TV REVIEW: The Last Days of Top Design

Last night ended a really crazy episode of Top Design. I was hard put to select a winner -- until they selected a winner. Then it became clear to me whom I would have selected, and it was definitely not Nathan.

Preston Lee would definitely have received my vote for Top Designer. He was not one of my favorite people throughout the show, but there is no doubt that he is a very talented designer who creates beautifully polished rooms. He did have a few missteps, and his rooms don't quite have a trademark or a stamp to them, but overall, his house was rock-solid. The design was there, and the aesthetic was there.

Ondine Karady rightfully did not win. Her house really was an excellent representation of herself, and she has some moments of genius, but as a collection of rooms, it was more Garanimal than Gymboree. Yes, you CAN segue from this room into that room, but it's not smooth, Some of her best rooms, like the children's room and the office, seemed a little at odds with the rest of the house.

And Nathan Thomas? I love Nathan to death, and he was my favorite to win, but his house was a little... off. That wallpaper in the hall was godawful, and Margaret Russell was right: move the durned sarcophagus! This is $100,000 at stake! I also agreed with the judges when they said that the foyer had no real value. I couldn't see anything that you could possibly do in that room. Except resist the urge not to spin the wheels on the kinetic sculpture all day... I could play with that thing all day.

I think in the end what it boiled down to was a sense of design identity. Preston's beautiful rooms were simply no match for design playfulness and innovation. The shortcomings in Nathan's rooms were willing to be overlooked by the judges because his "touches" were simply fabulous: his painting for the dining room, his kinetic sculptures, and the infamous "Wall of Ex-Boyfriends," as Jonathan Adler puts it.

So now that the season is over, it is of course time to hand out a few awards:

Best Couple: Nathan and Wisit

Most Compelling Argument Against Gender-Identification: Wisit

Most Gay References by an Actor: Eddie

Most Likely to Make You Spit Out Your Coffee With His Comments: Eddie

Most Hideous Fashion Sense: Kelly Wearstler (I don't care if she's a designer; that outfit for the futuristic style room was the ugliest thing I have seen in a long time. It belongs on somebody's hall of shame. And the Bride of Frankenstein crimped updo... ugh...)

Best Change Since Season I: Adding India Hicks -- Todd Oldham is great, but he's a much better Tim Gunn than Heidi Klum

Worst Change Since Season I: Pop Design (give those people a break, already!)

Least Congenial: Preston

Most Likely to Pack It In and Make Pretty Houses For Soccer Moms: Andrea Schroeder

Most Likely To Be Promoted When They Get Home: Eddie (for his gratuitous Martha references)

Best Host: Nathan (I can't wait for Top Design Tokyo!)

Most Likely To Catch A Really Bad Cold: Preston (all that cold air hitting those plunging V-neckline t-shirts)