Episode 3 Recap: Kardashian Office Makeover
This week brought big names and big stakes: Ten designers took on the challenge of designing Kris Kardashian Jenner’s new office space, and only eight made it out unscathed. Well, mostly.
See the highlights, my favorite moments and biggest pet peeves from this week’s episode of Design Star, then tell me your take on this week’s action.
Britany and Mikel worked together on the conference room. As guest judge and client Kris Kardashian Jenner said, “I never met a mirror I didn’t like,” and Britany delivered a mirrored installation that wowed. I have to admit, when she said “mirrored wall” I had horror flashbacks to an ’80s workout video, but I really like the finished look:
Mikel held his own on his second project with Britany. I loved his use of two modern, white tables to create a conference table big enough to seat at least most of the extended Kardashian clan (or is that klan?).
Oh, Kris and Miera. It seemed like their partnership in the reception area was doomed from the start. Miera and Kris fell into a vicious cycle: Kris takes over, Miera cries foul, drama, drama, rinse, repeat. In the end, they went their separate ways but created a surprisingly cohesive space and they even cozied up a bit by picture time:
The highlights for me were Miera’s striped picture rail (above)and Kris’s glam wallpaper pick:
Next up: Hilari and Danielle. They worked together on the Kardashian kitchen. This seemed like Hilari’s chance to show off her over-the-top glam look, right? Well, I’m still waiting to see it, although she did pick wallpaper that “looked like ice” and literally made Momma Kardashian happy enough to hug the wall. Danielle’s wall stripes were a win with the judges, but she had a near-meltdown over a section of badly-mounted wallpaper in the closet. Hilari helped her mask the area with curtains (which the judges, of course, looked behind immediately) but the last-minute snafu left their space with an unfinished look.
Then there’s Stanley and Rachel, who worked together on Kris’s office. Stanley had a rough go on the first team challenge, but he and Rachel were actually a great match-up. She convinced him to take a risk with the chartreuse, tufted velvet sofa and chair — and it paid off with Kris and the judges.
This week, Stanley tried something new with couches: displaying them horizontally! Ha. Seriously, the judges loved his cheesily-titled “diamond tennis bracelet” wall sculpture, and I was a fan of the modern stone desk he created. A solid (if canned) camera challenge was enough to clinch it for Stanley, and the judges named him this week’s winner. Two-time champ Rachel came in a close second.
And then there were two: Bex and Luca in the closet and product feature room. Luca, you should have spent less time talking about your high-end clients and Champagne tastes and more time designing a luxurious room. He was so caught up in not being “Bex’s employee” that he forgot to design anything worth getting excited about — the judges weren’t into his abstract art and thought his island didn’t fit the scale of the room. Bex tried to keep the peace, but she made some bad decisions, too — those hexagonal shelves could have worked, but not with the tiny accessories she threw in at the last second.
In the end, this pair brought each other down, and the judges said goodbye to both Bex and Luca.
Check back tomorrow for Meg and David’s reaction to the episode.
Now it’s your turn: What did you think of the makeover? Did the right designers go home? Tell me your take in the comments below.
Luca is gone, that's as it should be, no greatness lost there, however Bex was eliminated way too soon. She's a good, interesting designer who keeps a cool head and is creative. Hilari tried to save Danielle, she should stay, Danielle should've gone.
Couldn’t agree more beeper ^^ in addition to everything you said, she also had a great personality for camera purposes. I will miss the Bex dynamic for the rest of the season. She would have made a creative, captivating host of her own show!
Gotta say I’m so glad that Luca went home. He was neither a designer nor a star! It was a toss up between Bex and Hilari. Had Hilari been teamed up with Luca, she’d be out the door. Luck of the draw Bex! Miera has got to stop acting like a crabby, old lady and more like a professional. David – I love you but your attire is too weird for me!
