Children of a lesser Todd?

At least once a day, I grumble, "Damn kids" (often in a thick drawl). I don't actually have kids, or even semi-regular contact with anybody else's kids, but I find that they make a handy scapegoat for everything under the sun. I wouldn't be surprised to find that some of the designers in this week's episode of Top Design might have uttered my little catchphrase more than once, especially considering that quite a few of their children's bedroom designs were worthy of condemnation.

Oh, yeah. They're back in the bottom two.

Okay, I'm still wary about picking any kind of favorites based on early episodes, but I'm really developing a soft spot for some of the folks on this show. For instance, Goil is in the running to be my favorite designer, given the creativity and energy he brings to challenges. Look at him; he made a maquette in his 30 minutes of allotted design time! I also love that he thought of his room as being interactive, moveable and "more than it appears to be." Goil literally thought outside the box in his room. (And made a teeny little box in half a freakin' hour! That totally impresses me.)

Speaking of folks who are growing on me, I think Todd Oldham might have the makings of a Tim Gunn after all. When consulting Matt on the use of black in a child's room, Oldham observed, "It seems like a counterintuitive choice for a child's room, but it could come out looking really sophisticated. I'm very intrigued." That's positively Gunn-like right there. (Yeaaaa!)

Also, Mom, I love you and all that, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe Todd Oldham could adopt me. He is just the sweetest guy in the world. When John greets him with a dramatic whine of, "You don't want to talk to me," Oldham responds, "Oh, I totally want to talk to you!" Awwww! (Actually, now that I think of it, if I ever do produce a damn kid of my own,  maybe I could somehow convince Oldham to raise it or give me some pointers on patience or something.)

And maybe he could give the judges some pointers on offering good critiques in an entertaining fashion. The creative process is interesting to watch, the personal meltdowns are okay, the time pressure ups the dramatic tension and then... the judges open their mouths and my attention starts wandering. It seems like the judges are more interested in making the snidest criticisms possible (and falling short of that, even) rather than offering some useful insight into design principles or trends.

For that matter, I disagreed with almost all of their opinions on this week's rooms. They picked Erik's pirate pier as the best room, but to my mind it wasn't that much different from Elizabeth's Astroturf  Gymboree mistake.

I mean, Erik's room is certaily more elaborate and more just-plain-done, and I do like the color scheme. But it just looks a little too ... I dunno... Putt-Putt to me.

Here are the rooms I would have picked for first place:

Goil's room is incredible. Everything moves around on coasters and the desk on the right-hand wall folds down. Also, although the pic doesn't show it well, the blocks of color on the wall indicate a sense of movement. I do wonder, though... that's the second week in a row he's used a random pepper. Hmmm.

Felicia's room might not be the most impressive design, but it if I were 10 years old, I would sell my molars to get that room. It's so ... studious! (I was a dork then, I'm a dork now. Don't even act like you're surprised.)

The judges put Carisa's room in the top 3, but I think that honor should have been Matt's. I like Carisa's color scheme and thematic commitment, but those side walls look awfully empty. Matt's color scheme is indeed sophisticated, but I can totally see a drama kid digging it. The chair looks damn comfy, too.

These are... rooms. Andrea's room is nothing special whatsoever. The chairs are pretty cool, but the color scheme leaves me a bit cold. I don't get any sense of what kind of kid her client might be based on that room, and given the exuberant personalities kids tend to have, that's really pretty sad.

Ryan's room took a lot of flack from the judges, but I don't think all of it was fair. You can design a room around a cat (in his blog, Oldham says he designed his house around his dog) no matter what judge Margaret Russell says. I just wish Ryan had put more thought into the girl who owned the cat. (And did he really need to say the cat was "her only friend"? Damn!) The room could totally use some softness and kid-friendliness. Also, he's a painter; would it have killed him to put some trompe l'oeil diggity along the cat wall to add to the room (and mess with the cat)?

And then there's...

Oh, dear. I might need to lie down. Here are two cases where I think the judges got it absolutely right. Michael's room does look like it was done by a state-appointed designer and it is depressing. (Also: his client is a voracious reader and he gives her one shelf of books?!) And what is the floor in John's room? That whole room is so disjointed, I can barely stand to look at it. That was drama-queenish. Sorry. But it seemed appropriate.

And while it sucks to be eliminated right after revealing your HIV-positive status, it was John's time to go. I did like it when Ryan said that John's 13-year survival with the virus made him "an aging prizefighter," but did he have to add the "aging" bit? You know, Ryan might be something of an undercover bitch. And isn't he the 35-year-old man with a skateboard? Hmmm. Damn kid.

Comments

[PoliVamp]

Yay! You know, I didn't really find Michael's all that bad in those super-quick cuts of it, but looking at in full, it is a bit depressing.

I totally loved Carisa's room. I think she may be my favorite (Goil is up there also)

[Antonella]

Goil's designs are always the same! They are all open spaces and weird furniture. They remind me of the 'Nuni & Nuni' skit on SNL. Granted, there have only been 2 episodes so far. Let's see if Goil branches out for challenge #3.

[roorooB]

"Goil's room is incredible. Everything moves around on coasters"
"that's the second week in a row he's used a random pepper"

The pepper didn't have coasters.

Haha. Just messing with you.

Ryan - "undercover bitch"? I'd say his hostility's right out front and center.

"I'm starting to wonder if maybe Todd Oldham could adopt me. "

I think there's a line.