Inferior decorators: HGTV’s ‘Design Star’ needs remodeling
Twinkle, twinkle, little egomaniacs.
‘‘Design Star,” HGTV’s answer to ‘‘Project Runway,” pits 10 aspiring interior decorators in a design competition for the the ultimate prize: their own show.
The talent pool for the show (debuting Sunday at 9 p.m.) seems an inch deep. The players include Temple McDowell, a former Miss Utah; identical twins Teran and Teman Evans; and Ramona Jan, a ‘‘found object artist” - yes, a dumpster diver.
David Bromstad’s love of design is surpassed only by his desire for himself.
‘‘I’m definitely using my good looks to get as far as I can,” he says, adding as an afterthought, ‘‘But my talent will back up anything my cute looks can’t.”
Boston architect Joseph Kennard seems nice, shy and completely out of place on a reality show.
For the first challenge, the contestants must decorate their New York townhouse in 24 working hours on a budget of $7,500.
While Donna Moss’ poor money management stymies some, Ramona’s wild card aesthetic threatens to upset everyone’s work. Her living room mural is tasteless, and she takes an old vacuum cleaner she found on the street, applies a coat of putty to it and calls it sculpture.
Host Clive Pearse is no Tim Gunn. He’s more of a Ricky Gervais. ‘‘I was kind of expecting a show house - it’s something of a no-house,” he says.
You want to kick him where it hurts.
Judges Martha McCully, executive editor of In Style, and designers Vern Yip and Cynthia Rowley review the completed projects on videotape, which seems unfair for a show about interior design. Shouldn’t texture be a factor here? Isn’t there something to be gleaned from a walk-through?
HGTV is working on a wallpaper budget. The judging room is so minimalist it suggests a high school TV production facility.
Which contestant will hear the signature tagline ‘‘Your show has been canceled”? The screener ended before the reveal of the first ouster, but this discerning eye is betting Ramona will be back on the streets scavenging for her next find.
HGTV’s newest franchise builds on shaky ground, but even ‘‘Project Runway” needed at least a season to find its footing. Maybe ‘‘Design Star” will yet shine.
