My Ongoing Affair with Design Star

Design Star, you did it to me again.  I keep hoping for the design “high” I used to get and once again, I was disappointed.   Yet, everytime I vow to end the relationship, I get drawn in with hope this is the week the contestants are going to “bring it.”  Nope, another week of quasi-design with not one bit of creativity.  I eagerly prepared for our time together. I took a shower, slipped into something comfortable, and settled in with my chocolate pudding, ready for that heady feeling I get when I see creativity in action.  But I was left unsatisfied.   For the last 35 years I have made my living creating beautiful rooms.  For the last 11 years, I have focused on teaching others to do the same.  The talent and creativity I see everytime I teach a class, blows me away.  I want to gather up the Design Star candidates and help them find their inner creativity.  So what did I learn from this week?

#1 Product driven Design…disappoints. Anyone can buy stuff and set it in a room, but that is not what makes a room rock.  It is a combination of

The Winning Kitchen on Design Star

 product used in innnovative ways.  Both teams seems to have similar props and used them instead of their design abilities to fill the void.  Each room had some positive elements but nothing that was stellar design.

#2 A kitchen needs color. Each team took a conservative approach with wall color, how disappointing. I don’t mean the walls should be red, but at least increase the value so the wall color had some body to support the heavy elements of large appliances, granite, etc. 

Too much Stuff...Everywhere!

#3 Remember what you are selling.  This was a photo shoot for Sears to showcase appliances. Photo styling is much like staging, you use the props to showcase the selling feature.  In this case, it was like a before photo as there was so much “stuff” it detracted from the true star of the shoot, the appliances.  In fact, I can’t wait to use the photos in a classroom to show what not to do when staging or styling a kitchen.

#4 “I never would have thought of that”  This is my mantra when I decorate spaces.  Every room I create needs to knock their socks off, but not just because I bought a bunch of pretty things.  The DS team doesn’t seem to get this.  Last night again, showcased predictable design.  The difference between a DIY and professional project, is taking the project to a new level.  I have yet to see that happen.  I want to watch the show and say, “Wow, I never would have thought of that.” 

#5 Eat, Pray, Love-Design Star is going to make me fat, as I eat through the episode in frustration,  I pray the show is going to be worth watching, and I want to love the end result.  So far…not so much.

Join me next week for my thoughts on the next episode.  JoAnne Lenart-Weary, Creative Director