Top Design is an American reality television series. Interior designers competed to win cash and receive a spot in New York's Designer showcases. The first season premiered on January 31, 2007, following the season finale of Top Chef. Todd Oldham was the host, while famed potter and interior designer Jonathan Adler was lead judge. Kelly Wearstler and Margaret Russell also served as judges. Matt Lorenz was declared the winner. Although the first season received poor ratings, Bravo decided to air a second season starting September 3, 2008, with India Hicks as host and Oldham serving in the role of mentor, similar to Tim Gunn on Project Runway. Adler, Wearstler, and Russell returned as judges.
Format There are two challenges each episode. The first challenge, the Pop Design, is a short challenge that awards immunity. Unlike other Bravo reality competition shows where these challenges take place at the beginning of the episode, the "Pop Design" can come at any time to frustrate the designers. The second challenge, the Elimination Challenge, has each contestant, either individually or as part of a team, create a design based on certain requirements or goals. After the challenge, the judges ask questions of the contestants about their design choices. The judges then confer among themselves and decide on the top and bottom designs. The top designers are credited and a single winning stylist is selected. The bottom designer is then identified and sent home with the phrase "See you later, decorator" in Season One and "We cannot live with your design" in Season Two.
Season one The first season of Top Design premiered on January 31, 2007. Todd Oldham hosted, and Jonathan Adler, Kelly Wearstler, and Margaret Russell served as judges. Twelve contestants competed and Matt Lorenz was declared the winner of season 1 on April 11, 2007. Season one was produced by Stone & Company Entertainment.
Contestants Andrea Keller, 36 Los Angeles, California Carisa Perez-Fuentes, 26, New York City, New York Elizabeth Moore, 48, Los Angeles, California Erik Kolacz, 28, Chicago, Illinois Felicia Bushman, 38, Los Angeles, California Goil Amornvivat, 33, New York City, New York Heather Ashton, 36, Los Angeles, California John Gray, 40, Chicago, Illinois Lisa Turner, 58, Los Angeles, California Matt Lorenz, 32, Chicago, Illinois Michael Adams, 23, New York City, New York Ryan Humphrey, 35, New York City, New York
Contestant progress + Episode Progress Designer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Comments Matt HIGH IN LOW HIGH IN WIN HIGH WIN WIN WINNER Winner of Top Design Carisa IN HIGH IN WIN LOW HIGH LOW HIGH HIGH OUT Runner Up: Lofty Designs Andrea IN IN WIN IN WIN LOW WIN LOW OUT Goil WIN HIGH IN IN IN LOW LOW OUT Michael LOW LOW WIN IN LOW HIGH OUT Eliminated: Chef's Choice Erik IN WIN IN IN IN OUT Eliminated: Life of the Party Ryan IN LOW LOW LOW OUT Eliminated: Garage Band Felicia HIGH IN WIN OUT Eliminated: One Man's Trash Elizabeth WIN IN OUT Eliminated: Life's a Beach John LOW OUT Eliminated: Child's Play Heather OUT Eliminated: Mystery Judge Lisa OUT Eliminated: Mystery Judge Green background and WIN means the designer won Top Design. Dark Blue Background and WIN means this designer won this week's challenge. Light Blue Background and HIGH means this designer was close to winning this week's challenge. Pink Background and LOW means this designer had one of the least liked designs. Orange Background and LOW means this designer was close to being eliminated. Red Background and OUT means this designer lost and is out of the competition.
Episodes
Episode 1: Mystery Judge Original Airdate: January 31, 2007 The contestants worked in teams of two to design a room for a mystery judge based on five personal items the judge feels represents them. Heather and Lisa did not get along, as Lisa insisted on planning the entire room herself, to which Heather reluctantly acquiesced. John and Michael took an instant dislike to one another, as Michael felt John was too harsh on him, and John felt Michael was too prissy. The mystery judge was Alexis Arquette. Winners: Goil and Elizabeth Out: Heather and Lisa
Episode 2: Child's Play Original Airdate: February 7, 2007 The contestants were assigned to design a room on an $8000 budget and were given a fact sheet about each client, who they later learned were pre-teens. For an excursion to Target to shop for more accessories, they each received an additional $300, except for Elizabeth and Goil who, as winners of the last competition, received $400 each. Despite initial misgivings about Carisa's design with a desk built into the foot of the bed (one judge remarked that an active boy could easily hurt himself on the rough edges), her design was named one of the best that night. Goil's design, with a bed equipped to roll away inside the wall when not in use, and a crawl space for the child to hide if he so chose, was also liked by the judges. Erik's design, revolved around a wooden "pirate ship" (the client he had expressed an interest in pirates), won top prize. Due to John not finishing his work on time he was eliminated. Winner: Erik Out: John
Episode 3: Life's a Beach Original Airdate: February 14, 2007 At the beginning of the episode, each contestant were given a bag of trinkets including postcards depicting Miami, Tahiti, and St. Tropez. Elizabeth, Erik and Matt got the Miami postcard, Andrea, Felicia and Michael got the Tahiti postcard, and Carisa, Goil and Ryan got the St. Tropez postcard. Their mission was to build a cabana inspired by the postcard in 16 hours, with resources from Pier One Imports only. Since Erik won the last competition, he could not be eliminated during this challenge. This worried Matt, as he could be eliminated a lot easier being on a team with only two viable targets as opposed to three. During the judging process, the judges noted that all the teams had made both progress and bad decisions. The Miami team was criticized for use of colors deemed too ugly and "not Miami," the Tahiti team was chastised for not having a roof, and the St. Tropez team was told its furniture was at odds with the structure. The Tahiti team as selected as winners of the challenge. They earned a weekend at the Viceroy Resort in Santa Monica, California, and private use of a cabana designed by judge Kelly Wearstler. The Miami team was liked least. Elizabeth was eliminated for selecting the color the judges disliked. Winners: Andrea, Felicia and Michael (Team Tahiti) Out: Elizabeth
