HGTV Star Season 8: Hotel Suite Challenge
In the season finale, the final three contestants are challenged to transform a Palm Springs, Calif., hotel suite in just three days. Check out behind-the-scenes photos of the creative designs and find out who was crowned this season's HGTV Star.
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November 25, 2014
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Welcome to Palm Springs
Host David Bromstad welcomes finalists Brooks Atwood, Tiffany Brooks and Jeribai Tascoe to the Rancho Las Palmas Resort for this season's final challenge.
This Week's Challenge
David poses with resort vice president and general manager April Shute as they present the final challenge to the remaining three designers: Design a brand new hotel suite in just three days.
Ready, Set, Design!
Brooks, Tiffany and Jeribai rush to get started on their hotel suite designs.
Competitors Turned Collaborators
Each finalist will get design help from their former HGTV Star competitors. Boris and Tobin are on Team Tiffany.
Brotherly Advice
Jonathan and Drew Scott, hosts of HGTV's Property Brothers and the new show Brother Vs. Brother, will mentor the contestants as host David Bromstad joins this week's judging panel.
Before: The Hotel Suite
Each hotel suite featured completed construction, but was a design blank slate.
Tiffany's Design Plan
Tiffany's plan for the finale: "What I need to do to pull off this final challenge is to keep doing what I have been doing, but to add a bit more seasoning to it. With that in mind, she created a Palm Springs-inspired space that she called "midcentury modern design meets contemporary current."
Finishing Touches
Boris adds the final tabletop flourishes to Tiffany's dining table.
Behind the Camera
Tiffany tries out the other side of the camera during a short break on the set of the HGTV Star finale.
Tiffany's Suite: The Living Space
Tiffany employed a playful color palette with a mix of sleek, midcentury pieces and more contemporary ones.
Tiffany's Suite: The Dining Room
After getting the slab-style dining table through the door (whew!), Tiffany paired it with bright, mismatched chairs. The coordinated gallery wall features pop art prints designed by Palm Springs artists.
Tiffany's Suite: Playful Sitting Area
A plush rug, a tufted cocktail ottoman and a pair of low-slung Danish modern chairs make this prime relaxation real estate.
Tiffany's Suite: The Fireplace
This custom fireplace is the center of Tiffany's living space design. Her carpenter topped a black base with white slats, creating a thoroughly modern fireplace that evokes the local style. "How very 'Palm Springs' of her," David said.
Tiffany's Suite: The Bedroom
Since this space was designed for complete relaxation, Tiffany toned down the bedroom color palette to soft neutrals and sea-inspired hues.
Tiffany's Suite: Texture Underfoot
Though the judges loved the calming space overall, judge Sabrina Soto was skeptical of the layered jute rug by the bed. "Who wants to get out of bed and step on jute?" Sabrina said.
Ready for Stardom?
A strong camera challenge and a location-perfect design put Tiffany in a good position for the final evaluation.
Team Jeribai
Since Jeribai chose the largest hotel suite, he received extra help in the form of former competitors Abbi, Cris and Jessie.
Jeribai's Suite: The Bedroom
Determined to show the panel his more sophisticated side, Jeribai created this ultra-luxe bedroom. Jeribai opted for a base of plush white carpet, a decision judge Vern Yip questioned for durability's sake.
Jeribai's Suite: Bedroom Details
Textured purple wallpaper adds depth to the space, while the upholstered headboard practically beckons you to try out the bed. "Love the wallpaper, love the purple, love the texture," said host (and now-judge) David Bromstad.
Jeribai's Suite: Vanity Nook
The curvy mirror nods to ornate, traditional style, but the flat front and straight lines of the desk and chair make this pampering spot thoroughly modern.
Jeribai's Suite: The Living Space
The enormous living space is divided into three areas: A dining table and two lounges.
Jeribai's Suite: Cocktail Lounge
A low cocktail table and comfortable wingback chairs allow this suite's guests to relax and enjoy cocktail hour, Mad Men-style.
