Sound Off: Design Star 3 vs. Top Design 2

Season 3 of Design Star starts Sunday, June 8. Do you care?

I did Tivo Season 2 of HGTV's ratings juggernaut, and enjoyed it well enough. (Though I think winner Kim Myles' new home-makeover show, Myles of Style, is disappointing.) But I can't work up much enthusiasm for Season 3. I dunno -- the cast looks pretty cheesy, for one. And the location: Umm, Nashville? I'm sure it's a beautiful city, but I don't exactly think of it as a design center. I predict lots of has-been country singers getting their basement rec rooms re-done by the eager contestants. Zzzzz ...

Personally, I'm more excited for Season 2 of Bravo's Top Design. I love me some Jonathan Adler, and can't wait to see the atrociously entertaining hairstyles and getups Ms. Kelly Wearstler trots out this season, what sort of politely veiled bitchery Elle Decor's Margaret Russell dishes up, and what we can expect from new host India Hicks. (But I wish they had lost the painfully awkward and wooden Todd Oldham.) Oh, and we can't forget the return of Tom & Lorenzo's deliciously vicious postmortems of each episode. When's the premiere, oh Bravo gods? I am so there.

What about you? Will you watch the new seasons of Design Star or Top Design -- or give both a pass?

P.S. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Shameless Plug: My "Faucet Trends" Article on HGTV

When it comes to faucets, shoppers suddenly seem to have a choice of everything, well, for the kitchen sink.

The hottest trends include the rise of modern, minimalist designs and utilitarian-chic faucets worthy of professional kitchens. What's more, the newest faucets feature better functionality, more novel shapes, and a broader assortment of finishes than ever before.

See the latest designs -- and get tips for zeroing in on the styles, finishes, and features that will work best for you -- right here.

That's Random: My Chairs on HGTV

Nick and I were catching up on our Tivoed home shows this weekend when I did a double-take.

We were watching a new HGTV show called "Find Your Style," in which a designer helps homeowners figure out their aesthetic and create a room that better reflects it than the mish-mash they're currently living with. (God knows that we could use some help in that department.)

Anyway, something about one of the homeowners on the episode we were viewing -- as well as something about the room they were re-doing -- seemed naggingly familiar.

Then it hit me: A few months ago, I'd sold a pair of Danish modern armchairs via craigslist to the female half of the couple -- the exact chairs that were now sitting in their living room. I'd bought the chairs on eBay and really liked them, but the truth was we really didn't have a place for them in our home. Plus, they had a couple of missing buttons that, for whatever reason, I just couldn't deal with at the time. The chairs were relegated to the garage, where they sat for awhile before we decided to do a purge.

So I let them go -- and now here they were, looking quite handsome in someone else's house. I felt an immediate pang of seller's remorse.

Of course, the chairs were among the first things to be kicked to the curb when designer Karen McAloon helped the homeowners edit the room's contents (just as my kids gleefully predicted they would be). And I had to admit that the finished project did look a lot better than the pre-makeover space did.

But still, those chairs were pretty awesome. I wish I hadn't parted with them.

What became of the teak armchairs? "They're in the garage," the couple laughed.

Hmmm -- do you think they'd let me buy then back?

Cool Tool: Auction Sniper

It’s a common mistake among eBay newbies: You spot something you just have to have, bid on it right away, and keep upping the ante whenever an interloper tries to top you. You may win the auction, but chances are you’ll pay more than you want to -- and you could still get outbid at the last minute.

When it comes to bidding (and winning) on eBay, it turns out that the key word is "wait." Think of this so-called "sniping" as a game of strategy: Keep your poker face on as long as possible, biding your time to make a move, then put in your best bid at the last moment so your competitors don’t have time to knock you out of the winner’s seat.

Of course, if you’d rather not be chained to your computer or set your alarm to catch the end of that 4 a.m. auction, an online service called Auction Sniper can do the dirty work for you.

Here's how it works: Simply type in the auction number for the item you’re eyeing, set your maximum bid, and forget about it (although you can always go back to raise or lower your bid, or cancel the snipe altogether). Auction Sniper will automatically place your bid for you during the auction's last few seconds.

You'll have to fork over a small commission on winning bids -- typically 1 percent of the final cost -- but it's a small price to pay for not letting that great piece get away. Find out more right here.

(And, lest anyone think I'm taking kickbacks from Auction Sniper, here are a few comparable services to check out as well: Bidnapper, BidRobot, eSnipe, I Snipe It, and PowerSnipe. Feel free to add your own favorites in the comments area. I just happen to use, and like, Auction Sniper.)

For more tips on snagging great finds for your home on eBay, see my HGTV article.

Shameless Plug: My "Coffee Table Tips" Piece on HGTV

How long has that group of tired tchotchkes been gathering dust on your coffee table, so familiar to you that you barely even notice them anymore? Or maybe your table has the opposite problem: Used as a repository for nothing more than the TV listings, the remote control, and the odd coaster or two, it’s not exactly adding to the aesthetic appeal of the room.

