Emily Henderson was crowned the winner of HGTV Design Star's fifth season during last night's finale broadcast of the HGTV reality competition series.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 30-year-old prop stylist originally from Portland, OR, defeated Michael Moeller, a 30-year-old design business owner from New York, NY, to claim the grand prize of her own HGTV series.
"I'm so happy, I'm just in shock!" Emily said after her victory was revealed. "It's shocking to know that me, Emily Henderson, I'll have my own television show, what? I'm the Design Star!"
"I'm pretty proud of myself. It wasn't totally easy the entire way through. I'm so happy, so happy I'm crying."
HGTV Design Star's final fifth-season challenge required Emily and Michael to each produce a segment for their proposed design shows. Armed with a $15,000 budget, each designer was tasked with making over a "basically furnished" one-bedroom New York apartment in which one of their former competitors would pretend to serve as their client and the rest would serve as their assistants.
ADVERTISEMENT
Emily selected Dan Faires, Casey Noble, Stacey Cohen, Tom Vecchione, and Alex Sanchez to help her with the challenge while Michael picked Courtland Bascon, Nina Ferrer, Trent Hultgren, Tera Hampton, and Julie Khuu.
Emily decided to have Tom serve as the pseudo-client for Style to Lifestyle, her design show which would transfer a client's personal style to their home. Michael chose to have Nina pretend to be an artist who had recently experienced a life change and needed a "design revolution" to match her new career -- which would be the concept of his Michael's Design Revolution show.
After they completed the makeovers and filmed their show segments, Emily and Michael reunited in the HGTV Design Star studio, where judges Vern Yip, Genevieve Gorder and Candice Olson watched their segments along with a small audience that included the previously eliminated finalists.
The judges then deliberated and made their decision as Emily and Michael waited backstage anxiously.
"This is a very difficult decision, we have two very qualified people here," Vern said as the judges began discussing their decision as the audience watched.
ADVERTISEMENT
"You are both incredible designers and you both solidly deserve to be standing where you are right now," he later reiterated to Emily and Michael before he announced Emily's win.
Emily will star in Secrets From A Stylist, a special which will air Sunday, August 29 at 10PM ET/PT. During the special, she will style the new home of Glee co-creator Ian Brennan.
About The Author: Steven Rogers