Jeribai's Suite: The Dining Room
Wallpaper, original paintings and eye-catching pendant lighting makes this space look perfectly high-end. "This space has so many really good, sophisticated moments that show luxury and an sense of escape," Genevieve said.
Jerbai's Suite: Sitting Area
The suite's second sitting area is centered around the TV. Using a carpet-tile rug allowed Jeribai to create a custom size perfect for this huge room.
Jeribai's Suite: Bold Sofa
The judges loved the living room's bright orange sofa. A hotel suite is the perfect time to take a chance on a bold sofa, Vern said.
Jeribai's Suite: Tabletop Accessories
Flowers and a wine decanter await the suite's first guests.
Two Times the Mentoring
Drew and Jonathan Scott drop by Jeribai's space for a double-dose of mentorship. Despite their help, Jeribai's camera challenge is still a bit low-energy; it doesn't reflect his fun-loving personality.
Team Brooks
Brooks' design team: The most recent cast-off, Anne, and Tylor.
It's All About the Hair
Jonathan and Drew Scott attempt to emulate Brooks' trademark "nutty professor" hairstyle. His "nutty" design plan: Think Versailles meets midcentury modern. "This is the mecca of midcentury modern design...so there's a lot of pressure to do something amazing here," Brooks said.
Anne's Touch-Ups
Anne gives Brooks' space a final cleaning before time is called.
Brooks' Suite: The Entryway
Brooks set out to greet guests (and judges) with a bang, in the form of this opulent, pattern-on-pattern vignette.
Brooks' Suite: The Living Room
Traditional and modern pieces mingle in Brooks' living space. "It's a little bit cuckoo, but really fun," Genevieve said of the space.
Brooks' Suite: Midcentury Awesome
Brooks channeled the Palm Springs portion of his design theme into this central seating area outfitted with retro chairs, a curvy coffee table and a cutout light fixture.
Brooks Suite: Traditional and Modern
Brooks created faux paneling with trim and painted it shiny gold to create a royal feel. But the judges felt the high-gloss detail (and the dark wall hue) made the space look cheap, not chic.
Brooks' Suite: The Bar
Judge Vern Yip's favorite part of Brooks' space? The built-in bar, which balanced modern, geometric-patterned stools and midcentury barware with traditional panels and accessories.
Brooks' Suite: A Bit of Whimsy
Who but Brooks would outfit their suite with golden bananas? To balance the playful accessory, he added a vintage trunk and some streamlined, modern pieces.
Brooks' Suite: The Bedroom
David wasn't a fan of the room's striped wallpaper: "The wallpaper...it's like circus gone crazy. You have to remember your client, but I admire that you went for it, he said. The judges agreed that this room was too busy overall.
Brooks' Suite: Tactile Accessories
Soft pillows in primary hues adorn a bedside armchair.
Brooks' Suite: A Table of Curiousities
Brooks' worked his share of unique "curiosities" into the room, but he didn't dwell on them in his camera challenge. After practicing his 90-second, on-camera tour, his hosting skills made a marked improvement.
It's Evaluation Time!
Star host and newly-minted panel member David Bromstad calls the judges into the elimination studio.
Familiar Faces
The eliminated contestants make one more stop in the elimination room to find out which of their fellow designers will win it all.
The Moment of Truth
They've reviewed the designs. They've seen the camera challenges. All that's left? Choosing a Star. The next HGTV Star is...
Congratulations, Tiffany!
...Tiffany! Her approachable camera persona, playful designs and rock-solid Star record made her the judges' choice. Tiffany, welcome to the HGTV family! Hear what she has to say about winning it all.
Bye Bye, Brooks
"I did exactly what I wanted to do and I am incredibly proud of every design I did," Brooks says. See more of his after-the-elimination interview.
So Long, Jeribai
"It's always about growth for me, and ever single word of feedback from the panel...I'm just hanging on every word," Jeribai says. See more of his post-challenge recap.
