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Review of A&E’s Designing Blind with Alexandra Hedison

You’re probably most familiar with Alexandra Hedison from her turn on the third season of The L Word as Dylan, and for her former relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. This summer, Hedison, who also appeared on ABC’s Prey with a pre-Will & Grace Debra Messing and on Fox’s L.A. Firefighters, returns to the tube as co-host of a new show on A&E called Designing Blind.

A home makeover series, Designing Blind has a twist: The designer, Eric Brun-Sanglard, is blind. Eric B., as he is known, lost his sight due to CMV Retinitis nearly 10 years ago. He was then a creative director for an advertising agency with clients such as Chanel, Hermes and Christian Dior. After losing his sight, he began to remodel his Hollywood Hills home and discovered that he has a knack for design, which has turned into a thriving business.

In each episode of Designing Blind, Eric designs one room in a couple’s house or apartment. Hedison is his co-host and what A&E calls Eric’s “sighted assistant.” At the start of each half-hour program, Hedison drives Eric to the initial meet-and-greet appointment with the couple whose room will be redesigned. The couples have not been told in advance that Eric is blind; that tidbit is sprung on them shortly after they meet Eric and Hedison.

As expected, the homeowners are surprised by this news, and most comment that they’d never heard of a blind designer. The show uses the “confessional” gimmick that is done to death on reality shows to allow us to hear their “real feelings.” (The confessional is used at other times as well, most effectively when it’s just Hedison rolling her eyes in amusement.)

Though some remain skeptical, the homeowners agree to allow the project to proceed, then talk with Hedison and Eric to discuss the room in its current state and what they hope for its redesign.

The participants’ assumptions about disability and sight are tested when Hedison gives them blindfolds to wear. Eric and Hedison then take them on a “feel trip” where the blindfolded duo can experience some of what Eric has learned about energy, feel, sound, smell and space. In the first few episodes, the participants visit a Japanese tea garden, the beach and a petting zoo to test out their non-sight senses.

While they are blindfolded, Eric hands each couple everyday objects to get a sense of color. To distinguish between different shades of red, for instance, he has couple Kat and Bruce take turns holding a toy fire truck and a brick, and asks them which feels better and invokes the image they want as an accent color for their room. Yvette and Colin choose a shade of green from among an artichoke, a bowl of colored water representing the Caribbean sea, and green cotton candy.

The men and women are also blindfolded during the shopping trips. In these, Eric asks them to choose gifts for each other, feeling the differences between three different stools, lamps, sofas and, with parents-to-be Colin and Yvette, changing tables.

Hedison plays navigator on the shopping excursions and “feel trips” and acts as translator when necessary. Eric, born and raised in France, speaks heavily accented English. Hedison also expounds a bit on why Eric is good at what he does.

Viewers see just a bit of the actual redecorating. With this half-hour show, the emphasis is more on the sensory decision-making processes than the room’s physical transformation. So home improvement junkies may be disappointed by not seeing more of the work itself.

Once the work is completed, the blindfolds come off and the homeowners appear ecstatic and surprised with the results. Several comment that the finished room surpass their wildest dreams.

The episode with Colin and Yvette is especially poignant; we discover that they had suffered an earlier miscarriage and that Yvette had been on bed rest for much of her current pregnancy. This explains Colin’s significant hesitancy about accepting a blind designer. After waiting so long to become a father, he wanted to be sure that his son’s room would be perfect ? and it was.

Utilizing a circus theme and the parents’ desire to incorporate animals from around the world, Eric hired artist Charlotte Jackson to paint a gorgeous mural all over the room, including the ceiling. The walls showcase animals with textured coats, so it will be a tactile experience for their son when he becomes a toddler ? a truly magical and playful room.

As co-host, Hedison is delightful, injecting much humor and levity into the sometimes tense atmosphere. She is often softly sarcastic, usually in a friendly rather than snarky way. In the last section of each show, she provides a voiceover recap of what has occurred along with additional explanations for why Eric made some of the choices he did.

Hedison is clearly a prominent and entertaining member of the team on Designing Blind, but I found it odd that the design work is solely Eric’s domain. Hedison’s creative eye and talent as a photographer could be an asset to this show, but instead, it’s never mentioned.

Her photography has been published in Time, People and the New York Times, as well as The Advocate, which ran her photographs of Ellen DeGeneres the same week their breakup was announced. Some of Hedison’s current photography can be seen on her website, www.hedison.com.

Those looking for lesbian content on the show will be disappointed. Yes, Hedison is easy on the eyes, engaging and funny, but the only thing that comes close to a personal remark about her is an offhanded joke about her and Eric getting married. For those who know that in real life, these two are not the opposite-sex marrying kind, it’s an inside joke, but for everyone else, it’s just a throwaway.

Eric, who is openly gay, jokes about being “back in the closet” while showing off the new closet in Colin and Yvette’s new nursery, but no other information about his personal life is discussed on the three episodes I previewed.

Learning about Eric’s process and the adaptive tools he uses, such as a talking measuring tape and raised blueprints, is quite interesting, but the half-hour format of the show allows only a small taste. I wanted to learn more about Eric’s insights into space, energy and senses other than sight. The idea that a designer does not need sight to have vision could have been more thoroughly explored in an hour-long format.

For example, I would rather have learned more about how Eric uses scent to design a room than watch Luca propose to Laura at the end of their episode. Presumably the process Luca and Laura went through with Eric in making the choices for their new living room were stirring enough that Luca felt moved to propose. That may have been the case, but we really didn’t get a chance to see it.

But Designing Blind is significant in that it offers a much-needed reminder that people with physical challenges both exist and are able, in many ways. People with different abilities are much more rare on television than they are in the real world, and it’s important that they be represented as well.

Ultimately, I like the idea of this show, but felt more teased than fulfilled by what it actually shows us. Then again, a half hour spent with the charming Eric B. and the cute and humorous Alexandra Hedison is more pleasant than most of the other offerings on TV this summer.

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