Sep
6
Emily on Episode 9: “One Week Until We See Who Wins”
Emily breaks down the tiny house challenge: Why she couldn’t choose a winner and loser, who she felt bad for and her favorite things about the final two.
Which tiny house was your favorite? Who are your rooting for in the finale? Tell us in the comments below.
I could see myself living in Karl's house. Has everything I need in a warm cozy atmosphere.
Totally…Karl seems so sweet and very likeable!! we'd watch his show!!! Mark seemed to have a little bit of an ego and that's a turn off, even if he was talented and had "the look" bla bla bla….Karl shines, he has the warmth in personality thats needed and the design chops to deliver….Meg is a doll too….talent and warmth, great on camera….this is a close one!!!
Meg decorates interestingly. Karl designs. Go, Karl!
Karl and Mark made the"most" of the spaces. They both had comfortable sofas at the end of the room. Meg had a hard bench with a thin layer of cushioning! I agree with Emily about the carpenter interrupting Mark. He was giving instructions to her for his design and it was interesting until she butted in. It was like we were overhearing his plans, which was great. Sorry, but Meg's voice slays my eardrums. I like her enthusiasm but of the two, Karl is the best designer. He always manages to come through with sensible yet imaginative and beautiful areas.
But he missed the whole point…he was supposed to be on camera doing his camera challenge…Carmen was trying in a very nice way to redirect him to what he was supposed to be doing. He's supposed to be talking to the audience (looking at the camera) not off having a side conversation with the carpenter. Why else did he think they sent the camera guy in there to film him. Tha's Mark's fault for not paying attention to the directions and it got him kicked off the show. Serves him right.
I agree that Meg's voice is irritating.
Since the judges and especially David adore her, I wonder if Meg's voice is all right in person but translates badly onto TV. I am also irritated by her voice and over-enthusiasm. I thought she failed in the second episode with her awful bottle legged table, and in the HGTV'd episode when she couldn't finish the loft and chose a bunch of strange lanterns that didn't fit anything and then couldn't hang them correctly. Oh well, if she wins we all have a choice to watch or not to watch!
I find both Meg and Karl hard to watch and neither inspires me to be interested in their shows. Mark is the only one of the 3 I would ever consider watching, so I am disappointed. Meg's voice has grated for me since the beginning, so even though I like her and think she does well with the camera – I can't listen to her and would never watch a show with her as host – I couldn't listen to her all the time. I do find it interesting the 2 remaining designers are from Chicago, though. It is way past time to have a show based in Chicago; I am so tired of all the California-based home design shows! (Yes, I live in Chicago.)
Definately Karl. His house was practical, beautiful and seemed comfortably homey. Meg's house looked like treehouse and teh color scheme was definately one that I would tire of rather quickly. I can't put my finger on it but there is something about Meg that turns me off. Everything she does is always the same. She does have energy in front of the camera but to me, it is fake. Karl is real and deserves to win. GO KARL!!!
YES! Karl is a true designer whereas Meg is merely a decorator and his personality is totally endearing whereas hers is this brutus sort of thing…she's done so well but he has done MUCH BETTER! Go KARL!
You're so right Pam! Meg's house looked like kids painted and decorated it to me. That green was horrible! I think the judges made a HUGE mistake by not selecting Karl!!!
I do think Karl is going to win this competition!!! I agree with Vern he has a very keen eye for architectural design and spacing!!! They should keep Mark on their roster because I so enjoyed watching him as well, very talented!!! Meg is good too but her voice grates my nerves, that alone would prevent me from sitting 30 minutes to an hour watching her show!!! Don't like Demi Moore and she too has the same raspy voice!!!
What is it with Meg's voice that makes you not want her to win??? She can't help that she has a raspy voice… it is not a reason to dislike her! I think she is very talented and should win this! She has the energy and seems that she was meant to be on television! Go Meg!
Sorry, Graham…..you're right she can't help her voice but the way she sort of trails off is annoying to me and I don't care for her decorating at all. Karl is a definite designer where she throws in a few design elements along with her decoration, Karl gives us the whole package. Just sayin'..
