Challenge 5: Homes of the Brave
For this challenge, the designers gave back to two deserving military families. After a grueling 22 hours, only five designers are left standing.
Spoiler Alert! If you don’t want to know what happened, please don’t click through.
Antonio, Dan and Torie transformed the living area of the Olsons, who wanted a warm, multifunctional room for the whole family. The designers used two shades of blue to create a neutral atmosphere and added contemporary furniture for a streamlined effect. Vern felt the designers met the Olsons’ needs for a comfortable, adaptable environment, while Candice loved the texture that the panels brought to the wall.
Nathan, Lonni and Jason made over the Maldonado family’s space, who were looking for a modern style, but mostly importantly wanted it to be functional. Nathan decided to build an entertainment center, which took almost the entire 22 hours they had for the challenge. Lonni chose to enhance one wall with a chevron pattern, and Vern felt it was the best part of the room.
Even though the judges felt that Jason and Nathan both had reasons to be eliminated, Nathan’s lack of time management was his ultimate undoing, and he was sent home.
What do you think? Did the judges make the right decision?
How DARE HGTV try to mislead me into thinking that my man Antonio was the one to go!! Boo on excessive editing!
HGTV: I still love you. But don't taunt me like this!!
They got us all! Ha Ha Ha!!!!
He needs to go. A designer who does not listen to his clients and lies to his team is a zero.
yup!! he is a bully and knows one color – blue with maybe some fruit loops or hot pink geese thrown in for shock value. Please keep him away from MY house!!
Antonio has a huge ego that he conveniently fools himself and others by calling it "passion". He does not seem to respect anybody.
We were PUNKED!
I learned that whoever they focus on the commercials, that's not the person going home. Remember the white room challenge? Lonnie didn't go, althought the whole commercial was about her and her disastrous room.
Can't stand Antonio. Waiting for him to paint something besides his trademark "design star blues'. puhlease! The first room in the mansion would have been blue with pink geese if he'd had his way. It's all he knows.
Com'on, Christy. That's called 'creative editing' to lure the viewers back in. It worked, didn't it?
haha, they never lost me. i LOVE the show. but i was EXTRA attentive to the show, nervous at every moment that Antonio would be the one to leave.
Good posting
I really feel like Jason and Lonni should have been sent home a long time ago. True, Nathan wasn't very time-efficient this week, but he was still far, far more creative than either of his two teammates (Exhibit A: Dining Room, Exhibit B: White Room), and he brought a fresh, young perspective to the show. It's really too bad.
I agree, I thought Jason would have gone home by now. I think fortunately for him he has been able to hide behind the talents of his peers. I'll be surprise if he does'nt go home next. Lonni has slightly stepped up, but I'm not sure how much longer she will last.
Although Antonio rocks and was very passionate in this challenge, Since the white room challenge I am not sure he can fully handle a challenge on his own.
I think the bottom line will come down to Antonio, Torie and Dan. Then Dan and Torie and at that point it will be whoever wants it best. We haven't look at who has the best television flare.
I thought that Nathan would go further, or at least not have to leave before Jason and Lonnie. Unfortunately Nathan's mistake cost him. I agree with Carlisa that the final 3 will be Antonio, Torie, and Dan.
I agree. Lonni and Jason are horrible!!! Last night was the first time that Looni really did something. She and Jason complainted about Nate taking a long time with his cabinets, Lonni took a long time with her project. And it wasn't because she had to help Nate neither.
I agree with you. While everyone focused on how long it took Nathan to build the entertainment unit, no one commented on how long it took Lonni to paint ONE wall. She was very lucky that Vern liked her chevron design, but otherwise she offered nothing else to the room. True, Jason did the shopping and stayed "safe" with typical, predictable pieces, but it should have been him or Lonni who were canceled. He and Lonni both had weak white room challenges and Nathan rocked it on the first challenge with that amazing paint on the walls and floor and then again on the white room – Lonni and Jason have NO highlights and yet, they are still there.
At least Antonio and Dan are still in – Lonni is dull and Torrie is just bitter that Antonio nailed it on the paint choice. She didn't even have the decency to accept his apology and recognize that she was safe this week because if his design work.
I'm not sure if the final 2 will be Antonio/Dan or Dan/Torrie, but if Antonio wins, I'm not sure I'd watch his show. He's a little to "my way or the highway" and Dan just seems like such a nice guy, like David Bromstead. Next week, be the true test for all the remaining designers since they'll be working solo. I'm looking forward to what Dan, Antonio, and Torrie do.
Creativity isn't the only thing to make a Design Star….Team work, honesty, good communication and people skills are as important as Creativity. Antonio didn't have the guts to honestly talk about his issue with "tan" and took a more passive aggressive approach to the problem. That behavior (among other issues) overwhelm his creative sensibilities and prevent him from measuring up to the entire package required for a Design Star. I also think he is not the type of role-model that HGTV needs or wants promoting their product and programs.