Time to try something new and put your coffee table to work showcasing treasures that will surprise and delight you and your visitors every time you see them.

Not sure where to start? Click here to read my HGTV article and to get expert tips on "tablescaping."

Shameless Plug: My "Shelf Decorating Guide" on HGTV

My latest opus for HGTV.com: "Transform bland bookcases and wall shelves into stunning displays with 13 top-shelf decorating tips from interior designers."

You can read the article right here.

(Hint: Sharp-eyed readers may recognize one of the interior designers I quoted, Megan Samuels, as the blogger behind the always lovely and amusing BeachBungalow8.)

And don't miss all the great shots of viewers' beautifully accessorized shelves pulled from the new HGTV Decorating flickr pool. There's lots of wonderful, real-life inspiration to be found there.

By the way, apologies for all of the "shameless plugs" I've subjected you to of late. I promise that after one more article goes up shortly, it will be very, very quiet on the self-promoting front for awhile ...

(Any editors out there? Call me! ;-)

Shameless Plug: My "Bedroom Design DON'TS" Article on HGTV

Another article by yours truly is up on the Home & Garden Television website:

From choosing the wrong wall color to outfitting a room for everything but restful sleep, discover ten typical bedroom-design mistakes -- and how to avoid them.

Read the article right here.

Shameless Plug: My "Bedroom Feng Shui" Article on HGTV

Do you feng shui? I confess that I'm a bit of a skeptic.

But while researching my latest article for HGTV, "Feng Shui Your Bedroom," I was won over by the fact that -- whether or not you buy into feng shui's underlying philosophies -- many of its principles simply make good design sense.

Click here to read the article, and to discover simple feng shui strategies that will turn your chaotic and uninspiring bedroom into a serene and sensual sanctuary.

Book Giveaway!

I’m wrapping up an article on how to “Feng Shui Your Bedroom” for HGTV, and have a stack of feng shui books that I’ve been reading for reference.

Following the good feng shui practice of clearing the clutter and passing along the items you no longer need, I’d decided to give the books away to my blog readers -- and to get some food for thought for my next HGTV assignments at the same time.

(The titles I’m giving away include Feng Shui Your Life by Jayme Barrett, Feng Shui for Dummies by David Daniel Kennedy, The Western Guide to Feng Shui Room by Room by Terah Kathryn Collins, The Everything Feng Shui Book by Katina Z. Jones, and Feng Shui Dos & Taboos by Angi Ma Wong.)

Here’s the deal: I’m gathering ideas for a pair of HGTV articles on how to accessorize coffee tables and shelves. So email me a good-quality digital photo of a coffee table-scape, a floating shelf accessory arrangement, or a bookshelf vignette that you’ve done, along with a brief write-up of how you chose the accessories you did and how you came up with the arrangement (your first name and general location would be helpful as well). Deadline: Monday, June 25.

I’ll share five great ideas here on the blog (and possibly in the HGTV article as well) and send an almost brand-new feng shui book to each of the generous souls who contributed them.

Looking forward to seeing your design genius at work!

Shameless Plug: My Article on Open-Plan Design on HGTV

If you're lucky enough to live in a loft or a home without a lot of walls carving up the public rooms, you know that pulling together these wide-open spaces presents as many design challenges as it does opportunities.

In that case, click on over to Home & Garden Television's website to read my new article on open-plan design, which is packed with expert tips on creating a cohesive and beautiful open space.

One of the most exciting things for me in working on this piece was having the opportunity to chat with Kenneth Brown, host of HGTV's reDesign. Of all the HGTV designers, he's the one I have the biggest design crush on (that's his own fabulous Santa Monica loft, above), and he was just as nice and down-to-earth in person as he is on TV.

Anyway, you can find the article here.

Objects of Lust: Seltzer Bottle Pendants

My friend and former boss Anne Krueger (she's the "Design Scout" for HGTV.com) just wrote about these lovely pendant lights from Robert Redford's Sundance Catalog, and I couldn't resist sharing them here.

Made from authentic Prohibition-era silver seltzer bottles, the pendants feature keyhole "windows" that cast light patterns onto nearby surfaces. Wouldn't a trio of them look fab over a kitchen island or table?

Now the bad news: At $395 each, they don't come cheap. But I have a feeling that something similar wouldn't be terribly hard to fashion yourself. Just pick up some vintage seltzers (I see them all the time at flea markets, antique shops, and on eBay for just a few bucks). Then cut the bottles in half (any tips from you crafty types on how to do that?) and rig them up with hardware-store hanging lamp kits (or have the folks at your local lamp-repair shop do it for you).

Voila -- your own affordable, speakeasy-style pendants.

Shameless Plug: New Article on HGTV.com

My piece on "Family-Friendly Design" -- with DOs and DON'Ts for creating a space that will stand up to family life and still look fabulous -- just went up on the HGTV website. Check it out here.