apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

They all suck! i don't even know why i keep watching.

Wow, this is truly awful. There are so many different browns competing here- the backsplash, the floor, the wall, the countertop, the window treatment... argh! Even the trim around the pantry. And you would have thought they could have at least traded up on the cabinet hardware.

I am so tired of everyone slapping in granite with stainless appliances and getting a "wow" factor.
This look is NOT appropriate for every home simply because it is expensive-esque.

That being said, the show is decent enough. When is the BRAVO one coming out- I liked that better...

Wait - are those grainte tops? I cannot tell. Ha!

I don't watch the show so not quite sure why they felt the need to replace what look like relatively new streamlined white appliances with stainless steel ones.

I really believe Michael should still be on the show. The room they dissed him for was a perfectly stylish room, even if it didn't fit the judges' conception of Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Tracee was left an extra four weeks to spend more time trying to make herself look good than make her design look good.

What I thought was key was that they pretty much disregarded the home owners requests. After watching them inquire about the homeowners interests I gathered these things: 1. Get rid of paneling 2. "Not afraid of color". 3. The wife likes the color red and 4. want backsplash.

The kitchen was very uncolorful, I don't think you could get any less colorful. (oh wait, there are colorful jellybeans!) If they couldn't do a tile backsplash I figured they would have it painted red at least if the wife likes that color. I'm soo glad Tracee is gone. Just watching her made me cringe. I'm glad all the cry babies are out of there.

I think the final three are appropriate and I could tell from the beginning that they showed some level of talent. With that being said, I still believe that this season's talent is especially weak and Trish probably has this one in the bag.

Tracee had to go, and she finally did. To be honest, I would switch around a couple of eliminations (maybe put Tracee where D Paul went and shift everyone to the right) but everyone left at about the right time.

Still think this season is weak. The kitchen, while completed, is completely generic. But then again I think it is impossible to 'win' this challenge. You inject too much design and get slapped for an unfinished kitchen or vice versa. The time restriction has turned it into the challenge into an 'either-or' scenario (style vs completion), which isn't really beneficial to evaluate talent.

In past seasons, weren't the kitchens done by a team of 3 or so? This time they had all 5 and were barely able to finish. Which gets me back to the whole 'race the clock' thing. I think thats a novel concept for a single challenge, but to make every episode one where they are under some pointless deadline is silly. Now I am not saying every challenge should last a week, but take the challenges this season and add 8-12 hours and I think you would start to see some polish.

Hm- it seem as though I am saying the same thing week after week, after week...

Granted, nearly anything would have been an improvement from what they had, but still...this is pretty uninspired. The fakey laminate floors and that terrible window treatment are really bad.

What is the fascination with stainless steel appliances? To me, they're like black ones in the 90s -- ten years from now, they'll look dated.

I'm very happy with my white appliances -- they never go out of style.

That said -- this kitchen is a snooze.

This was the first episode I've seen of this show. I was enraged on behalf of the others at Tracee!

I loved how she kept saying that "no one told" her to buy the tile and bring it right back...when it was HER chart that said to start tiling at 2:30! Um, Tracee... It's hard for the guy to put up the tile when you still haven't brought it back from the store!

Based on this episode, I don't understand how she got on the show in the first place - anyone else notice the red Pier 1 stools she bought for the counter weren't tall enough?

I think one of the women will/should win.

I do not know why you would need a designer to change to white cabinets, stainless appliances and granite countertops. I could do that at Lowes.

It looks "nice" but it's not unique and has no character. It looks just like mine when we moved in, "styled" by the realtor with a seasonal pumpkin instead of jellybeans. (Though we don't have granite countertops.)

Funky mosaic flooring or red walls and ceiling over the cabinets would have been awesome here.

I missed the ep, but do not like this kitchen at all!

boston brit -

I spent the entire episode ranting at my husband over the exact same thing - how could she claim not to know??? She made the #%&*! chart! Why did none of the others bring this up? Oh, I'll start again if I'm not careful!

That said, she deserved it ages ago. Blame-shifting like Tracee did all the time gets me so mad!

I also saw the show for the first time yesterday (I caught the rerun of the previous ep before watching this one), and couldn't stand Tracee. Her lack of time management was bad enough, but blaming it on Trish's ring problem was too low for words.

I have no design chops at all, so it's interesting to me to read all these comments from professionals. I thought the contestants on this show had lots of professional experience. I take it that's not true. So how did they pick these guys? Are they simply the most telegenetic of the people who tried out?

I'm pretty sure the counter isn't even granite. . .it's faux to save on cost. I dislike ubiquitous granite as well.

