The Apartment TV Show : Season 2

Week nine. We’re finally there. This week’s judging is going to decide you will walk out of this competition empty handed and who will win either a car or the grand prize, The famous Apartment.

The Véo

All teams have been working so hard. It’s been very tough physically as well as psychologically. Personally I’ve never been pushed so far near my limits. We’ve haven’t been sleeping much for weeks. We’ve spent entire days so focused on our designs that we forgot to eat our meals more than once. The cameras have been inches

from our faces as we’ve been sweating, fuming, concentrating and sometimes losing it. We’ve been through eight nerve racking eliminations that usually take place late at night. It’s good to know we’re close to the end. But it’s very scary to realize it might all end with no reward. I already feel sorry for the team who will be eliminated this week. Very sorry. I wish there were three apartments.

Tea & Wisdom from Laurence

But that’s the game. And here we stand one more time in front of Jamie, waiting for instructions. It feels weird to only see six people there. The entrance to the East Residences looks pretty empty on the side of the contestants. On production side, the numerous staff, cameras, cranes, cables and sound equipment are more than ever seeking every little twitch of emotion on our faces.

Without a surprise this week we will have to complete the living room, the final room in the house. But this time there’s no theme. We’re asked to just be ourselves and try to show our personality in our design. It’s going to be interesting.

Iva and I quickly decide to incorporate nature in our design as we like to do it. It’s going to be sea, sun and sand. We choose a few different nautical blues to paint the walls and ceilings. I spend a lot of time carefully selecting nice planks of plywood that we cut, sand and stain with lots of love and attention to detail. We use some of them to divide our main wall in wainscoting style with paint at the top and wall paper at the bottom. We also use them to cover the beams separating the living room in two. To me, that part looks stunning and gives the space a warm, natural feeling. Unfortunately it won’t even be shown or mentioned on the show, although the judges loved it. It’s not part of the “money shots” that come up during the judging.

A view of the wood work

Watching the show on TV, I’ve come to realize that it’s not really necessary to create a clean, finished, livable space where every corner and detail of the room has its importance. It’s more important to present a few facets of the room that will look great on TV. Bros United really mastered that aspect early on in the show. We lost a lot of time and effort not realizing this and trying to create a place we could actually live in. Hopefully it will pay off in the end though.

We try to make this living room as personal as possible. During shopping, we choose furniture we really like and would buy for our own living room. Having quite a bit of money left, we’re able to look over the budget a bit and really go for pieces we love. We have a fake fireplace built that we place in the center of the wall and use as a bookshelf. It really ties the room together, gives it a center. We then balance the room with the furniture around it, just like Laurence taught us in the lovely tea time we had with him before the challenge.

On the walls, we place some of my favorite artists : Rothko, Matisse, Stieglitz, Steichen, Depardon and Kertesz. In the middle, above the fireplace, a print of the artist that has held our hand throughout this competition : Salvador Dalí. Finally on the chest of drawers in front of the elevator shaft, a photograph of my boat, also named Dali !

Dalí, the artist

Dali, the boat

It’s time for judging. Jamie and Laurence both like the space very much. They appreciate the way we’ve tied the garden into the living room. We created a second little sitting area. You just need to open the glass doors to the garden, and you can sit in the living room, while enjoying a conversation with friends sitting in the garden.

We really like our design but we know we’re facing two very good teams. The Opportunists and Bros United both deserve to be in the final. Luckily, after a very long, stressful time standing in front of Jamie and Laurence, they announce that we have made it to the final ! We have at least won a car ! Finally, all that hard work has paid off…it feels amazing. Now, we’re definitely going for the win !

We’re very sorry to see the brothers leave. Over the past weeks, Jesper and Killian have become good friends. We’ve been very impressed with their flair for design since the beginning of the show. We will miss them both as friends and competitors, and hope to welcome them on the boat sometime soon !

One more week and we will be able to talk about what goes down in the finale ! Whatever happens, we will not regret taking part to this surrealist experience that has taught us so much about interior design, but also about TV production and of course, about our couple !

Phil

Click here to continue to Episode 10 : The Finale!

