Reality Worlds Collide

As we gear up for Season 2 of Top Design (scheduled to debut sometime in the third quarter 2008), there will be an inevitable rush of publicity and news about the show and its personalities. We haven't heard much from designer Matt Lorenz since he walked away as the Season 1 winner, so it was interesting to see this story from the Seattle Times pop up in our mailbox:

Creations by 19 teams will be unveiled Friday for Product Runway, a sold-out fundraiser for the Interior Design Coalition of Washington.

Celebrity judges including Jack Mackenroth from Bravo's "Project Runway" and Matt Lorenz from "Top Design" will appraise the work, judging it on creativity, construction and presentation, among other criteria.

Jack and Matt? What an interesting pairing! Expect more on the Top Design news front as Season 2 wraps up production and the Bravo publicity crew gets to work.

India Hicks Hosting Season Two of Top Design

Click here for the official Bravo Press Release.

TD2 Now Casting

Calling all interior designers,characters who think they could be interior designers, fans of Margaret Russell and future friends of BTD! Bravo has announced that casting for Season 2 of Top Design is now open. Go on, you know you want to...

Bravo Green Lights Season 2!

This just in:

NEW YORK – December 6, 2007 – Bravo, home to the most talked-about and compelling reality series on television, today announced the return of their popular series "Shear Genius" and "Top Design," both for a second season in 2008. The announcement was made by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President, Programming & Production, Bravo.

The interior design focused series "Top Design" will get its own makeover for season two from Magical Elves, the production company behind Bravo's wildly successful "Top Chef" and "Project Runway" franchises. The hour-long, weekly program showcases some of the country's hottest new interior designers, artists and architects as they compete to create the Top Design each week and vie for a $100,000 grand prize. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz are executive producers. "Like fashion designers and chefs, interior designers inhabit a rich, visual world that attracts fascinating personalities, so we are really excited to take on the challenge of bringing this successful show to the next level," said Dan Cutforth.

The big news here is the production takeover by The Magical Elves, who have scored huge hits for Bravo with Project Runway and Top Chef. The Elves have a great track record and we're excited to see them makeover Top Design! Stay tuned...

Click Here to Vote on the Loft Challenge at Surroundings

We have loved getting to know Linda from Surroundings. Her professional insight into the Top Design show, the challenges and the designers has made things much more fun and interesting here in the Top Design blogging community.

Linda is holding a design contest on her site. The entrants designed their own loft space according to the floorplan and contraints outlined here.

Eight readers have accepted the challenge and voting has begun. You have until Wednesday to select your favorite. Good luck everyone!

BTD Interview With Andrea Keller

We are smitten by Andrea Keller. To say that she is beautiful and talented is a ridiculous understatement. There is seemingly nothing in the creative world that is beyond her reach and we're pretty sure she would be successful on just about any show Bravo could cook up. We just couldn't leave Season 1 behind without chatting with her...

BTD: Hi Andrea! You almost made it to the finals – given the last 1,700 sq. ft. loft project, do you think you could have beaten Matt and/or Carisa in the end?

AK: A loft project is a dream project for me – I work in an old industrial loft space in downtown L.A. a couple of blocks from where the finale was shot, this is my life… I would have done something spectacular, about L.A., for L.A. I think I would have killed it. Yes, win. I like winning as you know! (laughing very hard right now… really I am a very sweet person, just who loves losing?)

BTD: What kind of space would you have designed for the finale?

AK: I would have done something that had a big area to make things, filled with art and craft supplies – everything from sewing projects to construction. The space would be very socially driven with a big dining table and lots of seating, and of course some private areas for retreat. Basically a great space for an (everyday) party, with very different ways of making/dividing space, and under it all very classic architectural lines.

BTD: Okay, so here are some of the things we’ve learned about you: you knit, you juggle, you are a mother of two boys, an architect, a punk rocker who speaks four different languages and a whiz with power tools. Is there anything you are not good at?

AK: I have zero ability to dance or sing and should never, ever be on a stage.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Andrea as we look back at her experience on Top Design and also take a peek at what's to come.

Elle Decor Party - NYC Part 1

First of all, I want to thank Elle Décor for the invite. It was such a swell party (or in my case, a “swill” party – major wine hangover the next morning).

After a long and tiring day of travel, layovers and bad airport fare, I got all perked up entering the W Union Square banquet room for the party celebrating the finale of Bravo's Top Design.

