Go Ask Alice

It's rare that a competition ends with everybody happy, but when the curtain came down on HGTV's first Design Star, co-competitors David Bromstadt and Alice Fakier were all smiles. "I had a wonderful time on the show. And if I had to lose, I really was glad it was to David," Fakier says. "He's very talented and is a great friend." Now Fakier and her fans have even more to smile about. The 31-year-old designer is back on screen in a series of Ask Alice videos on HGTV.com.

"It's a 12-part series that answers homeowners' questions about common design dilemmas," Fakier says. Each segment addresses a specific design challenge and demonstrates a do-it-yourself solution. "I hope viewers are inspired to try some of these ideas at home. We really chose affordable projects that could actually be done with a minimum of tools and by yourself," Fakier says. "We want to be inspiring, not overwhelming." The show was shot in her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.

In one of her favorite episodes, Fakier transformed a small bedroom for a teenaged girl. "The challenge was that there wasn't a lot of room for storage or furniture. We used bookcases to flank a bed and created a fabric canopy," she says. The result was a multipurpose unit that created a focal point in the room, included a headboard and storage. "I really like that the unit was unique and one-of-a-kind. You can tailor it to any child or decor with different fabric. And the child has that essential space for all of the stuff he or she likes to surround themselves with, from trophies and books to pictures of friends."