BuzzSugar

Designer Spotlight: Ondine Karady

CasaSugar — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:17:19 -0800

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Finale: "House Challenge"

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:22:14 -0800

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Episode Nine, "House Challenge"

CasaSugar — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:53:34 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Episode Eight: "Light It Up"

CasaSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:57:54 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Episode Seven: "Room of the Future"

CasaSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:08:23 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Episode Six: "Eco-Offices"

CasaSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:38:12 -0700

View Slideshow ›

Top Design, Episode Five: "Triathlon of Decorating"

CasaSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:30:25 -0700

Finally! After four episodes of group projects, in this latest episode of Top Design, the designers get to decorate individually. In this challenge, the designers must show off their creative vision, styling ability, and versatility as a decorator. Their first challenge was to transform chairs, in two hours, into something unique and design forward, using paint, stain, and textiles. I loved the over-the-top, Betsey-Johnson-inspired chair that Ondine styled. And Wisit's subdued, batik-look fabric on his chair (which he painted by hand!) was impressive as well. Nathan won the first leg of the triathlon (guess his smokelete training paid off) for his iconic, gessoed, glamorous chair.

To find out who was the overall winner, and who went home, read more.

In the second leg of the triathlete, the designers were challenged to create a table setting that was tasteful, unique, and expressed their design sense. My favorite table settings were Eddie's (his flower arrangement was incredible) and Nathan's unconventional, deconstructed seaside table. Oh, and the judges made Wisit sing opera!

Finally, in the third leg of the challenge, the designers were asked to create a nature-inspired room. And while the winner will get the opportunity to be published in Elle Decor, the designers were limited to shopping in only a garden center. My favorites in this leg of the challenge were Ondine's way-bright '60s pop room and Eddie's Hudson River-inspired garden (loved the use of sod), though in all honesty, none of the designs were very impressive. Natalie won for her trellised garden room.

In the end, Nathan was declared the overall winner, and Teresa went home. Do you think Teresa deserved to go home? What stood out for you in this week's episode?

View 27 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Top Design, Episode Four: "Bachelor Pads"

CasaSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:00:12 -0700

Poor bachelors. They never get a break it seems, especially when it comes to interior design. There's a reason for that of course, and this week's episode of Top Design exploits the belief that bachelor pads are "gross" as Shazia so succinctly expressed.

The designers were given the biggest amount of money yet to work on their bachelors - $10,000 - as well as the use of carpenters, seamstresses, and painters. Designers again were separated into teams, and they consulted with their individual bachelors to determine their design aesthetic (for James, it was "panty-dropping chic"). Bachelor Obi was very involved, and talked about how he wanted to have better feng shui in his apartment; he'd actually clipped design ideas from Elle Decor. Wow! The last bachelor, Eddie, had a mess of an apartment, with the only organized element in the house being his massive collection of shoes.

To see who rocked the bachelor bad, and who got booted from the show, read more.

To my delight, the individual "Pop Design" contest was back this week. I love that the designers get an opportunity to assert their individual tastes. This week, the Pop Design involved arranging flowers; most of the designers did a great job, and this was a challenge I would've loved to try my hand at as well. Nathan won for his sophisticated floral design.

Overall, the designers did a great job remaking the bachelors' apartments. James' apartment (you know, the panty-dropping-chic guy) looked way sophisticated with decoupaged screens, great updates in the bedroom and living room, and if anything, was simply too unbachelor-like. Obi's pad had a masculine Zen vibe going on, with neutral colors, dark wood, and a sophisticated, mellow vibe. Eddie's apartment was definitely an improvement, with the beginnings of clean, tailored lines. Unfortunately, the designers hadn't finished the main living room, and the judges weren't pleased.

At the judging (which included guest judge Jeff Lewis from Flipping Out, Andrea, Wisit, and Teresa's team had the top design for Obi's apartment. I had to agree that the designers did a great job keeping the apartment sophisticated while also remembering their client's personality and needs. The last team, of Shazia, Preston, and Nathan, were on the chopping block due to their inability to work together and their uninspiring design. Shazia definitely had a difficult time working with her team. When she tried to assert her opinion, she did it in an odd, petulant way that seemed really immature. In the end, Shazia was kicked out for her bad attitude and inability to assert her design sense.

Do you think Shazia deserved to go home? What stood out for you in this week's episode?

View 21 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Top Design, Episode Three: "Window Display"

CasaSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:00:38 -0700

In the third episode of Top Design, the designers switched from outfitting bunkers to backdropping high fashion. Working in teams of two, the designers were challenged to create window displays for gorgeous fashions designed by Jeffrey, Sweet P, Daniel, Andrae, and Santino, contestants from prior seasons of Project Runway.

It was definitely fun to see each of the fashion designers' looks, from Santino's macabre, black-swathed mannequin to Sweet P's bright, color-drunk mannequin. But beyond the fashion, there was also the complication of egos. There are bossy, opinionated egos (Jeffrey, though I love him), diva-esque egos (Andrae), and then there's Daniel. While his dress was beyond fabulous (it's shown here), Daniel is beyond hilarious. To express his vision for the window display, Daniel read the designers a poem he'd written. I always felt as if he was a blowhard on the two seasons of Project Runway, and this high-school-journal-worthy poem only confirmed this feeling. He's the kind of guy who, on a first date, would try to feed you strawberries in front of a roaring fire while playing Mariah Carey records and find nothing off about it. Or maybe I'm just the anti-romantic.

To find out who won and who got kicked off, read more.

I thought Ondine and Natalie's design for Sweet P's dress was lovely and would definitely sell to the ladies, and Preston and Andrea's design for Daniel's dress (OK, maybe that poem was a good idea) hit it out of the park, too. In the end, Ondine and Natalie were awarded for their efforts with the win. Sadly, Kerry was sent home, which made me very sad. I will miss his presence on the show!

