One Model Management asked us to design an inspiring apartment that would be used temporarily by different models during their time in New York. The apartment was a white box to begin with, but once we got our hands on it, it wasn’t that way for long!
The kitchen was very open but lacked proper storage. To remedy that, we headed to the Bowery in Manhattan — a street known for its restaurant supply stores — and purchased an industrial kitchen cart. The cart acts as an island for cooking as well as storage for pots and pans.
Our main objective was to create an inviting environment for the models. Most of the girls staying in the apartment don’t know each other and have come to New York City from all over the world. To personalize the space, we created amazing custom wallpaper with Flavor Paper. The wallpaper is a collage of head-shots of all the models at the agency interspersed with blue flowers. You can do this with your own photos to make truly unique wallpaper. The design can be created from a mix of different photos or one over-sized photo. Try it!
We really went crazy with wallpaper and brought in different patterns, all in the same blue color family for the bedrooms to really tie the whole apartment together and make it cohesive.
Love your use of artists in design. The pictures were fab. The wallpaper, not so much. Those bedrooms were such a loser. So Cortney, ask yourself, would you want to spend the night in either bedroom?
I love the black and white Print (painting?) above the dining table. Where is it from?
I don't know who thought you guys had style, but this last show (model's place) proved my first inclination. There's no color in the room, no where to to put down a beverage (no side tables or coffee table in the sitting area). The kitchen is completely bare outside of the three huge no use items on the island. The bedrooms look no different than before except you threw a pillow on the bed. And what is with the lamps?! They're below the arm of the sofa and instead of a head board you have a floor height table and lamp? At the head of the bed? How do you read or see anything above 2 1/2 feet in the entire apartment? If wall art/murals are all you have to offer (which is all I've seen that's remotely inventive); well, anybody can do that. Your rooms are not functional or comfortable; stuff is in weird places, like you had a left over chair and just stuck it against the wall ( the show with the BIG chandelier). Honestly, you guys are horrid. I'll ask again: who do you know? "Cause your amateur design flat sucks.
Cindy its clear you are lacking substance and style. Its a minimalist space for tenants who will spend little time the apartment. The space is meant to remain open while being flecked with color. Take a second a look and i think your eyes will see the style you missed
it's a good thing they'll spend little time in the apartment because 5 minutesin that dumpwould make me go homicidal!
Where did you purchase the crystal chandelier. It's very interesting.
This last show definitely proved the point that the Novogratz's know how to spend a lot of money, but don't know how to style a room. This apartment was disgraceful, and the other shows they've done haven't been any better.
OK I liked their show "9 by Design" on Bravo but unfortunately this show just isn't good. As many have said they seem to do a photo mural on every episode which makes them come off as a one trick pony. I think the problem is they know what they like but seem to have difficulty "getting" what other people may like and can live with on a daily basis. The designs are just not functional for real life.. more like a photo shoot. Also the camera interaction seems so forced. If HGTV wants to keep them on the network they should consider adopting a similar format as "9 by design" let them just be themselves and forget trying to teach us something. I do love that they showcase New York resources.
Oh and that one little couch for 4 people? Seriously?
Yes, once again I tried to like this show. And for a short while near the beginning of it I began to get a little excited at some of the ideas they were coming up with. But once again, most of those ideas didn’t seem to go together. I could probably do a better job just by selecting used items for sale on craigslist at a fraction of the price. Rather than expensive art pieces, how about doing some home made art like Emily Henderson did tonight that actually looked great, or by some used art pieces from a flea market, and use the money saved to get headboards for those pathetic looking beds. Nice bedding, but those poor girls cannot even sit up in bed to read. Who puts a table at the head of the bed and not beside it? Do they have to reach up over their heads backwards to even sip a drink they might put next to their beds? And why do you need custom wallpaper when you don’t even have headboards? Why not just some creatively painted walls? And that sofa? Too small and a rug thrown on the floor near it that doesn’t seem to match anything. And why not a larger table. It’s hard to cram four people at that table. I’m beginning to wonder if part of their income is coming from the artists and other vendors to whom they give publicity on their show. I see no reason to buy art from galleries, custom wallpaper, etc., rather than furnishing a room with adequate furniture logically placed and coordinated.
HGTV's shows have been going downhill for awhile and the Novogratz's show is just another bad decision by HGTV.