Sun Rising on East Residences, Kuala Lumpur

With only two empty living spaces left in our unit, the Team Dali home is starting to look surprisingly full.  Walking around our East Residence unit, we can see our hard work in each of the rooms we completed, marking our progress throughout the competition and reminding us of each week that brought us now so very close to the final prize.

The Shaft

As Jamie tells us that this week’s challenge will be the leisure room, we are both excited and apprehensive. The theme is a welcome twist, as I am pleased that Phil will be able to apply his interests in cinematography to our design. However the space we have to work with is architecturally the most challenging that we have faced thus far. We have a whole level to work with, divided not only by a massive elevator shaft in the middle of the room, but also by sliding glass doors that create a separate room in the back. Phil and I know we will have to work twice as hard if we want to create a cohesive, leisurely environment.

With all of this in mind, we go shopping.

Phil mesmerized by the light fixtures…

So nice to be able to point & buy!

Since Phil has kept a strict account of our expenses and thanks to his neat bookkeeping we now have a little room to splurge!

As I am from Mendoza, Argentina’s most important wine region, for our leisure room, we want to combine our love for movies as well as our collective French and Argentine passion for wine. A wine cellar was our luxurious solution to the adjoining room in the back…

We began to work and quickly noticed that the circulation between this room in the back and the main area was interrupted and confusing due to the elevator shaft. To solve this issue and create a smooth flow from the main cinema area to the wine cellar we took on what will be remembered as one of our most ambitious projects of the competition: The Screen.

Stark handymen helped us construct a larger than life frame. Approximately seven meters tall and five meters wide, the wooden skeletal frame barely made it through the door, in parts. After assembling the frame, Phil and I began to staple sheer curtain fabric to the edges, creating a diaphanous screen that altered the architecture of the room while still allowing natural sunlight to flow into both spaces. The screen with its rich floral motif also provided an interesting pattern through which guests could catch glimpses of the tempting wine cellar.

Although the screen was one of our big accomplishments, it monopolized our time and resources as both Phil and I had to work together on this single project for many hours… And this was only one of many Do-It-Yourself endeavors we had decided to undertake for this room!

We continued feverishly. Phil began to cut wooden plywood planks to place on the floor of the wine cellar to give it a warmer and more rustic look. I took on covering the closet with faux-stone wallpaper. It is in these moments of frantic work that I realize Phil and I make an amazing team, both in this competition and out. Only he could match my level of crazy and my desire to have things as close to perfect as possible!

We finish the leisure and admire both our spaces in a quiet awe of the amount of work we have completed. Though the detailing is not quite as polished as we would have liked, we have managed to create not only a seductive cinema space but also an adjacent wine cellar – our personal favourite!

In the end, the judges seem pleased with our efforts – though not enough to win this week (as I would like to, each time) it was enough to keep us safe during elimination. And the best part is, we now have we finally have a place to relax and enjoy a glass of wine to take the edge off!

A toast to Glue & Glam, who left us this week and to the rest of us who continue in the fight to make pretty interiors…

Iva

The Final Three

Click here to continue to Episode 9 : The Living Room

Here we are again, standing in front of Jamie in the boiling Malaysian sun, trying to hide our sweat and exhaustion from the cameras. And this week comes with a twist I have been fearing since the beginning of the competition : teammate swap. The good news is that the swap will happen after six hours, which leaves Iva and I plenty of time to discuss what our guestroom will look like.

We both actually felt quite happy with our new teammates : I get along with Chelsea very well, and really respect her work ethic. Iva and JP love each other and I knew she was going to have a lot of fun.

But first we got to shop with Jamie. A pretty intense experience. Jamie had a lot of ideas and advice for us, but he wasn’t used to our very short shopping time : only an hour to buy all the furniture and accessories for the room ! As Jamie and Iva were stopping at every piece they liked to discuss it thoroughly, I was just trying to push them hard so that we would finish on time. In the end we managed and got a lot of good tips from Jamie.

