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HGTV has officially revealed the finalists for its Designer of the Year contest, and fans can make their voices heard.
The annual contest features home designs from across the country, divided into six categories (Waterside Retreats, Countryside Escapes, Outdoor Oasis, Dramatic Before + After, Color + Pattern, and Kitchen + Dining). Fans can vote for their favorites from each category on the HGTV website. After the voting period ends in September 2024, the network will unveil one People’s Pick winner from each category.
In addition to the People’s Pick awards, the network will also name six Editors’ Pick winners from each category, chosen by a panel of HGTV pros, and one Overall Winner across all finalists. The Overall Winner will be chosen by a panel of judges that includes HGTV Dream Home designer Brian Patrick Flynn, the network’s craft and entertaining expert Marianne Canada, and Cecilia Casagrande and Leah Alexander, the 2022 and 2023 Designer of the Year Overall Winners, respectively.
HGTV’s Designer of the Year Awards Includes a $15,000 Fan Sweepstakes
In addition to the fan vote, HGTV is holding a special $15,000 sweepstakes alongside their Designer of the Year prize. Fans interested in entering can submit themselves twice daily, by entering their email on the HGTV and Food Network websites. The contest closes on September 26, 2024, at 5 p.m. Eastern.
According to the official contest rules, the winner will be notified approximately three business days after the contest closes, and from there they will be sent a check for $15,000. Although the contest is taking place on the same page as the Designer of the Year fan vote, users do not need to vote for their favorite designs in order to enter the sweepstakes.
The 2023 Designer of the Year Winner Was Nominated Again
Although she is on the Overall Winner judging panel, 2023 winner Leah Alexander has one of her designs nominated in this year’s Designer of the Year awards (for the third year in a row).
This year, Alexander is nominated in the Dramatic Before + After category for her own Atlanta apartment transformation, which was featured in Architectural Digest in August 2024.
“Last week, [my design business] Beauty Is Abundant turned six. To my absolute delight, THIS… makes three HGTV Designer of the Year nominations during these last six years,” Alexander wrote in the caption of an August 20 Instagram post announcing her nomination. “This is a reminder that none of us have any idea where what we’re doing right this minute will end up in a year or two or three from now. Keep going.”
Alexander won last year with a kitchen design, taking home the People’s Pick for her category as well as the Overall Winner prize. The network shared photos of her winning design in an October 2023 post, writing in the caption, “This contemporary blue, white and natural wood kitchen won the votes of the HGTV audience *and* the Designer of the Year Awards judges panel. It’s punchy, yet simple design, by [Beauty is Abundant], stood out among the rest.”
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Henry Sinnott is an entertainment reporter who covers HGTV, The Voice, American Idol and Teen Mom for Heavy. Henry is based in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Binghamton University. He loves all things comedy and reality TV. More about Henry Sinnott