Michael never should have been kicked off, and thank goodness Tracee is gone. She reminds me of a suburban housewife that took a few classes in college once, and decorates her home with accent walls and all that horrible wrought iron "Tuscan" stuff and her friends compliment her on it so she thinks she can be a designer. I know she has her own business and she says her employees "love" her. Sure they do.

Honestly, I think HGTV is loosing faith in this show. They went from 12 designers in the original down to 9 this season. Plus no one really stands out this season. Give them six months with a experienced crew & a motivated producer and anyone of them could be a "Design Star". That being said I kinda hope Jennifer wins it.

Have to agree with Stellamystar...When is Top Design going to start on BRAVO?

It looks so 1986 except for the stainless steel appliances which look so 1996. Ugh.

I'd be in tears if they had done that to my house.

that kitchen short curtain annoys me! And whats up with that
flourescent light next to the chandelier- horrible. you can fix things and be subtle sometimes - I don't like this approach.

$10,000? are you kidding me? What a joke! I agree with tired of the stainless steel appliances. Everything in this kitchen clashes. I can't believe nobody could come up with something better for the backsplash than that murky brown. UGH! And the lighting is horrible.

The counter was NOT granite. Not that granite would have helped this boring solution one bit. How long could it take to tile the back splash with a bright color, using red in the mix? They painted it bad, brown instead. They all should have had their show cancelled.

The big problem with the show this season is no talent and no one contestant that is charming enough to sustain their own show.

Yes. Not granite. Formica! Oi, why not rock the color if that is your budget choice?

wow. I missed the chandelier and fluorescent light thing first time around. Yikes! This kitchen is gross

I also don't understand where the budget went. 10K on what?? Weren't the appliances separate - paid for by a Sears gift card? If that's the case, what did they spend the cash on? Surely the fake countertop, fake floors and all of Tracee's cheesy knickknacks didn't cost 10K???

Looks like a Home Depot project.

The kitchen is dreadful, and not what the homeowners asked for. The problem can be traced right back to the beginning, when Tracee could not put together a cohesive design.

It's a pretty bad show, but at least this episode was satisfying to the extent that we got to watch Tracee go down in flames. What an embarrassment!

I don't know who is producing this show, but they're blowing it.

Could someone explain to me the need to complete a kitchen in 24 hours? I just can't figure out why anyone would spend $10k so they could have a kitchen by tomorrow.

Why is there such a strict deadline?

I don't know of anyone who would even accept a demand from a client like this - even if you multiplied the budget.

On another note, it was a pleasure watching Tracee leave - it would have been great if they had shipped her off in that crappy gondola of hers.

This took some digging, but BRAVO's show is debuting soon-ish.
http://www.nbcumv.com/bravo/release_detail.nbc/bravo-20080415000000-indiahicksnamedho.html

I didn't see this episode either but by the looks of it I didn't miss out on anything but some bad drama. Why can't people think beyond white or wood cabinets? My parents live in Florida and have a stunning kitchen with ...ready?...blue cabinets! I myself thought they were crazy when they told me their plans but it is the most beautiful, cheerful, inviting kitchen I have ever seen. Start thinking in color people...especially you "design stars".

It's impossible to believe that this completely safe kitchen design was the result of a team of designers trying to show the world that they had vision.

Tracee and MIcheal should have been eliminated first and second. I don't know how she can have a business if she doesn't listen to her clients. And Micheal was never focused enough to execute a design. He was too busy trashing everyone in the one on one booth. I am curious about why they went from 12 to 9 designers?? And this 2 that were slashed one was deserving but Mikey V should have stayed. Love him!! I thought for sure that Stephanie was going to make it but she has this thing about painting everything. That is weird! It will be an all women showdown between Jennifer and Trish. Matt doesn't seem too host material, just like Todd for last season.

Oh my favorite episode was the Micheal supplies.

Based on hosting film alone, Mikey was the other designer that left last night and, although we love him, we agree he is not meant for TV.

Well, from what I've read, Mikey certainly does look good on video.

There was also a concerted conspiracy among the other designers to NOT help Tracee pull off a good kitchen. They contributed nothing. Everytime she asked for input, they went, "you're the leader. you decide."

Frankly, I never cared for Tracee, but I lost total respect for the rest of them for the passive-aggressive way they behaved in this episode. When you're on a team, you contribute 110% for the good of the team. Yes, they hurt Tracee. But who they really hurt was that poor family who really deserved a top notch kitchen.

Frankly, I don't care which one wins now. None of them are ethical.

BTW, "Top Design" starts September 3, which just happens to be my birthday. Adler is back as head judge.
http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/bravo-reveals-top-design-second-season-cast-debut-september-3-7453.php