David breaks down the designs and the final decision. Plus, inside intel from the judging room.
David breaks down the designs and the final decision. Plus, inside intel from the judging room.
It’s down to three designers — only one can win the $25,000 prize and an appearance on an HGTV show. Who will be crowned the first Design Star All Star? Get a sneak peek of the action.
Each week, I chat with Design Star All Stars producer Loren Ruch about the best on-set moments and what you didn’t see on the show. Read on for his dish on The Facts of Life set makeovers!
How did you decide to use The Facts of Life sets as inspiration for this week’s episode?
I happen to be friends with Mindy Cohn (and have known her for about 15 years), and I am also an enormous fan of ‘80’s sitcoms – as are many of our viewers! On last year’s blog and message boards many people asked me if we’d ever consider doing a ‘set’, so I thought this would be our chance. What could be more fun than recreating my favorite show of all time, with a wonderful friend on set, and modernize it for a contemporary audience?!
What was it like for Mindy Cohn to revisit updated versions of the sets from her youth?
Everyone fell in LOVE with Mindy on the set! She told so many fun stories, and cracked us up the entire time she was there. She told us that she literally spent ‘ages 14-20’ on that set, so it was really fun to be with her on a trip down memory lane.
Any hints about the All Stars finale?
Sure…why not! If you thought yurts or tiny houses were fun, just wait until you see what our designers do with shipping containers! You just may want to buy one for yourself!
Have a question for Loren? Ask in the comments below.
David chats about why Hilari and Dan should have heeded his advice about the “slime green” wall color, and why Leslie and Tom’s set was made for TV.
The final four Design Star All Stars contestants go down memory lane on Tuesday at 9/8c as they make over sets inspired by the hit ’80s sitcom The Facts of Life. Who will make it to the finale and get one step closer to the $25,000 prize? See a sneak peek of this week’s action.
Each week, I chat with Design Star All Stars producer Loren Ruch about the best on-set moments and what you didn’t see on the show. This week: the most memorable behind-the-scenes dish from the Dancing With the Stars makeover. Plus, which room looked better on TV than in person.
Dancing With the Stars Dancers Jonathan Rogers and Anna Trebunskaya with Design Star Producer Loren Ruch
How did you find the Dancing With the Stars couple to feature on the show?
One of our Design Star producers actually worked on Dancing with the Stars, and asked us “Do you think that we’d want to makeover Jonathan and Anna’s house? I’ve been there and they don’t have a lot of furniture!” That’s all I needed to hear to say “Yes, PLEASE!” I just had a hunch that HGTV viewers would be the same people who watch DWTS, so I thought it would be a fun collaboration!
Learn why David disagreed with the judges’ favorite room, what he loved in both spaces and why the eliminated designer went home.
Each week, I chat with Design Star All Stars producer Loren Ruch about what you didn’t see on the show. This week: How were the cast members chosen? Plus, who changed the most since their season on the show? Read on to find out.
How did you assemble the cast of DS all-stars? What qualities were you looking for?
We wanted to find the Design Star cast members who made the most lasting impressions over the years. A few of them were fan favorites like Dan Vickery and Kellie Clements, and others had incredible support online and through social media like Sparkle Josh, Leslie Ezelle, and Tom Vecchione so we knew our die-hard fans would love to see them again. In the case with Hilari Younger, as soon as she was eliminated from Design Star we just had a hunch that her humor and talent would resonate with our viewers so we took a chance and slotted her right into All Stars.
Filming the show, which designer did you think changed the most since their season? Or, alternately, was anyone exactly as you remembered?
That is a great question, and honestly quite a few of them changed dramatically. In episode one I was blown away by how much Leslie improved on her camera challenge. She was all over the place in her season, and somehow pulled it all together in All Stars. Tom was another one who surprised me. Many people associated him with that crazy blue bathroom that got him kicked off during his season, but he knocked it out of the park on our first episode of All Stars. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Dan Vickery always was, and still remains a fabulous designer, so his gorgeous room didn’t surprise me at all. And Sparkle Josh and Hilari also stayed true to their signature looks in the first episode. I was a little disappointed in Kellie’s room because I think she is a spectacular designer, but unfortunately it seemed like she was trying to recreate a ‘white room’ instead of using all of the incredible resources at the Pacific Design Center – so I don’t think we had a good chance to see just how talented she really is.
Could the public check out the white boxes as the DSAS cast created them? If so, what were the reactions like?
Yep! They were on display in the Pacific Design Center. We honestly kept the area free of onlookers while they were working so that no one would get injured. It’s a war zone when designers are mid-process! However, once the rooms were finished, we had many onlookers gasping at how beautiful the spaces were. We literally had more than a million dollars worth of furnishings featured in the spaces, so they were pretty darn spectacular!
What was your favorite on-set moment from the second-chance White Box Challenge?
It was an absolute race to the finish on the set for this challenge, so I just remember the designers literally running through the PDC to finish their rooms. They were so out of breath that you would have thought we made them run a marathon that day! I also loved working with Emily Procter who was FABULOUS to spend time with. She is one the most salt-of-the-Earth celebrities I have ever had the pleasure to meet or work with.
Have a question for Loren? Ask away in the comments below.
Host David Bromstad reveals the jaw-dropping cost of the furniture seen in tonight’s challenge. Plus, the design details you couldn’t see on the show (very good and very bad.) See what David thought, then weigh in: Did the right designer go home?
Missing Design Star? Don’t worry — you can fill the void with our brand-new series, Design Star All Stars, starting Tuesday, July 31 at 9/8c. Get a sneak peek of what you’ll see this season, plus watch exclusive scenes from the premiere.