Yes, this was my favorite channel UNTILL I noticed that you TOO are having REALITY SHOWS like the HANDYMAN and others. Please….please……keep it the way you have it. TV IS NOT FUN ANYMORE……….
Used to really enjoy spending a Saturday evening watching shows on HGTV, but now…..not so much. Bad taste, bad design aesthetics and way too scripted with designers who annoy. Sorry Novagratz clan…but you are included in this bunch of boring…..
Love D-Bro and Emily (and now Meg). The others I can do without on Saturday night.
I am so in love with the BLUE RUG used in the models apartment. Where is it from??
Did you ever find anything out about the rug in the models apartment? Love the rug! Let me know if you did. Thanks.
yes, where did you get the blue rug? it looks handmade
dying to buy from artist Jameson Earnest, how do I contact him, I can't find any info out when i google!
Why buy all that art with the assumption the models need introduction to art? Those girls came f/various places around the world & may be well acquainted with fine art. Looks to me like an excuse to give publicity/business to certain artists & custom vendors, at the expense of adequately and comfortably furnishing the apt. to accommodate the 4 models. Those poor girls were given too small a couch, too small a table, too small a portable kitchen island, no headboards for their beds, no bedside table at the right height or placed at the side of their beds, where the tables & lighting would be more functional.
And why buy a whole wall of wallpaper depicting photos of those particular 4 girls when they will only be there temporarily and new models will move in? Why do the new models who move in have to look at photos of the previous models? Why not instead do some creative painting on the walls in both the living room & bedrooms, including perhaps hiring a local art student to paint a simple, inexpensive mural in the living room? Then there would be money left over to buy adequate furnishings, such as a sectional or larger couch & couple of easy chairs, a coffee table and end tables! I don't remember ever seeing any other design show use so much of its budget to publicize certain artists & custom vendors, when more generic purchases would do, and then leaving such inadequately furnished rooms.
I see that some of my replies to others' comments seem to have disappeared from this thread. Has anyone else noticed their comments gone?
Overall, I like their design and approach. I just dislike the placement and selection of the sofa. It's a too weird looking sofa and the way it was placed far from the other chair was not a good layout for conversation and hanging out. But the most unforgivable sin is how sad the bed was dressed. Look at how they lay the pillow, seriously? Seems like an art school intern can dress the bed better.
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How much was the metal island in the kitchen?
When I saw the promo for your show I was thrilled that I would get to see some "New York " style from a different perspective, i.e., affordable family living. All in all, I've been waiting for the family style to show up. With the exception of your country house (outside space) I haven't seen it yet. Also, I completely get that artists have an "artistic eye" with a view to the eclectic BUT has the artist in your recent "model apartment" segment gone so dry with ideas for design that he has to help himself to one of the most revered Christian symbols and denegrate it? I'm speaking of the print of Mary. If he is so dedicated to his design why doesn't he do one of Mohammed? No guts, no glory???? WLC
I'm sorry but there's no place for 4 leggy models to 'crash' and watch TV. The bongo drum sofa is horrid!
so I guess until the episodes run out HGTV can't just pull the plug on this lame program? I know they tout "there are no rules" – but unfortunately there ARE rules and just saying there aren't doesn't make them go away. If you pay $$ for a design/room overhaul you kind of expect things like: real furniture (not a woolly Mammoth love seat), bedside tables that serve a purpose, a coffee table that is useful, artwork that the average person can appreciate – I'll stop for fear of redundancy from other writers.
Bravo again, Becky in 'Bama! There are indeed rules, like giving people their money's worth in design, instead of promoting and publicizing select artists and custom vendors and then leaving the rest of the spaces woefully underfurnished, which seems to happen too often on this show. I personally do not need art appreciation lessons from the Novogratz, nor did the models need art appreciation lessons — they needed a comfortable home with practical and thoughtfully placed furnishings. If I want to study art, I have fabulous museums here in L.A. for that. I watch design shows for interior design, of which artwork is usually only a small part of the budget. It should not be so expensive that the rest of the space is left looking underfurnished and cheap looking. Nor are custom wallpaper, rugs, or custom anything else necessary, not if it means sacrificing attractive, properly sized and placed furnishings. I don't know why I even keep trying to like these people and this show; I am fast losing respect for them. I would have been ashamed to present such an apartment to my clients if I were a designer.
