Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » project runway: is that it?

i know that set directors are hard working people and that i generally avoid negative comments on d*s (there’s enough snarkyness on the web already) but this dropped in my inbox and i had to sort of shrug my shoulders and say- what happened to interesting, creative set decoration on tv shows? i know that budgets are probably tight and perhaps shows are limited by the buildings they use to shoot (does anyone work on this show and know?) but when i saw the promo shots for the new project runway apartment i was felt a little well, disappointed. i’ve always wondered why a show about design (albeit fashion) has housing that looks like a generic background shoot for a modern furniture catalog. again, i’m sure these set decorators are really very nice people and work hard but i’d really love to see them flex their creative muscles some more. remember this? i just want to see some fun, over-the-top stuff- and what better show for that than this one? (how i wish they’d run with that wall pattern and done something really spectacular) i’d love to see the designers do the decoration, or somehow incorporate local artists/designers in the decoration process. anyway, i’ll be tuning in tonight to see what the rest of the plae looks like. are there any other great set interiors (besides my beloved mad men) i’m missing on tv these days? my steady diet of jon and kate plus 8 and family guy doesn’t put me in the realm of great interiors right now…

i don’t know if you have ever seen the show “Dexter” on showtime. Aside from being one of my most favorite shows EVER, I am IN LOVE with his apartment. it’s clean contemporary in hues of blue and gray, plantation shutters, frosted glass windows that have that mini-blind effect (i don’t know what they’re called). And there are these shelves that just steal every scene, they look like a big white “V” built into the room. And the railing outside of his apartment is super cute too!

i just want to see them run with something on a grand scale- it’s such an over the top show i think it would lend itself well to something a little “wow”. i’m sure they have corporate sponsors that provide the furniture but i wish they’d use a bit more creative flair.

maybe they could combine my other favorite show- flipping out- with this one and have crazy-fun jeff lewis decorate. oooh…

grace

no covers on duvets is just so lazy and slovenly. it’s like not putting sheets on your mattress, or covers on your pillow cases. who would do that?

i second dexter, and then there’s also weeds, the riches, the tudors, californication, and… battlestar galactica. seriously. it’s fantastic. i could keep going. there is so much great TV right now.

it is always a possibility that the designers will have to tear the room apart and use everything as raw materials in one of the challenges. maybe PR didn’t want to spend a lot of money and effort on rooms that will ultimately be destroyed. regardless, i completely agree, that the rooms are just plain ugly.

i am also totally in love with Mad Men and have serious furniture envy every time i watch … can’t wait for season 2!

in that these rooms (in function) are little more than dorm rooms, i can’t really complain. the focus of project runway is the clothes, so the spare living spaces don’t bother me. it seemed like last season so little time was spent in the apartments anyway. if it’s a question of budget, i’d rather see the contestants get to spend more cash at mood!

Hi Grace. I just wanted to let you know how glad I am to see that this sponge is taking on a more critical side on its comments. I believe an informed, true and well-meaning critic is totally admissible and much appreciated. It’s not that we start criticising everything without a background, but I think we need to read more strong and balanced opinions. Just like this post. Well done!

I also love my plain white comforters. I have duvet covers — one of which is plain white — but it makes me crazy the way everything gets all tangled up. The velcro tabs don’t do it for me. I do wash my comforter regularly, and I’m quite sure I’m not a sloven.

I kinda agree with Erin about duvet covers. Just get a white one Kate!

But OMG! Flipping Out is the BEST show on tv now. Poor Jenni! That footage of her getting the news was heartbreaking. My husband was watching and said, “this is about her husband breaking the rules about the computer? I mean is it THAT bad?” and I said, “This is not about the computer.”

I even loved those little bungalows Jeff rents. Finley? Cute!

