Interview: The Season 6 Winners of ‘Rock the Block’ Tell All

Windy City Rehab's Alison Victoria (three-time Rock the Block competitor) and Season 4 champion Michel Smith Boyd (of Luxe For Less) have been crowned the winners of Season 6.

“This was a tough one,” admits Alison. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through in my life as a designer on television.” Michel agrees: “Rock the Block is like this pressure cooker. It’s this little fishbowl in this alternate universe we’ve created. We’re here for two months, completely dedicated to building something amazing.” With a six-week timeline and a budget of $250,000, four teams were tasked with renovating 5,500-square-foot mountain homes in Grantsville, Utah. Alison and Michel named their design approach Refined Rustic. “I am 100% the refined half of that title,” laughs Michel. “Alison’s more the rustic — she’s an antique girl.”

Alison and Michel had some tough competition. They faced off against veteran team Jonathan Knight of Farmhouse Fixer and his brother Jordan Knight, as well as two couples making their Rock the Block debut: Renovation Aloha’s Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama and Down Home Fab’s Chelsea and Cole DeBoer. For the first time ever, the judges (fellow HGTV designers and hosts) weren’t told whose homes they were previewing — meaning participants didn't have the opportunity to explain their design decisions or were they able to butter up the judges as they evaluated the spaces. During the final episode, Jonathan Scott (Celebrity IOU) walked through the finished homes before joining host Ty Pennington to announce the winning team, who won bragging rights, a street sign in their honor and a donation in their name to No Kid Hungry.

Ahead, HGTV catches up with the winning team, who barely knew each other prior to the competition. “I think I had met Michel once before!” shares Alison.

Michel: I didn’t think it would be something I would come back and do. [But] as hard as it was, I learned so much [during Season 4] and had so much fun … I wanted to come back and get more of that. There’s so much cool stuff that allows me to walk away a better designer after being on the block. Plus, it’s an honor to be asked — with all the talent on the network, so many great shows. To be asked to come back, defend my title and help Alison get a win? It was irresistible. I had to do it.

Alison: Coming back gave me another chance to show people what I’m made of. I wasn’t leaving anything on the table. The third time was my big finale. I brought everything like I always do. I gave it my all.

Alison: Beyond impressed. I was blown away by them. They were awesome. You get to know people on different levels working on the block. You get to see how hard they work, how passionate they are, how emotional this all is, how raw it is. Chelsea, Cole, Tristyn and Kamohai had this hunger. My first time on the block was the first season ever of Rock the Block. Nobody knew what they were getting into. These rookies have less of a rookie role because the show has been on for so long. They’ve had a chance to see what the show is about and they know what needs to be done to bring home the win.

Michel: They were really, really great. They were hungry. They would have had any veteran shaking in their boots. These rookies — they were there to kick butt. They were there to win. They had done their homework and watched the show. They understood what they needed to do, and not only that, they made aesthetically beautiful, stunning spaces. And I would be remiss not to mention Jonathan, who was a completely different designer [this season]. I even saw new things in his personality — who knew he was so outgoing? This time around, I thought it was going to kill me because the competition was amazing.

Alison: No, it was more about maintaining the same approach: Keep my head down, stay focused on what I’m doing and designing, while also trying to have fun with it because the show is grueling. It’s hard work.

Michel: Here’s the thing: You can’t change history. No matter what, I’ll always be a Rock the Block winner. [Laughs] You can’t take that away. So, the only pressure I felt was in terms of not wanting to lose to a rookie. Like they had better be talented if I lose to a rookie! While we were the team to beat, I didn’t want to rest on our laurels. That’s when you miss out on opportunities.

Alison: I used to live in Park City and have a lot of friends in Utah in real estate and design, so I asked them a lot of questions about the location we were in, specifically about code and comps. You need to do your homework. This is a big show.

Michel: I had never worked in Utah. There’s so much research I had to do to even know the demographic, the socialization, what family life was like, to understand what we might be able to do in this house.

Alison: Um, yes. Being able to see and judge everyone’s challenge spot was cool because it gave insight into what they were doing, what they were capable of doing. You got to see a sliver, like a sliver, of their style.