Can you just imagine what the judges would have said about this apartment if it had been done by one of the contestants on Design Star??? From what I've seen on past Design Star evaluations, I think they would have shredded it. I felt almost as sorry for these models as I did for that little boy when Kellie didn't give him his bunk beds on the HGTV'd Design Star episode a few weeks ago. At least he did later receive the bunk beds and locker he wanted. I wonder if the models ever got enough comfortable seating and tables in their living room, or beds they could sit up in and read, with nightstands that were actually high enough to hold a lamp they could read by or on which they could place a glass of water for the night. I guess they are supposed to just reach backwards over their heads if they want a sip of water, or sit up in bed and twist completely around? I've seen college dorm rooms that looked much more comfortable than that apartment.
@ Pam! How right you are. I become so exasperated when Cortney walks into a room they are in the process of designing or have designed and seems so pleased with how things look. Conversely, I'm usually stunned at the results and not in a good way.
Where can I find that two-tiered kitchen island?
I liked the kitchen island, but that space could have used a longer one, still on wheels but with storage on one side and on the other side facing the living room a little shelf overhang with barstools beneath for extra seating. I think even Jodi did one on For Rent in one of the episodes (or maybe it was one of the other design shows). One can do useful things like that when one has not overspent on unnecessarily high-end art in an apparent attempt to promote certain artists rather than teach good overall design to the viewing audience. Or maybe the art and other custom things like wallpaper are donated for promotional purposes and used to make up for an inadequate budget for the other furnishings? Just wondering. But why then do HGTV's other design shows not seem to have that problem? Even Design On A Dime results usually look more cohesive and finished IMO. I really miss Myles of Style, too.
Come to think of it, I would love to see what Jodi from For Rent would have done in that apartment with only the $1,000 she's usually given. She's so creative.
I love this show, people, dont be haters, they have there own flair. They think outside of the box. I liked the wallpapers, and the clean lines in bedroom. Why does everything have to be the same and expensive. I like that they bring other artists into there show.
Where Can I get the name of the company who does the wallpaper of the models. I', thinking about doing it in my grandkids room on on wall? As for the rest of everyones comments, I hold judgement until I see what you can do. I', assuming the Novagratz had a very small budget. Anyway, where can I send personal photos in and get wall paper made. Thanks
@ Theresa: Yes, I'm assuming they had a small budget, too, so then why spend on custom wallpaper and high-end art rather than furnishings necessary for comfort and function? (Unless those things were donated in exchange for the publicity). On another website I believe they said the company name for the photograph wallpaper (I think there is also a website with their supply resources). However, there are several companies on the internet who do this type of work and maybe some in your local area where you can go in person. Just google "photos to wallpaper" or something like that. I like it, too, but think it was wasted in this space where groups of models will come and go regularly. As for what I can do, I can tell you: much better than this (and have).
@Nancy: I like thinking outside of the box for creative inspiration, too, but that doesn't necessarily equate with quality. I'm not a hater, just a lover of good design and efficient use of client money (such as not spending on high-end art and the leaving a two-seater sofa for a group of four people and not even a coffee table). (Unless, like I said, perhaps the art was donated — don't know.)
I found a new way to watch this show make it a drinking game everytime they say MODEL take a shot !Their show looks sOOOOOOOOOOO much BETTER!!!!!!!!
My friend and I have devised a Bingo game for this show. It has Letters on Walls, tiered chandeliers, overpriced artwork and Cortney saying they have a lot of work to do, to name a few. All definite drinking game material, if nothing else!
@Deb: Haha — love your suggestion! Cortney said they like to encourage people to “open a bottle of wine and start decorating.” I didn’t know we were going to need a bottle to watch them decorate.
Cortney and Bob, I just wanted to say how much I love your show and your design aesthetic. You are a pleasure to watch. I am so shocked by how mean some people are on these boards. You've definitely positively affected the design of my own home — I immediately got online and purchased the Renee Ricard print. I wish you all the best.
I have to agree with most of the comments. The furniture is not practical. The sofa is ugly and too small. The bedrooms are a disappointment in the furnishings. The wallpaper of those first models would need to be changed with each new group to be inspiring to the occupants. The kitchen is boring. There is almost no place for belongings. I don't get it.
I love the Novogratz show and do not understand all the vitriol. If you do not like it why are you watching? I think it is great. Keep up the good work.
Did the models get any curtains? I didn't see any curtains.