This Sunday starting at 9/8c, tune in for the Design Star marathon. Watch all the designs and drama of the first three episodes again, and in honor of the long weekend, we have a poll for you.
Chelsey Bowen is a Decorating Editor for HGTV.com. She is a lover of style, whether found in well-designed rooms or the latest fashion runways. Her obsessions include magazines, cooking, estate sales and her puppy, Baxter..
I'm not sure what you mean by sparks. If you mean in a negative way, then definitely Nina. If you mean in a positive way, then I haven't really seen any sparks yet, only sputters!
I agree with many of the comments that I am reading. It seems that HGTV is turning into a real estate station as opposed to a design TV network station as they used to be. This seasons design star is my least favorite as Clive is no longer on the show, the challenges seem a bit too complex, and the production seems that its trying to imitate other stations reality shows. It may not even be the fault of the designers as the production and rules may be a bit too restrictive to fully allow any designer to truly shine as pass episodes allowed.
pierreji on July 5, 2010 at 11:12 am
Nina needs to go…she has NO team work…and way to bossy to make sure her plans are done no matter what….she is good at designing but sucks to heck and back with team work and accepting other's input into hers or her input into others. she sucks….Way to many people today don't know what team work is all about. Even with companies. And it is so very sad.
Karen on July 5, 2010 at 9:18 pm
I agree. Nina's attitude is spoiling it for the others. I always pitty who gets 'stuck' with her. If she continues to 'shine', then this show will be off my TV list. I like Vern OK, I liked Clives, and whatever happened to the show (and the host) where there was a compromise between what he wanted and what she wanted in a redesign? I really liked the nice, doable suggestions for present homes.
Peg on July 7, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Nina is a stereotypical Bully. She only hears her own opinion and does not know the meaning of the "teamwork". I understand the judges are voting on design, but an ugly attitude out weighs any beauty created, any where and time by anyone.
I will personally start a boycott of the show if she were to win and be given a host position. I would also feel sorry for anyone that would be stuck working with her.
Janice on July 6, 2010 at 6:51 am
We could only hope for some real sparks so that all their designs ignite and go up in flames…I'm personally not interested in seeing any of them on TV…In fact I haven't watched much of HGTV lately because all it is are people hunting for bigger homes, because suddenly a 1500 to 2000 sq. ft. home isn't large enough to raise a family in.
Mark on July 2, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Yeah…and EVERYONE SIMPLY MUST HAVE STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES AND A GRANITE COUNTERTOP! oh….and the Walk in Closet is a MUST with his and her sinks…its a bit overkill.
Hopeful on July 6, 2010 at 1:07 am
I agree 100%. It is all for large homes.
linda on July 8, 2010 at 2:14 am
Mark, you are right; all that seems to be on are House Hunters. Let's have something like Designed to Sell & Design on a Dime, programming for those of us who could use some help in the homes we already have.
cherjohn on July 2, 2010 at 7:52 pm
I sooo agree! I am so tired of watching people house hunting! One of these a week is ok but dozens a day??? come on. How does that relate to those of us who aren't moving or looking to move? Is the whole world moving?
Marie on July 5, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I agree! New Design on a Dime episodes would be wonderful. I miss Decorating Cents, FreeStyle, even reDesign – anything to help me do the most with what we have.
CindyM on July 6, 2010 at 4:48 am
I agree with CplusE. What to they mean by "causes sparks?" Nina's attitude definitely causes sparks, and her designs are okay – it varies in every episode. I love Emily, but it is slightly biased because she is my favorite contestant (she's so cute!) in the whole competition. Michael may have some tricks up his sleeve, so we'll see. Dan and Stacey are stepping it up too. If "causes sparks" is a bad thing, then probably I'd vote Alex, whose design skills have been lacking the past few challenges.
Carol Hannah in Cali on July 2, 2010 at 8:55 pm
I am also not sure about the "causing sparks" question. :S No one's designs are sticking out too much yet. And I do hope the next episode is not going to be men vs. women AGAIN. I didn't realize this season had a battle of the sexes theme.
HGTV is losing its touch. Why did they dump Carol Duvall? What happened to Room by Room? I even enjoyed Designing for the Sexes (man and woman working TOGETHER ). I think our cries are falling on deaf ears.
Lil Mama on July 2, 2010 at 9:19 pm
so true so true
Marie on July 5, 2010 at 3:40 pm
I don't watch Design Star to see sparks. I watch Design Star to see a good show with good design.
