Open Thread

thl – friends of mine have shot in tony duquette’s house and say pictures don’t even begin to describe the experience. i realize now i have been to an india hicks interior – the hotel in harbour island. it was nice but not sublime.

I was always surprised at how people ripped each other apart on camera- what were they thinking. I agree with MM over last year’s winner- he showed some real brilliance but he wasn’t as consistent as the really sweet (and gorgeous) guy who he beat out, and who always created a beautiful, liveable room. The problem I see with a lot of these shows is that they go for the visuals- not the liveability.

India Hick’s father, David, was one of the kings of British design. She’d old money, related to royalty, and is one of the poster children for the Ralph Lauren patrician, horsey, home in the Caribbean, WASPY blonde ideal that he loves. She used to work for Ralph, actually. In spite of all that, I like her, she still seems very down to earth, and had an empathy for the contestants. I liked her as host of Top Design. I was not all that fond of Jonathan Adler, and personally don’t like his products, although I am green with envy at his success. I kinda liked Kelly’s chutzpah in wearing things no one should ever go outside in, but was not a big fan of her Hollywood glam aesthetic. And the editor of Elle Decor could be a little unsympathetic to the demands of the challeges. I would not have picked the guy who won last time, I thought the runner up was better, for lots of reasons, including being a nicer person.

Design Star seems to cater to a younger audience, and goes for the bitchy queen fights (although so does Top Design) over talent. Still, both are fun to watch. I’ve fantasized how I would act if I was on either one, and I’d probably get eliminated somewhere towards the end, as I get along pretty well with people, have some talent, but do not have the killer instinct necessary to push people into oncoming traffic in order to win.

mm – thanks for clarifying that. i had thought when you said killings there were more incidents i hadn’t heard of.

m4l – i couldn’t find the article you mentioned in yesterday’s links

thl – i don’t work in the architecture/interior design/industrial design industries so i don’t have a list to give you off the top of my head. i do know that tony duquette is a favorite and it would be a dream to visit the dawnridge house. i know as a consumer that jonathan adler’s work is disappointing in person and kelly wearstler’s hotels (i’ve visited 2 and stayed in one) are best in photos to be polite about it. i take india hicks off that condemnation list as i don’t think i’ve seen her work in person so i can’t fairly judge.