Graham, I agree that Meg can't help the voice issue. But I will not spend half an hour of my time listening to her, especially since I don't believe her design choices are very inspiring. She exudes enthusiasm, and she obviously has a measure of talent. But I have not been enamored of her since the beginning, and this 'little house' challenge cemented my opinion that Meg should have gone home this week, not Mark.
It's not her voice so much as the volume in which she projects. But I suspect that because she has a bit of a bass tone in her voice, we would not be able to make out clearly what she is saying if she didn't project her voice. Plus, I think many of her not so great traits would not be an issue if she had better design skills. She's missed on some fundamental elements that make us wonder if we can trust her design sense. On top of that, there hasn't been anything she's done that hasn't already been done. I know there are some rude remarks her about, Meg. But majority of the dissatisfaction come from what I mentioned above.
She SCREAMS! Love raspy voices. It's the VOLUME that is a turn off where Meg goes, imo.
I think the point is that if she has a voice that irritates she won't want to watch her show – i agree, her voice is irritating. Not her fault, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I won't listen to that booming raspy voice for a half hour every week!
I like Meg, but Karl should win. The show is Design Star — not Decorator Star.
Upside down fake plants, a Kelly GREEN PAINTED RAKE with two wine glasses hanging from it, and four, count them, four identical terrariums sitting on open shelves? DECORATOR STAR? Not in my book!
This is to all the HGTV staff/editors/producers/ and anyone else that cares to read!!!! I would like to know why Emily’s video tape voicing her opinion about the outcome of episode 9 has been cut short TWO (2) whole minutes. Could it be that it was contradictory and controversial to HGTV’S and the Judges winning choice? In the beginning of the segment she is clearly voicing her opinion on Mark’s talent. What was edited out that you do not what the viewers to know? Her video tape CLEARLY ends before she is finished with her comments and that is VERY suspicious!
Maybe… it's just a glitch in a website!?
Well, don't you find it a little odd that only Emily's video has a "glitch" and no one else? Remember this contest has been won months ago! I don't think the Producers of the show expected such a negative overwhelming response to the outcome of episode 9. Just read the response! It is very clear that Mark was one of the favorites (rightfully so). Besides, we all know that a large percentage to success on TV (and work force) is congeniality.
Or maybe they don't want Emily's opinion to be heard..hmmm..
It got to the 2 minute mark and stopped for me also…it picks up again with about 30 seconds left when she's done making comments.
I'm with you M. Free Emily !
I was wondering if that was just me!
It looks like a technical glitch–I mean, if they wanted to suppress it, they'd just cut it and not show us that two minutes were missing; that's a pretty easy edit. But yes, I'd like to hear the rest of Emily's commentary, please.
I was wondering that myself – especially given that she states earlier in the tape that she will comment on some things in a bit, then never does. Clearly something was edited out, and awkwardly at that. They are treating Emily ( a breath of fresh air in what is fast becoming a very pretentious network) like crap. They eliminated her voiceovers from her show and changed the format from the original "layering" process that I liked so much. HGTV, you got some 'splainin' to do!
Dear Emily,
I am disappointed in your comment about Mark. How dare you say that Carmen did not help Mark? If it wasn't her helping him to redirect his focus, he would have missed the whole challenge all together! He was SUPPOSED to talk to the camera AND the carpenter or did you not get that memo in your inbox?
You obviously are biased because Mark's looks like your husband but don't try and make excuses for Mark.
That's very unbecoming of you. And where are your usual comments about the designers? Has the network directed you to keep hush hush since next week's the week they announce the winner?
I like your show but I don't like where you are going with your statements or the lack of statements and frankly find you questionable. I think maybe I'll cut back on watching your show. Up until now you seemed real. Maybe I was wrong.
Note to readers: I think Mark should have stayed instead of Mark. Don't mistake me. But let's not place blame on someone who was obvious trying to help.
Oops I mean Mark should have stayed not Meg. Yikes. typing too fast. Sorry.