I first spotted Andrea Keller and Erik Kolacz. They were both so nice and they looked so amazingly beautiful in person (no big bead of sweat running down their noses after a long day of manual labor).

I also got to meet Michael Adams and Felicia Bushman. Oh my gosh. Cuteness overload!

Then from the corner of my eyes I could see my favorite designer, (gar) Goil Amornvivat. He’s even more adorable in person. I ran up to him to say hi. He said he was a big fan of our blog and wanted to thank us for creating such a fun and positive place for the designers.


I also got a chance to meet Goil's partner, Tom. They really complement each other. I think they look so adorable together.

Speaking of adorable, I saw Todd Oldham as he was bidding adieu to the partygoers. I think he looks so cute and so cool in person.

Click here to read more about the Elle Décor Party.

Click Here for Auction Items

Do you want to own an original art piece by the noted artist, Ryan Humphrey? Do you covet Carisa Perez-Fuentes' pillows or Michael Adam's partridges? Well, here's your chance to own a piece of Top Design history.

Click here to view all of the items that are up for auction. The bidding for these items will close this Wednesday evening.

The best part of it all? 100% of the proceeds will go to DIFFA, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. Own a piece of history AND help a good cause? We can certainly say Bravo to that.

Recapalooza!

Well, this is a little bittersweet, isn't it? Here we are at the end of the season and we are going to miss all of our funny, fabulous new friends. One last trip down recappers lane:

Moi: How do you end a season which has been just one disappointment after another? You give the wrong person the win, that’s what you do.

Tom&Lorenzo: ...it was 50 minutes of painting and carpentry with a cash prize at the the end. Yawn.

Linda Merrill: I think Carisa's bedroom was the most unique space of the show, and Matt's Princess bedroom the most beautiful. Neither is pushing outside the envelope, however. Matt does classic interior design and Carisa does pop culture design.

kora in hell: It probably says more about me that watching another hyper-planner at work is what I consider good television. Ooooh! Look at his office supplies!!!

Eric3000 gets and exclusve quote from Carisa: "This is the best possible outcome. I'm pretty sure if Matt had lost he would have ended up as a trannie hooker on Santa Monica Blvd. but I'll be perfectly fine. I'm really happy for him. That's just the kind of caring nurturer that I am."

Bay and Amy: In the final analysis, we were surprised by how much we loved *both* lofts, and thought that Matt was getting the "loser edit" on the show.

Elisa Camahort: Is it just me, or did it seem like a foregone conclusion, and one the judges weren't really all that enthused about?

And we almost forgot Laz! Let's make that up now: Margaret was her fabulous self, Jonathan was still sockless and sporting another neck tie with its own zip code, Kelly looked human, and as if that weren't enough they went and plucked a rock star's wife off the street to serve as guest judge for the final challenge!

Thanks for all the laughs everyone! Much love to you from Team BTD. We look forward to seeing you again for Season 4 of Project Runway!

From The Mailbox

Jaimee Rose from the Arizona Republic (my hometown newspaper) thinks Kelly Wearstler is fabulous.

Here is a Chicago Sun-Times story about Matt Lorenz's victory.

Don't miss Linda Merrill's suggestions for next season.

Will there be a next season?

Top Carl's Twins

We heard mention of Carl Meuller's "babies" both on the finale and on Andy's after-show. Introducing fraternal twins Mackenna and Johanna Meuller:

Carl also sends along this note:

Mackenna was born with a very rare condition. Her liver and lung were fused together, resulting in a diaphragmatic hernia. She underwent a very successful surgery. Later she needed another which happened the day I was doing the rock wall. If you look closely, you will see I wear a hospital ID bracelet in eps 1-9. She is our little miracle baby and doing remarkable well. In fact, she's become famous in medical circles! We consider ourselves extremely blessed. And to answer some of the bloggers, yes, 10K would go along way toward their education if invested wisely now. Taking time away from the hospital was the guilt that drove me to do well on this show.

Top Design Gets Fugged

And it ain't pretty:

...Top Design had everything going for it: a respected host in Todd Oldham, a charming head judge in Jonathan Adler, a diverse cast, and a visual medium that lends itself well to playing along at home. It should have been a slam-dunk — Project Runway for furniture junkies. Instead, Top Design turned out to be the televisual equivalent of buying a great Marc Jacobs knockoff from Forever 21 and then having it fall apart in the wash.

Read the whole thing.

Here's Heather!

Heather Ashton, our favorite insider designer/recapper returns one last time with her excclusive look at the Top Design finale:

Was there ever any question?

