Million Dollar Decorators: Episode 1

 

Mary McDonald and Nate Turner arrive for Kathryn Ireland's birthday party bearing quite a cake!

Okay, so my initial thoughts on MDD Episode 1: These designers all took an incredibly huge risk in doing this show. They risk looking unprofessional, ungrateful and unkempt. On the other hand, how many of us, when under considerable stress, would look and act great with cameras trailing around after us 100% of the time? When I blogged on Bravo's Top Design, the designers on those shows had relatively little public profile - the were all professionals, but not quite big names either. Twitter and FB didn't play a big role, but this time, the people tweeting and commenting are a highly professional and dedicated group of professional designers (some with as big, or bigger careers than those on the show). And, the initial commentary is a very mixed bag indeed.  Many negative comments were flying via public tweet and private message. These shows are produced because they are dramatic and there's big business in drama. Mix the drama with celebrity (Sharon Osborn plays a big role in epi 1) and million dollar budgets and BravoTV is in pig heaven. Professional designers all seem a bit leary - will this make the rest of us look bad? Will the long held negative stereotypes of our industry (stereotypes regarding blown budgets, overbearing decorators and clients not getting what they want) be reinforced? Or, will we see real people, warts and all, just trying to satisfy a demanding clientele? After all, Sharon O seemed completely unfazed at making Martyn Lawrence Bullard completely decorate a new apartment in a matter of days. And, one wonders, what other client's work was pushed aside in order to accomplish this feat? Time will tell. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Meanwhile, here's a round up of places to go to hear what others are saying:

Tweet-a-palooza! 

There were three tweet hashtags going on during episode one. A little crazy, but some of the best commentary comes in less than 140 characters. I highly recommend using TweetChat.com because it makes following all the aggregated tweets so much easier, plus, it appends the hashtag on automatically.

#mddbravotv (the one I use) http://tweetchat.com/room/mddbravotv

#mdd  http://tweetchat.com/room/mdd

and 

#milliondollardecorators  http://tweetchat.com/room/milliondollardecorators

Mary McDonald is shocked that her clients are getting a divorce and are selling the house that MM not only decorated, but also considers her own.

Some of my favorite tweets: 

@amandawaas: Here's a tip: never let anyone with the word "teen" in their age plan a party. All you'll end up with is a bag of Fritos and tears. #mdd -11:21 PM May 31st, 2011

whitwestbrook Whitney A. Westbrook

#MDD Yay! Looks like real design stress in upcoming episodes! When I saw the antique tile being destroyed, I threw up a little. Good sign.

ErikaatBluLabel Erika Ward

Ok, so Sharon Osbourne is the highlight of the show. They should bring her back next week, no? #MDDBravotv 

@vickinoe I AM having a cocktail while watching this #mddbravotv. Much easier to watch that way #mddbravotv

karidesigns Kari Fisher

at least amongst the silly decorator personalities, they are showing the hardworking design assistants #MDD #madlovebehindthescenes

 Ross Cassidy (JAM's bf and assistant) and Jeffry Alan Marks disagree on a Martyn Lawrence Bullard fabric. 

Textiles flying and eyeballs rolling!

And the designers own Twitter handles: @MARYMCDONALDINC  @MartynBullard   jeffreymarksinc @KathrynMIreland  @nathanturner and @NTurnerDesign 

In others' words: recaps from the blogosphere: (this section may be added to throughout the week, so check back!)

Design Blahg - THE funniest captions
Raina Cox on Curbed offers her designers' eye and knows the difference between Eames and van der Rohe, unlike a certain $$$$$$$$$ decorator 

Will you be back for Episode Two?

Who is your favorite designer so far?
	Kathryn M. Ireland
	Mary McDonald
	Martyn Lawrence Bullard
	Jeffrey Alan Marks
	Nate Turner
pollcode.com free polls

 

Who was your favorite non-designer charachter?
	Ross Cassidy (JAM's bf and assistant)
	4 pug dogs (Mary McD's)
	Kathryn Ireland's French Housekeeper
	Kathryn Ireland's sons
	Sharon Osborne
pollcode.com free polls

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks!

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