Who has the more difficult undertaking: homeowners in search of the perfect interior designer or designers trying to meet their clients’ needs? On HGTV’s “Designers’ Challenge,” it’s a bit of both.
First up, homeowners are introduced and they present their problem, such as an outdated kitchen or a dining/living room that doesn’t function as either. They outline specifics about what they like and dislike about the room, from furniture and window coverings to light fixtures and appliances. Homeowners then say what they want replaced and how much their budget is.
The three interior designers are presented, each with a sort of mini-resume — how much experience they have, any specialties or awards they’ve won and what their general approach is to remodeling. The designers are interviewed individually, saying what they think will be the biggest hurdle of the episode’s project and how they envision the new room.
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House calls to the homeowners are made by the three designers, during which they make their enthusiastic (often breathy) pitches, complete with floor plans, fabric swatches, paint chips, tile and wood samples and photos of furniture models. Throughout the exhaustive deliveries, the camera closes in on the colorful floor plan and highlights the area being discussed. (Think John Madden and his Telestrator pen during pro football games.) The floor plans are illustrated on poster board and depending on the designer, these can resemble museum artwork or castoffs of the childhood activity set Colorforms.
In the meantime, homeowners dutifully nod and occasionally look glazed-over, overwhelmed by all the options. “I’ve never seen so many fabrics in my life,” said one homeowner to another on a recent show after the designers left and it was time to choose one.
After discussing each designer’s strong points, the homeowners reveal their pick. Some of the dialogue throughout the show — especially during this segment — is a bit forced, but the viewer gets the point: Even if you’ve got the money, choosing a designer is no snap.
The homeowners get to take a field trip with the designer to a showroom to buy elements for the remodel. Not much else is seen of the transformation, though host Chris Harrison (now host of ABC’s “The Bachelor”) does say that it takes several months, when the designer checks back in. Unlike many of the renovation shows, these are not 48-hour jobs.
To its credit, “Designers’ Challenge” portrays projects much more realistically than most of its counterparts.
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University of Illinois at Chicago professor and architect Doug Garofalo is profiled in the November issue of Metropolis. He used digital design to update and expand a Wisconsin farmhouse for his Illinois clients.
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Carmel Carrillo is assistant editor of Real Estate. You may contact her at [email protected].