Too bad you feel this way cyndybaran. I have to disagree however. Antonio is Exactly what HGTV needs and I think those who are in agreement with you right now, will be the most apt to tune in and watch his show, when/if, he becomes the next Design Star.
I agree with cyndybaran. IF he were an honest person he would have argued this out prior to going to buy the paint. But to agree to buy and and then come home without out and laugh that he 'forgot' it was despicable.
I would have to agree. Jason should have went home. He consistently has shown he has no business being amongst the Design Star cast. Nathan has consistently shown that he can take things to the next level. I thought with a competition like this, the work the designer has done in the past should have some bearing on the elimination. Obviously Vern, Genevieve, and Candice don't think that way. Hopefully Jason will be gone this week!
I agree with you! I am sorry to see Nathan leave the show. He is very creative and talented, and I hope HGTV does not let him slip through their fingers. Maybe other things will happen for him, and we'll see him on TV again.
Terri
What pair will be in the final?
OMG! I guess I just crashed and burned! Nate was not the one I thought was going! Antonio, once again you rocked it! Jason you were the leader on this team -Impressive!
oh that is ridiculous… both of them should go home but Jason really did deserve the trip home!
It will be a relief to jason to go as no one every says anything good about him…kudos for hanging in there and it is a shame …….you really have the most personality for TV….can u imagine a show of antonio's brashness every episode?
Jason provided leadership and most of the entire room's work as Nate was all entertainment center and Lonni…mural on the wall…give him some credit!
The scenes (previews) for tonight's show was very misleading. Antonio stuck to his guns and I'm proud of him for doing so. I understand Torie and Dan's concerns, but I'm with Antonio for putting some color in that family's life. And that's how you become a design star.
I don't think Dan was as concerned. Dan said straight out that he thought tan would have been a mistake. He just didn't like that Antonio didn't bring back what he said he was going to. I am thinking, for Dan, it was more of a trust issue and trying to keep the team together issue.
I really don't think Dan was concerned that the walls weren't being painted tan. He was the one that said they should just keep going with it… (good time management) I think he was just trying to keep the peace between Antonio and Torrie, but then later wondered if it would be a true collaborative design since Antonio "forgot" the tan and then wanted to go do the shopping too. If you watched the additional judges comments they agreed there should have been one more color in the palatte, but not necessarily "tan."
As a homeowner who has hired several designers, I can tell you for sure that ANY designer who does not listten to what the homeowner wants, in terms of color for THEIR home (not the designer's!!) would definitely be "going home" without doing any work!
You are so right. Does anyone watch Designer's Challenge? The one who does not listen to the client never get the job! It is that simple.
BTW, the blue they use in that room is very dull (and blue is my favorite color), in fact, it reminds me a lot of the gray color of the battleship. I think a beautiful tan room can be a lot more vibrate and interesting and they could accessorize it with any color (blue will work too) they want to make it fun.
awww… nathan is such a cutie…. sad to see him go, i wished jason would've gone instead… : P
i loved the chevron pattern lonnie did, very smart.
for me, both rooms were a bit too boring and bland
the next episode looks really good, i can't wait!!!!
Wow, Lonni is the worst designer ever… All she could contribute is chevrons on a wall. As a 21 year Navy veteran, the last thing I want to see when relaxing at home is a wall of chevrons. I ask all of you out there in Blog land to think of your profession painted as a focal point in your living room. It doesn’t surprise me at all that Vern Yip really liked the chevrons as he pretty much suck as a designer also.
Though I am not military, I had the exact same reaction as you, though I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. I am a teacher & can just imagine coming home to my house painted in black chalkboard paint!
Lonni spent way too much time on that wall.
Kimando, you are on here a lot with some pretty saavy comments. this is not one of them. you watch enough to know that there is no way to know AT ALL how much time was actually spent on that wall and how much was spent on anything for that matter except for the built in. And that's only because Nathan admitted as much. come on. you know how editing works. this isn't a design show. it's entertainment. i always count on you to be smarter than that!
When Jason got back from shopping at the end of day one, the room looked pretty much the same, except for the two still unfinished projects the "specialists" were working on. Yes, they spent way too much time on them and I don't care how good or bad they turned out. Jason was shocked and so was I. Jason pulled this room together.
So while Jason was out shopping for 20 hours (his words) HE pulled the room together? REALLY?
And building the entertainment center with Nate? Hello? Editing. We saw what they wanted us to. It looked like Dan didn't do much either but I seriously doubt that.
Vern Rocks!
I'm not in the military, but my thoughts were the same. Why would you constantly want to eat dinner looking at that? I thought it was too much … didn't agree with Vern at all. I don't think there was anything in that room worth saving!
