Top Design - "Room of the Future" (Episode 207)

Next season, the designers will work on Kelly!

It's time for another "deloosh" hour with our remaining six designers (none of whom are Wisit - I miss my little singing angel already!) Nathan missed him almost as much as I did. He also couldn't believe he didn't win the eco-office challenge, especiallty since the judges had nothing negative to say about his space. Andrea missed her family once again and read some letters her kids wrote for her before she left. She is proud of herself for making it this far. So's Preston.

India promises the designers that they're about to face their "toughest challenge" yet. They've all been put in an imaginary time machine and have arrived in the year 2108. The challenge is to design the room of the future. They're starting with a raw three-walled space, with paint, fabric and wall coverings to work with. They get 45 minutes to plan with their carpenters before they head out on a shopping spree for furniture and accessories. They've got a $7,000 budget and two and a half days to realize their "vision." Eddie really wants a fireplace, because he thinks it's "chic." His "vision" is the lobby for "The Golden Clone" - a cloning agency. Wants to reduce the chance of "busted kids." He's having his carpenter build extra-high bench seating by his "chic" fireplace, because in Eddie's future, there are no midgets. Andrea is overwhelmed, but manages to come up with the concept of a pod/spaceship you could live in (or, as she put it, a "motor home that flies.") She thinks she's destined to fail and decides to fulfill her design fantasy and do a pink, super-girly room, dammit! Ondine also thinks fireplaces are going to play a huge part in the world's future. She can't help but think about global warming (so why would you need a fireplace? Wouldn;t it be warm enough?) Her concept is a traditional living/dining room with built-in fans and a "cooling fireplace." Huh? Natalie immediately equated the future with "The Jetsons" (why wouldn't she?) and played off the concept of circles and hydraulic floors. She also automatically went to every god-awful metallic wallpaper. Preston's concept is "a modern hotel traveling in space." He's really got a thing for hotels, doesn't he? He concludes that his concept reflects a lot of his own personal style, which was "good." Nathan wants to frame everyday objects to make them look like "artifacts." He wants "bold strokes of design" against black walls and imagines his space as a "hip, flashy hangout." The carpenter jokes that when they're all done, they could kick back with a beer. Nathan jokes that he'll bring the beer. That boy has never had a beer in his life, but I bet he could bring a kick-ass wine to the party!

The carpenters started to work while the designers headed to the local Jo-Ann Fabrics - because nothing says "future-thinking" like Jo-Ann Fabrics. Nathan hit the styrofoam aisle, envisioning some cool topiaries. Eddie was familiar with the fabric store chain, equating it with "gold Keds and stirrup pants, with a sweatshirt that says 'Gramdma Loves Her Grandchildren'." Eddie has gotten so bitchy over the past couple of weeks, hasn't he? After the jaunt to Jo-Ann, the gang head to Modernica to pick up some "iconic 20th century modern pieces" for their spaces. Eddie said they needed to find some "bang for their buck" - and immediately dropped $1495 (each!) on some gaudy orange chairs. Andrea fell in love with a marble table and decided to base her whole "pod" on that singular piece of furniture. Preston chose pieces that were what he felt fit the mold of "classic, clean hotel-type furniture pieces." Eddie thinks Preston isn't "super-creative" and seems to have his needle stuckm on this whole "hotel" look. The designers than head to the studio with four hours to work - and they all begin painting. Eddie splatters the walls with red paint - making the second "American Psycho" reference of the series. Himself. Creepy. Ed's got some major issues. Ondine's future is slightly "dreary" - featuring grey walls and traditional wallpaper. Natalie is a bit more positive, opting for psychadelic colors and a more fun, bright palatte. Nathan doesn't think that the future is going to be all "Jetsons" and "love, love, love, loves" his black walls. Right after this, he discovers that Preston also has black walls. Oops. Eddie says Preston has always been a "one-upper." Nathan and Preston even have the same flooring design. Uh-oh.

It's day two, and the gang head out to Ikea for some furnitute shopping. Ondine says an hour isn't nearly enough time and lost one of the many lists she wrote up for her shopping. She's freaking out - and she's driving the other designers crazy. Ondine grabbed whatever she could in last-minute attempt to accessorize her space. Back at the studio, the carpenters have been busting their asses. Nathan's carpenter is putting up box frames to hold on to "items from the past, like plates (which, I'm assuming play no role in Nathan's future.) Natalie's space is kind of looking like a bad strip club. What's worse is Eddie pretending to be interested in Natalie's wares. You're not fooling anyone, dude. Eddie said that if he had to make one human being from the remaining designers, he'd merge "Natalie's boobs, Andrea's body, Preston's lips, Ondine's body, Nathan's height and everyone's sense of humor." Suuure you would. Todd showed up for some general mentoring/no help whatsoever. He tells Natalie that she should "manipulate" the furniture she got from Ikea. He told Eddie that he made a "bold move" with his spatter technique. He truly has nothing to contribute. But I'd hang with him in a heartbeat!

