Hey Everyone!
Just wanted to write a quick little note and let everyone know that I was able to attend a viewing party for this past week's episode of "Top Design" thrown by the truly fab-u-lous Andrea and Felicia! Too. Much. Fun.
The party was thrown in downtown Los Angeles at Berry/Keller, the architectural firm where Andrea works. It was an awesome loft space, all clean and sleek - just where you would expect a top designer to work! When I arrived, the previous episode of TD, "Child's Play," was being projected onto the wall. It was just like being at the movies! (You can actually see the big a** projection in the picture with me and the grrrls.) I didn't know at that point, obviously, that Andrea and Felicia were going to win that night's episode, but there was definitely a sparkle in the air.
Felicia was the first one I spotted and when I approached her she was warm and lovely and as you can see from the picture, totally Swimsuit Illustrated sexy in her bikini. Meow!!! Andrea arrived a couple of minutes later looking adorable in a navy blue baby-doll type dress. She is quite striking in person - I didn't expect her to be so tall! They then introduced me to the effervescent and animated Heather- she had such a great energy and was supah funny.
All of the gals were extremely friendly and told me what they could about the show without giving anything away. From the previous week's episode, I was curious to know why all the painting had to be done on the first day (John had remarked that he couldn't do painting on the second day.) They explained that the furniture is on loan from the Pacific Design Center and couldn't risk having wet paint on it. Makes sense, but it still seems limiting.
I was also curious to know if they had been given a tour of the PDC so they knew where to go. All three, since they are from LA, had knowledge of the center but they were left to go at it like a scavenger hunt. But having that knowledge didn't always help as stores they knew or loved were sometimes closed during the filming. And unlike the "Project Runway" contestants while shopping at Mood, there was absolutely no haggling or bargaining on the prices of the furniture. Bummer, right?
I also asked about how the editing was treating everyone. All said that it was pretty true to form and that the characters were being presented fairly so far. Andrea did comment, though, that so much of the painstaking work - the hours and hours of labor that go into each design - pretty much ended up on the cutting room floor.
The episode started and of course there was raucous applause and hootin' and hollerin' every time the girls came on screen. It was so cool to be present when Andrea and Felicia rightfully claimed victory at the end of the episode. Seriously, how gorgeous was that cabana with those luscious, flowy curtains? Calgon, take me away! It was dreamy.
At the conclusion of the episode, there was an audible gasp from the crowd when Elizabeth was eliminated. I certainly didn't see it coming and I don't think the rest of the crowd did either. As I was saying my goodbyes, I asked Andrea if the cast had been totally surprised by the judges decision and she said that they were.
It was a fantastic evening and many thanks to Berry/Keller for giving me the grand opportunity to attend!
Xoxo,
Chris