Mark screwed up the camera challenge twice,,,the 2nd time he stumbled over his words like he lost his train of thought. he chokes on camera. And that argyle mess…it wasn't stylish or argylish and had nothing to do with anything else in the house…It wasn't even executed neatly. Mark is in the same place now he was when the show first s tarted all those weeks ago. he hasn't grown or changed a bit. He only got so far because they were group challenges and he had others to take up the slack for his 8 hour rope tying project. Meg and Karl have much improved…meg with her design and karl with his comfortableness in front of the camera. Karl even survived having to work with Cathy twice. That's why theyy are the 2 left standing.
Loved the comment about Karl surviving Cathy twice…that alone should win him SOMETHING. I think he's the most talented and vote for him every morning. Wonder if Cathy read all the comments about herself and if doing so made even a dent in her self-image.
Actually, he was supposed to make sure he was clear to the audience, not talk to the camera. The scene in question was supposed to be of him talking to the contractor in a way that was clear to both Carmen and the audience as to what he expected her to do. We've seen this scene in a lot of HGTV shows–where the designer is supposedly having a candid conversation with the show's carpenters, but of course, it's really about giving info to the audience. It's usually followed by a cut to the designer off shopping or doing something else, with a voiceover along the lines of, "While so-and-so does _____"
So yes, Emily is right about this. That scene was supposed to be the staged scene with the carpenter explaining what she would be doing. His big problem wasn't that he wasn't talking to the camera; the big problem was that he didn't seem to be directing a project, which *was* the the challenge. Maybe if he'd finished up his instructions to measure, we'd have found out what he was going to instruct her to do (loft, sink cabinet, special storage area, whatever), but as it was, we never got the one thing that he was supposed to convey in that segment, which was what he expected his carpenter to build. "Talk to the camera and do a layout" wasn't the right advice for this particular challenge, since that wasn't what it was about.
I kind of wonder if Mark was at a disadvantage in this part because he tends to approach things like a carpenter himself and focus on carpentry projects within the design–he wasn't prepared to have someone else to tell to do what he specializes in. (That impression was reinforced when, after she'd built the cabinets, he kept changing his layout plan.)
I didn't know Mark was a carpenter. I know he's an architect but I guess carpentry is a pretty loose term since it's possible to cross over with designing spaces in so many ways.
As far as the camera challenge goes. Yes. He was supposed to talk to both camera and Carmen and be able explain understandably to both on a project he wanted done. This is true. Did he introduce Carmen? I know the other 2 designers did but I can't remember if Mark did or not. I HATE THE WAY HGTV EDITS THESE SHOWS!!! Who knows what was edited out? The way it's portrayed now, we either "perceive" that either Carmen tried to help him or she got in the way to us viewers since we weren't there!
Mark's bio says he has an undergrad degree in Design in Architecture. That doesn't make him an architect–he'd need an advanced degree and some kind of supervised work to be an architect.
buffalobarbara,I partly agree with your comment. Carmen (the carpenter) ruined it for mark. By reacting the way she did her method threw him off track and he lost his concentration (who wouldn’t?). I was loving the way he was explaining his plans directly to her (other show hosts do it!). In any case, had I been in her position, I would have handled it differently. For instance; noticing he was talking directly to me I would have tactfully moved beside and closer to the camera man. That may have produced awareness in him and in a subtle manner might have directed himself to the camera. The transition would have been smooth and acceptable. She also could have very cunningly pointed to the camera while no one took notice. I may be wrong but the way Carmen approached it it made me think she subconciously wanted to upstage.
I'm not sure he was supposed to be directing it to the camera at all, though. My impression of the challenge (and certainly the way I'd have interpreted it if I were competing) was that it was to be the "scene" where the designer talks to the carpenter, giving the audience information, of course, but all on the pretense that it's all about instructing the carpenter. It has to be clear to the audience, of course, but I don't think it was supposed to be addressed to us through the camera. Kind of what we see during the client consultation part or the work-with-the-team segments on David's show.
Either way, if she thought she was helping him, it definitely would have been better to do it more subtly.
She all bent because they sent the "Silverlake/Hipster Looking Dude" home…ya know the type: quirky vintage inspired and handcrafted bla bla bla…it comes down to who is likeable and can deliver something interesting every episode of his or her show….David carries it forward brilliantly, he's talented and likeable and doesn't sell us with a beard and smile and a chip on the shoulder….