Correction, I watched Design Star………
I will NOT be tuning in this weekend to see the reruns of an awful show. In fact, since some time last summer, I've found myself watching HGTV less and less.
If a year ago, Comcast had dropped HGTV, I would have gone down there and canceled my cable. If they were to do it today, well, I might get around to….. not caring? So sad.
Design Star used to be one of those shows that I HAD to be home to watch. Now, I can be home, and watching TV, and not bother to watch. When I do watch the show, I am also watching other shows on other channels, just flipping back and forth.
LOL, I dropped in here for the first time since June 30 2009 just to check things out. I use to watch HGTV every day as well as use the website. Have not signed back in since last year and I do not watch Design Star anymore, not since last years final show. I also never watch any of the judges shows anymore. Really hated what happened last season since I watched Candice show all the time. Vern and Geneveive are too boring and soooo predictable I do not miss them. Even if they were good I did not appreciate being jerked around by them changing the rules just to suit their wants, also the judges true character showed loud and clear. OH, I never watch David Bromstadt anymore either. And I have never shopped at any of the "Star" sponsors since last year. Think they will delete this, yep!
Bye-Bye Design Star
Tony Mississippi on July 5, 2010 at 2:33 am
No positive sparks! The show is pretty blah so far! There is not enough in the program of the work each does. I think the themes for the challenges are getting dumber and dumber! It seems hard to design within the limits they are given and I think the judges actually have a hard time judging from the themes. I sure hope after this Sunday's reruns, the show gets more interesting or I won't care at all who "wins."
greylove on July 3, 2010 at 1:14 am
Sparks??? AW- I get it now, Fourth of July weekend…hahaha-but no sparks on Design Star. Nina is by far the WORST designer in the bunch, and yet for some unknown reason, the judges "get" her!! Maybe they are just recalling their very first attempts at design, and wishing someone would have given them a chance when they were still in middle school, too (which is exactly where Nina belongs with her attempts at design). Let's see- paint a wall eggplant purple, nail up some boards, then draw squiggly lines all over it-gee, that certainly screams "design," doesn't it, folks? And let's not forget-it was all about the French Horn! I have to say, a French Horn shaped like any PART of that "design" would only squeal, NOT make beautiful music! Open your eyes, judges- do you really want Nina as one of your co-workers, given the fact that she will embarrass you all and in the process, make you ALL lose viewers on HGTV???You're nearly there already -losing viewers, and the contest has just begun!
Guest on July 3, 2010 at 7:08 am
Right on!
s.b.h. on July 5, 2010 at 8:02 pm
OK I turned on HGTV this morning and saw something other than house hunting…So I left it on, but then I start hearing this whiny voice every 10 minutes saying "She just threw me under the bus"…OMG how many times are they going to play that advertisement?
I'm not sure what you mean by sparks. If you mean in a negative way, then definitely Nina. If you mean in a positive way, then I haven't really seen any sparks yet, only sputters!
I agree with many of the comments that I am reading. It seems that HGTV is turning into a real estate station as opposed to a design TV network station as they used to be. This seasons design star is my least favorite as Clive is no longer on the show, the challenges seem a bit too complex, and the production seems that its trying to imitate other stations reality shows. It may not even be the fault of the designers as the production and rules may be a bit too restrictive to fully allow any designer to truly shine as pass episodes allowed.
Nina needs to go…she has NO team work…and way to bossy to make sure her plans are done no matter what….she is good at designing but sucks to heck and back with team work and accepting other's input into hers or her input into others. she sucks….Way to many people today don't know what team work is all about. Even with companies. And it is so very sad.
I agree. Nina's attitude is spoiling it for the others. I always pitty who gets 'stuck' with her. If she continues to 'shine', then this show will be off my TV list. I like Vern OK, I liked Clives, and whatever happened to the show (and the host) where there was a compromise between what he wanted and what she wanted in a redesign? I really liked the nice, doable suggestions for present homes.
Nina is a stereotypical Bully. She only hears her own opinion and does not know the meaning of the "teamwork". I understand the judges are voting on design, but an ugly attitude out weighs any beauty created, any where and time by anyone.
I will personally start a boycott of the show if she were to win and be given a host position. I would also feel sorry for anyone that would be stuck working with her.
