'Design Star' Episode 5

Sorry I didn't post last week!!! I ran out of time as it was the last week of summer and I was determined to squeeze every last bit of it out.


Anyways, the review.

Cathy and Karl's "Contemporary" kitchen.

Just because your kitchen looks like it could have been built in the last five years doesn't mean that it is contemporary. This my friends, though it may seem obvious to you, is a lesson that Cathy and Karl failed at learning. I was very sad that Cathy got her video posted on HGTV's website, as her kitchen was the worst by far. Also, you couldn't even see the room with all of the "styling".

Meg and Tyler's amazing Global kitchen that was the best by far and didn't deserve to be criticized near as much as it was just for one stupid bench, much less have one of the people that worked on it go home.

Well, I think I made my point with the caption. This was easily my favorite kitchen of the night, and I don't know how in the world one bench got Tyler sent home over Cathy, Karl, or Kevin. I loved how nice it looked, yet still had a "collected" feel about it.

Kellie and Mark's pretty awesome Country kitchen.

As you probably know by now, Kellie and Mark are my favorite people in the competition. They are both great hosts, super nice, and pretty good designers. All in all, it wasn't my favorite since it wasn't my style, but it was probably the best of the night by a non-biased standpoint.

Last and very close to least, Meg and Karl's Industrial kitchen.

They had bright colors, they had high-end appliances, they had relatively contrasting granite and cabinets, so why didn't this work as "industrial"? Because it was a mess. The styling was so random that it looked like they just tossed random items up onto the counter, and the kids area was a disaster, like the judges said far too many times. The stools don't look industrial at all to me, and there is just that fridge will look good when it's all on it's own. I know that wasn't all there fault, but there could have been sacrifices made to keep it functional.


All in all, Karl should have gone home for trying to turn this into an episode of "The Real Housewives of HGTV" and Cathy should have been too ashamed to even show up next time. Sadly, we had to lose someone who has been consistent this entire time, and to me, still was this week.


My updated list of who should go home is to your right.

A Few Pieces of Furniture That I'm Using In My New House

If you don't know me personally, you probably don't know that I have recently moved, and am in the process of designing rooms! My family is letting me help them design almost all of the rooms, and my bedroom is gonna be all me. The rooms aren't near finished yet, but here are a couple pieces of furniture that I will be using:


First off, my bed is from the Malm collection at IKEA (one of the best places to shop if you're into modern furniture).

Obviously, my room is aqua and gray, and I will be using yellow and maybe even some red as accent colors. The bed should be coming in August 11 and after that I'll start getting bedside tables, chairs, rugs, lamps, the works.

Next are some couches the we found on Walmart's website. I know it's not exactly as high-end as most designers would like, but it will go great in our all-gray bonus room, which is basically for me and my friends.

Since the room is already pretty dark, and can only get darker with these couches, I've decided to get a light cream-colored shag rug to go in between them, and colorful pillows and other accents to go around them. The couches should arrive before August 4, but could be as late as August 10.

I know it's not much to go on, but I can imagine it and it looks awesome! Now, as long as my imagination can coexist with my budget, I'll be in good shape. I'll also be posting pictures of the final product as soon as I can, as I hate to give sneak peeks of unfinished projects.

'Design Star' Episode 3 Review

Homeowners challenges. Are they stressful? Yes. Are they practical? Yes. Are they fun to watch? Yes. Were they successful? Sort of.


So tonight our little HGTV wannabe designers had their first challenge where they had to please somebody other than the judges. How did it go? Well, it depends on which team you're speaking of.


(Photos courtesy of HGTV.com)

Kellie, Leslie, and Kevin's bonus room

 Let's start off on a high note: Kellie, Leslie, and Kevin. They designed a kid's room in a basement and ended up all being safe, while Kellie was in the top portion of competitors, and Kevin won it all.

Kevin's amazing built-in shelves

I loved how fun there room was, and I agree with the judges in that it does feel like one person designed the whole space, not three. I absolutely loved Kevin's navy blue shelves, I definitely wish I had enough time and talent to do that in my own room. Kellie's island was a good idea, nothing I haven't seen before, but unlike what I have previously seen (Dear Genevieve, no offense, I love the show), it doesn't look like "Oh, there was obviously structural beams that she was trying to cover". Leslie was boring and trying too hard to get attention as usual (push-ups, week one, I know you remember), so I doubt the whole "Mom" thing is gonna work out for her after all.

Doug and Mark's "adult space/dancing room"

Doug's terrible furniture choice

Now to a low note, Mark and Doug's room was pretty horrible. But Doug himself admitted it: Doug picked out all of the horrible furniture, made the layout, and painted that poor, innocent wall "organ meat peach". I really liked Mark's wood wall, and the floor was great, like Vern pointed out. There was absolutely no reason to put Mark in the bottom with Doug, as Mark will rightfully hang on for the next several weeks simply because his hosting skills are far greater then everyone else's.

