TOTEM TV - BEHIND DESIGN WITH MELISSA BARETT RHODES

Melissa Barrett Rhodes and Marc Newson © 2000 totem media, inc. Directed by Yvette Chaparro Jiva - "Stars" Tom & Joyce Dub Written by: Khari Cabral Simmons / Courtesy of Giant Step Records

Do you yearn for the Art Deco "Frasier" living room, or is the retro chic look of the "Friends" apartments more your type? If you pay more attention to the set than the show's storyline, you're not crazy. Sociologists long have argued that television alters the way people view the world. It dictates what they want and sways buying decisions. Hosts of cooking shows, interior shows, do-it-yourself shows as well as sitcoms and soaps have defined what we want in our kitchens and living rooms.

Now, Totem TV, hosted by Melissa Barrett Rhodes, takes an unbiased look behind the scene of contemporary design and lets the designers themselves explain their views on what is important, what is chic, and what is to come. Martha Stewart, move over.

Totem Design, one of the country's leading showcases for young and contemporary design, has always had an interest in expanding the universal design consciousness. The new Totem Gallery to open on Grand Street in October, their website, their brand new magazine dsgn and their Tribeca showroom all work together in an attempt to increase the accessibility of information on the state of international contemporary design.

As we approach what many dub a design renaissance at the dawn of the 21st century, Totem has documented intimately the scene that they find so vital and inspiring. The past year, Totem TV has conducted several interviews with an array of established as well as up-and-coming designers, culled footage from the designers' home video archives, and been at the parties and the shows. Join Melissa Barrett Rhodes, our beautiful and jet-setting host, to get the scoop on the who, what and where in the world of design.

Rough-edited samples from Totem TV can now be viewed at www.totemdesign.com. You can, for instance, join design superstar Marc Newson for a chat at lush Soho restaurant Canteen, or be invited into the home of Karim Rashid.

The tube and our living room
The tube's influence is tough to escape and infiltrates housing design as well. Popular shows from TV's early era containing strong architectural elements left indelible marks on our housing psyche: the "Brady Bunch" stairway; "Leave It To Beaver's" glorification of suburban living in a two-story Cape Cod.

Media of the last two decades have exerted a new influence by pushing housing expectations higher than ever and letting scores of do-it-yourselfers loose on downtrodden dwellings.

Shows like "Dallas" and "Dynasty" from the 1980s added a little fuel to the bigger-is-better fire. Both series took place in large homes owned by multimillionaires. Southfork was the ultimate ranch, with huge living quarters and lots of land. "Dynasty" was shot in an estate home outside San Francisco with sculpted gardens and lavish buildings.

But with the demise of both shows, so went that housing style.
That genre of television show influenced people into wanting a larger and very fashionable home, with volume ceilings and marble spa bathrooms and the very dramatic stairway and the wrought iron gate entrance into the driveway.

What people ask for now is charm. Square footage is no longer the goal. A house that's manageable is more important now.

One place that really counts when it comes to busy family living is the kitchen. Eat-in areas with long trestle tables, featured in sitcoms like "Full House," have become gathering places for families. Shows like "The Nanny" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" have gourmet kitchens.

Perhaps cooking shows have had the heaviest impact on kitchen design. All are done in kitchens with expansive counter space, islands and the latest in appliances. Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and the Frugal Gourmet have sets with plenty of room to work.

People don't come in and say, "I gotta have Jerry Seinfeld's kitchen," but if it's on a sitcom, it makes the design more acceptable.

Another generation of shows opened the booming remodeling market.
Shows such as "This Old House," "New Yankee Workshop," and "Hometime" have prompted a renovation stampede and made the task of converting an old residence much less intimidating. How-to housing shows hit in the late 1970s and have been ratings hit ever since.

More recent entrants include Home and Garden Television (HGTV), a cable channel dedicated to indoor and outdoor improvements, entertaining, crafts and collecting.

Copyright © 2008 David Shearer