Originally aired on Wednesday, 02/14/2007
Episode Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5)
Episode Overview: The designers’ favorite activity – working in teams – is back. This time, they’re working in groups of three to build a beach cabana. It’s more harmonious than you might expect, but that’s not to say the process is totally friction-free…
Episode Highlights:
- The designers have to team up once again to create a beach cabana centered around a destination theme.
- Ryan and Carisa, together on a team for the first time, butt heads almost immediately.
- Time constraints and questionable judgment compromise the end results for all of the teams..
Recap:
Rugged individualism would appear to be the common personality trait for our designers. When host Todd Oldham informs them that, once again, they will have to work in teams for the next challenge, the overall response seems to be thin smiles and “That’s…um…greeeeaaat.”
The designers are randomly assigned in groups of three, and their task will be to create a beach cabana with a theme based on a location. (In case, like Goil Amornvivat, you might be wondering “What’s a cabana?” it is a small airy structure generally used to shield beach-goers from the sun.)
The teams are:
- St. Tropez: Ryan Humphrey, Carisa Perez Fuentes, and Goil.
- Tahiti: Felicia Bushman, Michael Adams and Andrea Keller.
- Miami: Elizabeth Moore, Matt Lorenz and Eric Kolacz .
Nearly right out of the gate, there is conflict on Team St. Tropez. They, at first, have a relatively successful brainstorming, wherein Goil the architect builds a little model out of his own flip flops and some pencils. However, when they divvy up the errands, Carisa bristles as Ryan insists he should be sent to Pier One for furniture, while she gets fabric. She thinks with her background in set design, she should be making those selections, and feels her voice was drowned out.
On the other teams, the groups seem to be working together a little better. Elizabeth seems to take a leadership role as the team selects a color palette that they think avoids the clichéd Miami look, using an acid green and eggplant. Team Tahiti is working to put together a sophisticated update to the traditional Tahitian structure. Michael, who placed in the bottom three in the first two challenges, seems fired up and determined to be a strong contributor in this event.
After the shopping trips, the teams reconvene, and the conflict between Carisa and Ryan continues. Carisa finds Ryan’s selection of pillows seriously questionable and decides to make a set of pillow covers using her fabric. Ryan thinks her color palette and vision are too conservative. They both seem a little territorial and childish; poor Goil seems trapped in the middle.
Todd makes the rounds and delivers some critiques. He warns Team Miami about their questionable colors, and tells Team St. Tropez they need to focus on the luxury elements in their cabana.
Todd then delivers the bad news that they will only have until the end of the day to complete the structures, and get the disassembled for assembly on the beach the next day. Near-panic ensues. Despite the frenzied work pace, Carisa seems determined to try to foment trouble. She seems to want to pull Goil into the conflict – which he wisely deflects – and appears to get completely fixated on a minor detail to argue with Ryan about despite all the other work to be done. I feel very conflicted by all this myself: I was initially totally annoyed by Ryan, and ergo was ready to side with Carisa, but now she seems equally unlikable. So I decide to just stick with Goil.
The next day, they head to the beach and after a very rushed morning, the teams finish and present their cabanas to the judges, Jonathan Adler, Margaret Russell and Kelly Wearstler, as well as guest judge Kathryn Ireland. They make the rounds and then everyone heads back to the White Room for judging.
Team Tahiti gets kudos for their lovely design, but the judges are stymied by their lack of roof, since, you know, the purpose of a cabana is shade. Andrea makes a beautiful save, calling it “fantasy” and insisting it was a “conscious decision” since the judges don’t seem to like any excuses about time constraints.
The judges begrudgingly give Team Miami some praise for their indoor/outdoor design, but seem incapable of getting past the color scheme. Elizabeth is highlighted as the leader and the person responsible, while Matt is criticized for “disappearing” into the challenge and not making his voice heard.
Team St. Tropez (read: Goil) are lauded for their structure, but Jonathan thinks the interiors look like they’re from “Buffalo, NY.” Ryan is criticized for not being more creative with the furniture, and Carisa, for her somber color palette that missed the mark with its muddy colors.
Team Tahiti is deemed the winners, and will all receive a weekend getaway for their Top Design. Eric from Team Miami is safe because of his win from last week. Goil and Carisa are also deemed safe, leaving Matt, Ryan and Elizabeth in the bottom three. Ryan is there for his lack of ingenuity with the pieces from Pier One; Matt, for not taking a more active role, and Elizabeth, for the bad color choices.
And, in what came as a total surprise to me, Elizabeth is out for her poor color choice! With a “See you later, decorator!” she is dispatched, leaving Ryan and Matt and all the others safe to compete next week.
(Photos courtesy of Bravo)