apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Wow, even if Michael didn't answer the question and he had an airport rug, I still think Carissa should have gotten kicked off! Michael obviously has a kind of class she will never be able to achieve being from New Jersey and repeatedly wearing urban outfitter tshirts over button downs. Her room this week looked like a mid 90s suburban house with terrible fabric and colors. Nothing stands out. Even though this doesn't look like her normal stuff, I still think she should be designing for some sort of teen housewares line at wal-mart.

Did anyone catch Carisa's comment, about her inspiration being more Eames than Eichler? Would either one of them used a tree for a table? let alone slip covered patio chairs. Maybe it was her one piece of furniture, the buffet, that "looked" like it might have been an Eames piece. I don't have a DVR so I couldn't rewind.

Must have been the only Mid Century Modern names she knew.

I was also left feeling that Michael was booted for not answering the question and not for the worst design of the week, an honor that Clarisa and Goil were, in my opinion, more likely candidates.

I've reached the point now where I can second guess the judges. I found the winner a little too ready for its close-up in Elle Decor and a little too missing a true "wow" factor, but I'm not really sure if I were one of the judges I would have picked Matt's as the "top".

I'm also not really sure I'm going to continue watching. While I've never found Michael anything other than irritating, I think his refusing to answer a question that shouldn't have been asked in the first place really showed how repugnant the lot of the them really are.

i thought kelly looked more like an oil painting of an 18th-century earl. something very mannish about her whole look. cool in a sculptural, period piece way, i guess.

as for the rooms:
i wasn't nuts about certain elements of andrea's room (the chairs were just ugly to me), but she pulled it together and it looked totally lux -- not like a working space, but an actual, complete, functional space.

in fact, i always love her rooms, as well as matt's. i just wish we got to see more of their process, but since they are well-behaved and balanced, professional adults, they unfortunately don't get as much airtime.

carisa and her room are both horrible. i would rather she go home than michael -- he at least did something different and interesting with the chairs, whereas she made it grandpa's hunting cabin and had a misstep on every decision. and his room looked remotely like a room -- hers looked like a glorified storage space. i think he could've stayed if he'd hired a classy go-go dancer waitress.

goil needs to get beyond the white walls and light blonde wood in different levels mindframe -- it's the ONLY thing he knows how to do. and his flower chandelier would have to be rebuilt every few days if he wanted it to stay fresh. not really ideal for upkeep purposes. and having the server enter on a pebbly walkway -- great idea if you want your waiter to trip and drop your meal!

well, at least when he breaks down, tho, he beats up on himself, rather than raging out as his carpenters and other contestants...

Kelly's latest look = Bride of Frankenstein
I really don't know how she can look like that and keep a her sour straight face. I think even Margaret wanted to laugh at her last night.

And if Goil cries again next week like it looks like he's going to, I'm out.

Jess, I really don't see the class on Michael. I've been trying to remember something from the episodes that can make me think he has some & no luck so far, but anyhow. This is what I think. Where you come from doesn't make who you are. I know many people from NJ with style & class and at the same time know others from NYC that lack of it. LetÂ’s not confuse the arrogance with class please. But most importantly letÂ’s not confuse the humbleness with lack of class or style.

Carisa's room may have been really bad, but I still think Michael's was far worse. Besides, he's been deserving of being sent packing for weeks now. They should have ousted him LONG ago. As for Goil, he's just getting worse and worse. His design this week was his worst so far. I agree he seems to have only one style, with no ability to adapt to the challenge at hand. Though I liked his work at first, I abhor it now. Unless his work dramatically improves next week, he should be sent home next.

I am so glad Michael is gone - that rug and those strange mismatching chairs! And mind you I love the idea of mismatching chairs just not sooooo mismatching. But I must say I had a problem with Michael from episode 1 when he had his nose put out of joint because he was expected to (gasp!) lift a paintbrush - the horror!!

well...this design definitely played off of andrea's strengths given that she is a restaurant decor instructor.

i'm rooting for goil even though his design sucked big time this time. i don't think he works very well under pressure; you can tell he began losing it with the whole wooden construction thing.

You're right Aaron, this last episode was far better than the rest. I've been waiting for them to focus more on the artistic process. Finally!

Also, while I agree that Michael has much more maturing to do before achieving his personal best, I give him credit for being gracious at the end when he acknowledged the great opportunity afforded to him at the very young age of 23 and for the learning experience.

I loved when they were teasing each other during off hours and said "See you later decorator!" to each other - I can't remember who it was, I think maybe it was Matt? So I guess we arent't the only ones who cringe when Adler says it eah week! But for me it's more the look on his face when he says it that drives me nuts.
I was suprised that there were not more matching sets of chairs that Carissa had to resort to getting Patio chairs. I also wasn't crazy about the cahirs Andrea chose - they weren't very arts and crafts at all and seemed too fancy.

I don't know. I liked HGTV's "Design Star" far more.

I thought Andrea's room was very well-done (smooth, functional) but it looked very late 1980s and stale to me, a little Married to the Mob -- I really liked the buffet, though -- that was a lovely piece of furniture. Matt's leather floor was excellent, although it would probably look very shabby really quickly. I was glad to see the back of Michael, must say.

The checked slipcovers on the patio furniture were really really ugly.

This series continues to be lackluster and disappointing -- not half the energy of Top Chef.

I think the judges were so, so way off. And clearly, this competition is not about 'top design' at all.

i instantly thought michael's was the best room. it was funky but clean, earthy and had just the right splash of color.

the winner's room screamed "west elm" to me. there was nothing original about it. it was totally cookie cutter. it wasn't ugly, just very, very predictable.

michael's was fresh.

but i guess when you look at the judges -- weird, nasal-voiced kelly, grinning adler, cleavage-baring editor in chief and purposeless todd oldham -- you can understand why certain people get kicked off.

their decision last night made me sick, really.
michael will go far, for sure. he's got good taste, and plus he's got morals.

I thought that Michael was honorable in not saying whose room he wouldn't eat in. I wish they had all refused to anwer. It was a nasty question and the judges nailed him for refusing. And then pretended it was about being able to take criticism. If the show were about them taking crit from each other - which could be an interesting premise - it would have to be directed differently.Really, they were just asking the competitors to say who should be eliminated.

I remember a similar question on Project Runway, and when the contestant said that she herself was to blame for a team problem they booted her out, saying that designers have to stand behind their decisions. I thought that was really a trick question and unfair.

I didn't like Michael's designs- any of them - but I respect him for refusing to answer that question.

I'm liking Oldham more each week and Jonathan and the other judges less and less. I hate when they make pooty faces at each other about the contestants. I find that rude.

the first thing i thought when i saw matt's leather floor was, "won't that get totally chewed up and pocked from high heeled shoes and chairs being pulled out and tucked back in?" not to mention silverware falling to the floor, which could puncture. a nice "fantasy," but by no means practical or durable, i would think.