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Carmeon Hamilton is a Memphis-based interior designer, merchandising consultant and blogger, and now she is also the winner of HGTV’s Design Star: Next Gen. In the competition show, Carmeon went head-to-head with seven other talented designers in six challenges and came out the winner of $50,000 and her own show on HGTV.

Carmeon talks about what it was like to get picked to be a contestant on the show. Even though she watched all of the Design Star series when it originally aired (2006–2013), as soon as she found out she was going to be a contestant, she binged watched all eight seasons over again. (You can watch them too on discovery+).

Carmeon says her new show will be based in her hometown of Memphis and she will continue to focus on connecting her bold, geometric style with her culture and her love of her ancestral country, Ghana. When asked who is on her bucket list of HGTV designers to work with, Carmeon mentions fellow Design Star winners David Bromstad and Tiffany Brooks. She said she’d love to see all the Design Star winners do a show together. (We’d like that too, are you listening HGTV execs?)

Defend the Trend: Indoor Jungles + Fake Plants

In our Defend the Trend segment of the podcast, Marianne asks Carmeon if she thinks the trend of having an overabundance of indoor plants is here to stay. Carmeon says, a greenhouse may not be sustainable for the typical homeowner, however … "houseplants will forever be a trend, incorporating an element of life into a space will always be important in design.” Marianne also asks if faux plants are ever a good idea. Carmeon gives fake plants a thumbs up but with two caveats: go for quality and keep them dusted.

HGTV to the Rescue

Kelly Smith Trimble, HGTV.com editorial director, master gardener and host of HGTV's digital gardening series Dig It, shares advice on beginner vegetable gardening.