Cathy, Karl, and Bret's in-law suite

I'll admit, Karl's mosaic backsplash did look good

Another low point of the show was Cathy, Bret, and Karl's "we specifically chose the most uncomfortable furniture we could find" in-law suite. I hated the four chairs placed in a circle, I mean how many friends does this grandma plan on having over? I thought that it was especially ridiculous that Cathy got by without doing barely anything except one coffee table, and am I the only one who thinks that Karl is going through a serious identity crisis? One week he's the good guy, then he's just a total knock-off of Mark, and this week he's a drama queen? Dude, settle down.

Meg and Tyler's amazing beach-inspired dining room

Lastly, Tyler and Meg's magazine-ready beach house dining room. I absolutely loved everything about, and didn't understand at all why anyone would want "personal items" cluttering up that beautiful space. Everyone wants a room to look just like a magazine, so why are they complaining? This challenge definitely put me and Meg on better terms, and you'll see that in effect to your right on my newly-updated "Who Should Go Home" list.


Well, that's what I thought, and place stay tuned throughout the week for more designs that I like!

Why You Should Start Watching 'Secrets From A Stylist'

As you read this, I'm almost positive that you're imagining a businessman in a suit with an HGTV logo on it, but,
A. That would be tacky
and B. I promise you I'm just a totally normal person (check out my Twitter, you'll see that I am definitely no businessman) that enjoys HGTV's shows and finds several of them very interesting.

First of, I practically fell off of my chair last night when Emily Henderson (@em_henderson) replied to me twice on Twitter, first when I said that I preferred her voice-over and second when I took almost all of my 160 characters to create a hashtag telling everyone to go watch her show (#EverybodyGoWatchSFASCauseItHasTheBestHostEver).

Anyways, the reason that I recommend her show is because first, of course, her finished product is amazing, second, her "style diagnostic" will tend to always make you think "What would I choose?", and lastly, this season she is doing an especially great job of telling you how to equal out visual weight, see what colors go together, find out how many fabrics makes the room too busy, etc. Basically, if you're an aspiring designer like me, you will find this show very helpful as, unlike most HGTV shows, she actually explains why the room looks the way it does, and how you can make a room like just as good as hers (that is, if you have the eye for design and, of course, the budget that she does).


So, while I may be the teensiest bit biased as I did get to talk to her on Twitter, I still love her and her show and hope that you watch Secrets From A Stylist. Also, I hope that you believe me that I am not a walking advertisement hired by HGTV. And for the record, Emily Henderson has mentioned me twice on Twitter and Genevieve Gorder (Dear Genevieve, Design Star) has replied to me twice in comments on Facebook. My next target: David Bromstad of Color Splash and the mentor on this season of Design Star.

'Design Star' Episode 2 Review

Okay, so I sort of accidentally lied last week, since I forgot that we're moving into our new house this week. So, we have not had TV or internet all week, but I was able to go back to our old house and catch me some Design Star. Anyways, onto the review.


(All of these pictures are from Emily Henderson's style blog)


Let's start with my favorite person: Kellie

Kellie's room

While she may not be the best designer, I love her personality and if you have been following my blog for a little while (all 3 posts of it) you of course know that I love her use of aqua. I liked her concept of the footprints and the spilling paint, but the footprints wouldn't be obvious to the average person, and a room should make sense to everyone. Overall, it's a good room. However, I am not a fan of all of the white. Her hosting is pretty good, she just needs to get more confident.

Bret's room

I really didn't get this one. Weird looking bombs? Christmas colors? Really, Bret? It looks good for maybe my local design magazine, but it doesn't really show me his personality at all. And like the guest judge said (Sorry, I don't know his name. I know, it's sad.), it looks like Martha Stewart created the edgiest thing she could possible think of, and ended with..... this.

Cathy's room

I don't see why the judges hated this one so much. She thought outside of the box, it was a very different idea, but her camera challenge is probably what put her in the bottom three. Since her room wasn't a total wreck (it wasn't beautiful, but not necessarily bottom 3 worthy), that's the only thing I can think of that the judges saw. She always says that she has an advantage from being a newscaster, but I think that it's a disadvantage since she's so used to not having a personality, being way over-hosty, and always talking about how she takes inspiration from other countries. We get it, you like to brag about where you've been in your designs! However, just because I've been to Kentucky doesn't mean I bring it up in every sentence that I speak.

Doug's room

I'll agree with the judges on this one, it was more a tribute to the artist than showing Doug's personality. I mean, I feel like I'm stuck in a world with only peach, black, and white. That annoys me. I like the idea with the plates, but they're all crooked and that erks me since I'm all OCD and stuff. (Not really, but I'm definitely a perfectionist)

J's room

 Okay, this is actually not the worst room at all. (I'm lookin' at you, Meg) But, she was the worst host by far. She had no confidence, went off-topic, went over-time, and is just plain painful to watch. I was afraid that she would end up finishing about fifth or sixth as one of those people who would tell the judges that she would fix everything they told her to, but ends up the same as she was when she started the competition. All in all, I'm relieved that she's gone.

