Are any of you watching the new Bravo series, Million Dollar Decorator?? I have to admit i am pretty excited about this show because of some of the designers they snagged..I mean seriously, Mary McDonald! Kathryn Ireland! (no sweet husband, not the model Kathy Ireland, the designer!;;)
So let’s dish!
First off, I just have to say I am not a fan of the men. Except Nathan Turner, see more on him below. Martyn Lawrence-Bullard. I am not a fan. Lot of people think he is amazing but his manner is justwell, really unattractive to me, I will just leave it at that. Maybe some of it is editing and put on but just well yuck. And he designed the Girls Gone Wild scumbag’s $30 million mansion in Mexico. And he must train his staff on how to care for it, and it may take a lot of “magharettas to get through this..HA HA HA”
[That is “sexy Martyn” on the left, Ireland in the middle and Jeffrey Alan Marks on the end]
The other guy (Marks) is equally annoying (“some days my job seems more important than President of the United States) but i like his office exterior…and i find it interesting that they all seem to know one another and socialize and LIKE each other. We will see how long that lasts, this is BRAVO after all. Of course it seems the issues may be with the clients (Oh wow..that Factor woman is intense, will be interesting what happens with that situation and Kathryn Ireland) Speaking of which, Kathryn Ireland (pictured in the middle above) is just awesome. I have admired her textiles and eclectic style for so long so i was shocked and pleased when i heard she would be on the show.
AND i LOVE JACQUELINE her housekeeper, I mean seriously is she for real or what…its just too fun to see inside Kathryn’s home with her crazy boys and this is housekeeper and her kitchen.
So i love love the color and textiles of Ireland ..like her fabric SAFI SUZANIE below, which i believe is the background on her twitter page, and her layered rooms.
I love when Ireland says “no ones knows more about textiles than me” lol! love. it.
and maybe color too, Kathryn i adore you…and your birthday cake!
Nate did this for her party, see they are friends, this IS REALITY TV..ha, crazy I know, I know its work and scripted but so fun to watch. Speaking of Nate.
I love his shop.
He is so nice and cute and talented. Images below from his website, they are reallly fun and interesting.
Yep. I love his interiors.
I so hope Nate gets more airtime!
And Mary McDonald is so Mary McDonald, just what i expected…i love her. Her style is glossy and glam and not exactly what I love but its perfection AND she doesn’t take herself to seriously no matter how prissy. I love how she dresses and the chunky necklaces and tunics…She is just so darn clever and funny. I think BRAVO wants to edit her to seem reallly witchy but I think she will show her true self..i am sure you know people say Karen from Will&Grace is based on her?!
But the office she did for the fashion designer last week…i did not like it in the end, i wanted to but just didn’t completely feel it…
I think it was the black pin board (not shown it was totally blank too, maybe that was it), loved the floor and drapes and desk (which came from MECOXX?..Houston has a MECOXX!) but i would have done the pinboard in natural flax maybe or at least styled it out, probaly ran out time, but what do I know..SHE is Mary McDonald and i have a feeling that room wasn’t finished..its just reality TV but i love this show! I love when Mary says“people don’t know what they want, I know what they want;;”
And I love that the show is called Million Dollar Decorators, not DESIGNERS…so un ASID, i love it;
So pretty much every week, Martyn name drops, and Mary ignores her clients budgets, and Kathryn mentions her “chest” and acts crazy (she must be more professional and on in person or she would not have built her empire) and cute Nate makes a short appearance in his adorable shop and its great fun!
Recently The Skirted Roundtable, which i adore, had a great discussion of the show here as well as an interview with the amazing Kathryn Ireland…go and listen..its fun and soo interesting! They make great comments! They make great comments like how twitter has been ablaze with well known design names saying the show make designers look bad and that they were rude to their clients, etc..and that it reinforces stereotypes that decorators are only for the super rich..etc..
