Design Star

I watch Design Star, and just watched the last episode on my DVR.

On the show, the contestants do various interior design projects and compete for their own show on HGTV. You begin to cheer on certain people and wish others would be kicked off by the judges. The very last episode is a big project with the last two, incredibly talented people, competing for it.

The person I was rooting for didn't win, but I certainly enjoyed the homes they redid.

The guy I wanted to win, Dan, made such a beautiful difference in the house he redesigned that I wish he could work for me! I had my husband John look at the finished house pictures, and he liked it, too. In fact, we liked everything he did, which is unbelievably rare for us. Dan used a color palette anchored by a strong lilac color (John and I both like purple). I liked every piece of furniture he chose! He put travertine tiles in the kitchen and gorgeous dark wood cabinets. What really grabbed me were the following beautifully executed ideas:

http://my.hgtv.com/judge-the-designs-gallery/Episode-9/Dans-Design-The-Goldberg-Family/detail.esi?oid=8088810

1. He reinvented a very small teenage daughter's bedroom by putting in a small couch for her friends and putting the bed up on top of drawers and pull-out desk surfaces. I had no idea such a great teenager's bedroom could be put in that little space. Plus, the colors and patterns were lovely and the girl was crazy about it.

2. Got the utmost out of a small and awkward master bedroom by turning the head of the bed onto the narrowest wall and putting cabinet built-ins around it plus at the foot of the bed. He dressed that room up beautifully, too, elegant and cozy. Those bedrooms went from tiny and shabby to jewel boxes.

3. He hid a flat panel television by building a shallow cabinet over the fireplace covered with beveled mirrors. He used beveled mirrors at one end of the living room because the teen likes to practice dancing there, and he used custom-cut mirrors on the recessed closed door panels. The small house was brightened a great deal visually with those mirrors.

4. The house had lots of space problems, including a closed-in kitchen with an ugly laundry center. They ended up with lots of cabinet space, and best of all, he put a good-sized stacking washer and dryer out of sight inside one of the rich dark cabinets. He also opened the wall between the kitchen and the living room.

The guy who won did some funky, loud colors and pieces that I wouldn't want to actually have to live with. The judges like his personality and his edgier design ideas, and he might be wacky to watch on TV, but I doubt if I'll ever wish I had the rooms he did.