Episode 4: One Man's Trash Original Airdate: February 21, 2007 The designers had to design a room for a design student with furniture purchased at garage sales. The winner was given first choice of carpenters in the next challenge. Winner: Carisa Out: Felicia
Episode 5: Garage Band Original Airdate: February 28, 2007The designers were assigned to an All-American family - two parents, three children, and a dog - to create a dream family space in their garage. Andrea, with the top design for the model she prepared for the family, was made team leader of the project, with a budget of $5100 and one day to complete. Winner: AndreaOut: Ryan
Episode 6: Life of the Party Original Airdate: March 7, 2007 The designers had to design a party tent in teams, with Carisa, Michael, and Matt on one and Andrea, Erik, and Goil on the other. They were required to decorate using lemons (along with other supplies). Carisa, Michael, and Matt were chosen for the better design. Matt was chosen as the winner and was allowed an extra hour in the next challenge. This upset Carisa, who claimed the design was entirely hers and she should have won the challenge. Winner: MattOut: Erik
Episode 7: Chef's Choice Original Airdate: March 14, 2007 The challenge was to design a chef's room for Tom Colicchio's new restaurant, which features dishes made from the highest-quality natural ingredients. The designers were to adhere to a design aesthetic associated with the Arts and Crafts movement and featuring handcrafted, natural items.Winner: AndreaOut: Michael
Episode 8: Metropolitan Home Suites Original Airdate: March 28, 2007 The remaining four designers were each assigned one of the four basic elements. Matt was assigned water, Andrea received earth, Carissa was given air, and Goil was given fire. Utilizing the assigned themes, the designers were given three days to design a luxury hotel suite. The judges felt that Goil concentrated too much on the walls and let go of the big picture, although they admitted that Goil was assigned the most difficult theme and Matt, the easiest.Winner: MattOut: Goil
Episode 9 : ELLE DECOR Cover Inspiration Original Airdate: April 4, 2007 The remaining contestants selected one of ten Elle Decor magazine covers as inspiration for their design. They were given access to the internet to search for shops selling at low rates. The judges felt that Andrea's design was too flat and level, and thus she was eliminated.Winner: Matt Out: Andrea
Episode 10 : Lofty Designs (Finale) Original Airdate: April 11, 2007 The final two contestants were allotted two months to design lofts in Los Angeles, based on their own taste and style, and five days to execute their plans. Winner: MattRunner-up: Carisa Matt is the First person to win 3 challenges in a row.
Season two The second season of Top Design premiered on September 3, 2008. India Hicks took Todd Oldham's spot as the host, with Oldham returning as the designers' mentor throughout the series. Head judge Jonathan Adler, as well as Kelly Wearstler and Margaret Russell, return as the judges. Nathan Thomas was named the Season 2 winner. He won $100,000 and a spread in Elle Décor. Season two is produced by Magical Elves, the production company that created Project Runway and Top Chef, the shows on which Top Design's format is based. Also, Magical Elves' Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz will also serve as executive producers for season two.
Contestants Andrea Schroder, 36, Calgary, Canada Eddie Ross, 30, Greenwich, Connecticut Natalie Williams, 24, Montgomery, Alabama Nathan Thomas, 30, Denver, Colorado Ondine Karady, 38, Mountainside, New Jersey Preston Lee, 27, Amarillo, Texas Serge Van Lian, 27, Los Angeles, California Jennifer Newsom, 28, Minneapolis, Minnesota Robert Reid, 40, Fredericton, New Brunswick Kerry Howard, 40, Easley, South Carolina Shazia Kirmani, 30, Plano, Texas Teresa Keegan, 35, Tulsa, Oklahoma Wisit Prapong, 30, Gibson City, Illinois
Contestant progress + Episode Progress Designer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Comments Nathan WIN HIGH LOW IN WIN HIGH HIGH HIGH LOW WINNER Winner of Top Design 2 Preston LOW LOW HIGH LOW IN HIGH WINWIN HIGHOUT Eliminated: Finale Part 2 Ondine WIN LOW WIN IN IN IN LOW LOW HIGH OUT Eliminated: Finale Part 2 Eddie HIGH WIN IN IN IN WIN HIGH IN OUT Eliminated: Finale Part 1 Andrea HIGH WIN HIGH WIN LOW IN LOW WD Withdrew: Light It Up Natalie IN IN WIN IN HIGHLOW OUT Eliminated: Room Of The Future Wisit WIN HIGH LOW WIN IN OUT Eliminated: Eco-Offices Teresa WIN IN IN WIN OUT Eliminated: Triathlon of Decorating Shazia LOW IN LOW OUT Eliminated: Bachelor Pads Kerry IN IN OUT Eliminated: Window Display Robert LOW OUT Eliminated: Artsy Bunker Jennifer HIGH OUT Eliminated: Artsy Bunker Serge OUT Eliminated: Impress The Best Nathan was part of the trio with the worst design, but he was spared from possible elimination by winning the Pop Design earlier in the episode While Nathan won the challenge overall (including the 1st and 2nd leg of the design triathlon), Natalie won the 3rd leg and a spread in Elle Decor magazine. Ondine actually had the lowest scores in the challenge and would have been eliminated had Andrea decided not to withdraw. Green background and WIN means the designer won Top Design. Blue background and WIN means the designer won that challenge. Light blue background and HIGH means the designer had one of the highest scores for that challenge, but did not win.