Reality on Bravo

My question was just asked on this week’s episode of “What What’s Happening!!!” How exciting.

I asked: “What designer to you think is best at “making it work”?

Tim Gunn: “I dunno, Allison, the jury’s out on that one.” and they went on to say that he loved Erik’s work.

SWEEEEEET Tim Gunn answered me by name!

You can see the episode on www.bravotv.com, although after they show it live its a few hours before they put it back up again to watch. My question was asked near the very beginning.

Full recap/review of Top Design tomorrow, along with the RoB newsletter, which is going out by email tomorrow evening. If you haven’t subscribed already, use the contact me button to the right to send me your email address and you’ll be put on the mailing list…and believe me, if you’re a Bravo fan, you don’t want to miss out!

Tim Gunn, Bravo, Top Design, Andy Cohen, Watch Whats Happening

It can be a little confusing to see who’s got the god on Top Design, so I’ve come up with a little way to chart their progress. Here’s the last few episodes, which total points at the end. I gave each designed 10 points for a win, 1 point for making it through the episode without being in the bottom, and -5 points for being in the bottom. Click on the thumbnail to see the chart. Who’s in it to win it?

So far, it looks like Andrea is the “sleeper,” banking two wins AND no bottoms. What do you guys thing–who’s your favorite to win Top Design?

Top Design, Bravo, reality, design

Was anyone else sad and a bit surprised that Top Design was a repeat tonight? I don’t know why, but I missed that fact during the week and was all excited to see a new episode.

Since it was a repeat again, let me take this chance to make my predictions for top three:

1. Goil
2. Andrea
3. Matt

At least, I think those are the ones deserving of top three spots. If they cut it down to just two, Goil and Andrea. My guess is that they’ll have to do an entire house or something crazy like that.

And who else thinks it’s funny that Goil introduces himself by saying “Hi, I’m Goil, like Gargoyle.” He’s such a sweetheart!

Last night’s episode of Top Design really disappointed me. Elizabeth was the victim. Why? she chose a bright green color and plum color to use on the cabana that the designers were asked to build.

Ok, first of all color is subjective. Even the judges mentioned that. I actually liked the colors she picked. True, their design was my least favorite. I don’t think it warrented Elizabeth going home Matt gave little/no imput throughout the show, riding through on Eric and Elizabeth’s decisions.

On the other team, I would have rather Carissa AND Ryan go home beofre Elizabeth. They are both self-centered and it because they don’t work together that they didn’t wint. Their design, mostly from Goil, was far superior. The furniture and fabric was both horrible. If it at least would have worked together, it would have been better.

That siad, Top Design is really not that great of a show. I doubt it will be back for another season. The judges are all wrong. The contestants are typical and boring. The challenges look like fun to do if you’re there, but don’t seem all that great when finished–and who pays for all this wood and paint and furniture. It seems like a waste. On Top Chef, people eat the food. On Project Runway, people wear the clothing. On Top Design??? I have no clue. I’m guessing a crew takes it appart every week, salvages what they can, and throw the rest. What a waste.

Top Design

Jonathan Adler is one of the three new judges for Bravo Reality. Acting in part as a host when Todd’s not around, Adler and the other judges contemplate over who has the best deisgn every week on Bravo’s Top Design.

Personally, I’m not too keen on the judges or their choices so far, but if nothing else, Adler has overcome obstacles to get where he is today.

He was recently interviewed by the New York Post:

“I told my pottery teacher that I really wanted to be a potter,” says Adler, 40. “I said, ‘Do you think I have what it takes?’” At the time, Adler was an art history major at Brown University and spending his free time making pots at the nearby Rhode Island School of Design. “And she said, ‘You’re terrible. You’re a disaster. You have no talent. Move to New York and become a lawyer or an accountant.’”

Read the rest of the story here.

Jonathan Adler, Bravo, Top Design, New York Post

Ok, time for week #2 of Bravo’sTop Design Contest. The above bowl/vase thingy is the winning prize (uggggggly if you ask me, but hey–I guess it would look nice in some person’s house…)

Last week, Top Design producers asked to see unique ways in which to keep collections. This week, the contest is to create a pillow cover using a creative fabric/method. See www.BravoTV.com for full deatails.