I really am unsure as how to respond here but I feel that as a reality show art director I must speak. While I agree with the rug feeling wrong for the room I will fill you all in on some of what goes on “backstage” if you will. Oftentimes my designer and I will create beautiful and off-the-wall interiors only to have the executive producers walk through at 9pm the night before we are set to shoot. They will hate anything that is perhaps outside their realm and will change possibly major color choices and curtains that before completed the look. They will say,”can the curtains be blue?” and your face, exhausted from decorating an entire mansion in about a week with local untrained and underpaid assistants, will drain and just nod. “sure blue,” you turn to your assistant “Walmart is 24 hours right?”
Also, budget is a huge concern. I do agree that the Apprentice set is jam packed with amazing pieces but she has a staff of people who’s entire job is to get things for free! Yep, I worked on a show with those guys and lemme tell ya it’s great to be able to get amazing stuff for free. But without that guy on the phone to Area linens you end up with free stuff from a big box store.
But I do think that there is a creativity that arises from such restrictions and a good designer will sweat and bleed for good design. Ah but my parting words, sometimes the producers don’t deserve good design and they get the crap we serve up if we feel abused.

yeah, this season the apartment is especially BLAH. might have something to do with the fact that the producers of Project Runway are moving the show from Bravo to Lifetime next season. there’s virtually no promotion for the upcoming season. i’m sure Bravo is spending as little money as possible!

I love the set design for Mad Men. I read that the director is so careful to make it look realistic, that they could have all furniture that is from the early ’60s, but they purposely mix in a lot from the ’50s because in reality not everything everyone has is new. You always have old stuff around.
In terms of reality tv decor I LOVE the Beauty and the Geek mansion. This past season was all Jonathan Adler inspired.

I think that the great joy of PR was that it differed from the other reality shows because you had to have talent rather than an outrageous personnality althoug of course some have both. Therefore you didn’t have to make the place look fab to make a great show. All they show of the rooms are the bathrooms with people doing their hair.
Sadly any move from Braovo to Lifetime is like a kiss of death - welcome to the world of MDF.

love jon and kate plus 8!

I think they were off to an okay start - the green wall pattern, the pink walls, the light fixtures…it just went horribly wrong somewhere around the bedding, the window treatments and the carpet tiles.

Is that one of those $10 Parsons-esque side tables from Ikea? Oh dear.

I feel that you can do a great design on a small budget if you really flex your creative muscle. Cheap and chic is pretty much my way of life, I’m a ‘fake it, til you make it ‘girl… Plus, that room above does feel really lazy to me, like they sent a PA to Ikea, and slapped some wallpaper on the wall. Boring and clashy.

i love a white duvet too. and amen to “i wouldn’t care if they slept in cardboard refrigerator boxes!”
on the other hand…
it WOULD be awesome if there were some too-amazing-to-be-believed interiors just for the inspiration. but this show IS about the clothes. besides, there is nothing –nothing– worse than oohing and aahing over a stunning interior (rare, but work with me) only to watch it be turned into a pigsty by its slovenly reality show inmates. in defense of the project runway contestants, i cannot recall that they have been guilty of this behaviour. but one can imagine that the knowledge that one’s amazing design will be thoroughly trashed at some point, could be a major inspiration/creativity-killer for a designer.

Not in set design but in LA, in entertainment (in other areas). I do know people in the field, not on this show as it is in NY. Basically it comes down to budget and what you will see on-screen. Your production budget goes to what will be seen - if eyes are going to be on it - more time is spent. And as anon stated, sometimes someone high up dislikes a color “just cause” and everything changes quickly/cheaply.

The cliche is “money is on the screen”. The focus isn’t the dorms, so they are really not a big consideration. I realize that decor is your profession, but the shows focus is elsewhere. A production budget and schedule is limited and choices are made. You really can’t hold this up to judgement/standards outside of the show.

took your suggestion and checked out MAD MEN (there was a marathon of the first season yesterday) and OMG i’m in LOVE. The set design just took my breathe away. The only thing i didn’t like was the bizarre yellow-y wood panelling in Betty & Don’s house. Other than that I was blown away! Thanks for turning me onto this great show!

i wanted to chime in that the pushing daisies sets are amazing- very amelie-esque, so stylized and fun! and a set for a recent movie that i loved was dan in real life. the rhode island (?) cabin was Amazing.

it’s obvious from the pieces they chose that they were on a tight budget, but that doesn’t excuse or explain the poor color choices. it’s not cohesive at all. no amount of budget squeezing can justify putting that carpet with those walls.

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