HGTV Star Season 8 Premiere

HGTV Star Season 8 Episode 1 David Bromstad Genevieve Gorder Vern Yip Sabrina Soto

Reprinted with permission from www.redesignrevolution.com

It’s David Bromstad! And another season of HGTV Star! The ten new designers, in no particular order, are Abby, Brooks, Cris, Tylor, Jeribai, Jessie, Anne, Tiffany, Tobin, and Boris, or as I call them, ABCTJJATT&B.

The first challenge is to show a unique brand that sets the designers’ work apart using a blank vignette, including custom fabric and wallpaper.  The designers have two days to complete the challenge and they dive right in. I didn’t hear anything about a budget so I am going to assume that they each have a bazillion dollars to spend.

Jessie starts with oversized leopard print, Brooks is mad scientisting his way through sketches of military camouflage techniques, Tylor is thinking about funky retro bottles, Jeribai is slapping his logo any anything that doesn’t move, Cris is playing with blue stripes, Abby is going for a “refined bohemian” aesthetic, Tiffany is the only one doing an office vignette, Anne is creating a bedroom in orange, red and white, Tobin starts constructing a wooden wall, and Boris is keeping one eye on the other designers.

HGTV Star Season 8 Episode 1 Brooks Atwood

Susan Feldman, cofounder of One Kings Lane arrives in the workspace with David and offers up accessories for the contestants to use, and announces that the winner will have their items featured on One Kings Lane.

While Cris wraps her (ugly) fabric around (too small) canvases, Brooks is combining his pink wallpaper with taxidermy, and…it’s interesting? With four hours left, Boris picks out of few chairs and a chandelier. He gets a call from Anne who asks him for a favor. A big favor. She is stuck in traffic and needs Boris to pick up the bedding she put on hold the day before. He doesn’t seem terribly interested in helping, so good luck with that, Anne.  Once the truck arrives with everybody’s furniture, Anne realizes that she has no bedding. “Boris, it’s not here.” Anne, it’s not his problem.

Thirty minutes left, and rooms are starting to come together, some worse than others. Cris is struggling to hang her shelves and artwork, but to be honest, the space would look a lot better blank. Brooks is doing a scratch and sniff thing, which I would explain if it wasn’t inexplicable.

David calls time and introduces the panel members who will judge the vignettes: Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder, and Sabrina Soto. The panel sends the designers home for the night while they take a look at their spaces.

Abby’s space is called inviting and warm, but I can’t help thinking it looks like ugly shouting at tacky. Brooks’s room goes over very well because it’s new and fresh. Tylor’s room confuses the judges, and Boris’s space is deemed sophisticated. Tiffany’s office space turned out well. In contrast, Cris’s space is awful. Jessie. Oof. For some reason Genevieve likes it, but thankfully Vern suggests that it could use a bit of editing. Jeribai has great wallpaper but an icky painting. Tobin leaves the panel silent, but not in a good way. It’s just…boring. Like the CB2 sale rack. Anne’s space is too bright, and the lack of bedding is distracting.

Vern lets the contestants know that Tylor, Tiffany and Jessie are safe, and the remaining seven are the most and least successful designers. The seven line up in front of the panel and are all so horribly hopeful. Except for Cris, who seems to know that she’s in trouble. The panel tells Jeribai that his wallpaper was genius, but the dripping painting was a problem. Boris gets praise for his lighting fixture, but criticism for his upholstery skills. Vern calls Abby’s space messy and imperfect, but for some reason he loved it which, huh? Cris tries to talk her way out of her room, but she’s stuck with what she put on the wall. Genevieve is absolutely loving Brooks’s space which is slick and quirky. Vern calls Anne’s space smart despite the lack of bedding. The panel tries to say something nice about Tobin’s space but it’s hard because there isn’t much to like about the design.

HGTV Star Season 8 Episode 1 Brooks Atwood Design Challenge Winner

The winner this week is Brooks! Yay! I kind of like his kooky style. Abby, Boris, Jeribai, and Anne are also safe. That leaves Tobin, and Cris. And it’s goodbye, Tobin. He takes it in stride, but Cris looks like she’s about to vomit.

Here’s the winning space design:

HGTV Star Season 8 Episode 1 Challenge Winner Brooks Atwood Design

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