finale | the worst

in no particularly significant order

matt and carisa's underwhelming black and white palettes
Carisa's is okay -- the pops of red help . . . I guess. It just isn't very subtle or interesting.
Elegant, yes. But where is that delicate sense of color I admire so much? And while I'm at it, what happened to the floor snob?

boring kitchens with expensive appliances
The judges were critical of Matt's and excited about Carisa's, but I can't see much of a difference between the two.

the fuss over matt's bathroom
I can't see how purple walls and a chandelier makes it so thrillingly sexy. Frankly I liked Carisa's better, although I wouldn't want to use that mirror for putting on makeup.

environmentalists with eight mansions
Here's the thing: I'm sure she's a wonderful and creative person who does a lot of really great things and there are lots of mega-rich wives of rock stars and movie stars who are fatuous twats whose sole purpose is to consume and waste as much as possible and compared to them Trudie Styler should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Nonetheless, if the show is only able to get D-list celebrities do they have to over-hype them so that they sound like geniuses and/or saints? And could we perhaps reserve the term "humanitarian" for those rare individuals who have truly sacrificed themselves for the good of humanity rather than applying it to any celebrity who participates in a variety of charity causes while still maintaining a lifestyle of eight mansions? It sort of waters down the idea. Furthermore, I'm not sure how decorating her eight mansions (along with professional decorators) makes her the most qualified judge for the finale but whatever. Maybe Bravo is trying to woo Sting for some special show.
Note to producers: I think it would have been fun to have seen Laura Bennett as the finale guest judge. We already know that she has exquisite taste in all things AND she has a degree in architecture.

repetition of furniture items
That is, the limited amount of shops, thus limited choices of products they could select from at the PDC. I didn't like those dining room chairs the first time I saw them in Andrea's chef's room. (Although, Carisa could have at least reupholstered them.)

pushing the family man card a bit too much
Either Matt or Bravo or both seemed to be pushing this little too hard at the end. It starts to get saccharine and manipulative. He has a lovely wife and child, yes. Okay, we get it. He's reproduced.

carisa's work style
Oy vey. It was driving me nuts to watch her work. I was somewhat shocked at her lack of preparation. She just walked into the PDC without any plan for what furniture she would be buying?! I would never in a million years hire someone who works this way. And it really caught up to her. She had two months to prepare. She had five days to get the work done. And she never unpacked her books or did any finishing touches that would have personalized the space. That cost her dearly in the judging. Since she's still a student I hope that she takes some classes in project management. You still need a framework if you work intuitively: there is a difference between spontaneity and panic-inducing lack of preparation.

matt's sterile master bedroom
That room is just depressing. For that matter where was the personality or voice of his wife in this space? Other than as a pregnant belly, that is?

the predictability of the outcome
Congrats and everything ... whatever.
I wanted Matt to win, don't get me wrong. The show just lacked interest, but that has been a problem since the start.