Back at East Residences we had six hours to get our ideas straight. I could see Iva starting to stress. Although it’s true that sometimes she’s a jealous girlfriend, in this case she was much more worried about my abilities to arrange pillows on a bed and frames on a wall than my spending time with another woman! In the end we were ready for the much-dreaded swap.

Iva had a great time with JP. She told me they had a lot of fun, discussing design ideas as well as gossiping about the competitors. Too bad the show is only fifty minutes long, I would have loved to see more of it on TV!

I was very stressed out, especially when the time came to accessorize the room. Picking out some of Iva’s jewelry to place it around the room, browsing through fashion magazines to cut out images to fill the frames, not my most confident hour, but I got through with it.

We were able to make a very good use of the swap by focusing on Chelsea’s strengths and giving her only one task : the wallpaper collage that would cover the cabinets. It turned out to look amazing ! Laurence loved it, called it “borderline genius” and said he would try to sell the idea to one of his posh clients back in England ! Iva and Chelsea should team up more often to create such successful designs !

After this week we were starting to feel that we finally had both judges on our side. Jamie has been an amazing supporter of our work since the start of the competition; we cannot stress out enough how his support is helpful to get us through every week of this surreal experience. And Laurence started really appreciating our efforts to go out of our comfort zone, experimenting more and more with colors and textures. But we still have a long way to go to win that apartment…

Elimination came as a shock as The Strangerz got kicked out of the competition. We thought this decision was unfair as we felt from the start JP and Daniel were one of the strongest teams. On top of really liking their designs, we really liked them as friends. JP is one of the most talented and funniest people I’ve met, and Daniel is simply one of the loveliest human beings I know. Their presence made it easier for me to go through this ordeal. JP made me laugh and Daniel made me feel more at home. Iva couldn’t hold back a few tears as we learned we would not be competing against them anymore. Great TV.

So… we made it through this week’s challenge ! As we’re getting closer to the end of the show, I’m starting to realize that we could actually win this. Iva has thought so from the start, but I have been more conservative in my approach to the whole thing… Let’s see what happens next…

Phil

Click here to continue to Episode 8 : The Leisure Room

It’s hard to believe that we are past the halfway point in the competition. So far this whirlwind experience has been physically, psychologically and creatively draining… For weeks now we’ve been fueled solely by strong, volatile adrenaline and our anxious desire to win. After surviving last week’s elimination, we enter this week’s challenge knowing all too well that we are now at a crucial point in the game. The pressure escalates as we realize the stakes are suddenly very real.

Excited at the Start of the Challenge

As Jamie presents the challenge, Phil and I are excited and somewhat relieved at the thought of doing a single, smaller space. Before living on his boat, Phil had worked from his Kuala Lumpur apartment and we both immediately loved the idea of integrating a home office into our East Residence. As this was another Rapid Design challenge, we had little time to discuss a clear concept – which worked out well as we decided to take a direct cue from our assigned Dulux Color Trend for 2013 : Home Factory.

Dulux Colour Trend 2013 : Home Factory

The catalogue described the palette as a creation for those who long for a return to more a more traditional and natural way of life, with self-reliance in mind… Which if you think about it, is perfect for boat dwellers. Phil and I quickly agreed to pursue our exploration of creating modern spaces with raw materials.

Our shopping was as hectic as ever, though with different priorities as we found ourselves motivated to buy sustainable or repurposed goods. After last week’s polished concrete attempt, our ambition was still growing and we prepared for another very hands-on approach to design.

As the clock ticked, Phil began to acquaint himself with the craft of carpentry. With planks of wood and custom-made wooden shelves, we were able to create a feature corner on the wall that was both functional and decorative, in keeping with our theme. Phil also customized the bottom of the chairs we had bought to serve as bookshelves or additional storage.

Customization of Table from ED Carpenters

I felt very proud of my boyfriend as he quickly acquired and improved his manual abilities, surprising the both of us and providing a huge advantage for our team. At the same time, we hired Sasha’s handymen to help us with the wallpaper and though the room began to take shape, we soon realized that we had undertaken a few too many projects.

Failed DIY Project!

The bigger part of our ten hours had passed and we entered frenzy mode. Having to work around each other is not easy, especially given our reduced space and added pressure.

