That being said, sometimes the rooms aren't so great. Which is what I thought about last night's episode. Ugh. The challenge last night was to use items from a salvage yard. I thought this would be my favorite episode in the series but it just turned out to be kind of boring. So let's take a look at the four rooms.
First up Adam -
I have no idea. I wasn't a fan of the colors and I wasn't completely clear about the use of musical instruments. I did like the mirror on the left side wall. The rest?...
Next, Monica -
This room was better. Monica used large round objects (which I thought were very interesting) in creative ways. You can see the objects as a backdrop for the swing - but she also used one as the base of the swing. It looked pretty even though it was so heavy, no one would dare sit on it.
The tree bar was interesting too. But overall, I thought the room was a little boring. With nothing on the walls, it seemed unfinished.
Third, Zeinab -
Zeinab had trouble from the start. She couldn't find materials to use and was the last contestant out of the salvage 'yard'. As a result, it doesn't look like she had much of the salvage pieces in her room. The painted wall treatment seems to be her strongest design element. But the room as a whole seems a little flat. My favorite piece in her room was the coffee table she designed -
That was a really neat transformation. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough to bring the room together. And the judges sent her packing.
And lastly, Leslie -
I thought some parts of her room were interesting. The hubcaps on the back wall looked cool when they were lit from behind. And I liked her use of pallets on the side walls -
I wasn't so fond of the Southwest 'rug' she painted on the floor. It was difficult to see under the table and I thought it conflicted with the rest of the design. But, overall, I thought she had some clever ideas.
Now, normally I would add some "What would I have done" type pictures but in this case I don't know what I would have done. The 'junk yard' that they went to was in the studio. And this was my biggest beef with the show. I have no idea what they had to choose from. The segment where they grab what they want to use goes way too fast. And, HGTV concentrates on the snarky 'she took what I wanted' aspect. This. Drives. Me. Crazy. People watch this show to get inspired. Not to watch contestants whine. I really wish that the people at HGTV could just go back to giving viewers design ideas. If we wanted to watch Jersey Shore, we would. There is so much time wasted on the back-stabbing that we never see the fun stuff. I would love to have had a better look at their 'junk yard' (or better yet, I'd love to have seen them go to an actual junk yard). And I would love to know how they made certain things (it's not always clear). Oh, and give them more than 15 minutes to pick stuff. I understand there should be a time limit, but that's just not enough time to come up with a decent design.
And while we're on the subject of stuff about the show that I don't like, how about the opening. The contestants walk into the studio while their bios are shown. They walk for about six minutes. Which, in real time, would lead them way past the judges tables and into the street. Kinda weird. Just let them stand in place. (I'm sure no one else noticed this, but it's been bugging me...)
Overall, this show has been disappointing for me. I had really been looking forward to it but it seems to fall short. I'm not giving up yet. Next week, the contestants will go to a candy store. I have my fingers crossed that this episode will be exciting. And inspiring.
A girl can dream...