After last week’s sad episode, it’s good to be back to the nuts and bolts of the design world with Jeff Lewis and the gang on this week’s Flipping Out. Gage Edward and Jeff are ready to put Gramercy on the market, despite their strong emotional connection to the house.
Jeff says that he likes change, but “controlled change.” What doesn’t he like? Sitting so close to Jenni Pulos in their joint interview segments. It’s all about personal space, people! Jeff wants to sell Gramercy to buyers who pinky swear that they will not change a THING about it. Not a window treatment, nor a black wall, nor a single brick in the patio. Any takers out there?
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Trapped like circus clowns in a car, Gage, Jeff, Jenni, Vanina Alfaro, and Megan Weaver are on their way to scope out furniture and props for a catalog shoot. Jeff razzes Gage about his annoying TV watching habits: Gage chooses a program each night, then apparently falls promptly asleep on the couch. Since Jeff is Jeff, he can’t stop watching a show halfway through, so must finish whatever Gage has chosen to the bitter end. He wants to watch The Affair, dammit! But he’s stuck watching dusty old episodes of Revenge instead. Jeff, I feel ya! I won’t call anyone out by name because my husband occasionally reads this blog but there’s a certain someone who pulls the same move at my house. And it is.not.okay.
Living Spaces is a furniture retailer who asked Jeff last year to lend his design skills to their creative team. Since Jeff didn’t like their furniture (which he told their president flat out), they hired him as creative director to buy new pieces and shoot half of their catalog to “freshen up” their look. Is Jeff Lewis the only man in America who can gain employment via the catalyst of a direct insult? That’s talent. While Jeff scours pieces for the upcoming shoot, Gage says “he’s a genius…just give him the tools and it will come together.” Jeff uses his design genius to choose all of the awesome pieces while leaving the rejects to in-house designer, Channa, who is supposed to mentor him through the process. But is actually shaping up to be his nemesis by the looks of previews.
Back at Gramercy, Jeff is shooing intern Joe off to find a rag and, like Cinderella, to get scouring. Joe’s been demoted to Zoila Chavez’s assistant, and Zoila is not missing any opportunity to treat him like her Barbie B*tch 2.0. Joe is rightfully frightened of Zoila’s wrath, so he tiptoes around her as much as possible while wiping cabinets and taking out the trash. This leaves Zoila free to pack little baggies of peanuts up for little Jeffrey’s snack pack.
Jeff and Jenni head out to the Brentwood catalog shoot for Living Spaces, where Gage, Vanina, and Megan are already doing the heavy lifting. The team gets a 3-day setup to get the shoot completed, and the home they’re shooting in is actually a HOME, not a set, so they have to tear apart the existing homeowner’s design, insert their own pieces, then reassemble it all at the end. It’s a big job.
Jeff tells Jenni in the car that he and Gage are looking to move into Finley, his multi-unit office space that’s been under renovation for years (has it been at least 2 years now?), after Gramercy sells. But it will be a serious space crunch if they can’t find a new home before a baby comes. (Yay, more baby talk!) Jenni offers her home as a crash pad…which is insane. Jeff promptly replies, “No.” So, boundaries. Good.
At the Brentwood shoot, Jeff gets the lay of the land before digging into setup. He’s not happy with the rooms and the light, but like Tim Gunn, he’s gonna make it work. He opts for outdoor scenes to make up for the lack of light within. Let the accessorizing begin!
Channa arrives and is immediately instructed by Gage to start gathering props. Gage says Channa and Jeff have been naturally set up for competition because Living Spaces gave Jeff the front half of the catalog, the front and back covers, and basically marginalized Channa along the way. Plus, now poor Channa has to appear on Jeff’s Bravo show as the second tier creative designer. But Channa’s got a few tricks up her sleeve, apparently, because sabotage is on the horizon.
(Ahhh! Commercial Break: Below Deck season 3 premiers August 25 on Bravo!! Yessss! Ok, let me calm down a minute and let’s get back to Flipping Out.)
