly, so there is president for the quick hook. It is a tricky issue. If I was in their place, I do not know what I would do. I guess they are hoping she will come around. Also, thanks for your kind comments.
Personnally I think Hildi is great if you don’t like furniture. Minamalism is fine but I have to have more than just a bed in the bedroom. Dressers, TVs, Tables etc are all necessary for us.
But the Flower Bathroom, the Octhagonal basement, and the Hay room have proven to me that she should be forced to live in her own designs for a year. Bet she’d be more practical then!
Elf6c, you are right on with your comments on the designers. Except I would have been harder on Kia (how do you know she doesn’t kick puppies? Cite?) and I like Edward more, I wish he had more appearances.
A big dubious smile :dubious: to the story about Crying Pam not being able to call the hospital. They’re not prisoners; the only restriction is that they can’t go to their own house.
Friendly heads-up: It’s orthogonal.
(I liked the Flower Bathroom. I’m so alone…)
I’m with Beelzebubba. If I had a loved one in the hospital, noone would stop me from going. And if anyone tried, I’d get the hammer out of my toolbox, beat him over the head with it, and drop him off in the emergency room on my way in.
Sounds like Crying Pam or her supporters might be trying to float a cover story for why she repeatedly embarassed herself on national tv. Too bad they couldn’t come up with one that would pass the “Oh please” test.
The flower bathroom episode was a bit weird, with the homeowners being friends of Laurie (as I recall- please correct me if I am wrong), asking for the bathroom to be done (a first), and the recently returned Laurie all made for a bit of a strange episode. I strongly disliked the flowered bathroom, but understood what she was trying to do. The problem was that there is little you can do is such a small space where certain things really can’t be moved in a weekend for a $1000. Also, the flowers ended up looking cheap. The bathroom is one of the places that a super-modern Hildy special would have worked, and that is the approach I personally would have used.
FWIW- I have actually used stuff I learned on the show at my house. We had old, crappy, wood-veneer coated hollow doors cabinets (with a horrible tan oakish 70’s look complete with those horrible “beaten copper” external hinges and pulls) combined with super dark stain on the inside. Based on what we saw done to the exact version of our cabinets on the show, we sanded, primed (2-3 coats), and painted the exterior white, and the interior light yellow (same paint they used on the show-- go Lowes!). We then replaced the pulls and moved the hinges to internal mounted, both in a shiny silver finish. We then painted the backsplash a celedon green. It came out really nice- took 3 weekens though. How about you?
