Design Me A Star: Week 7

Maybe it’s the fact that higher quality reality programming like Top Chef and Project Runway are back on the air, or maybe it’s that I’m also writing columns on those two shows, but whatever the reason, HGTV’s Design Star is becoming more and more bland every week. Even a couple of “firsts” in last night’s episode didn’t spice up the show for me.

With only four designers left, the producers threw a curve ball and set up a group challenge instead of an individual one. All the designers had to work together to design and landscape a huge backyard from scratch, a Design Star first. “35” year old ex beauty queen Torie took on a leadership role that turned out to be in name only. Almost instantly Antonio took command of the team as they walked around the barren space. The clients wanted a modern oasis and it was clear that they’d be lucky if they just got a finished space.

The design and work tasks were pretty much split down stereotypical gender lines. Dan and Antonio were mostly relegated to yard work while Torie and Lonni did the shopping. Dan and Antonio did little in terms of actual design but did a ton of manual labor to make sure the yard was done and useable. Dan’s feeble attempt at river rock art was wisely snuffed out by Antonio while Antonio missed the chance to spruce up his concrete pool patio. Dan and Antonio were at the center of the other “first” in this episode as they helped the team go over their budget. Of course HGTV stepped in and saved the day with money but the mistake was pretty big as Dan signed off on a ten grand pergola when he only had five grand to spend. Antonio contributed to the confusion as well by messing with Dan’s pretty head about the 5 versus 10 figures. Team leader Torie was oblivious to all this as she continued her proud tradition of shopping poorly. She came back with a mish mash of furniture sets that did not fit the modern style of the clients. Lonni was the only designer who stood out for an actual design element as she made some smart plant choices to create a living wall.

When it came to elimination, the $5000 mistake was certainly a deciding factor. Lonni was safe based on her on camera work and plant shopping. Antonio had another strong camera performance which saved him. Dan and Torie were then left and it was clear who had to go. While Dan certainly screwed up, he was not the one in charge of the budget. Also, he really improved on camera this week and he looked cute with his shirt off. Torie was an absentee leader and also came across as a vacant talking head in her on camera, so it was time for her to exit.

Next week it’s a celebrity challenge with Jason Priestly, Tiffani Amber Thiessen and Kathy Griffin. Looks like Antonio gets Griffin which should make for some entertaining times and hopefully some livelier competition.