Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The White Room Challenge - Lights

Last night's challenge for HGTV's The White Room Challenge was a trip to the (in-studio) light store.  I thought this was by far the hardest challenge in the series.  And I was really curious to see how the contestants would take this on.


First up - Torch's room


I liked this room. The floor was very cool.  Building it up and adding lights was a great idea.  And I loved her industrial light fixture - 


I thought the judges were a little hard on her when they said there was no cohesiveness.  She brought in many different lighting elements and seemed to make them all work.  I figured that she'd do better.


Next room - Eli


This room just didn't make much sense to me.  I have come to grips with the fact that this show is more about pushing the envelope, but I still wasn't a fan.  I did like the wall treatment - it had a very subtle pattern which I thought was really interesting.  Unfortunately, the bright lights (and lack of shadows) probably worked against him.  


Third - Clarione


I loved this room.  It was my favorite.  Maybe because it has a real 80's vibe (and I love the 80's!).  I thought there was a lot of thought and planning that went into the execution.  The colors were bold, the mural was amazing, and the cityscape was beautiful.  I'm not even sure how he pulled off so many elements in such a limited amount of time.  It's impressive!


Last - Jessica


I liked this room too.  But Jessica took a hit for poor execution.  She needed a little more time to complete everything.  I would have loved to see her whole vision.  I always feel bad for contestants when they don't finish on time.  

Ok, so that's my take.  The White Room Challenge series was a little bit of a disappointment for me. I was hoping it would be a little more inspiring.  I did take away some great ideas but I think the producers were more interested in manufactured drama.  Maybe competitive reality shows aren't my thing (oh, except for Chopped - I have no idea how they make great dishes out of those odd ingredients!).  

One last thought - Wouldn't it be cool if they brought in all of these White Room Challenge contestants for the next round of Design Star?  I would love to see more of what these designers can do.  It would be fun to see them in different challenges - to see all of their talents!