So stay tuned, it should be interesting..have any of you watched? Thoughts?
i have watched this from the beginning and i love it! so great to see all these fabulous homes! i agree with just about everything you’ve said. the girls are my favorite but i like Nate too and his shop is fantastic! fun post! susan
I’m watching it. I really like it. And I pretty much agree with everything you said about it. I am a little surprised at the names they got on this show. Makes me think they are probably wanting to expand their empires to mass markets. Martyn I am finding entertaining because he is just so outrageous! But, I think I wouldn’t want to spend alot of time with him. My less favorites are Marks and his boyfriend. Especially the boyfriend. He is the most annoying character on there, imo. Kathy Irelend, oh my! I love her style but had no idea she was such an airhead. Still love her style. And I love her too. Love how she was late to her birthday party “because she could be”. But then, she is also late to everyone of her clients meetings it seems too. LOL. At least on the show. We can hope that’s not always the case. Also had to laugh when she protested so much about the timing of the Factor job, but when the woman told her she’d have to go to someone else she agreed to do it. LOL! Mary, yes, I do like her too. She is cute as she can be. Nate said on the show that about the Karen character being based on her. I don’t see it. But, I’ve only seen a few shows so maybe that will come out later. Nate does seem like everyone’s favorite girlfriend doesn’t he? I like him too.
Joe Francis…yikes!! I suppose we could have guessed that he would be such a jerk huh? I will say, his staff did seem to need help. But I think that’s probably because he can’t get properly trained household staff to work for him.
I am wondering what this Factor woman thinks about how she is being portrayed. :eeek:
You know, after watching the show last week I was thinking, I hope they don’t turn this into another show where all they do is fight with each other. But, like you say, it is Bravo.
I LOVE this show! It has really grown on me since the first episode.
As far as stereotypes go I think the decorators behave exactly the way I would expect a Beverly Hills decorator with Beverly Hills clients to act. It’s reality t.v. too- to assume every decorator in the world works like they do seems naive. Lighten up people. It’s all in good BRAVO fun!
I have grown to love MDD. Initially I didn’t think I would be able to get past Martin’s G.I. Joe action figure beard and Thurston Howell III accent. But Mary and Kathryn and cute Nate saved it for me. I know the show is about personalities but I wish it showed more of their work. It is pure fun!
I too have been watching the show since the beginning and love it. can’t wait to see how the beach house turns out because I think Kathryn is going to have a battle on her hands………and was I the only one who noticed that the office Mary did looked an awful lot like hers – right down to the white desk and the fashion prints?
You forgot to mention Jeffrey’s assistant!!! Hello! Gorgeous!! And I usually prefer olive skin and dark features, but that blondie is delish!! 🙂 Jimmy gets all confused with Kathryn the Kathy the swimsuit model too!!
Great review! I agree on every aspect!
Love this… “So pretty much every week, Martyn name drops, and Mary ignores her clients budgets, and Kathryn mentions her “chest” and acts crazy (she must be more professional and on in person or she would not have built her empire) and cute Nate makes a short appearance in his adorable shop and its great fun!”
Mary McDonald is my fave too…I love that same quote she makes. It’s fun to see the ideas in her come to fruition…I think it’s hilarious that her clients don’t trust her…why do they spend the big bucks to hire her then?? : )
I just found the show and was amazed and a little appalled that the Factor woman had hired that faboulous decorator to just put all that furniture in house and THEN was a little snippy wiht the decorator! If it had been me I would have said “Here is all my stuff. I have no idea what to do. I’ll go away for a week and you see what you can do”. In the end it looked beautiful, but I was so tired for Kathryn at the end! Mrs. Factor was quite the client.
I love this show. Jeffrey Alan Marks is my least favorite. I love the rest. Even Martyn. I really do love Mary. I hope they keep the show.
Thanks!! I just set my DVR. I love your review!!
I have been watching and I love it! I agree with you and all the other commentors about the favorites. Love Mary, Nate, and Kathryn (and her fabrics!!), I can somewhat tolerate Martyn but, Jeffrey and his partner really are annoying. Maybe Bravo put them in knowing viewers might react that way and it would create a little tension — all the designers seem to like each other and get along so there is no tension there and what’s a good Bravo show without someone you love to not love?!
Looking forward to the next episode.
Nan
I had to laugh- I did a post about the show too-especially about how much I love Kathryn Ireland. I love when they show her house because it is really looks like a HOME…lived in! Her fabrics and colors are so amazing.
I haven’t quite taken to Mary yet…the first episode I thought she was horrible, but the last couple have gotten better.
I so so so agree about the awful Joe Francis and his house – ugh what jerk!
xo
I haven’t watched, but now I want to. Sounds like it could be great fun.