Your in my head. I don't want to see my work. I never like Vern's designs. Now Candice, in my opinion, is worthy to judge.
You're an idiot! Vern is an amazing architect/designer. You really should take a look at some of the things he has done in his life not just since joining hgtv.
As a 20 year Navy vet, I agree that the Chevron wall was a disaster. Not what I want to see when I get home at night.
Well a disaster is a ridiculous statement to use just because something that isn't your taste. And just because you're military doesn't mean ALL military wouldn't like it. The homeowner who IS military and active which I suppose means MUCH younger than you loved it. This homeowner wanted modern and had Jason pulled off the modern in the furniture shopping the chevron wall would have been amazing in the room. You probably would hate anything modern too. I loved it and also loved the things she said about the military families. Great job Lonni!
As a military wife, I would NOT want to see that chevron wall every day and neither would my husband. Great on TV, busy and irritating to live with. Great effort and I know Lonni meant well, but I would paint that wall the second the design team left.
Isn't she!!!!!
That was the first thing I thought of when Lonni brought up the chevrons. Good thing it's just paint and not wall paper – much easier to fix paint.
I'm not in the Navy but I have to agree that I would not want to look at that pattern for too long. I'm thinking I would be repainting within days. And if I had a choice of judge designers to design my spaces, it would Candice, hands down. Vern would be the last one I'd want. I'd love to see a design challenge with the judges. Give them a challenge and let us vote.
Chevrons on the wall?
HOMOSEXUAL-GAY-TV IS GONNA PICK A GAY GUY, OR ANTONIO. THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEY WANT. THE GAME IS RIGGED, PEOPLE.
WOW! Loved Antonio's, Torie's and Dan's room – FABULOUS!
I disagree. I agree with the judges, either Jason or Nathan should have gone. As the judges said, a simple dowel from the home improvement store would have been sufficient. And I agree the arrangement of the memorabilia on the wall was a nice idea, but not well executed. I personally think Lonni's wall was too busy, but it really was the best thing in that room.
I think Antonio behaved hideously. He showed he can't be trusted to be a team player. However, while the homeowner did say she preferred browns and tans, she also said she didn't object to anything. So I thought Torrie made to big of deal about that. In the end, sending Torrie out to do the shopping on day 2 was a great idea because she really made the room.
I agree about Antonio. He's not a team player and saying you were going to buy one thing and then come back and say you forgot it …. NOT good. It's like going out for the wood floors and bring back tiles because YOU thought it was better. The owner didn't care about what color, but I think Torie made too big a deal out of it and Antonio (although his logic was right about EVERYTHING being beige) was not the way to go about it.
I agree that Antonio was awful. He should have compromised. They could have come up with some warm colors that all 3 of them agreed with. I wouldn't let Antonio in my house because he wouldn't listen to what I wanted.
I agree, I didn't care for the chevron wall at all, but the room was really bad and I guess if you had to find one thing that was the least hideous, it was that wall. Lonni did smile though, several times during the show, WOW what a change. The curtain thing was unforgiveable. I could think of several things he could have used for a curtain rod so the curtains could close!!! I hope someone went back and made that room look great for the deserving family.
Antonio is crude and loud! How can you work with a team on the network when you lie and ignore the clients??? He seems like someone who would be very hard to get along with and HAS TO RUN THE SHOW!
I think Torie should be commended for the shopping, as the accessories were what really made the room look good. I look forward for next week.
I totally disagree with Vern and Antonio when it comes to introducing very different color selections than what the homeowner desires. From a consumer's point of view, if I am going to hire and pay for a designer, I expect that person to take my input seriously–or don't expect payment. The homeowner specified favoring browns and tans. I could be wrong, but I didn't hear her say she didn't object to "anything." I sided with Torie who is familiar with dealing with paying customers, she knows to give them what they will like and what they are paying for. Of course, this is a TV show — good thing because I would never hire Antonio who is way too bull headed and gets a big attitude when he doesn't get his way (like a little boy…)!
I disagree with sending Nathan off the show. I think he made a bad choice with the entertainment center and time management. Jason, on the other hand, went shopping for 18 hours and couldn't find a curtain rod? Has he heard of Sears, Home Depot, or Wal-Mart? If they were going to eliminate someone, it should be the one that couldn't make it to the sponsor's store.
I thought Torrie acted like a total brat! And that thing with wearing the tan suit on the day of judging just reinforced my opinion of her. Get over it Torrie, you don't have the best ideas!!
I really hated the way Antonio acted this week also. He hasn't been great in any of the weeks, but his deception over the paint put a black mark on him for me. He should have been truthful about what he was going to buy. I think the others had a good reason for not trusting him with the rest of the shopping.