Design Star Season 6: Photo Highlights From Episode 3

This week on Design Star, the designers take on their first homeowner challenge: giving old rooms a new lease on life. See the before and afters, plus, behind-the-scenes photos from the set.

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Real-Life Makeovers

The 10 Design Star hopefuls face their first homeowner challenge, where they must take unused rooms and turn them into functional, stylish spaces.

Guest Judges: Cortney and Bob Novogratz

Hosts of the new show Home by Novogratz, Cortney and Bob, join Genevieve and Vern on the judging panel for the third challenge.

Advice From the Mentor

David Bromstad gives the designers this week’s camera challenge: a one-minute usable tip for viewers at home. For her tip, Leslie shows how transform a regular snapshot into a work of art.

Before: Cluttered Basement

The Callegari family wants the basement to have play areas suitable for kids and adults, as well as a family-friendly office, where they can all spend time together. Kellie, Kevin and Leslie team up to make over the basement.

After: Colorful, Family-Friendly Basement

To make the space more functional, Kellie designs an island with barstools between the two pillars in the basement. Judge Vern Yip is impressed with how she smartly integrates elements that are complete eyesores, but structurally necessary to the space.

After: Kids' Artwork Collage

Leslie find boxes of children’s artwork and decides to make a collage of the pieces to add a personal touch to the family basement. Guest judge Cortney Novogratz loves that they incorporated children into the space since it’s also their home.

After: Well-Designed Home Office

Kevin designs a multi-purpose desk for the whole family and creates graphic wall art that also functions as shelves. Because his contribution is both practical and stylish, the judges name him the winner of this challenge.

Sand It Down

Meg reimagines the homeowner’s existing hutch by sanding down the piece and finishing with a strie paint technique.

Before: Uninspired Dining Room

Homeowner Christina Scano loves to entertain, but her current dining area doesn’t have enough seating. In addition, she’d like to create an indoor/outdoor vibe.

After: Beach-Inspired Dining

Meg and Tyler decide to bring a Hamptons/Palm Beach-Inspired style into the space with weathered furnishings and beachy colors. Tyler installs horizontal panels on the back wall to continue the beach vibe and highlight the arches.

After: Redesigned Hutch

Meg refinishes the hutch with a strie paint technique by painting on a solid color and then using a chip brush to pull off the excess paint. The judges think her hutch is really successful and timeless.

Pro Help

Each team of designers has a carpenter to help them with their room designs.

Judging Break

Tanika shows Vern, Genevieve, Cortney and Bob through all the designers’ rooms so they can see first-hand the transformations.

Shopping for Tile

One of Karl’s specialties is backsplashes so he heads to the tile store to find the perfect options for his individual contribution.

Before: Entertainment Room

Homeowner Christina Scano wants to transform this old mother-in-law suite into an entertainment space with a comfortable lounge space, media area and wet bar.

After: Entertainment Room

Bret, Cathy and Karl team up to make over the space. They start by replacing the old carpet with new hardwood floors and then bring in contemporary furnishings. However, the judges think the space is very disjointed, and the furniture looks like it belongs in an office.

After: Clean White Kitchen

The designers keep the old kitchen space as a kitchenette, but demo everything from before and bring in brand new cabinets and small appliances.

After: Smash Mosaic Backsplash

Karl creates a backsplash out of tile he broke into pieces that’s fun and contemporary with a touch of traditional. Vern says the backsplash is “a touch of design and art.”

Last-Minute Cleanup

An essential task before showing a room to the judges or on a television show is cleanup. Mark makes sure everything is spic and span before time is up.

Before: Outdated Living Room

The Callegari family want to update their living room with ample room for family gatherings and to include places for both kids and adults.

After: Disjointed Style

From the very beginning, Mark and Doug have trouble making decisions together. Mark creates a wall of wood panels to bring in an element of nature, while Doug wants to handle all the furniture selection. “There are two different concepts in the room. I hope the design panel sees my contribution to the room,” says Mark.

After: Wrong Paint Color

Doug chooses a paint color that Mark thinks is too pink. In the end, the judges feel the paint color and furniture selection was not Design Star quality, and Doug is sent home.

Nail It In

Mark works on his individual contribution to the room: a focal wall of wooden panels.

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