Am I missing something here? I find the rooms by these decorators to be overdone. I could never relax in rooms like this–way too much sensory overload! However, I love everything that Nancy Fishelson touches. She has a certain restraint and knows when to stop. Her rooms are so peaceful and absolutely gorgeous!
I have become a devoted fan of this show! Disappointed about the Joe Francis estate, but otherwise it’s been fun to watch. I was so surprised by Kathryn Ireland! I have admired her work for years – in House Beautiful & House & Garden, so I was mighty surprised to see her in action. I expected such a proper, serious professional – wow. She is a hoot! I agree with the others re: Ms. Factor. I think she fancied herself a talented amateur decorator and then got stuck trying to figure out what to do with all the furniture she had accumulated.
I am loving MDD. I didn’t think I would like it at first and hadn’t been watching, but my cable went out and I got caught up on all of the episodes on pay-per-view. I Love Mary and Kathryn. That Factor lady is a witch. If you hire someone like Kathryn Ireland you just let her do her thing and mainly because she doesn’t want her name on something her client has screwed around with!!!!!
I love that they call it ‘decorators’, too. My professors from school would FREAK OUT! I got so tired of one instructor saying, ‘If you want to be a decorator you are in the wrong program.’ Then she took us to her house and it looked like some farmer had decorated it, so I quit worrying about what she thought…haha (no offense to farmers. I love farmers!!!)
one word……BRAVOLICIOUS!!!!! Came home from vacation and stayed up to watch all three episodes!! Love how Ireland “pulled” that house together…..honestly, all that stuff!!! Fine line between collector and hoarder…. hahahaha next week should be interesting…..will they finish the beach house on good terms??? xooxoxo
You are so right on with your review of the designers ~ Every time Martyn opens his mouth I think, “which name will he say now?”.
Mary and quirky Kathryn are my favorites, they’re fabulous and I love them!
I so look forward to the show every week — my husband even watches it with me!
Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!!!
“Let’s dish!” …. Holly, I love you! Hahahaha! I, too, am enjoying the show. I am loving Kathryn Ireland … both for her work and her personality … but I also am now convinced I want to move into her home just so I can be perpetually entertained! Mike (my husband) is convinced Martyn’s 5 o’clock is painted on. ((Is it???)) And yes, the Factor heiress is intense … and I cannot stop staring at her face!! It looks LITERALLY like porcelain, and I actually have paused my DVR just to stare at it. Unreal. Fun show!
Haha! Totally agree with you Holly! But I find the show more and more entertaining each week! I think I’m hooked, I enjoy seeing how much they’re willing to drop on a rug too!
Love your assessment of the show. I agree with it too. Nate is adorable. Mary is fun to watch and has amazing personal style. Kathryn seems nutty to me. I am not sure how she has gotten to where she is but her textiles are fabulous so she must work hard off the show. I will admit I have only seen two episodes so maybe I will see more substance from her soon. DO love Jacquleine though.
I agree with the comments on[f the show. I love it! It’s fun to watch something that does not take in to consideration the national debut.
My favorites are Mary,Kathryn and her maid and Nate. I think this show
will be good for another season….and I hope we all have some money to spend on decorating before the next election.
So interested to find your blog about million dollar decorators – it finally reached Australia towards the end of last year and I look forward to the next series. Amazing and in a way refreshing (as I’m not paying for them) that leading decorators, particularly Kathryn and the male pair, appeared so unprofessional. Always late for appointments! Budgets unimportant! Quite incredible. Still some of them are great fun, especially the women, as all agree. But also enjoy Martyn. What’s the problem with his accent?! He is after all British so why expect him to sound American! The name dropping is all just part of the fun. Yes the Factor woman was a real pill – seemed totally uptight all the time, not good when she was so pregnant.
this show is my guilty pleasure!! i love watching the show, it gets my creative juices flowing. my favorite is kathryn ireland too. her designs are so dreamy and i can envision myself living in one of her designs. i love the play of different colors. they look like happy paintings. i also think of all the designers, i would want to apprentice for kathryn, she seems very likable. i think mary mcdonald is fashionable and funny at the same time. i like the way she dresses. nate turner is somebody who can be anybody’s bestfriend!