About the Afghan....

After reading Felicia's interview and some of your comments I am kind of warming up to the afghan. It was kitsch - or something to remind you of home - maybe your grandma made it.

Or maybe it was a tasteless piece of crap.

What do you think?

Click here for our poll.

Also remember you can still vote in our "Who should have won?" and "Who should have been latered?" polls here.

BTD Interview With Felicia Bushman

Before being cast on Top Design, Felicia Bushman already had an amazing set of life experiences on her resume' - marathon runner, triathlete, personal assistant to Nicole Kidman. But interior design has always been her passion.

Pegged early on as the ditzy SoCal beauty, Felicia's talent and sophistication ultimately overshadowed Bravo's attempts to brand her. As we learn in this revealing interview, there is much more to Felicia than what meets the eye:

BTD: Felicia, we were surprised once again by the elimination decision last week. Was it a harder experience living through it or watching it again on TV?

FB: Completely surprised. I thought I was completely safe up against Ryan whose room was a disaster and who proved himself incompetent week after week. He had been in the bottom three each week and I hadn’t been even close. I mean, how could you compare the two of us?? Sure he’s a talented artist but he is far from an interior designer. None of his rooms even functioned properly! Going into his room I felt like I was walking into a prison cell or worse, HELL! God only knows what my client would have done to herself if she had of had to live in THAT room! I might have saved her from a worse fate than just shooting herself! ;-)

Seriously, I didn’t think my room was the best that week, I will be the first to admit that garage sale hunting is not my forte but my room was certainly not the worst!

BTD: You knew you wanted to be an interior designer since the age 7. What was your childhood bedroom like?

FB: I was raised by a single mother who worked at home and struggled to make ends meet. She was an artist and quite clever with space herself. When she had to get a roommate to help cover the cost of rent, I lost my room. She managed to create an adorable “fortress” for me out of the closet that was under the staircase. I LOVED that room, she built a bed for me, wired a wall sconce, painted it my favorite color of pale pink, I was in heaven, it was my really cool cubby. I’m telling you, she would have done much better in that garage sale, college dorm room challenge than I did!

BTD: You are an experienced marathon and triathlon athlete. How does your fitness philosophy influence your design aesthetic?

FB: Athletic challenges are just like design challenges. When you are designing and building a space you have to be in it for the long haul. You can’t just entertain the idea, you really have to follow through. I can never quit during a race just as I can never leave a project unfinished or a client unsatisfied, it’s the same mentality.

Click here to read the rest of our fascinating interview with Felicia as we touch on Tom and Nicole, Prada, Jerry Seinfeld and even Three 6 Mafia!

Here's Heather!

BTD welcomes back "latered" contestant Heather Ashton for her exclusive commentary on Episode 4:

“Do you really want to be an interior designer?”

Such a loaded question Margaret posed to Ryan in the white room. Did you force a sports themed bed or a princess dresser on your parents as a child? Were you empowered by that first trip to IKEA when the Lak shelf struck you as sublime? Then you have been a designer. However, what Margaret refers to is completely different and actually speaks to an age-old question: can art exist without commerce? And without commerce, how is art ultimately valued? Or was she just irritated with Ryan for taking it too far?

I really do have to get a few things out of the way. Did anyone one else notice that the words Otis School of Design were dubbed? Hmmmmm. And Zeal was paired with Goil? Was it me or was Andrea’s student so besotted by Andrea that his opinion could be summed up by the word “dude!”? I had a hard time placing Felicia’s student until the judge’s walk thru when I had an All About Eve moment. That kitten has claws F, do not let her intern!

Click here to continue reading Heather's take on Episode 4 - she actually likes Ryan's room!

Recapalooza!

We are nearly halfway through Top Design and one thing is clear: your recaps have been much more entertaining than the show itself. Let's check in to see who is still with us:

Tom & Lorenzo: "Put that crack pipe down, crimpy!"...

Moi thinks we should re-title this feature "Recrapalooza"...

Linda Merrill is brilliant, go read her take now!

Hair growth is one of the known side effects from reading Eric3000 recaps. Hey, I'll try anything...

Don't miss Andrea Keller's exclusive take at FBLA...

The Grits to Glitz girls are still hanging in there, barely...

Elisa pegs one of the key reasons that Top Design pales in comparison to Project Runway...

Pink Navy sees a trend regarding designers of a certain age...

As Top Design takes a week off, so does the Recapalooza. We'll see you again in March!

Click Here For Yawnur's Take on Life's a Beach

Congratulations, Carisa!

Being a student of interior design yourself, you understood your client's needs. You also had to do some quick thinking after you encountered a little carpentry-related snafu. In the end, you were able to pull it all together to give your client a beautiful living space. Congratulations, Carisa!

Let's use this post to congratulate Carisa; only positive words belong in the comments please.

Send Some BTD Love to Felicia

You were part of last week's winning Team Tahiti, helping to create an ethereal Tahitian hut. This week, you gave your client a sophisticated-looking room, incorporating bold colors your client had asked for. But sadly, the afghan you picked up at the garage sale didn't sit well with the judges. We will miss your cheery attitude, your bright smile and your sharp sense of fashion.

This post is only for positive comments about Felicia.

Your Turn to be the Judge - Episode 4

We saw the rooms that the designers created and now it is your turn to weigh in on the results. This week you get to be Jonathan Adler, Kelly Wearstler, Margaret Russell and Joe Stewart. Click here to tell us which designer should have won the challenge. Click here to tell us the designer you think should have heard, "See you later, decorator."

Rooms at the left, from top to bottom, Andrea's, Carisa's, Erik's, Felicia's, Goil's, Matt's, Michael's and Ryan's. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Reactions to Episode 4

In a surprise result, Carisa wins and Felicia is latered! Post your reactions to Episode 4 here.

