Design Star 6: Create a Dream Room

The Challenge

Each designer was randomly assigned to work with a winner of HGTV’s “Create a Dream Room” sweepstakes. Alice, Tym, and David got to see videos of their potential clients and the rooms that were to be remodeled, but they did not find out which job would be theirs until they arrived at their destinations. The jobs were divided as follows:

• Alice - Design a so-called “man cave” in the Oklahoma home of a soldier who is currently stationed in Iraq.

• Tym - Re-design the NYC apartment of a Hurricane Katrina victim who lost most of her belongings in the storm.

• David - Turn a drab basement in a Washington home into a kid friendly rec room.

After completing the work, the designers would have to present their rooms to the clients and the judges in their best “TV presenter” manner.

For the task, the contestants were each given a budget of $10,000 and 28 hours to complete their work. This week, they were again given the use of a carpenter.

The Work

Alice

Alice used a cigar lounge theme.

Alice was none too pleased to discover she’d be charged with creating a man’s lounge, but her attitude quickly changed when she met the soldier’s wife and family. She was moved by their story and threw herself into the work.

After listening to the wife describe what her husband was looking for in the room, Alice decided to go with a “modern man/cigar room” feel. She chose dark furniture and rich shades and textures for her fabrics. The only bump in the road was the wall color. Her first sage green color looked silver in the light, so she had to repaint with a new, slightly darker shade of green. She added a game cabinet, complete with checker board and chess set, and an armoire fitted out with a beer fridge.

Tym

Tym said he felt “honored” to be helping a Hurricane Katrina victim get back on her feet and dug right into his task, which was very similar to last week’s task for him. Tym’s main problem came in the form of Mark, his carpenter. Mark didn’t seem to want to do anything at all and complained every step of the way. When Mark left to get lunch during a crunch time, Tym decided he’d have to let him go. Enter carpenter John, Mark’s replacement, who pulled together with Tym and saved the day.

Tym’s work was a variation on the outdoor theme he used last week. He used light green on the walls, with a bit of sky blue in the bedroom. He fitted out the living room with a small leather sleeper sofa and a multi-purpose, space saving table.

David

The focal point of David’s “before” basement room was a wall size mural of a mountain and lake. Though anything would have been an improvement on that, David really listened to his clients’ desire to have a room that would function as a play area for their two special needs children as well as a TV/lounging room for the grown-ups. Since the room was long and narrow, he used cleverly arranged furniture to “divide” the room into sections. One half of the room was kid heaven, with bright and cheery colors on the walls and plenty of games and toys. The other half of the room was devoted to the adults and included a large sectional sofa and flat screen TV.

The Results

All the clients were overjoyed at the results of the rooms, as were the judges. The presentations were equally strong - there was no clear winner here. Tym was advised to that his room looked slightly masculine for his female client, and David was told he seemed a little nervous on camera.

The judges debated the strengths and weaknesses of the contestants, weighing up Tym’s ease in front of the camera against David’s obvious talent. They also questioned if Alice had a style of her own or was merely good at giving the clients what they want.

In the end, David and Alice’s consistent performances won out. Tym’s show was cancelled.

Next week, David and Alice will compete for viewer votes to be crowned HGTV”s Design Star.