Having watched the advertisements for this week’s episode, Phil and I were both dreading having our personal disputes transmitted in more than 25 countries. Less teams means more airtime and fewer distractions, and it was the first time that the drama centered on Team Dali.  We were curious to see which direction the editors would choose. With such large amounts of footage at hand, the same exchange or argument can easily be portrayed in many different ways – all with a few clicks of the mouse! we must admit that all in all, we seemed to remain quite civil.

The best part of this show is that in living such an intense and condensed experience together, it forces Phil and I to discover sides of each other that we perhaps wouldn’t have faced until much later in our relationship.

We finished our study and I remember being in awe of our work while we waited for the judges. Although we always want more time for each challenge, I could not believe how finished the room looked. It felt like the first time during the competition where we felt we had successfully translated our initial ideas into a solid design… And the best part was, the judges agreed!

Paula Malai Ali & Jeremy Rowe

Feels great to have won this challenge, a victory that encourages us to push further and also confirms that we are improving along the way.

Til next week!

Iva

Click here to continue to Episode 7: The Guest Room

Kim Robinson finishing up Iva’s hair, our makeover prize from last week’s win!

After an exhausting garden challenge, we thought we would get a rest. Well, we were wrong. The most daunting challenge of all was about to come : the bathrooms.

As Jamie told us that we would have to re-design two bathrooms in the house, I could see that none of the teams felt at ease. Iva and I had been dreading this moment from the start of the competition.

The first bathroom, or “main bathroom” was a small space entirely tiled with boring grey tiles. We would have to transform it into something more welcoming, taking into consideration the “zen” theme that was communicated to us. One wall in the shower had been stripped down of its tiles for us, with retiling in mind.

Main Bathroom : Before

The second bathroom or “master bathroom” was quite big and full of marble. We obviously would not touch the marble, and it seemed difficult to bring this space to life as well without doing so.

Master Bathroom : Before

So off we were shopping again. Iva and I quickly decided to stick to the style we like most, raw and natural, trying to bring some life into these sad bathrooms by using new textures and materials : wood, metal and cement. In our crazy one hour shopping frenzy running through Viva Mall, we were lucky enough to find a lovely Chinese shop selling decorative items and design furniture using raw pieces of wood on metal. Perfect for what we had in mind.

Earth Lifestyle Store

Back at the East Residences it was time to go for it again. In the main bathroom, we decided to barely do any tiling but instead, get rid of the tiles on two more walls to go for a polished concrete look. Sasha’s handyman could help us with laying down the concrete, as we had to little time to learn that task. But there was still a lot of hammering and drilling to do to get rid of the tiles, and, much more difficult, the thick layer of glue underneath.

Discussing our plans with Sasha

 We separated the tasks, and as I drilled for hours, Iva, took care of doing the whole upstairs bathroom by herself. In the meantime, I was drilling. And drilling. For five hours. One of the most exhausting tasks I’ve ever undertaken.

 But I managed to get through it, paint the ceiling, and the bathroom was ready for its 3 coats of cement. Sasha’s men did a great job and we finished just in time. The walls were still wet during the judges walk-through !

The upstairs bathroom looked great, I just had to help Iva with some drilling to hang a few wooden canes we would use as towel hangers, complementing the wooden shutters we had custom made. I was really amazed at her work. She did all the painting, accessorizing, cleaning, even used the sanding machine to give the wood planks we used in the shower a rougher look. My lovely girlfriend is also an amazing worker !

Off to greet the judges

The judges were quite happy with our work, and again, we made it through to the next episode !

Master Bathroom : After

Main Bathroom : After

This week, as usual, came with its twists and turns. Team Glue and Glam, eliminated the first week, came back with their full budget. However, we doubted that they could catch up to the other teams. We were told they would have to finish the three missing spaces in time for the finale, if they would make it there. Taking the time frame into consideration, that would just be a humanly impossible task to achieve.

We were sad to see Black & Blonde go, they are both lovely girls that brought a great vibe to the competition. Glue and Glam did well with their bathrooms and won the challenge together with our good friends The Stangerz, whose work we really like. It’s always a pleasure for me to see a good team win a challenge. Iva would like to win them all, but I’m just happy to make it through to the next week !

