No, I’m not talking about Governor Sarah Palin’s speech, I’m talking about something even more exciting—the premiere of Bravo’s Top Design Season 2. Oh my God, it was fabulous!
I was riveted. The 13 design contestants had an incredibly difficult challenge. They were broken up into teams, and each team had to design and fully furnish an empty loft that had nothing but white walls, concrete floors and a huge staircase in the middle. The idea was to see if they could create a space that would satisfy a demanding client.
Surprise, surprise, their clients were the judges! Aaah! My heart was pounding—I actually felt really sorry for those designers. To add to that, they had to do this in two days, and the worst part of all, on a budget of $2,000. I mean seriously, that’s absolutely impossible.
So where did they shop? Obviously (great for television, watch the drama), they went to flea markets and a place called The Junkyard. However, one team did reign supreme. Kelly Wearstler’s team did a phenomenal job.
Honestly, in my opinion, the reason was that team knew how to shop with focus. That’s something I teach! What they did with their $2,000 budget was incredible. They knew how to stretch those dollars, they listened to their client and made a lot of smart decorating choices. They knew she liked eclectic things and she was a collector, so there was an interesting array of sculptural shapes and tchotchkes, all flea market finds.
The losing team was in my opinion a tossup between India Hicks’ loft and Margaret Russell’s loft. In the end the designer who was voted out was pretty forgettable Serge. He spent too much time on one task and wasn’t much of a team player.
So bravo to Bravo! It was a great first show. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. What did you think?
