There's no crying in design!
Well, one of the things I discovered while I was at home (yeah, I know - I'm slow
to catch on) was HGTV . For you non-Americans, that stands for Home and Garden TV.
I remember HGTV from years ago, when it was boring gardening and craft
shows. Imagine watching second-rate Martha Stewart all day. Plus, I had gotten
bored with shows like "Changing Rooms".
Well it's now the only channel I can watch from sun-up to sundown. Just about
every show is entertaining. For one thing, you get to see the insides of people's
houses - there are lots of "before and after" shows on this channel. That means
you get the really bad decor as well as the good. Then they have a bunch of shows
where people go house-hunting. All of the shows are racially and culturally diverse,
you see design people from all races and all sorts of domestic living arrangements.
Some of the stuff they come up with is very cheap and yet clever.
A favorite of mine is called "What is UP with that house?" where they take you on
tours of unusual and visionary homes. The last show I saw showed the Al Struckus
"eyeball house", which was designed by Bruce Goff:
Another favorite is not a serious design show, but a sort of "American Idol"
for design. Two groups of designers competed to decorate a room (both results
were awful!). Then the worst designer in each group gets kicked off. You
get to see a lot of catfights and crying. I must say that, having been in
design school, this is extremely funny because I've never seen any such thing.
I think the idea of a "design star" show must be really funny to people in the
design community. It's the fakest, most hilarious reality show ever.
to catch on) was HGTV . For you non-Americans, that stands for Home and Garden TV.
I remember HGTV from years ago, when it was boring gardening and craft
shows. Imagine watching second-rate Martha Stewart all day. Plus, I had gotten
bored with shows like "Changing Rooms".
Well it's now the only channel I can watch from sun-up to sundown. Just about
every show is entertaining. For one thing, you get to see the insides of people's
houses - there are lots of "before and after" shows on this channel. That means
you get the really bad decor as well as the good. Then they have a bunch of shows
where people go house-hunting. All of the shows are racially and culturally diverse,
you see design people from all races and all sorts of domestic living arrangements.
Some of the stuff they come up with is very cheap and yet clever.
A favorite of mine is called "What is UP with that house?" where they take you on
tours of unusual and visionary homes. The last show I saw showed the Al Struckus
"eyeball house", which was designed by Bruce Goff:
Another favorite is not a serious design show, but a sort of "American Idol"
for design. Two groups of designers competed to decorate a room (both results
were awful!). Then the worst designer in each group gets kicked off. You
get to see a lot of catfights and crying. I must say that, having been in
design school, this is extremely funny because I've never seen any such thing.
I think the idea of a "design star" show must be really funny to people in the
design community. It's the fakest, most hilarious reality show ever.