HGTV Design Star revealed its Top 2 second-season finalists during Sunday night's broadcast of the HGTV reality competition series.
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Sunday night's HGTV Design Star 2 episode began with the Top 3 finalists -- Kim Myles, a 33-year-old interior designer from New York City; Todd Davis, a 34-year-old landscape architect from San Francisco, CA; and Will Smith, a 30-year-old interior designer from Charlotte, NC -- learning the identities of the three "deserving families" each would be remodeling a room for as part of the challenge that would determine the Top 2.
Host Clive Pearse revealed Will would be designing a bedroom for a California teenager who's bound to a wheelchair; Todd would be designing a family room for two Indiana firefighters and their six children; and Kim would be designing a living room for a West Virginia coal miner and his needy family. Each of the three finalists received 26 hours, a carpenter and $10,000 to complete their "deserving designs."
After each finalist completed their room makeovers their on-camera skills were put to the test, as they had to explain their renovations to the show's cameras. HGTV Design Star judges -- former Trading Spaces designer Vern Yip, renowned designer Cynthia Rowley, and In Style executive editor Martha McCully -- then critiqued each finalist based on their design work as well as their "hosting performance."
Cynthia thought Will turned his space into "the coolest little bachelorette pad;" Martha commented the "colors were amazing" but added it lacked personality; and Vern "really loved the space" but thought Will was "nervous" while he explained his design. Vern said he was "very, very proud" of Kim's design and thought she looked "relaxed" while explaining the design, but all the judges questioned some of the odd angles she created in the room. Todd received rave reviews from all three judges on his attitude, however Vern was harsh on his the layout of the design.
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Cynthia, Martha and Vern then discussed their elimination decision, which Martha called "much harder than last year." Clive then informed Will that he had been eliminated.
"Thank you all for the amazing experience," said Will after he was ousted. "My dream is to be a designer, so whether I do it on TV or off TV, I mean I'm still going to be a designer. And now I'm a better designer than I've ever been."
Kim and Todd will now compete in HGTV Design Star 2's "Design Showdown," which will air Sunday, September 9 at 9PM ET/PT. After the broadcast of the showdown, home viewers can vote to determine which of the two remaining finalists will receive their own HGTV show, which will be awarded during the HGTV Design Star 2 finale on Sunday, September 16 at 9PM ET/PT.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio