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It cant hurt, he points out, unless you die!
I was impressed by how knowledgeable you seemed in the judging.
I didnt do any research, I was mostly coming at it from the perspective of the viewer.
Would that look good in my house?You know when you see something if you like it.
Thats good design to me.
Can you clarify how the production schedule worked?
Usually youd get seven or eight designers in a warehouse together to do all of the challenges.
Unfortunately or maybe fortunately in this case because of COVID we couldnt get everyone in one room.
Wed give them challenges over Zoom, and theyd have four days [to complete the challenge].
And the finalists worked on their final projects in L.A.
But no, theyd already finished all of the projects when they got there.
It worked out though, because we got to see their studios.
Arielle had this beautiful spot in Brooklyn.
Urvi was in a co-working space.
Christina is so talented she works out of an itty-bitty little studio in Manhattan.
It was really cool to walk in and see the industrial tools, smell the wood and metal.
Do you think COVID restrictions improved the show?They definitely didnt hurt us.
I really didnt want to look until I said, Light it up!
Urvi had great stories about her inspiration coming from India, Erica explained how she made digitized sound waves.
Itd be cool to see a longer cut of that, and our deliberation.
The other judges would sometimes ask me, Scott, how much would you pay for that?
and Id say, I could get that for $400 at Ikea.
Theyd be like WHAT?
Thats a $7,000 piece!
I was like, You guys are fucking high!
That didnt make it to air.
There was one really emotional moment in judging when Erica broke down thinking she was going home.
Were there other emotional moments that didnt make it to air?That was the most dramatic one.
I texted her, My kids hate me now.
Did Diane Keaton ever deliver your kids furniture?No!
My wife and I were making dinner.
I was like, Babe, I have to go Zoom with Ellen.
Then like a second before I logged on, I got another text: Diane Keaton is here too.
I didnt even brush my hair!
I was like, Whats she going to be wearing?
Will I see her neck?
She was very cool.
But no, she never brought me my pieces.
I think Alejandro was an unfortunate situation just because of the materials we gave them.
But look, it was a panel, and I didnt always get my way.
I could make an argument that someone should have stayed and get outvoted.
Thats just how these shows work.
Do you have a favorite piece?I have a couple!
Ericas side tables from the first episode.
One she made totally by hand, and one totally [by machine].
In person they were so stunningly beautiful.
You could put them in any house and theyd look great.
For me, Marks mirror was his sort of redemption challenge.
I loved hearing how he was inspired by the piece of art, and it was finished beautifully.
I would love to have that in my home.
I think she did such a good job.
It was just beautiful.
I loved Urvis side tables [from the shapes challenge] too.Yeah, I visited Urvi during that challenge.
I probably spent two hours talking to her and Manan, her partner.
She hadso muchwork to do, with the intricacies of the cuts and sticking on the mirror pieces.
Im surprised shes not sill working on it.
Are you a fan of reality competition shows?Im unabashedly a fan!
We watchProject Runway,Top Chef.
I loveBlown Awayon Netflix; theres shows on pottery throwing, flower design.
I love to watch talented people just doing what they do.
I wish I knew.
He poops in the dining room ha!
I said poop and he just looked up at me like, You talking about me?
So now in addition to three kids, we have three dogs and a cat.
But what can you do?
Hes made his way into our family and we love him.
I say that because the Shondaland world is very curated, design-wise.
Do you have any advice for amateur woodworkers?Dont be afraid!
Then you might make anything you want.
I look at it this way: Im not that much different from anyone else.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