SHAME ON YOU JUDGES! Giving Stanley the win when Rachel's signature is on that room in spades. Who did the awesome window arches and the Rachel curtains or the Rachel wallpaper selection or the chandelier selection. Who put that room together…Rachel Kate. Did not care for the tennis bracelet much and his table was pretty good.
Totaly agree about Rachel's mirror signature-VERY surprised that Stanley was given the win.
Whoops! Got my designers mixed up!
Maybe they didn't want to give Rachel the win again this week because she won the first two? I think she clearly is the strongest designer and hopefully will win.
I loved Rachel's arched windows, but then she covered them up with curtains! Wish she hadn't done that. Rachel and Stanley worked well together. That's so nice to see. But when one person bullies the other (Kris every week; Bex this week) you DO have to stand up for yourself. Luca and Bex brought out the worst in each other.
sorry to tell you
but stanley is the best design star there is and i think he will win the hole thing so get over yourselfs and just accept that he;s the best of them all.that's all i gotta say
It seemed that there was a deliberate attempt to downplay Rachel's personality this week. The cutting was obvious and poorly done. The judges were too afraid to be bold enough to give Rachel the win 3 weeks in a row! There is some crazy talent in that Minnesotan girl!
That was exactly what I thought — they gave the win to Stanley this week because they didn't want to give it to Rachel for the third consecutive week.
Watched the episode from my college apartment in New York. I see glam here all the time, and Rachel and Stanley's room was the best followed by Brittany's mirror whose room was done nicely. But again Rachel had the WOW factor going on! There wasn't one of us who couldn' see Rachel's hand in all the other aspects of the room…not Stanley's! Your viewers are not that stupid so stop the over-editting and let the real winner shine. And, as an engineer, I loved the architectural feature of the arches. I also thought Stanley could have come in second, since the room was good, but thought Brittany would have been a better second place choice.
I'd like a description on how to do the mirror thing that Britney did. i loved it and would like to do it in my own home. Glad Luca's gone.
Even though Rachel is my favorite designer so far, I preferred Britany's and Mikel's room this week. I am not a fan of puddling curtains, and did not care for the wallpaper or green seating upholstery (more a chartreuse color — even though some use the term puce to describe this color green, puce is actually a brownish purple shade). But that's just my personal taste, and the office was well done. Miera and Kris managed to do a great job, but for me that wallpaper, while striking, would become oppressive after a while if I had to spend a lot of time in the reception area.
Hopefully this week was just a minor setback for Danielle, as I have also liked her designs. I am still not sure about Hilari, but it was very professional of her to attempt to fix the wall problem and I liked her for it. Luca's time to go had definitely come, and what a sore loser he was! While I liked Bex, she said herself that she could not deal with the pressure, and was probably sorry but relieved to be eliminated. Kris needs to show a little more maturity, and Miera needs to lighten up a bit. I haven't been a big fan of Stanley, but he definitely improved this week. Mikel also showed promise, and as for Britany, I would probably have handed her the win this week for her mirror wall.
Okay, Liz, you asked for comments and you got mine, for what they are worth!
Glad those two went home, now let's see some real talent. You should mix up your judges, what makes vern and gen an expert anyway?????? They should see the real Miera!!!!!!!!! Poor designer's that have to work with her another Cathy!!!!!!! Did we forget her????????????? At least Genevieve hasn't been showing off her self as bad as last year, but doesn't she know when you sit down what you show?????? Hope Miera goes, I would not watch her show, the rest really want to win, but doesn't look like at the expense of their co-designers. Just sayen
Gloria, what do you mean, 'when you sit down what you show'? Do you think she was dressed inappropriately? Like you could see too much? I'm confused.
Ever think that just as we see what HGTV wants us to that the judges are in the same boat. They can't look at all the filming and the personal interactions are edited out for them.
Nothing much to say – glad Luca and his big ego are gone. He was unabashedly conceited.
Hilari should be next unless she can really surprise us next week. Her accessorizing is so banal.