Phil

Click here to continue to Episode 6: The Study

It has often been a common mistake of man to underestimate the great outdoors.  This week’s challenge caught us wildly off-guard as we were plunged knee-deep in the mud.

Luckily, that’s just how we like it.

Since joining the competition, the strenuous work regime and our endless shopping left us – more than once- longing for the quiet serenity of our boat life. We yearned for a little nature. Four weeks of slaving away tirelessly under fluorescent lights, always starting with four empty white walls that remind you blankly of the enormous task at hand…

When Jamie introduced this week’s challenge: the garden, we knew it would be no less daunting – but at least we would be able to get some air.

Shopping was as hectic as ever, but somehow all the more pleasant as Phil was much happier among bamboo and palms than armchairs and curtains. It felt good to have the sun in our eyes again as we waded through muddy nurseries.

Tips from Jamie, 8 Hours Remaining

In choosing the plants we began to slowly create our theme. We wanted to apply the principles of interior design to the outdoors: textures, contrast, proportions.  We chose plants in complementing shades and contrasting consistencies, with bright flowers as colorful accents.

My mother had previously introduced me to the work of Luis Barragán and I had always dreamed of having the chance to experiment with such bold colour schemes in a space of my own. Being outside gave us the freedom for such creativity and though Phil was not immediately taken by what he derisively called a “disgusting Barbie pink”, in the end, as the paint dried, he warmed up to the contemporary Mexican palette.

So we began, ill-equipped but hopeful. A few shovelfuls in and we realized that our garden plot had some serious irrigation problems. We dug and dug as manure-smelling water seeped out from the soil, causing the holes to collapse in on themselves.

It was by far the most physically demanding task that we have faced as a couple. While Phil dug deeper into the fertilizer, I left him to tend to the back garden where for the first time in my life I planted about twenty small plants in a garden patch. I was so happy with my baby aubergine plants that I managed to suppress my fear of the snails and worms that had already found a home there.

Spot the baby aubergines!

Our bodies ached, drenched in sweat, itchy from plant irritants and caked in mud.

As the night wore on, we began to run out of time. Our big plants were in place, our gorgeous Aztec-inspired light fixtures cast geometrical shapes on the pink walls as our garden started to take shape. We began to add accessories and small ‘accent’ plants, as well as lay our carpet of grass.

Black bamboo & Dichondra Silver Falls

Though very much advocates for nature, Phil and I made the incredibly wise decision of purchasing fake grass for our garden. Though much more expensive, the grass looked great and was much easier to lay than the square by square natural alternative. Our lawn looked impeccable as we placed the furniture and added the finishing touches.

For the first time since starting the competition, I felt more confidence than fear walking into Design Court. Thankfully I have Phil, who in my moments of precipitous pride helps to humble me and prepare me for the worst.

Luckily this time the judges agreed with me and we won the challenge!

Feels good to win!

It is also important to understand that until this challenge, we had been blindly estimating our rank in the competition, with nothing but the judge’s comments to guide our judgment. This week we also were finally able to size up the other teams and visit their respective residences.

Entering Bros United Bedroom

Phil and I walked through all the houses and began to gage our skills. It was very interesting to see other teams’ interpretations of each challenge, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their design, highlighted during Design Court by the judges. We tried our best to make it a learning experience and walk away with a better idea of what to avoid and what to draw inspiration from.

Exhausted and elated, we left Design Court for a fourth time – survivors – already thinking of the week to come.

Iva

Click here to continue to Episode 5 : Bathrooms

It is slowly beginning to sink in that we are in fact, really participants in this whirlwind competition. Week one came and went so quickly that we barely had time to react or adjust to the bright lights in our eyes…

Now slowly the lenses adjust, the pressure thickens and I feel myself becoming more invested in the competition and more hungry for another win. Phil on the other hand just wants to make it through to the next challenge. Good team balance.

