HGTV Design Star: Homes of the Brave Recap

It seemed that tonight the Design Star show runners did some fancy manipulations to get those they consider the weakest links on one team. Master carpenters Antonio and Dan were matched up with designer Torie, while Nathan, Jason, and Lonni formed the other team. This time the teams were given 22 hours and $10,000 to make over multi-functional family rooms for military families.

Once at Ventura County Naval Base, the Design Star teams discovered the challenges of making over these complex rooms. Each family needed the room to serve several functions, be kid-friendly, attractive and comfortable--all in a tiny amount of square footage.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: The Families

Nathan, Jason and Lonni worked for the Maldonado family, who wanted a living room/dining room/office/baby/game room. They wanted a modern room with blue and green tones. Torie, Dan, and Antonio conducted their Design Star challenge for the Olson family, comprised of three children (two of whom are autistic) a mom, and a dad serving in Iraq. Mrs. Olson was looking for a comfortable, warm space for the family entertainment as well as the children's therapy sessions.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: Team Maldonado

The Design Star team working for the Maldonado family started out strong. Jason took over the floor plan, focusing specifically on an area for the family's military collectibles. Lonni wanted to do a chevron paint pattern on the wall, to match the stripes on Mr. Maldonado's uniform. Nathan seemed excited about putting together an entertainment center and desk--projects he estimated at 6 hours each.

Things did not go as planned for this Design Star challenge. Nathan greatly overestimated his carpentry skills, taking the entire challenge to complete a floor and wall enclosed shelving unit. He constantly required Lonni's help, leaving her a lot less time to complete her own tasks. Jason did most of the shopping for the room and was shocked both days to find that little progress had occurred while he was out.

Jason ended up buying a desk to make up for Nathan not building one; however there was no time left on the last day of the Design Star challenge to build it. Jason had difficulty buying curtains to go with Lonni's chevron wall, and then couldn't find a rod to go with the curtains. He ended up making a cornice and hanging the curtains from nails in the cornice, making them non-functional.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: Team Olson

Much of the Design Star segment with Antonio, Torie, and Dan revolved around color choices. Torie was very focused on Mrs. Olsen's request for beige and tan colors and a warm environment, though she did say the family was up for color as well. Antonio refused to paint beige or tan, and he and Dan picked out two shades of blue. Antonio agreed to a third neutral brown color, but didn't buy it when he went to the store.

Dan and Torie felt that Antonio could no longer be trusted to carry out their Design Star team vision, and so Torie went shopping for the furniture and accessories the next day. Antonio and Dan worked on carpentry while she was out. Torie had difficulty finding furniture to fit the small living area, and had to buy a pale green couch instead of a beige tone she would have preferred. Torie worked hard to find warm, neutral accessories to balance out the cool blue shades the guys had chosen.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: The Verdict for Team Maldonado

Design Star judge Genevieve felt that the room was not modern, as the family had asked for. She thought the furniture was too traditional. Vern loved the chevron pattern, and felt it added sophistication to the room. Genevieve and Vern were less happy with the collectible display, which they felt looked like a random array of tchotchkes.

The judges felt Nathan's open storage wasn't kid-friendly or useful for a family that might want to hide away games and videos behind closed doors. They were also disappointed in the lack of desk and computer for the family to play games on. The Design Star panel also felt it was unacceptable to have unusable curtains, suggesting Jason could have bought a wood dowel at the home improvement store if he couldn't find the right rod.

The good news was that the Maldonado family loved their new Design Star room. Aside from the curtain issue, the family was thrilled with the comfy couch, the chevron wall, and the collectible display. ("They liked my tchotchkes!" Jason cried.) The family was also happy at the TV arrangement with no visible wires.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: The Verdict for Team Olsen

The color debate started up again as Antonio, Dan, and Torie faced the Design Star panel. Antonio was aggressive in his opinion, stating he'd be happy to go home right then for not painting beige. Torie expressed her concern at the family's desires not being met. Of course, the Design Star judges never act as show previews would have you believe. They loved the colors and admired Antonio's passion for the room.

They did, however, give credit to Torie for tying the room together with her furniture and accessories choices. The Design Star judges felt that the blend of pale colors formed a more exciting palette of neutrals for the homeowner. Candice loved the textured panels that Torie added next to the TV, and the accessory choices that added warmth.

The judges also appreciated Dan's attention to the family's autistic children and the desk and cabinet arrangement that stored their teaching materials. Vern liked that Antonio had a large TV and a small TV in the main room to accommodate more than one viewing choice and allow the family to stay together in the same room.

The Olsen family agreed with the Design Star judges, with Mrs. Olsen and her children exclaiming in delight over each area of the room. Mrs. Olsen loved the green couch, and one of the children even fell asleep on it. She loved the over all colors and knew her husband would be thrilled with the dual TVs.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: The Final Verdict

The Olsen Family Design Star room was considered a complete success, so Torie, Dan, and Antonio were immediately sent on to the next round. Lonni was credited with the successful chevron pattern and also sent on. This left Nathan and Jason, whom the judges said both deserved to have their Design Star show canceled. They felt Jason's strange furniture and window treatment choices "left them guessing". Nathan was chastised for poor time management and not contributing anything to the room but an entertainment center that wasn't kid-friendly. In the end, Nathan had his Design Star show canceled.

Design Star Family Room Challenge: Final Thoughts

I do wish the Design Star challenges would focus more on design and less on carpentry. While the Olsons seemed happy with their room, I wouldn't exactly be thrilled with painted, pressed board furniture. I also think Torie's idea to incorporate at least a shade of brown into the wall color would have been an improvement to the room; as it was, the only reason Antonio's bold move worked was because of her warming it up with furniture and accessories. Antonio at least did apologize for arguing with Torie about it. If he had explained his stance during the Design Star challenge the same way he did to the judges, there might have been less bickering.

I was sorry to see Nathan go, but he really dropped the ball in this Design Star episode. He had made it clear in previous episodes that he was a designer, not a carpenter, and he should have continued playing to his strengths. I think he was trying to get some of the glory that Dan and Antonio had enjoyed for building items, but it was clear he didn't have the skills to pull off even a simple piece of furniture. The money would have been better spent on an already completed piece of furniture.

Purchasing finished pieces also would have allowed the team more time to focus on accessories and room layout, rather than wasting so much time on building. I'm hoping the next Design Star challenge allows the remaining designers to work more on space planning and décor rather than construction.

Check out: HGTV Design Star Kids' Room Challenge Recap

Watch Design Star on HGTV, Sunday nights at 10/9c.