Forget Design Star: Meet The Real Nina Ferrer

Filed under: Design, etc, News & Trends

The recently eliminated HGTV Design Star contestant Nina Ferrer opens up about her experience on the show.

If you were to watch any of the five episodes of HGTV Design Star that Nina Ferrer appeared in, you might be wary of the supposedly back-stabbing and controlling designer in person.

When we were asked to guest tweet episode four of HGTV Design Star, we almost couldn't believe just how tough people were on Ferrer. We were curious: Do people just love to hate her? And so, we kept an eye on episode five tweets and to no one's surprise, the Ferrer hate-fest continued: @goaliemom31 was flat-out psyched she was sent packing: "Ding, dong Nina's gone!" #DesignStar, while @seemomsmile said: "Thought both designs were blah. So glad The Nina Show is OVER!" #DesignStar. There was even a "Bye Nina" hash tag, used to mark posts about Ferrer getting booted.

However, when the opportunity arose, your ShelterPop editors couldn't resist the chance to meet Ferrer face-to-face and hear what she had to say about her experience on HGTV Design Star.

Ferrer and I met in her neighborhood in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn at Lola's Boutique, a women's clothing store selling what might be considered "boho chic" wares. Ferrer chose the location because she's slated to give the shop's interiors a facelift as one of her first post-HGTV Design Star projects. For someone who just finished a stint on national television, this was a decidedly humble and low-key meeting place.


Ferrer brought her two chihuahuas, Chachi and Nicolino, to our meeting -- and she couldn't have picked a better ice breaker: They were incredibly sweet and adorable, and they obviously love their owner. Ferrer showed up in a t-shirt and leggings, looking like she'd recently spent a few days at the beach; she was lively and laughed easily.

After spending an hour with her talking about the show and her background as a designer, I can't help but think she was unfairly cast as the villain in the first five episodes of HGTV Design Star. Ferrer reminds me of other women I know who are serious about their careers, the ones who are driven and focused almost to a fault. She's got a big personality, she's confident and she's tough. Nina Ferrer isn't a witch, she's just a New Yorker. And as a fellow New Yorker, I'll say I enjoyed meeting her and hearing her side of the story. Here's what she had to say:

What did you find most challenging about appearing on HGTV Design Star?
Honestly, the most challenging thing was to be away from my dogs! [Laughs] I'm used to stress and deadlines, so that was the easy part. What was surprising, though, was that I went into the competition with blinders on, and I thought I was going to be this fierce competitor. Then I became friends with these people. How do you throw people under the bus and be competitive with people you're actually friends with? For example, Stacey and I shared a room, but on every episode, it looks like we're the worst of enemies in the challenges. Yes, sometimes we were, but every night we would still laugh our asses off. We were really good friends because it's two separate things.

Were there certain things about the way the show was edited that surprised you?
It's not really what they showed [that surprised me], it's what they didn't show. I have to admit, the parts that they showed, that's part of my personality: You can't just make that up out of thin air. However, maybe it's the sentence before, or your laughter after, it's the joke that leads up to that line that they don't show. Sure, I do have a strong personality, but I'm a total goofball: I laugh and I make people laugh.

You say that they couldn't make things up out of thin air, but did you suspect that the producers were going to paint you as a villain?
I knew that I had a very strong personality, a kind of leadership-type personality. And I guessed that if out of everyone, if anyone was going to be the villain, it was going to be me. It was no secret that I went on the show with the intention to win: I'm very focused, and I'm very serious about design.

It's a reality show, you know what you're in for when you sign up, but after a while, it's like, "C'mon, I'm not that mean." It's funny, me and my friends laugh about it. It's like, "Oh my god, you really said that!" But I said that at another time when it made sense, when it didn't sound so mean.

What are some of the things that made you laugh when you had the chance to see them on TV?
Definitely the firefighter episode when we broke up into teams. There was one point when I say, "I'm glad I'm not on that team; that's the crazy people team." And that quote is from something else. I was laughing hysterically because I'm like: I wouldn't say that about that team in that moment! It didn't make any sense. So I'm laughing, and my family is looking at me like, "Why would you say that? That's not nice!"

People have written some mean things about you on blogs and Twitter. How do you deal with that?
Honestly, it doesn't hurt my feelings; it doesn't bother me at all. I read it, and I laugh because I have a strong personality, and with a strong personality comes confidence. You have to have a thick skin. Design-Star-Nina is not Nina Ferrer, it's like two different people. They've condensed my personality down to twelve minutes out of sixty minutes. I'm not twelve minutes: I'm a lot more than that.

What do you feel like you learned from the experience?
I don't know: I learned so much about myself in such a short amount of time. I always thought that I was a competitor, but I think that I'm more of a people person than a competitor. I went in so fierce and so strong, and if you noticed, through the episodes, I kind of got soft because I didn't want to be that mean person, because I'm not. That's kind of the way you have to be in competition and it opened my eyes to that.

What was you favorite part?
Definitely the people. I felt like I was in college and summer camp all over again. I mean you're with eleven other people that want the same thing that you want, who have a similar background to you, and they've all got big personalities. So you put us all together: Of course there's going to be drama, you're going to laugh, you're going to have so much fun because you are so similar.

Did you guys all hang out together when you weren't working on your challenges?
Yes, we all lived together, there was no place else to go. We generally all congregated in the living room and hung out -- and we became friends. I mean, I cried when Dan left, I cried when I thought Alex was going home and I cried when Tera left because these people become your family, they become your support system.

You said you wouldn't change anything that you did on HGTV Design Star, but would you actually do it again?
Oh my god: Everyone should go on a reality show. [Laughs] It is so much fun!

All right, the big question: What are you planning to do next?
I'm currently working on a large residential home in the French style, but the [homeowner] is into modern, as well. It's going to be something that's really chic and fun, because he wants some fun, unexpected moments. And then this store [indicating Lola's Boutique]: The reason why I chose this location is because something like this is a great challenge. I'm also looking at contracts for a restaurant and a bar.

What is your dream project?
I would love another retail store. I'd love a women's clothing store, with cool vintage clothes, in a really hip spot, maybe in L.A. because I love L.A. so much. When fashion and design merge together, it's just awesome.

What does your apartment look like?
I think that I would classify it as bohemian chic [laughs]. It's my personal style. I have wooden screens from India, a coffee table from Bali. My table is imported from Italy, and I have the first sofa I bought for my first apartment.

I have this really cool vintage mirror -- it's really gaudy. When I was fifteen, my best friend called me and said, "I have this thing in my yard for you, but you have to come and get it." I'm like, "What does this jerk have for me?" and it was this huge mirror, and I've had it ever since. You have to have pieces like that in your house, things that touch a moment in your heart. It was garbage, but it's my garbage now. All my walls are white because I have bold, colorful paintings, and my bedroom happens to have a purple wall: I'm a Pisces, purple is my favorite color. (Ed note: Even Nina's nails were painted purple.)

But tell us: Do you have any murals?
[Laughs] I don't have a mural! I don't think I'd ever painted a mural before I got on this show!


What do you think, guys -- does Ferrer sound like she did on the show? Would you want to meet her in person?

 

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