Episode 4 Party!

It's a well established fact: the BTD party room has been clinically proven to enhance one's personal enjoyment of Bravo's engaging new competition reality series, Top Design. (Is engaging too generous?)

Oh, who are we fooling? We're all just sitting around the bar waiting for Season 4 of PR to start. Why not pass the time throwing some darts at our favorite reality targets? Come one, come all, the party room is open!

BTD Live Play-By-Play: Episode 4

Is everyone holding their breath in antcipation of tonight's episode of Top Design?

I didn't think so.

Regardless, Tbone is back for your time-filling amusement as he provides live play by play coverage Episode 4: Diamond In The Rough. This thread is for Tbone's posting only. Follow all of the drama here and make sure to belly up to our party room bar above!

Poll Results For Episode 3

Our poll results are in for Episode 3 and you told us your opinions. In our 'Who Should Have Won' poll, you agreed with the judges that Team Tahiti had the best cabana. In the 'Who Should Have Been Latered' poll, you felt that Ryan needed to go. You can click on each of the pictures to see how you voted.

T.G.I.W

Four designers down and seven to go, who will get latered tonight? BTD will be on hand in full force with our usual line-up: Tbone's play-by-play, the party room and the reactions thread.

Also, you will want to tune in tonight to Watch What Happens on BravoTV.com immediately following Top Design as Andy Cohen welcomes in Margaret Russell as his special guest. You can e-mail your questions for Margaret now. Make sure to let us know if your question gets read on air.

Come join the Wednesday night fun on BTD!

Here's Heather! - Episode 3

BTD welcomes back "latered" contestant Heather Ashton for her exclusive commentary on Episode 3:

Topless Women and Motorboats

I’m not sure what happened, but I can only assume the hangover became a bender and the powers that be at Blogging Top Design are too busy doing shots and Karaoke to watch content so I snuck back in. Seriously, thank you for all the positive comments. Big ups to Blogging Top Design asking and Bravo for letting me.

Episode 3….well to be honest, once the teams were discovered, I knew the outcome, so instead I focused my other loves: fashion and boys. Michael said it “It takes a gay village to build a cabana.” Allow me to translate. Interior design is never the product of one person. Like film, it takes a well connected group of people to execute a successful project. Team St. Tropez and Team Tahiti both were lucky enough to have the input of an architect. Team Miami, created a great structure, but Goil and Andrea’s influence took the cabana off the beach and elevated a simple place to escape the sun to a conceptual sculpture. Team Miami was working behind the eight ball from go.

Click here to continue reading Heather's "graphic" take on fashion, half-naked boys and cabanas.

Video - Designer Reactions

Click here for a brief video in which six of the designers disclose their first reactions to learning that they were cast on Bravo's Top Design.

You can also click here to watch videos that show designer wannabes that didn't make it onto the show.

From The Mailbox

"Latered" has quickly become the accepted term for the eliminated contestants on Top Design....and it all started with an innocent comment left here by our Megan. Who knew?

Preview Videos - Episode 4, "Diamond in the Rough"

Click here for the Bravo's preview video for Top Design's fourth installment.You can click here for Yahoo's Top Design preview. And click here for another preview of the designers in the workroom.

It's back to the boxes. Let the speculation begin.

Recapalooza!

Trixie is not happy. I mean, she's really not happy. Will she return next week? Don't miss this and other great posts at kora in hell.

Moi is having a lot of fun at Top Design's expense. This week: sand peppers, sherbet, Miami Vice and fried rear ends...

On the other hand, throw a few sweaty, shirtless carpenters in front of the Rungay boys and Top Design becomes an Emmy contender...

Pink Navy: Fairy Potter and the Prisoners of Azkabanas...

Linda Merrill would make a great judge...

Elisa asks: has any of these folks ever actually used a cabana?

Eric3000 continues with his secret surveillance program...

The Grits to Glitz girls are short on chat, long on complaining about the beach...

And Kate at FBLA has some exclusive insight from Andrea Keller.

Thanks for keeping it fun recappers! If you have one to share, e-mail the team at BTD.

BTD Interview With Elizabeth Moore

Our interview series with the latered contestants continues this week as we catch up with Elizabeth Moore. We were shocked when Jonathan Adler called out her name, and so was Elizabeth:

BTD: Elizabeth, we remain in disbelief over your elimination. Our jaws literally hit the floor. Were you as surprised as we were?

EM: Yes I was surprised. I could not believe that they stretched that far to hone in on a color as the reason I was to go. The colors were absolutely a mutual decision. When discussing the color we started talking about the qualities that provided a respite, organic soothing environment. Erik picked the Green, it was Matt who picked the Gray and I just made a comment that said 'you know I had a dream about Burgundy last night', and it was Matt and Erik who said, 'well I will take that'.... and boom, our colors where born. If anything, I was not sure about our choice, nor was I happy with the colors. I just knew that we needed to make it work.

By the time Todd had come to mention it to us, the paint had been purchased. I did not sleep well the first night as I thought the color was far from what I would naturally pick. The fact that I was held accountable for the color and to be called 'Passive Aggressive' to me was mean-spirited and so incredibly off.

I have had so many emails from strangers expressing how disappointed they are and how I was an inspiration to them. I suppose if I was to have this reflected back to me on such a large scale, I was not the only one surprised. There are 2 judges in particular who use green quite a bit in their choices, it all became so weird especially when I did not pick the color!

Click here to continue reading our interview with Elizabeth as she talks about her time working for Prince, what it felt like being the Homecoming Queen and her love for her exceptional son. She also has her own suggestion for a new Top Design catch-phrase!

Shown below: Grandma chair by Elizabeth.

BTD Exclusive - Party at Berry/Keller

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