I have a few questions. Why does Matt’s daughter get a door and Matt + spouse get a curtain? I think Trudie had the same question. Why, knowing that Jonathan’s fortune is home accessories did Carisa chose nary a vase? I think all those comments about editing her pillows freaked her out. And why were the latered contestants not brought back to help out!!!! Always about me people!

But SERIOUSLY, Matt and Carisa blew me away. I have no idea where to start…ok I do. How sad was that first shot of the workroom with all the empty tables? Just me? And I do have to admit that I had a secret wish for Matt to lose so I could horn in on his Mexican exile. Sounds fun right? And by the way Matt, we all lost to a student and are just fine.

Carisa did an amazing job. She should be commended for sticking by her strong, personal aesthetic. She easily could have run home and mimicked someone like Miles Redd who is heavily featured in Elle Décor and shares her same love of bold color statements, but she stuck to her guns. Her room was super fun and I would love to hang out there. I have a feeling that with all that fanciness in Matt’s pad, his daughter might be sneaking over to Carisa’s to play ping-pong every now and then. She’d be wearing a tiara, but it might be askew. With my Standard Hotel background, how could I not love the pit bed? I also loved how she chose to retain the essence of loft living, which is openness. Carisa didn’t disappoint with her color choices either. It took chutzpah to go black and white and her level of commitment to that choice was outstanding. Carisa rocks.

Matt couldn’t be more perfect for Elle Décor. He’s chic, articulate and surprisingly cocky. Who knew? He’s great with furniture and has impeccable taste. The personal touch with the wall of family photos (Bruce Weber style, not Dad in Bermudas), I think stole the competition from Carisa. You could not avoid becoming personally involved in Matt’s design. The warmth of those photos made Matt’s perfectly decorated space accessible. Genius touch!

Click here to continue reading Heather's exclusive recap of the Top Design finale. Don't miss her list of "Here's Heather" TOP award winners!

Congratulations, Matt!

You rose to the very top of an impressive group of competitors and you did so by always creating spaces that looked expensive, inviting and chic. Your taste level was always very high and yet you managed to make your rooms look relaxing as well as editorial. This week you created the loft of your dreams perfect for your beautiful wife, charming daughter with every detail suggesting the serenity a busy designer craves. You also managed to infuse the personal details that showed you understood the kinds of things that can make a house or apartment look like home. What a stellar achievement, Matt. Good show!

This post is only for positive words for Matt. Any other reactions can be posted posted in our here.

Send Some BTD Love to Carisa

You won an individual challenge with 'One Man's Trash' and you managed to best 10 designers on your way to the final two. This week the judges loved the architectural details of your loft (most notably your bed-pit) and thought that your kitchen was a terrific place to linger and work. You displayed that you already had a signature style that was mid-century influenced and funky, using vivid colors and liberal use of pillows and accessories. We have no doubt that the fun and fresh spaces that you create have enormous commercial appeal and that your career is headed in a phenomenal direction; we can't wait to hear about your future successes!

And, congratulations on your recent wedding!

This post is only for positive comments about Carisa.

Your Turn to be the Judge - Episode 10

We saw the lofts that the designers created and now you get to tell us who you felt deserved the win. This week you get to be Jonathan Adler, Kelly Wearstler, Margaret Russell and Trudie Styler.

Who Should Have Won Top Design?
	Matt Lorenz
	Carisa Perez-Fuentes

Reactions to the Finale

We have a winner! Post your reactions to the Top Design finale here.

Finale Party!

Matt or Carisa? Carisa or Matt? BTD opens up the whole house tonight for big finale party. There will no be no holding back as we watch the final two duke it out on "Lofty Designs". No better way to celebrate the end of Season 1 than amongst your friends. Come on in...

BTD Live Play-By-Play: The Finale!

Well, this is it Top Design fans! Tbone is back for our final play-by-play of the season as we find out who will create the "Top Design" and be crowned the winner of Season 1. Those of you stuck in a hotel without Bravo or fans on the west coast who can't wait to see who the winner will be can follow all the drama here live. Those watching at home who want to chime in with your friends at BTD, report to the party room above!

Poll Results for Episode 9

Our poll results are in for Episode 9 and they are interesting indeed. The majority of you thought that Carisa should have won and the majority of you thought that she should have been 'latered!' Click on each picture to see exactly how you voted.


This week you also told us who you thought SHOULD win and who you thought WILL win.