Home Shopping Showdown

Don't ask me what rock I've been under but evidently both of the shopping channel giants have thrown their proverbial hats in the ring of home decor. Hmm....interesting. So I thought it might be fun to do a little bit of comparison between the two, all in good fun.

Ring, ring, ring...let the games begin.

In this corner we have HSN with a tag team made up of Nate Berkus & Colin Cowie.

versus

QVC's gang of Jeff Lewis, Tracy Hutson, Ken Brown and Genevieve Gorder.


I was probably most excited to see what Jeff Lewis of Flipping Out had on offer. I love his homes and expect him to be fairly meticulous in his collection. Gotta say, I was let down. Maybe if there had been more to choose from? I did like this glass lamp (nice, classic, sparkly) for $115 and this set of white nesting trays (so many uses) for $44. The collection from Tracy Hutson of Extreme Home Makeover was also pretty sparse but the ceramic bird tealight holder (could easily have been found at anthropologie for twice the price) for $32 caught my eye. I want it. Moving on to Kenneth Brown he has a well reviewed and pretty sassy looking starburst mirror for $55 as well as a faux fur throw for $50 that might work if put in the right context. And finally Genevieve Gorder who ends with a whimper...not much to show you aside from these pretty textured ceramics.

Overall, a bit disappointed in both the quantity and the style of QVC's game play. I think they picked the right players but maybe the didn't give them enough room to build a solid collection? There are some bright moments though so it could be promising.



So how does HSN stack up? Obviously its a much smaller cast of characters. Lets start with Colin Cowie. I could not have been more disappointed to see his stuff. I heart him and think he has the most amazing eye when it comes to entertaining. I simply do not believe he would ever use any of the items he is selling here. They just aren't worthy of him or his tablescapes. Award for the most useless item has to be this $25 wine purse. Sure, its pretty but I can't even imagine walking around with a wine carryall. Its the home stretch with HSN losing by a mile, Nate Berkus is their only hope of pulling a win. Thankfully we have a real player in Nate. Not just a couple of items but an actual home collection. Reasonably priced (although not cheap) but with high end style. This $400 hexagon ottoman, a $500 fab velvet settee, $20 branch candleholders or a fun striped rug for just $9. Based on the clearance prices on some items, I suspect I probably missed out on a bunch of other great pieces as well.

So who is the winner? I think HSN beat out QVC by a hair. There were some gems on both sides but I have to give it to HSN for giving Nate a wide berth to furnish. Good job to him and his team for not pumping out just any ol thing. But this is a pretty subjective contest. What do you think???