<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  What was it like to learn you&amp;#039;d be designing for India Hicks? Was she an intimidating client? It was definitely a surprise. It was a challenge because I think the other three potential clients would have been closer to my design style, but I kind of liked that because it was kind of a wake-up call for me.  What scared you more, designing an entire loft space in 2 days or doing it with $2000? I think it was the time constraints, definitely, that was the biggest challenge for me. My design style is very, &amp;quot;design over time.&amp;quot; I really like letting the space and the client develop a relationship with me instead of rushing a job. I&amp;#039;ve never had to do any design that fast in all my life.  Your loft was one of the judges&amp;#039; least favorites. Where do you think you went wrong? Lack of communication was the number one thing\u2014also chemistry. I think there was a definite lack of chemistry on our team. We kind of worked separately as opposed to working together.  Andrea called you out for spending too much time on the floor. Would you have done it differently a second time around? It was a tough situation because we needed the floor. Nobody else really wanted to do that work. If I could have done it differently, I may have spent less time on the detail around the edges, because it seemed that that was a non-factor in the competition. I was unaware of how specific the judges would be, and that they would look more at the whole design instead of every little detail.  You mentioned that Andrea was taking the lead because she was more experienced. Do you wish you had taken more control? It was an interesting dynamic. Andrea was more experienced and older than Shaz and I, and she definitely wanted to control the design. I got so wrapped up in my job that I didn&amp;#039;t realized the design was starting to venture away from the original plan, but once I did, I didn&amp;#039;t have much of a say anyway.  How was it veering off?  We had a plan with certain colors and items chosen, and I don&amp;#039;t think it materialized until halfway or three-quarters [of the way] through. When I realized that, I was already kind of left out of the loop, because I was stuck upstairs. I thought that maybe I should start working with them and seeing if I could change that, but it wasn&amp;#039;t honored.  Do you think you got a chance to show your experimental, avant-garde approach? I think I did accidentally. I didn&amp;#039;t aim to be experimental on the &amp;quot;Island Chic&amp;quot; project, because that&amp;#039;s not what [India Hicks] wanted. But when we were running out of time, things ended up that way.  Jonathan Adler and your teammates criticized the way you placed the mirror on an angle. Do you stand by your decision? We were down to the last second, and we were rushing around the room trying to place something somewhere that hadn&amp;#039;t been placed yet, or trying to get things that we didn&amp;#039;t want in the room outside. Literally, there was no time left. It wasn&amp;#039;t meant to be like that. That was not something that I wanted in the design or that any team member wanted in the design.  At what point did you think you were in trouble? I didn&amp;#039;t necessarily think I was going home. I thought that someone in our group was in danger, and I thought it could have been Shaz or I. I felt pretty confident that it was going to be Shaz, and I was a little surprised.  Did any of the other contestants really wow you with their talent?  We didn&amp;#039;t get to see all of their work while we were on the show, so I didn&amp;#039;t get to see their projects and be wowed, but I was wowed by their spirit, knowledge and confidence. I&amp;#039;m really looking forward to staying in touch with them. I ran into Nathan once on my stoop and we had a great talk. I really like him. He&amp;#039;s the sweetest guy. How has the show affected you since you returned back to New York? It definitely was a growing experience. I felt so honored to be on the show, considering I&amp;#039;d only been designing for half a year and I never went to school for design. To be back in New York after that, it was so motivating for me. I&amp;#039;ve totally been a workaholic since then. I&amp;#039;m really in a zone now. It&amp;#039;s amazing. [Top Design] was a major stepping stone for me, where I realized, wow, I have a talent. Now I&amp;#039;m really pushing myself to be in an artistic place where I&amp;#039;m constantly being inspired and coming up with new things, so designs aren&amp;#039;t straight out of a magazine or just following a trend.  Get the full scoop at Top Design Central. Click here to check out all the past interviews. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/interior-designers/interviews/a1740/top-design-exit-interview-serge-a-51200/>