Oh, and here’s a cool little spin on things–you get to vote on last week’s entries by visiting the site. Even if you’re not hyped up on the prize above, the grand prize, where all winning entires will be put into a drawing, is a trip for two to Miami! Schweet.

Anyone entering?

Bravo, Top Design Contest, Top Design

Tonight on Top Design, John, 40, from Chicago was sent home. His room was a “work in progress,” missing a floor and not transitioning well from his original plan for an adult to the new plan he had to come up with for a child.

The real story tonight, however, is not how the rooms look, but John’s stunning confession that he is HIV positive. He talked about his recent outbursts as a result of the testosterone injection he had to get before leaving to come on the show.

His room might have sucked, but I admire the courage he had to talk about his disease with the other contestants and to tell Michael he was sorry.

HIV and AIDS…As far as topics go, this one hasn’t been getting a lot of airtime. I’m glad that John brought this to the forefront of viewers’ minds, and people will continue to talk about it and find ways to help.

You can learn more about HIV and AIDS by visiting the following websites. Let’s do our part to help those in need.

Help HIV positive Children

Learn about AIDS in Africa

A Great UK AIDS Charity

Rejoice Charity

Top Design, HIV, AIDS

Here’s the post I promised you: A rundown of the newest Bravo contestant–the players on Top Design. Now that Top Chef is over, we need something to fill up our Wednesday nights, right?

On the premiere episode, the designers were put into pairs depending on the paint chips they randomly selected, and two were sent home right away. Here’s how the teams stacked up:

Lisa and Heather
Lisa, 48, describes herself as a “modern ethic” designer, and that’s exactly the room she created on the first episode of Top Design. However, it was too themey and unoriginal, so the judges quickly booted her, along with her partner, Heather, 36. Heather left pretty pissed off, but not at Lisa (who my boyfriend named “Storm”), at herself. She knew Lisa’s design wasn’t great, but didn’t speak up when she should have.

John and Michael
Of course, the other team that has everyone talking is John, 40, and Michael, 23. From the moment they found out they were partners, you knew it was going to be drama. Michael is what happens when you mix Marcel and Ilan together. He’s a self-centered know-it-all who simply is not old enough to be in this competition. John, on the other hand, is a man’s man type of guy and stands out in the crowd, since he doesn’t fit the normal stereotype for a designer. They were almost eliminated, but got the chance to stay another week.

Goil and Elizabeth
“I’m Goil, like gargoyle…” Goil, 33, definitely prompted more than a few giggles from us with this line, espeically when my boyfriend, with was drifting off (damn those late time slots) admitted that he thought Goil had said “I’m Goil, the gargoyle!” *snicker* In any case, Goil was paired with Elizabeth, 48, and the team worked extremely well together to come up with this week’s top design. There fun was whimsical and playful, with a sandbox and giant pepper…but I wouldn’t have wanted it for MY room. Props for creativity, I guess.

Matt and Felicia
Matt, 32, and Felicia, 38, were robbed in my opinion. When I first saw their room, I thought it was boring, but at second glance I realized that they really put a lot of thought into the guidelines given and created a great space. They’re both really lovable people too. Matt may be my favorite on the show, but it’s a little early to tell right now!

Erik and Carissa
Erik, 28, and Carissa, 26, are both fairly forgettable characters, unfortunately. Their room was nice…but also forgettable. When they showed all of the rooms one after another, I said I liked theirs the best, but even though it was pretty, there was nothing that stood out to make me remember it. The same is true about them–I can’t remember a single thing either of them said/did on the show. Hopefully, they’ll grow into themselves a bit more as the season progresses.

Ryan and Andrea
Ryan, 35, describes himself as “half Henry Rollins, half David Lee Roth, with a sprinkle of Evil Knievel.” That pretty much speaks for itself, I believe. His partner was Andrea, 36, who is another of my early favorites. There room was not the best, but it certainly wasn’t the worst, and I think both player have real potential.

Ok folks, that’s all for now. Stay tuned for more Top Deisgn comments by me during the rest of the week!

Top Design, Top Chef