Design Star Disappointment

One of my favorite programs is on HGTV: Design Star. Over the last couple of years, contestants have decorated homes and backyard living spaces in a competition to earn their own show on the HGTV network. There are always obvious not-going-to-win candidates, as well as those who are really good at design and execution. This season, however, was the worst one to date because the attitude of one of the contestants was disturbing.

Usually, the competition is intense, but fair, with what we often call a "friendly" feel to it. Yes, each person wants to win, but NOT at the expense of another contestant: the design wins or loses, not the designer. This year, one of the contestants did as little as possible to work with the other designers, stepping in only at the last moment to add "his" touch to the design, usually something that I found offensive, such as the shocking pink birds he affixed to the fireplace against the decision of the rest of the team who told him NO, NO, NO. This, however, the only part of the project that Antonio actually did, caught the judges' eyes and singled him out for daring to be different. He also set the others up to fail by deception, including outright lying about a sum of money allocated for a group project, which got the project leader cut from the competition. His work was often shabby, tossed together, and everything he said/did was all about him, not about design.

Needless to say, I was totally aghast when Antonio was named the ultimate winner this season! The distinguished panel of judges applauded him for the over-the-top touches he added to what the design teams did, somehow ignoring his failure to engage in the process. Even when they dissed his design as not well executed, he went to the next level. Kathy Griffith's home office comes to mind, which was judged as a great use of the space, but dissed for the lack of balance in the size/placement of elements of the design. He presented himself far better than the quality of his work justified, and the judges bought it, praised it, and awarded him the TV show.

Last night, as I was flipping channels after watching some football, there it was: The Antonio Project, HBTV's new design star's showcase. I watched to see if I got it wrong during the competition, but no, my assessment was spot-on. It was all about Antonio not doing the job, then scurrying about to find pieces that would look like he did a good job. Sort of a "flip this house" approach: add a granite countertop and stainless steel appliances and no one realizes that the kitchen cabinets are hung wrong, the electrical doesn't work, and the sub-flooring is rotten.

Believe it or not, he actually did not make a purchase at a retail outlet as he thought the saleswoman was hot ("potential date material" was his assessment) and he wanted to come back a second time to hit on her! That tells more about Antonio than his design ever could: he was in it to win it for what it could do for himself, not for the design. Antonio creates the perception, rather than the reality, and the judges bought into the deception, but it's going to come back and bite Antonio in the ass when he fails to do the job and loses the contract.

The best design star is David Bromstad, who is into his third season! He comes across not just as a nice person, but a member of the design team, not the "star" of it. He works as hard as everyone on his team and listens to comments/suggestions from the team about making the design work. He always adds his own unique touch, usually a design element that no one else would think to do, punctuated by an original work of art that simply finishes the design the way nothing else would.

This week, David had two shows. The first was a bedroom that went from ordinary to extraordinary by the use of lime green in a headboard that began at the top of the mattress and extended across the ceiling above the bed. Talk about a WOW factor. The second was a huge space that he converted into a multipurpose room: an office space connected to a leisure space. This time, red was the pop of color, featured in a unique set of curtains on one wall: wooden panels that slide together to form a graphic during the day and slide open to cover the windows for privacy at night. His program, Color Splash, not just sets the tone for what the design concept is, but reflects that it's about the design, not about the designer.

Hence, naming this season's winner's program The Antonio Project says it all: it's all about the designer and there isn't much there.