They even came out with a coffee table book!

Last fall I worked on Real Life: The Musical,  a show on the OWN network about surprising loved ones in song and dance. Sort of like flash mobs meets Glee. I was super excited when I got the call because I LOVE shows about singing and dancing. When i was a kid, I was kind of obsessed with Star Search and Jem and the Holograms. Nowadays, when I have access to TV,  I flip back and fourth between The Voice and X Factor, though I find both of them sub-par to their respective British equivalents. What is it about British vocalists? They’re SO GOOD. Anyway I digress…

The show was shot at a wonderful, new dance studio in LA. It had a private entrance, tons of space, great bones, and brand new floors, so all it really just needed some furniture, decor and wall art.

I had a fantastic time working on this gig. The crew was one of the nicest, most efficient groups I’ve ever worked with, led by my brilliant exec producer friends, Annie Price & Greg Moscot. Big thanks to the art crew Aaron, Andrea, and Carl for working super hard and being awesome.

Rendering of the vocal studio. Sometimes I start sketching out some ideas and I get really into it and before you know it, the whole set is drawn out (in photoshop), and the final product ends up looking very much like the initial rendering. This project was a good example of that. So was the facade of my parents house.

Tony and Aleece came on board for a bit!

Andrea, Aaron, & Carl building wood slats for the courtyard.

Cinderblock bench!

The exterior was was SO big and so white. We used vinyl sticky “stone” tiles to break it up. Working in TV has made me appreciate all things vinyl. Vinyl siding, vinyl tiles, vinyl wood flooring, vinyl decals… they’re cheap, easy to install, and virtually indestructible.

Aaron set dressing the vocal studio.

I really loved this entrance. You know me, I’m a sucker for typography and signage. I have FastSigns on speed dial.

Some screen grabs and promo photos from the actual show! I did not take these pics.

Earlier this year I had the privilege of working on Sweet Genius 2, a competition show on the Food Network where host Ron Ben-Israel challenges master pastry chefs to create inspired desserts out of unconventional ingredients. I watch the show, and a lot of the creations are incredible. I’ll never forget the episode where one lady had to make a dessert inspired by sand that contained coffee beans and bone marrow!  She painted a piece of bone with dark chocolate so it looked like driftwood and made 3 different flavored sands that were spilled over the wood. My description does not do it justice…it was brilliant.  I’m amazed by people that can dream up culinary creations in seconds. I can’t even decide what to eat for breakfast in seconds.

The set from Season 1 was pulled out of storage and our goal for Season 2 was to transform it into a bright, lush, and whimsical wonderland while maintaining a sophisticated look that’s a signature of host Chef Ron Ben-Israel. You should google him to see some of his cakes. They are 100 times more detailed and impressive in person.

Huge thanks to Keith, Erin, Grover, and Markel, Sarah, Leah, and Lauren for all of your help!

First things first, new paint. From gunmetal/brown to periwinkle/silver.

Go Grover, go!

Stripes remind me of French bakeries.

Keith “surgeon hands” Garvey.

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I love meeting Project Runway fans because they are always super enthusiastic and loyal. Most people who watch it LOVE it and say something to the extent of “I’m a Project Runway junkie,” or “I’m obsessed, I’ve never missed an episode.”  The show pioneered artistic/creative reality competitions, and after 9 seasons, it’s no surprise that they decided to do an all stars season. The All Stars finale aired last week, and if you missed it, you can check out some full episodes on the website.  This season’s set featured a new shiny runway, new interview set, and pearly rainbow work room.

New shiny white runway! I took those pictures in the back. They’re abstract pics of NYC architecture.

New interview set with squares! I love geometry.

Wonder how we pulled off this look? LOTS of paint colors, and LOTS of tape, applied by the steady hands of our friends Vin & Janell of Blue Swan Painters.

The glorious return of tape baby!

Big shout out to Katherine D., Luis, Keith, Andrea, Katherine, and Erin. And big thanks to the awesome production team for supporting us and making a great show!

Most of you know by now that I’m kind of schitzo when it comes to my work. I do TV shows, I design websites, I take pictures, I make beanies etc. People often ask me what I like to do the most, and interiors for reality TV are definitely my favorite projects to work on. I’ve noticed a pattern; the more outrageous the show the show, the funner the set. (When I was a kid “funner” was not a word. But now it is.)

Last summer I got to work on Love Games 3 with many of my favorite designer friends. It’s a rowdy dating show about 3 Bad Girls in a mansion and the 13 guys trying to win their affections. The season has already aired, but you can watch many of the episodes here.

For this show, the idea was to transform the house into an exotic beach retreat. It was a grand group effort and we managed to design and build tons of ambitious projects in a short amount of time. Big high five to Rick G., Katherine D., Katherine L.,  Laura, Jake + awesome builder guys, Chris, Niles, Aaron, and Heather. GO ART DEPARTMENT! May our unicorn flag fly high with pride!

Everything is more awesome when covered in sequins. Thanks Tony for building this beast, and Katherine and Heather for melting all the skin off your little fingers to make it sparkle. :)

All beach houses should be near water. No water in sight? Build a moat. BAM.

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