52 replies to this topic

[Mr. Sobell]

Architect. Teacher. Self-proclaimed punk rocker.

[SeeingI]

She seems pretty fucking rad. She's handsome, too. I hope she doesn't turn out to be a force for evil.

Edited by SeeingI, Feb 1, 2007 @ 2:22 PM.

[SecretCover]

Bitch is hot. She looks like Selma Blair.

[citrimax]

Is it just me, or does she have a slight bald spot? In one of the Top Design previews featuring her, you can really see it...then again, maybe her hair was just parted weird.

[KateDebate]

Love her. I really hope she's not an undercover bitch. Or if she is, she uses her powers of evil to put the hurt on Michael.

I was thinking she looked a bit like Ally Sheedy, but I think Selma Blair is more accurate.

[ams627]

She's my early favorite. I pretty much love her hair.

[lindseyquinn]

I do get the impression that she's a stealth bitch.

[Anastasia169]

Is she the one who went on and on in the previews about how she had always gotten whatever she wanted in life? And because of that experiential precedent she expected to win TD? If so, I hate her - I realized that it if you really are lucky enough to get even some of what you want, much less all, you should STFU about it. Humility and tact were invented for people like her.

[KimKelly]

Andrea is definitely my favorite so far but only because she's pretty and I like her clothes and hair. I felt the same way about from Alison from Project Runway, however, and I ended up disliking her after she was auf'd. I hope Andrea turns out to be cool all the way through and not a brat.

[Kolohe]

Is she the one who went on and on in the previews about how she had always gotten whatever she wanted in life? And because of that experiential precedent she expected to win TD? If so, I hate her - I realized that it if you really are lucky enough to get even some of what you want, much less all, you should STFU about it. Humility and tact were invented for people like her.

I completely agree, Anastasia169. Everytime I saw that promo spot, I'd ask my TV (OK, I'd ask Mr. Kolohe, who wouldn't bother to answer me after the 3rd time) who in their right mind would set themselves up for humiliation upon failure by making such an over-the-top statement, even if true? The answer is, of course, someone trying to be a reality TV "character" or someone being coached to be a reality TV "character." Sad that even when I suspect I'm being played, I bite. Every time.

So, I can't stand Andrea in that promo, but I didn't mind her at all in the actual episode. I hope the person who unfolds on the show is less of a pompous ass.

And I love this quote from her bio:

Andrea is a self-proclaimed punk rocker, and she prefers to live by the fringe and often dyes her hair pink.

No! Pink hair!! It's all too fringe! Tee hee.

Edited by Kolohe, Feb 7, 2007 @ 5:11 PM.

[ams627]

I would love her with bubble gum pink hair!

I see her in the middle of the pack for a while before she makes her move, although I'm not sure whether her move will be to the top or the bottom.

[vallegirl]

I thought she got hosed last night. Her room, like Goil's, was a functional space that would have grown with the little girl. If the girl was 10, fanciful, little girl affectations would have grown tired within a couple of years. But the room Andrea created was primarily a functional, growable space that was intentionally "blank" so that the little girl could supply the living touches that turned it from a designed space to a liveable one.

Carisa and Erik created spaces that could be photographed for a magazine, and that's probably why they ended up in the top three, and Goil's aesthetic was just a little more polished than Andrea's which is why he was the third person in the top three, but I think Andrea's room would have seen her little girl through high school where Carisa's and Erik's would have been torn down within a couple of years.

[Kolohe]

OK, where was I during episode 1? This woman's an amazon!! Wow. I'd love to be tall... That's all.

[vallegirl]

If you catch the first episode again, watch for the segment where the teams are standing in silhouette outside their spaces. Ryan looks like a weeble next to Andrea.

[BeanyMalone]

An interview with Andrea from a couple days ago:

Hang Out With Andrea

Regarding her child's room:

I did build the Murphy bed...I drew all the details and worked out dimensions, I had an amazing carpenter who improved on it and made a couple of things easier. We worked side by side for that day and a half, built the whole thing. Could have done it myself, but not in that time without him ...I also sewed a cover for the bed, couldn't really see that. I'm kind of a construction girl, that's my thing. No way to show how insane the workload was in a one hour show. I way overbuilt for the time so was stuck without time to 'dress the room', I'm not so familiar with that concept or practice/ not usually a part of what I do . .

So Andrea doesn't dress rooms and Michael doesn't paint. It seems they are going to need lots of team challenges just to get a complete room.