I'm glad that Karl and Meg are the final two. Both are really talented, but I'd like to see Karl win. His designs have been consistently well executed, and he puts a lot of thought into actually fulfilling the challenge. I was blown away that he put office files on the wall near the kitchen table in the tiny house. Who would think to do that, except Karl? Also didn't like David dissing Karl when he said that it looked like a camper. Campers are designed by people who having been dealing with the challenges of small spaces for years. Why NOT think multi-purpose?
I found it interesting that david suggested Karl use a splash of color to his neutral palette, yet that's exactly what Candice did not like about his interior. But in weeks past Candice has said karl always playins it safe with his neutral palette..he took a chance on vcolor this week. Most of candice's rooms are very neutral unless the homeowner asks for a specific color. I have only ever seen Candice use red once. She always sticks with the same grays, blues, white, cream and silver finishes. Once in a great while she goes for the warm neutrals with some golds and brown, but it's like she's afraid of bold colors.
Also, Meg's room had just as much contrast as Karl's. Meg had the pale yellow and bright green. How was that less contrast than Karl's? Mind you, I liked Meg's room, and I don't intend this as a criticism of her. I just don't get how the judges actually evaluate the designers. Sometimes the things they say just seem random.
Right on. I think the judges set a moving target.
One thing I found less than optimal about this season was the weekly guest judge that disturbed continuity for me. Candice indicates that she followed closely on-line but that's not quite the same . The food network lady and Dina didn't bring much to the table and I hope that the V. and G. took their advice accordingly. (heavily discounted). A permanent substitute would have served better IMO for all.
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I also hated , hated and even more hated the comment by Candice to look at each other and know that person is the only thing in your way to your own show. At that time, I thought she was an over the hill vampire with lots of Botox. (that was completely unnecessary and juvenile of me.. I know).
How about something like: your design skills will get you your show. Or if they want to be all zen, "look in the mirror, that's the only thing in your way to your show"
Or even better don't say anything. I believe both Karl and Meg know that Karl and Meg are competing. If one of them gets a show, the other knows they will (may) not. I think it was rude, low and supercilious. If HGTV wants to be a "positive" network, muzzle the harpy (there it goes again).
Ugh! I totally agree with you. Karl and Meg have become friends, of sorts, on this show. They both seem to be nice people. Yes, one is going to win, and the other is going to lose. But I hope they don't have to stoop to becoming vicious competitors. Isn't it enough that they simply do their best design work? It seemed like Candice was trying to turn this into a fight. What a nasty thing for her to say.
It was a huge turnoff for me as well…..makes me wonder just what sort of snobs these folks can be with their superior design knowledge…never get that from good old David B, do we?? Oh well….if Karl doesn't win at least I have the comfort of knowing he won't be subjected to that kind of crap in the future…but since he is going to win, he will rise above it with is awesome personality. GO KARL!
David was referring to the trim which Karl told David he was planning to paint white. David didn't mean paint a whole wall red.
Karl was by far the only designer who addressed all aspects and the multiple needs of a person "living" in that tiny space. Everything was thoughtful and had dual or multiple purposes. He did it tastefully and creatively. We all could make a cute, pretty looking tiny house with daffodil walls and floating shelves with lovely decor that has no purpose …..but who lives there……..Once upon a time I lived in a 400 sq ft studio in Manhattan….Karl would have ROCKED IT!
and what the hell was up with those silly upside down plants that Meg had hanging from the ceiling over her cheesy looking bench?? That was just a tacky decorator thing thrown in to make her house look like a garden shed or something. Sorry, Meg but you lost to Karl big time in the tiny house challenge. Did anyone get to see how Karl utulized the loft space with his storage spaces? Of course that wasn't focused on at all…..Karl you are so the winner in my book!
Yes, Karl definitely maximized the space and put a great deal of thought into even the smallest spaces, like the office supply niche next to the ladder. He also seemed to have a lot more storage space in the kitchen and the best utilization of the loft space as well. The color he chose really gave the whole house a lot more warmth than the other 2 tiny houses. With a little coaching for the camera, he has the better overall skills and persona for his own show.
To be honest, I'm rooting for Meg. Both of em rock!