As Jeff adds accessories to Day 1 of the Brentwood shoot, he tweaks and pinches and fluffs until each shot is picture perfect. The shots look gorgeous, of course, but Jeff starts feeling like he’s not getting what he needs in the accessories department. The sabotage vibe is creeping in softly as Jeff notices that many of the items he’s requested, which are Channa’s responsibility to provide, are mysteriously missing. He needs a pitcher. Channa says she doesn’t have one. Jeff needs candles. No dice. Vanina reports that they’re missing a whole set of plate-ware, about a hundred books, and various other props. She thinks Channa isn’t bringing things they need on purpose.
As Jeff gets more riled up by the minute, he starts asking Channa directly about the missing items, but she evades. “Everything you need for a shoot, I need for a shoot,” he scolds. The Flip Out is brewing as Jeff licks his lips and further instructs Channa that she needs to tell him in the future if she’s not bringing the needed supplies for both of their shoots.
Meanwhile, Zoila drags intern Joe around town to the dry cleaners and the dollar store to show him what it really takes to be her assistant (but she does buy him a Happy Meal later for his efforts, so there’s that!). She channels a little bit of Jeff Lewis in the car as she grills Joe on his love life. “You have a boyfriend? You need a boyfriend!” barks Zoila to a zoned out and demoralized Joe. She suggests he try girls instead. And get aggressive. #Zoilalovetips
At Brentwood, Jeff complains to Channa’s entire team about the missing props, reminding her that he needs access to everything she uses at shoots. “I don’t hide anything from you,” snarks Jeff (in a surprisingly calm tone), “and I’m not suggesting you’re hiding anything from me.” But he does remind her that at the last 3 shoots they’ve shared, Channa has forgotten things Jeff needs. “Good talk,” says Vanina, while Jeff moves into fix-it mode. Jenni schleps some random coffee table books (from her car?) and the team recycles props from various rooms as best they can.
Channa is not happy about being chastised by her nemesis, however, and is taking her ire out on Megan. Megan reports this to Jeff, who is of course amused rather than troubled by having upset someone. “I think there’s a lot of Mean Girls going on, but I don’t know,” Megan says, “I wouldn’t want to be on Jeff Lewis’ bad side.” #goodcall Jeff admits that maybe it is a little “high school,” but Channa has her own cliques, so he needs his, yo!
After Day 1 of the Brentwood shoot, Jeff is ready for war. He packs up his own accessories from Gramercy to drag along to the shoot just in case Channa has made off with every Tom, Dick, and Vase before he arrives. Jeff also coordinates house showings with Zoila before he leaves because Gramercy, even as a pocket listing, is already generating a sh*t ton of buyer traffic. (Hey, where’s Jeff’s sister in law realtor, by the way? Looks like he’s got someone named Bonnie to represent him now. Hmmm.)
Day 2 is going smoothly. Rene, Living Spaces VP of Marketing (Channa and Jeff’s boss), shows up to check up on the progress. Jeff starts to panic as he realize that entire tables are missing now. Jeff says that Channa has officially gotten three strikes. She’s out. “You are banned from my shoots!” Jeff interviews. He vows to tell their boss what’s been going down in the Shakespearean comi-tragedy that has become Brentwood. As he fills Rene in, Rene nervously glances in Channa’s direction to see if she’s overhearing this tattling. “I realize what a b*tch I look like going to my boss,” Jeff admits, but feels like he’s been given no other recourse. Rene confronts Channa’s team, who scrambles to reassure him that they indeed use a checklist. “I don’t think this is going to end well for Channa,” concludes Jeff. What does end well are the total design porn shots that are #offthehook amazing!
Later that night, Jeff announces he’s gotten a full price offer on Gramercy from a couple who saw the house just that week. Gage looks like he might shed a tear, and Jeff admits he’s emotionally attached to the house as well, but ultimately decides to sign the papers. “When do the drinks start?” asks Gage, who is actually excited now and says he’s ready for the next step in their lives together. Jeff believes fate brought these buyers to Gramercy, and almost feels like the house was built for them, not him.
Well, it’s the end of an era folks. Next stop: Finley!
TELL US: DO YOU THINK CHANNA WAS REALLY SABOTAGING JEFF’S TEAM? DO YOU THINK JEFF MADE THE RIGHT DECISION TO SELL GRAMERCY?
Photo Credit: Bravo
