Design Star 4: Tuscan Kitchen

The Challenge

This week, the designers were given the task of remodeling a kitchen for an HGTV competition winner - Kelly, and her husband Tom, from Stanford, CT. Kelly and Tom had a bland, out of style kitchen, complete with pink (!!) countertops and cracked linoleum. They wanted to their new kitchen to have a warm, Tuscan feel, with terra cotta tiles, marble counter-tops, and stainless steel appliances. Also important to them was the addition of a dishwasher.

Armed with the clients’ view of their kitchen, plus photos and floor plans, Clive Pearse told the contestants they would have 24 hours to individually draw up plans for the new kitchen and then pitch their idea to Tom and Kelly. Now came the twist - there would be two eliminations again this week - the first person would be eliminated after the pitches, and the second after the task was completed.

The budget for the remodeling job was $10,000. The designers had 24 hours to make their plans and then 32 hours to implement the winning design.

The Work

The Plans

Most of the contestants were forced to pull an all-nighter to get their plans and pitches ready for Tom and Kelly. After a little home design store window shopping, they got down to work making their sketches. The most experienced designers tried to balance the clients’ needs with what they could realistically accomplish in 32 hours. Tym especially was skeptical of the time frame - his past experience with kitchen cabinet building told him there was a lot of long, slow work to be done. Temple, the untrained designer, went for broke, and came up with a design that involved all new appliances, cabinets, flooring, and countertops.

One by one, the contestants made their presentations to the couple. Teran’s pitch left the couple clearly confused, while Alice, David, and Temple all seemed to get the couple’s attention. Tym again tried to drive home the point about the time constraints to Tom and Kelly, but his worries seemed to fall on deaf ears.

After a quick conference with Clive, Tom and Kelly picked Temple’s design as their favorite. Teran was their least favorite, and for that, his show was cancelled.

The Job

The remaining team headed to Connecticut to implement Temple’s plan, but not without extreme reservations. None of the other designers believed they had enough time to complete their task. Though Temple remained optimistic until the end, she was forced to make several compromises along the way. Gone were the new cabinets she had promised her clients, and in came the old cabinets, repainted a stark white (AFTER Tym and David had spent a day removing the cabinets). As time ticked on, the team had to leave wires exposed, cabinet door unaligned, tiling uncaulked, and the new marble countertop unsecured.

Tym and Temple butted heads throughout the task over Temple’s refusal to listen to his advice, and the ongoing Temple/Donna feud remained in full swing. Donna made her usual contribution to the task - shopping - and was caught by the cameras snacking on an apple and taking a nap in the van while the others were hard at work.

The Results

The judges were initially pleased with the kitchen’s transformation, but on closer inspection, were shocked to find the job unfinished. Tom and Kelly were overjoyed with their new kitchen - but little did they know an HGTV team had to come in and correct Temple and team’s work.

The elimination decision came down to a debate between Martha McCully and Cynthia Rowley. Rowley believed that, although Temple’s design showed her lack of design experience, she has raw talent that can be molded. Rowley wanted Donna gone, because she has not shown any remarkable talent, and that cannot be taught. McCully on the other hand, thought Temple’s failure to execute was inexcusable.

When it was all said and done, form triumphed over function, as Donna’s show was cancelled.