I know it's wrong to judge people on their personality and I mea culpa the heck out of my opinions because I know that it makes me less fair than I should be, but try as I might I can't help it. Craig annoys me, Byrony doesn't as much but neither does she fill me with "Ooh, I love her!" I quite like Rita because she's smiley, but so is Craig so why does he annoy me? None of it's logical, it's all subjective and I think I let my subjectivity vere between, I like what you do, ergo I like you. To, you like what you do too much therefore you're getting on my tits. I'm a contrary mare at times.
I didn't dislike Craig's pop art but it is very passe and the way Michelle was raging about it you'd think that no one had thought of it since Aha back in the day. I actually thought the front door was the best part of his design because I could see how useful that would be for help in training the dog because oh my days we all know how much of an annoyance dogs can be with front doors, even when they haven't been faced with any trauma like a lot of those dogs will have been.
I was impressed with Victoria because she clearly could have gone more all out but chose not to because she was focussed entirely on the dog and what the room could do for them, especially with photography and I know as someone who looks at the photos we get of dogs and cats it makes a difference. Better photgraphs mean that dog/cat will get chosen more quickly. I wasn't surprised that her name was the one chosen immediately after Craig's because she really had thought it through and I was glad that there was a Sue who could big it up from the more corporate nature of the design because she saw that it was done for the dog.
The crate thing was definitely an issue. They're a pretty new thing to me although I know they're not as recent as I suspect but even ten or so years ago I wasn't seeing them, but my best friend's most recent rescue, five years ago, had a crate at the start of his life with them. She no longer has it because it became less necessary. But I do get how they can be incredibly helpful and if I knew I was encorporating one into a design I would be really sure to find out the whys and wherefores. In this instance I would say getting the crate right is as important as your ability to arrange a kitchen to use it to its best utlility or the size and placement of sofas in a living room, a bed in a bedroom. It's not an afterthought, it's important to how the room works for an animal who may well be traumatised. It's about safety and comfort and all of the stuff that good furniture is for people.
My biggest opinion about Victoria so far is she reminds me of Clare Grogan which is a nice thing, but mostly I'm enjoying how she seems to be going under the radar, not because she's not doing good work but because others are getting more screentime, and bringing something a little different and a little more interesting each week. Maybe she's my favourite at this point but I don't really know. She's definitely not obvious and she learns by her errors each week.