It was only a matter of time before HGTV dreamed up a male counterpart to quirky Candice Olson of “Divine Design.”
Olson’s creations are among the most elegant and tasteful on the network. And they should be — there are none of the budgetary or time constraints that most of the other home-improvement shows have.
Like Olson, Kenneth Brown works without such constraints on the new series “reDesign.” Each episode follows the Los Angeles-based interior designer — who resembles an ’80s MTV veejay with a mop-top haircut — as he transforms each client’s space. (Brown repeats the word “space” so often that someone is bound to make a drinking game of it.) But at least he doesn’t wear silly outfits or goof off with the crew like Olson does.
In the “reDesign” premiere this week, a new homeowner has gutted his kitchen, living and dining rooms and is unsure what to do with the now-open floor plan. Brown comes to the rescue, offering “help organizing the space as well as finding [the client’s] style.”
He is quite thorough, right down to animated floor plans that show before- and after-scenarios. He explains his design ideas and sometimes imposes them, too.
Wary of the paint Brown has chosen, he tells the client, “Just trust me. Believe me, I have a vision.”
But the homeowner also objects to the “vision” of installing a microwave under the new counter because, he says, it “tends to be the appliance of choice.” Though Brown is quite adept at explaining the rationale behind his choices, he relents on this point as well as a few others.
The purpose of the 30-minute series, Brown says, is to “see how a designer faces real problems and creates solutions.” (What happens when a designer creates problems? Well, there’s always “Trading Spaces,” among other shows.)
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Every room redesign starts with function, he says, a concept that Olson also believes. The “Divine Design” host says she takes into consideration “how [the homeowners] live in that space, what their family makeup is.”
Olson effectively transforms rooms using rich, soothing colors and sumptuous fabrics and textures. Brown’s work yields the same results (if not the same style) and after four months of work, the client agrees.
“I was living in a two-star hotel, and now I’m living in a five-star hotel,” the homeowner says.
“That says, `Wow!'” Brown revels. Unfortunately, reDesign only says “ordinary.”
According to HGTV’s Web site, Brown thinks “reDesign” helps “viewers understand how we got from a blank page to a finished palette, a finished room.”
“reDesign” accomplishes this goal, including useful tips for viewers. It’s good to see a new series moving away from the hokey, game-show feeling of the rushed and extreme makeovers. But not much distinguishes it from shows such as “Divine Design,” and if viewers aren’t offered something different, then they won’t be drawn to “reDesign.”
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Carmel Carrillo is assistant editor of Real Estate. You may contact her at [email protected], or write to her at baiduhai, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.