Like another reviewer, I went into this series hoping to get some inspiration for some design I have to do in my own house. Now, granted, design is highly subjective and I am not an expert. But with a few exceptions I thought that the designs were pretty ugly. There are also some really sketchy/dangerous shortcuts taken at times, and in one episode a huge wooden beam falls from the ceiling. There are two experts who seem to actually know what they're talking about: judge Jamie and a guest handyman called Darren. But we don't actually see how any of the work is actually accomplished.
The real turn-off, though, was the constant sexual banter/harassment from the male judges toward the female contestants and even the female guest judges. "I've always wanted to rub off on you" the lead judge leers at one young woman who laughs nervously. In another episode, Jamie lifts up a woman's leg (she is wearing a dress) and holds her leg in the air as he uses the heel of her shoe to make a point about the spacing of boards or something. Again, the woman in question is giving off major "uncomfortable but can't complain" vibes. It's icky to watch and it is *constant*.
In the season that I watched (season 2, I believe, the season on Netflix) I didn't actively dislike the contestants, but I didn't really like any of them either. It's kind of annoying how many of them are like *shrug* "We just don't know about interior design!". But you are on an interior design show!! One partnership gets assigned a room based on an artist and doesn't even bother to google the artist in question! It's hard to root for anyone, and I ended up just sort of hate-watching the series to its conclusion.
This series also indulges in the most stereotypical of "reality" elements: obviously staged sequences, drawn out and manipulative eliminations ("Susan, say goodbye . . . to Dave . . . because he's going home . . . eventually . . . but tonight you are going . . . back to your room because you've impressed me enough to last another week!"), choppy editing, etc. I love the concept of the show, but the execution is pretty bleak.
The real turn-off, though, was the constant sexual banter/harassment from the male judges toward the female contestants and even the female guest judges. "I've always wanted to rub off on you" the lead judge leers at one young woman who laughs nervously. In another episode, Jamie lifts up a woman's leg (she is wearing a dress) and holds her leg in the air as he uses the heel of her shoe to make a point about the spacing of boards or something. Again, the woman in question is giving off major "uncomfortable but can't complain" vibes. It's icky to watch and it is *constant*.
In the season that I watched (season 2, I believe, the season on Netflix) I didn't actively dislike the contestants, but I didn't really like any of them either. It's kind of annoying how many of them are like *shrug* "We just don't know about interior design!". But you are on an interior design show!! One partnership gets assigned a room based on an artist and doesn't even bother to google the artist in question! It's hard to root for anyone, and I ended up just sort of hate-watching the series to its conclusion.
This series also indulges in the most stereotypical of "reality" elements: obviously staged sequences, drawn out and manipulative eliminations ("Susan, say goodbye . . . to Dave . . . because he's going home . . . eventually . . . but tonight you are going . . . back to your room because you've impressed me enough to last another week!"), choppy editing, etc. I love the concept of the show, but the execution is pretty bleak.