Highlights for me? Jeffrey's nickname for Kerry ("Big Daddy"); Wisit's inability to stop saying "Rococo,"; Kerry's awesome turns of phrase ("I was about to drop kick you into Jesus right there on the spot, but I smiled, like a true Southerner"). And, of course, Kelly Wearstler's fabulous ensemble (where can I get a purple sequined hat?).

What did you love (or hate) about this episode?

View 10 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Top Design, Episode 2: "Archie Bunker"

CasaSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:00:58 -0700

So, I'm not sure if anyone else had this issue with Top Design this week, but on my cable package, The Rachel Zoe Project was actual rerunning in the normal Top Design slot, and TD wasn't on until midnight. I love me some fashion, but you all know I love my design shows a lot more.

In this latest episode, the designers were responsible for working in a 12-by-14-foot space with a partner. To find out about their challenge, the designers watched a vintage beta tape brought in by Todd Oldham, with a cartoon explaining the importance of a bomb shelter.

Yes, the designers are building a bomb shelter; I'm not sure if this was supposed to have resonance with the show's air date's close proximity to 9-11, but either way, it was an interesting concept. Given a budget of $6,000 per team, the teams planned for 30 minutes in their bomb shelters, which were gray, concrete, and definitely depressing canvasses for the designers to work with. Many of the designers leaned toward bright, airy, and nature-based colors and designs

Oh my. And some designers revealed their absolute lack of knowledge on issues outside the interior design world. Natalie hypothesized that if the world ended, it would be because, "Like, the Chinese have built the transformers to bomb us back, because they were pissed about the Hiroshima bomb." I hate to be a stickler for details, but Hiroshima was a town in Japan, not China, and transformers deal with voltage, not with bomb making. Maybe she meant these transformers? They do seem dangerous.

To find out who I loved, who won, and who was kicked off, read more.

Not that I'm disappointed in all of the contestants, by any means. I'm actually sort of in love with opera-singing Wisit, who utters such adorable phrases as, "All of my dreams are coming true with this bunker." So cute! I also have a soft spot for Kerry, who described the personal effect of the heat output of 50 candles in a small space as there's "going to be a fat boy on a rotisserie." Jennifer and Robert, who were teamed up for this challenge, and who seemed to have issues with working as team players in the first challenge showed that this was perhaps their modus operandi. Their dysfunction was reflected in feedback from Todd, who was concerned about their bunker becoming "a sad dorm room."

Eddie and Andrea won for their sophisticated, nature-based design, and Wisit and Nathan were a close second. Jennifer was sent home, and in a surprise move (though equally well-deserved), Robert was also thrown off the show.

Who do you think deserved to go? Did you agree with the judges' decisions? And did anyone else notice that the Pop Design challenge seemed to be missing in this episode?

View 7 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Bravo

Top Design, Episode One: "Impress the Best"

CasaSugar — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

If you've been reading my interviews, you know that I'm excited about this second season of Top Design, so I was pleased to tune in last night for the first episode. First off, I was surprised by the amount of star power in the contestant pool (well, for reality television at least), including one interior designer, Preston Lee, who I'd already featured on CasaSugar. Also in the mix was a Martha Stewart Living senior style editor (Eddie) and actor Ricky Schroder's wife (Andrea), among other talented contestants.

For the first challenge, the designers had to furnish an entire apartment in two days, with the designers divided into four teams, working on four loft space apartments for four-star clients.

To find out who the star clients were and to see photos from the episode, read more.

Each team had to design for one of the show's judges or hosts, including India Hicks, Margaret Russell, Jonathan Adler, and Kelly Wearstler. I love that one of Jonathan Adler's design requirements was "very dog-friendly." Cute! Kelly Wearstler gave a strict no-television edict (I wonder how the Top Design producers reacted to that) and a place for displaying her flea market finds. Margaret Russell requested color and asked her team to stay away from beiges and neutrals. India Hicks asked for an apartment with a "Caribbean plantation feel to it."

Oh, and if this wasn't enough of a challenge, the designers had only $2,000 to work with to furnish and decorate the entire apartment! I actually loved the money limitation, since the designers were forced to use unusual sources, such as a salvage store and thrift shops, to create their spaces. Not only did this take their designs out of the usual retail box, it provided incentive to repurpose old, potentially tired pieces into something new.

Just as things were getting interesting, the designers were interrupted for a "pop design quiz," where they had to make individual shadow boxes out of everyday objects found in their rooms. I loved Wisit's shadow box, as well as Jennifer's, Eddie's, Kerry's, and Robert's pop designs. In the end, Wisit, Ondine, Eddie, and Kerry were all granted immunity, guaranteeing that they couldn't be eliminated in this challenge.

There were some incredibly silly mistakes made over the course of the episode, including ordering the wrong color of wallpaper, forgetting to turn off faucets, and seeping paint all over the floors. Some of the teams had a very difficult time cooperating, and already it seems as if there is some cattiness brewing between contestants. I loved the redesign of Kelly Wearstler's loft and thought Jonathan Adler's loft looked nice, too However there were some straight-up ugly additions to Margaret and India's loft spaces, with some truly incongruous choices. (Serge's akimbo mirror in the corner? Just. Weird.)

Kelly's team was granted the top design, which was well deserved, with Jonathan's team coming in second. India and Margaret's teams were in the bottom two. Ultimately, Serge was sent home, which I think was more than fair.

I think that this season is off to a promising start, and I love the low-budget limitation, which I hope will be carried throughout the season. I'm also grateful that the judge's deliberation process seems to be significantly shorter, with more time spent on the process of creating the spaces. All in all, a good introduction to season two.

What did you think of this episode? Did it leave you excited to see more?

View 40 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Bravo