Happy Hosts

Last week’s reward was a lovely opportunity to invite our fellow competitors for a very fitting wine and cheese soirée. Phil and I were excited for the chance to finally get to know everyone a little more, away from the supply room and the stress of all those tools. Having worked so hard all week, however, I found myself doing little of the talking and more chewing and listening as we all stuffed ourselves with brie, grapes and crackers!

A Toast to all the Teams

Unfortunately these brief pleasantries have little place in such a competition and the work commenced once more in full force.

We found ourselves again in front of Jamie who announced this week’s challenge: the kitchen and dining room. I would like to think most women could sympathize with my fear to face such a daunting space in only the second week of the competition.  While Phil remained unfazed, I began to panic as the complications of the space reeled in my head.

Tense Anticipation

I felt a quick release of relief as Jamie announced the theme for this week; “special occasion” and I imagined a beautifully dressed table, ready to welcome friends and family, with Phil and I at either end.

The clock began and Phil and I wasted no time in deciding our theme. We were sure that we wanted to stay away from more exploited occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s and we quickly came up with the idea of doing an Easter themed tea party. Easter is an important holiday in Germany, France and also Argentina, where it marks the beginning of spring with happy family reunions. In some parts of Argentina, people are given as much as a week off work and school – resulting in ten glorious days of gatherings full of food, chocolate and loved ones.

Shopping was still as chaotic an experience as ever, though I was ecstatic to finally have the budget to buy all the kitchen appliances of my dreams. I had a huge smile on my face as Phil handed over the thousands of dollars necessary to purchase my beautiful Kitchen-Aid mixer and accompanying accessories!

The Kitchen-Aid that never was…

As we arrived back at our Dali home, my smile soon faded as unloading revealed we had forgotten almost a fourth of the items at the store. Not a good start to the challenge. Anyone who knows me would know that at that moment all I wanted to do was scream, cry a little and return to the store to recover all my precious things… (Read: Kitchen-Aid) But luckily I had Phil pull me back to the reality of our completely empty kitchen, and the ever-ticking clock.

We worked like a well-oiled machine, trusting each other’s decisions though not always agreeing. Phil to this day will never forgive my choice of china while I will always remember seeing him returning from the garden, tree branch in hand… Phil had told me about his childhood memories of German Easter when his mother would help him and his brother hollow out eggs to paint and later hang on outdoor trees or branches placed inside the house. I liked the idea of an original handmade ornament in the room and loved the personal story behind it. I continued to work as Phil blew out yolk after yolk with his cheeks incredibly red and eyes like Roger Rabbit.

The famous Saalfelde Easter egg tree in Thuringia, Germany

Phil, age 4 with a basket full of eggs

The kitchen and dining room came together at a much more pleasant pace as Phil and I learned that it was not impossible to better manage time. The extra $5,000 won from the previous challenge was put to good use as we hired Sasha’s handymen to do the painting for us. This gave us more time to concentrate on the kitchen, where we took the cabinet doors of and lined the inside, to give more depth and volume to otherwise sterile and flat cabinetry.

We put the finishing touches on our design and were amazed to have thirty minutes to spare. I happily made handwritten place cards for each of the judges as we waited for the challenge to end.

Completed Dining Room

The second judges’ walk-through was no easier to face than the first. Jamie was supportive and loved the eggs while a little disappointed that our cupboards had not been lined to perfection (damn bubbles). While we had been hoping to appeal to Laurence with our semi-English inspired table, it was hard to tell if he liked the design or not. His comments were not altogether negative but their icy delivery gave us chills.

As we entered Design Court, I felt myself overwhelmed with incertitude. We were standing next to all the other teams, having still not seen any of their designs and not knowing what would come next.

Our Completed Design

Once again, we were asked to step back and the two of us breathed a small sigh of relief. We remain in the competition, with another chance to prove ourselves and improve our designs.

Happy to step back…

Seeing Paul and Ash go was hard. During the pauses during filming, and in other rare moments of respite, they were two of the contestants that we felt immediately close to. Luckily they live nearby and we hope to someday take Dali the boat and Dali the team to visit them!

Meanwhile, team Dali remains on land and ready for the next challenge.

Iva

Click here to continue to Episode 3 : Children’s Room