Karl's room

I really like Karl's personality, but he does seem like he's trying a little too hard to be the guy that everybody loves. His room was a great concept, but the first dining room chair irritated me since the paint on it didn't match the floor. It was very simple, but the paint scheme made it seem almost full. The light fixture was genius (it doesn't look like a fifth-grade art project and at least it wasn't a bowl!) and I also really like the way he used the oranges to look sort of like soil for the plants.

Kevin's room

 It was a good idea, but the wall of butcher paper doesn't make up for the fact that the room is otherwise very empty. Sure the mops for rugs were good, but that can't carry a room. It also might have to do with the fact that I'm not a huge fan of any of his color choices so far (flashback to tangerine...) but it does go pretty good with the brown paper, just not what I would have chosen. The artwork on the walls is fine, but nothing special.

Leslie's room

 Surprise, surprise, I love the color. The artwork is pretty good and I love the writing on the wall. However, the couch looks terrible and doesn't match the room in the slightest. Also, it really others me that the table isn't centered on the couch. She seems like she could get bossy (hi, Cathy) or just end up as the mom of the group who isn't that great but no one would want to send her home. Her hosting ability is a little bit above average compared to everyone else, so she could use that to get through the next few challenges.

Mark's room

 My absolute hands-down favorite host, Mark's room is the possibly the boldest (other than Tyler's) and definitely one of the coolest looking. The airplane/futon was very creative, and I think that the bowls on the floor add some much-needed depth to the room. As for hosting, he is easily the best and feels very genuine. He to me is the more natural version of Karl.

Meg's room

More peach. Seriously? Even though her table did fall down, that definitely wasn't the downfall of her room (get it, downfall? I know, it's cheesy) the peach everything with the dull green tree thing is what made the room a mess for me. The couch looked bad, the placement of furniture was awkward, and I also hate her hosting since she talks like the Target Lady from Saturday Night Live.

Tyler's room

His water bottle seat confused me at first, but it definitely made the room. I loved the combination of the green and gray, and for some reason I liked the water bottle to the right that's spilling paint on the floor. I usually hate when things interrupt a color or anything like that, but this time I liked it. The lamps weren't great, but since they practically blend in it really doesn't matter.


Overall, I loved Tyler's, Kellie's, and Mark's. They would definitely be my top 3. Mark should win and Kellie should get 2nd. From now on, I will keep a list of how I think the competitors should finish over to the right of the blog. I will update it every week with my revised picks, and of course, who actually went home.


Well, that's my review! Please comment and tell me what you thought of the episode.

'Design Star' Episode 1 Review

Sorry that it's five days after the season premiere, but I was in Florida this week with family and our number 1 rule in Florida is that you don't watch TV. Believe it or not, I love the no TV rule. Anyways, here's my review.


I'll start out by saying that I predicted the winner of the challenge as soon as I saw that Kellie would be working on it. Just sayin'. I loved Cathy's designs from HGTV.com, but as Leslie picked out almost everything in the room, she was the best from their group for me. Of course Kellie and Karl's was my favorite, as I am obsessed with yellow and aqua. I was thrilled that Blanche went home, since it was terribly obvious that she was extremely full of herself. Sorry for the big words, but it makes me feel exuberant to use words that make me feel like I'm smarter than I actually am.


As I was saying, Kellie and Leslie are my favorites right now, but Karl and Mark are close behind. I barely remember J, and I just watched it, so that can't be a good sign. Also, Tyler is highly annoying to me, and Meg needs a serious ego-check. I can't even remember the names of the other two, so they were obviously very entertaining (extreme sarcasm) but I do remember the irony of the fact that you were supposed to "RELAX" with bright orange walls caving in on you. I didn't hate Doug, but he didn't make really any impression on me, so next Monday I wouldn't be surprised if I am watching and then think "why did they add a new designer?". That is not good.


So there you have it, my review for the first episode of HGTV Design Star. Please check back Monday for more!

One Very Great Room

A couple of weeks ago, me and my family went to the FireSky resort in Phoeniz, Arizona. It happened to have some great indoor and outdoor spaces, so I decided to share some of them with you.

• The first pool had a beach entry, and of course I loved the color scheme. I also liked how natural it looked, but it sure doesn't seem like it would now since I've way over-done it on the "in-hance" feature of iPhoto.

• The second pool had several cabana's along with sitting areas featuring couches and beach chairs. I'm not a fan of the stripes, but I loved the cabana's modern colors with the rustic wood.

• Right behind the lobby, there were a couple of grey couches (I love grey and yellow together! To that you say, "No duh!") The ottoman's were interesting in that you could set your food on them, use them as a footstool, sit on them, or just pretend that they weren't there. They were quite large, yet they didn't seem to take up that much visual space.

• Right by the ottoman area was an eating area with a long bench (I also love benches!). I loved the mirrors as they seemed very disproportional hanging from about a twenty-five foot ceiling.

• At the front of the lobby, you were greeted by a three foot, circular, zebra-patterned ottoman along with some very tall couches and a four-part table. I like this section because it would drive me crazy to have this in my own home, yet being on vacation, I felt it was an unexpected but fun area to hang out in without actually committing to all that zebra. (Also, do you see those white sticks on the right side of the picture by the fireplace? I really want some of those. No joke.)