TVSquad

I said I'd give Top Design three weeks, and I did. I watched - hoping the show would overcome its lackluster start, its disenchanted host, its odd judges and its warmed-over design challenges. It hasn't. Whether it's because the airwaves are saturated with home design shows or the constituent parts just don't make a very compelling whole, Top Design has turned out to be a labored, self-serious bore, which makes it all the more surprising that the show's accompanying blogs are candid, funny and, well, everything Top Design isn't.

Bravo seems to have found something of a niche with the reality programming. Top Chef has been well received, and Project Runway was nominated for an Emmy. With those successes under their belt they are ready to go it again with Top Design. The show will task twelve competitors with creating the best interior design each week. At the end of the ten episode run the winner will receive money to start their own design firm and a spot in a New York design showcase.

Todd Oldham will host the show. He got his start as a fashion designer and you may remember him from Todd Time on MTV's House of Style. Since then he has moved into other design arenas including his own line of furniture, Todd Oldham by La-Z-Boy. He also designed The Hotel in South Beach. Oldham will be joined on the show by a panel of judges including interior designers Jonathan Adler and Kelly Wearstler, as well as editor in chief of Elle Decor Margaret Russell.