Meet Our 2014 Fresh Faces of Design Winner

After an extensive selection process involving 100+ submissions from talented designers across the US and weeks of online voting where HGTV fans cast hundreds of thousands of votes, we have a winner. Drumroll, please. Everyone join us in congratulating Caitlin McCarthy, the winner of our Fresh Faces of Design competition!
Caitlin's genius small-space solutions and approachable high-meets-low design style wowed HGTV fans who voted her design tops in the small space category, then won over the judges who crowned her the winner overall. Here are a few photos of Caitlin’s award-winning downtown Los Angeles loft plus the judges' POV on why she swept the competition:
Becky LaFranchi, Communications and Interior Design Manager for Ikea USA, had this to say: "When designing a small space, every detail is important, each decision impacts another, and the ability to edit is key." Caitlin pulls together a beautifully balanced, collected-over-time look that tells a story but is well edited and doesn’t feel cluttered:

Jessie Webster
Jillian St. Charles, Vice President of HGTV.com adds, "You don't see many luxe-looking galley kitchens. This very functional space combines materials and judicious use of color in a way that’s really engaging."

Jessie Webster
Brian Patrick Flynn, Interior Designer and Founder of FlynnsideOut Productions was impressed with Caitlin’s mastery of scale and the way she incorporated the loft’s century-old architectural elements, like the exposed brick and original hexagonal tile floor:

Jessie Webster
All the judges could agree that Caitlin's design is approachable and deftly combines bargain finds with glamorous touches, like these Thomas O’Brien Hicks pendants that illuminate the hallway-turned-dining room:

Jessie Webster
Off the dining room is the loft's main bedroom. Doorless white walls give the loft a cohesive feel that helps the small spaces flow one into the next:

Jessie Webster
The jewelbox of a bedroom conceals a real gem: a boutique-worthy glass-doored closet:

Jessie Webster
But that isn't the loft's only surprise — what looks like a built-in in the living room is actually…

Jessie Webster
a Murphy bed that cleverly tucks away when not in use. Genius!

Jessie Webster
Judge Becky LaFranchi summed up this petite pied a terre best, "Caitlin's design proves that small-space living can be both stylish and comfortable. It also feels very individualized, and not at all cookie-cutter, like you might expect a tiny space to be." Brava, Caitlin, congrats on your win!