Chapter 49
The filming continued, with the teams drawing lots to decide their challenge tasks.
Benton drew his lot, but he kept a scowl on his face the entire time and didn’t exchange a single word with Moira. Instead, he was laughing and chatting with Kayla and Wendy’s team.
Moira didn’t mind. She was focused on getting her work done. While the celebrity designers were given the title of “designer,” most of them didn’t have professional training, so they weren’t much help when it came to completing the tasks.
The show paired celebrity designers with amateurs mainly to create buzz. Whether or not the challenge was successful or the renovation mer the homeowner’s expectations depended mostly on the non–professional designers.
For Moira, working alone gave her more control. She didn’t have to worry about accommodating someone else’s ideas, which made things easier
for her.
After reviewing the floor plans, photos of the space, and the homeowner’s requirements, Moira already had a rough idea of what she wanted to do“>
However, since the main goal was to satisfy the homeowners, she knew she had to make sure her design aligned with their preferences. After all, “a thousand people see things a thousand different ways.”
So, she decided to reach out to the homeowners first to confirm her ideas before finalizing the design.
Once everyone had finished discussing, the teams went off to work. Each team was followed by a cameraman, and every designer was assigned an assistant to help with communication between them and the production crew.
After conducting a site visit and talking with the homeowners, Moira quickly finalized her initial design plan.
She started sourcing materials, found a construction team with availability, and spent several days visiting building materials and furniture markets to put together a rough budget.
The homeowners were a young couple looking to renovate a apartment of 377 square feet. Their budget was 35 thousand dollars, which should have been more than enough.
However, both were freelancers–one was a rock musician who performed in bars and needed space to rehearse and write lyrics at home, while the other was an online writer who needed a quiet place to work.
This created a clear conflict in their space requirements. Moira had to find a way to meet both their needs, making sure the apartment was comfortable for both of them while providing separate spaces where they could work undisturbed.
The couple also had three cats and wanted a designated area for the pets to play.
couple.
After finishing the budget and design outline, Moira personally visited the young couple.
In the afternoon, the production crew held interviews in the park to discuss the challenges each designer had faced during the renovation.
Normally, the interviews were done in pairs to encourage interaction and create some drama.
But for Moira, since Benton wasn’t participating, her interview lasted only three minutes, while others were given ten. The crew quickly replaced her with another team.
The real highlight of the show, however, was the team of Kayla and Wendy. The two were laughing and joking, showing off their close friendship, and even managed to pull Austin and Charlie into their conversation.
Benton stood by like a silent bodyguard, watching over them. Kayla kept calling him in a sweet, teasing way.
Even though everyone knew Kayla had a boyfriend, her fans were still thrilled to see her and Benton acting like a couple. As soon as their interview ended, fans rushed forward asking for photos and autographs.
Other teams, especially the ones with celebrity designers, also attracted some attention from fans.
But Moira stood alone under the sun, quietly reviewing her budget sheet. She was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to reduce costs without compromising the comfort of the space.
“Mr. Mitchell, you’ve arrived!” Suddenly, both Paul and Preston stood up and quickly walked past Moira.
“Dad” Kayla, who had been taking photos with fans, immediately spotted the newcomers. She quickly dropped everything, happily running over to greet him.
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Chapter 49
Moira paused, her pen frozen in mid–air as she looked up. She saw Norman walking over in a perfectly tailored suit. Kayla linked her arm with his, playfully scolding, “Dad, what are you doing here?”
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