Michel: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We weren’t supposed to look at anything, but it’s very hard to go into a house and only see one room. I was peeking around the corners and I was like, "Holy crap, these guys are coming." When I think about seasons past, I could rule out at least one team. This season, I couldn’t rule out anyone. All the spaces were so great, I wondered, “Did they get more hours than we did?” I thought the viewers are going to be confused all the way through as to who’s going to win the whole thing, because there are no bad designs.

Alison: I love that you’re calling them moments. Every turn you take [on Rock the Block] needs to be something memorable. You ask yourself, “What’s going to stick in someone’s brain? How will I make it so they never forget my space?” The front door was really important because you can go and hang a standard door or you can customize one to show people what you’ve got. When Jonathan and Ty walked up to the front of the house, Jonathan was like, “What is this door? It’s gorgeous.” The casita was the move, adding square footage was the winning touch. I had an acre lot, and talking to realtors, I knew I could do up to three rental areas in this house per code. Once we got more money [participants were given an extra $50,000 for the backyard challenge], it made it that much easier. When people remember those moments forever, you did it right. People still talk about the ombré tile in my [primary] bathroom from Season 2.

Michel: We have a whole bunch of ideas on the dartboard, then we have to figure out time and budgets and what our team can execute effectively. But it’s also about wowing the viewers with beautiful spaces, and so part of our strategy was about bringing some things to the block that have never been seen before. It’s such a balance. Alison and I didn’t always agree on what those ideas were, but I think there’s enough of each of us in there that we were satisfied. The casita is a West Coast thing, so the idea of bringing it to Utah and the block felt fresh. There’s now space for guests, a teenager, a mother-in-law, someone aging in place in the family or for a renter without interrupting what is happening in the main house. The thing about Rock the Block is you want to add value, but you also have to lead — and that’s what we did. We lead by breaking the mold and doing things a lot of designers might not. There are so many opportunities our viewers get to look at and think, "OK, maybe we should do that."

Michel: You should see my social and the number of DMs saying, “You were robbed!” The truth is designers have to have thick skin. Design is subjective. While I agree with Mr. Scott, I do know those other main suites were pretty darn special. Again, it’s so subjective and, honestly, that’s what’s cool. Talk about a litmus test for discovering everyone’s version of luxury and what’s important to them!

Alison: It feels good because even if he didn’t say that to me, I knew it. But the mini wins are just that, they’re mini and they’re subjective because you’re bringing in people from all walks of life to judge and … some people are very particular in their likes and dislikes. None of our mini judges are appraisers. They don’t live in the area. They don’t know the comps, but when it comes to the big win — the only one that matters — that’s up to the professional appraisers.

Alison: That shock was authentic. During the finale, I was standing on that street, it was 25 degrees out; it was the hardest Rock the Block ever. I’m so tired, I just want to go home after everything I’ve endured. And in my mind, I was wondering if the win would go to Chelsea and Cole because their house was so child-friendly and we’re in Utah where there are big families. But I knew in my heart we should have won. I toured everyone's houses and I was still like, “This is my win. For sure, this is my win.”

Michel: Legitimately, I was probably more surprised this time than my first championship win because I didn’t think anything was guaranteed. I’d seen some of the spaces, and the comments that came back from the judges allowed us insight. Our imaginations started going crazy thinking, “Damn, that sounds amazing. I wonder what they did. Gosh, it must be really good.” So yes, I was incredibly surprised. Between the hunger of the rookies and the consistency of the Knight brothers coming back so much stronger (that beautiful greenhouse!), I didn’t take anything for granted.

Alison: I’ve gone through heartache. I’ve gone through lawsuits. I’ve gone through the ringer in my life, in my past and in this business, but when it comes to a television show, and doing what I love, nobody is going to really see what happens. So, the emotions come out at the end because they were there the whole time. It’s obviously redeeming, and I don’t mean that because I came back for the third time. It’s the highest honor to win Rock the Block. It was exactly what I deserved for the amount of years and hard work and knowledge that I’ve gained through the process. It feels beautiful. Just great.