[vallegirl]

I can see where Andrea's coming from, though, since she's an architect not a decorator. Her briefs are probably more along the lines of creating spaces for clients who will then either "dress" the rooms themselves, or maybe work with a decorator (even if the person calls him/herself a "designer") to fill it with all the gewgaws and knick knacks.

Andrea presented a completed room that need the client's personal touches rather than providing those personal touches herself.

[supri]

Andrea presented a completed room that need the client's personal touches rather than providing those personal touches herself.

I think this kind of designer can work well in real life, but would lack in the presentation skills for this show. It would be like when Cliff made a great dish but just threw it in a bowl on Top Chef, or if a Project Runway designer sent a model out without any hairstyling, makeup, or accessories. I loved the Murphy bed with the built-in shelves, but the overall look of the room was blank once the bed folded up (not that many designers seemed to do particularly well with dressing the rooms this week).

[vallegirl]

True, but only in the case of the shows. Plating and styling are important aspects of a chef's or fashion designer's livelihood but dressing a room may or may not figure, at least not prominently, into an interior designer's career.

Mostly I was using it as a comparison to the fact that Michael's never painted. One skill, painting is a requirement of all interior design, but the other, dressing a room, may not be.

[BeanyMalone]

From John Gray's interview on Blogging Top Design:

BTD: Who, if any, of the other contestants would you like to collaborate with on a future project?

JG: Andrea is probably the only one I could ever do anything with and not fight with- I adore her. I really do!!! That woman is a class act, her husband should count his blessings.

Interview with John Gray

[Zzingerific]

Oops, wrong thread!

Edited by Zzingerific, Feb 14, 2007 @ 11:34 AM.

[Kolohe]

Totally random, but could Andrea have nicer skin? Gorgeous!

[Talthan]

shes totaly hot...man if she had no standards and i wasnt totaly worthless...id um...never mind


shes' hot :)

[4Sibes]

I think that Andrea Keller is the grown up human version of the cartoon character Jane Lane from Daria.

[vallegirl]

Oh hell, yes. No wonder I love Andrea. Although, I'd love her more is she were the grown up human version of Trent.

[Ashe]

I'm glad she won immunity tonight. She did well. I think Jonathan and the other judges should be quiet.

[WilierMeerkat]

I do like Andrea. Having said that, I would like her more if she had taken Kelly's suggestion and hit Carissa as soon as she walked into the white room. She does have immunity and it might have enlivened this comatose show. Obviously, Top Design is less concerned with liability issues than Top Chef was.

[roorooby]

The judges had some nice things to say about her leadership skills in their blogs (although Jonathan said he wasn't "wowed" by her design - although the clients liked it. Ha! Guess it wasn't "happy" enough).

Possible shock and surprise - Goil with too many wheels, Andrea for the win?

Edited by roorooby, Mar 8, 2007 @ 3:32 AM.

[jolly_roger]

No wonder I love Andrea. Although, I'd love her more is she were the grown up human version of Trent.

I believe the grown up human version of Trent is Ryan. Unfortunately. (That dorm room design of his had "Mystic Spiral" written all over it.)

I didn't care one way or another for Andrea before last night's episode, but she turned out to be a very good leader. And thank God we finally got a reality show where a project leader isn't automatic fodder for elimination! My only beef with her is that she seems to have trouble telling her clients "no" -- in this case, anyway. She asked the (entitled, grasping, avaricious) Bells if the shed was intended to be part of the project, the wife jumped on the opportunity ("You go on with your little play, children... Mommy's trying to break her Sodoku record!") and Andrea caved... even though she knew that it was going to seriously hamper the amount of work the designers could get done in that ridiculous time limit they had. All Andrea had to do was realistically set the Bells' expectations (not that the Bells have the best grasp on reality) and just gently tell them "no" or devise some kind of time-saving compromise. It can be done without hurting the client's feelings, I know (I've worked with flooring customers in one capacity or another for about twelve years). And it sure saves you a lot of grief in the long run. Hopefully this was just an off day for Andrea. I don't recall her having this problem with her other projects.

[lindseyquinn]

I didn't care one way or another for Andrea before last night's episode, but she turned out to be a very good leader.

Hmm. Well, I do think she delegated responsibility well, but then she didn't seem to have much of a voice after that. I do think, had she not gotten immunity, that she'd have been given a much harder time about her so-soft authority.