India shows up and surprises the designers with a "pop design." Jonathan asks the designers questions that test their design knowledge. The winner gets immunity. Tonight's topic is "Real versus Remake," where the designers have to determine what is the designer original and which is the knock-off. Everyone survives the first round and in round two, Eddie and Andrea fail to pick out the designer chair (I failed too.) Nathan and Ondine end up being the last two standing. They are faced with four lamps, and they have to determine which is the most expensive. Ondine recognized one of the lamps as a Jonathan Adler original and seems to have all of the others pegged as well - including a vintage desk lamp. Ondine goes with Jonathan's design and Nathan goes with the vintage lamp. The winner of the pop design is Nathan. Jonathan's lamp goes for $395, while the vintage light fixture retails for $1,200. For a lamp? Nathan is glad he once again won immunity. Everyone scrambles to finish their spaces in the last hour of the challenge.
 Pieces kept falling off of Andrea's elaborate, assemble-it-yourself Ikea chandelier. Ondine spilled paint all over her floor and thought her space was a complete "cluster f**k." Andrea didn't know how much fight she had left in her. Natalie feels confident about her design. Andrea...not so much. Eddie tries to cheer her up - which is the first non-antisocial thing he's done in weeks. There's only 90 minutes left to work before judging. Eddie asserted that his cloning center was...you guessed it..."a-maz-ing!" he said he'd love to clone himself because, "I can't get enough of me." Preston gave the illusion of his futuristic hotel room being in space by framing pictures of silver, spray-painted stars on the wall (not overly fond of Preston,but loved this idea!) Natalie, who installed a faux, non-functional handle on the wall, was glad her space didn't look like a strip club anynore. Andrea thinks her space screams "her" and confesses that she and Ondine (seen dropping - and breaking - a chair) were particularly challenged. Nathan said that when stressed, Ondine was like a "road runner on acid." Ondine spilled varnish all over Eddie's space and desperately tried to clean it up.

Kelly has shown up in another one of her signature outfits that none of us would ever be caught dead in (a bizarre turban, green shoes, navy ankle socks and what could best be described as a "cookie monster" dress) along with the other judges (ummm...what is an "iconic potter" anyway, Jonathan?) for the judging. Natalie's "hydraulic living space" seemed overwhelmed by a non-moving bookcase. She says it was a "small, modern space with a chic style about it," utilizing "fun" colors she wouldn't use everyday. There's no daylight in Ondine's future. She thinks her grey tones are "elegant." The judges don't appear to be buying what she's got to sell. Eddie was really proud of his "Golden Clone" room. Jonathan loved the furniture plan and Ed was actually able to cover for Ondine's spill ("Accidents happen.") Kelly loved Eddie's golden "DNA scuplture" over the fireplace. Even though Nathan was safe, he displayed some great ideas in his "bachelor pad of the future," including plates on the walls to create the illusion of "galactic bubbles" and using a paneldesigned to be a cat scratcher for the base of a coffee table. The judges obviously loved his "out of the box" thinking. Preston showed the judges his ho-hum (in my eyes, at least) space, with his "windows" looking out into space. He confessed that his only misdeed was not using a $900 piece of funiture because of space constraints.

Overall, the judges liked the "edge" and "creative exploration" displayed in the designers' rooms. They wanted to ask everyone questions before they picked a winner. Preston said he initially wanted to incorporate blues and oranges into his room, but edited because he didn't want too much color. Kelly thought he should have focused on one room instead of two. As far as Nathan's space, Kelly said she could easily see "Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan sipping teas" in his space, but thought there may have been too many accessories. Nathan agreed and confessed that he didn't know how to edit his look and make it look "finished." Margaret said she didn't see the future in it, but India agreed with Kelly. Ondine had "big ideas" but had problems seeing her vision come to fruition. The judges didn't like the fireplace as the focal point. Margaret thought the fans looked like the "back of an NYC bus." Eddie surprised the judges with his total departure from his usual style. Jonathan didn't like his red-based color scheme. Kelly still loved the "DNA art" over the fireplace but otherwise thought his space was "granny gone wild." As far as Natalie, they judges loved her theme but thought she failed in the execution. Her space just didn't look finished and wasn't planned out. Natalie admitted she had a "space planning issue." Andrea's room was pretty, but was a "room of today" and her focal area was "a void."

Margaret was disappointed in Natalie. She said she had a great theme but didn't execute it properly. Jonathan said she was "green" and wasn't at the level of the other designers. Andrea pod/module concept was "compelling" but Margaret didn't understand (Kelly did) and said she was just being lazy with her interior design. Preston was credited for finising "perfectly every time." Eddie had an answer for every criticism, but was able to change and grow and have fun with it. Ondine created a mood but lacked polish and foundation. Kelly loved Nathan's plates and thoughtful sculptures. Margaret wasn't having the topiaries and framed plates. He's got immunity anywhoo. I'm getting the impression that Natalies only "here for the beer," as she's always caught drinking in the backstage waiting area. (Actually, that makes her my kinda gal. Drink it up girlfriend - just don't speak. Ever.)

Since Nathan has immunity, he gets to crack wise another day. This week's winner is hotel room Preston. Eddie is also safe and can be a-maz-ing for another week. So, which one of the ladies is heading home? Safe Andrea unfocused Ondine? Natalie is heading home - at least she won't be re-writing history anymore (I'm sure she didn't get a warm homecoming from her local Chinese-American club.) Next week Eddie thinks everyting is perfect and Nathan says a lot of variations of "no f-in way."