We could only hope for some real sparks so that all their designs ignite and go up in flames…I'm personally not interested in seeing any of them on TV…In fact I haven't watched much of HGTV lately because all it is are people hunting for bigger homes, because suddenly a 1500 to 2000 sq. ft. home isn't large enough to raise a family in.
Yeah…and EVERYONE SIMPLY MUST HAVE STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES AND A GRANITE COUNTERTOP! oh….and the Walk in Closet is a MUST with his and her sinks…its a bit overkill.
I agree 100%. It is all for large homes.
Mark, you are right; all that seems to be on are House Hunters. Let's have something like Designed to Sell & Design on a Dime, programming for those of us who could use some help in the homes we already have.
I sooo agree! I am so tired of watching people house hunting! One of these a week is ok but dozens a day??? come on. How does that relate to those of us who aren't moving or looking to move? Is the whole world moving?
I agree! New Design on a Dime episodes would be wonderful. I miss Decorating Cents, FreeStyle, even reDesign – anything to help me do the most with what we have.
I agree with CplusE. What to they mean by "causes sparks?" Nina's attitude definitely causes sparks, and her designs are okay – it varies in every episode. I love Emily, but it is slightly biased because she is my favorite contestant (she's so cute!) in the whole competition. Michael may have some tricks up his sleeve, so we'll see. Dan and Stacey are stepping it up too. If "causes sparks" is a bad thing, then probably I'd vote Alex, whose design skills have been lacking the past few challenges.
I am also not sure about the "causing sparks" question. :S No one's designs are sticking out too much yet. And I do hope the next episode is not going to be men vs. women AGAIN. I didn't realize this season had a battle of the sexes theme.
HGTV is losing its touch.
Why did they dump Carol Duvall? What happened to Room by Room? I even enjoyed Designing for the Sexes (man and woman working TOGETHER 
). I think our cries are falling on deaf ears.
so true so true
I don't watch Design Star to see sparks. I watch Design Star to see a good show with good design.
Correction, I watched Design Star………
I will NOT be tuning in this weekend to see the reruns of an awful show. In fact, since some time last summer, I've found myself watching HGTV less and less.
If a year ago, Comcast had dropped HGTV, I would have gone down there and canceled my cable. If they were to do it today, well, I might get around to….. not caring? So sad.
Design Star used to be one of those shows that I HAD to be home to watch. Now, I can be home, and watching TV, and not bother to watch. When I do watch the show, I am also watching other shows on other channels, just flipping back and forth.
LOL, I dropped in here for the first time since June 30 2009 just to check things out. I use to watch HGTV every day as well as use the website. Have not signed back in since last year and I do not watch Design Star anymore, not since last years final show. I also never watch any of the judges shows anymore. Really hated what happened last season since I watched Candice show all the time. Vern and Geneveive are too boring and soooo predictable I do not miss them. Even if they were good I did not appreciate being jerked around by them changing the rules just to suit their wants, also the judges true character showed loud and clear. OH, I never watch David Bromstadt anymore either. And I have never shopped at any of the "Star" sponsors since last year. Think they will delete this, yep!
Bye-Bye Design Star
No positive sparks! The show is pretty blah so far! There is not enough in the program of the work each does. I think the themes for the challenges are getting dumber and dumber! It seems hard to design within the limits they are given and I think the judges actually have a hard time judging from the themes. I sure hope after this Sunday's reruns, the show gets more interesting or I won't care at all who "wins."
Sparks??? AW- I get it now, Fourth of July weekend…hahaha-but no sparks on Design Star. Nina is by far the WORST designer in the bunch, and yet for some unknown reason, the judges "get" her!! Maybe they are just recalling their very first attempts at design, and wishing someone would have given them a chance when they were still in middle school, too (which is exactly where Nina belongs with her attempts at design). Let's see- paint a wall eggplant purple, nail up some boards, then draw squiggly lines all over it-gee, that certainly screams "design," doesn't it, folks? And let's not forget-it was all about the French Horn! I have to say, a French Horn shaped like any PART of that "design" would only squeal, NOT make beautiful music! Open your eyes, judges- do you really want Nina as one of your co-workers, given the fact that she will embarrass you all and in the process, make you ALL lose viewers on HGTV???You're nearly there already -losing viewers, and the contest has just begun!
Right on!
OK I turned on HGTV this morning and saw something other than house hunting…So I left it on, but then I start hearing this whiny voice every 10 minutes saying "She just threw me under the bus"…OMG how many times are they going to play that advertisement?