Congratulations to Emily Henderson, winner of HGTV’s Design Star! If you’ve been following the series then you’re likely familiar with  Emily, the quirky-cool blonde who works as a prop stylist specializing in interior and food styling. She didn’t make much noise in the first few episodes of Design Star but quickly made it known to the judges and the world that she had what it takes to be the next Design Star. Last night she was crowned the winner and will soon be the host of her own show on HGTV! I hate to sound like a know-it-all but I totally had her pegged as the winner from the beginning after seeing her stunning portfolio of work! Now residing in Los Angeles, Emily spent 8 years living in New York assisting noted stylist Cindy DiPrima. Her portfolio of work clients includes styling projects for editorial and advertising clients including the late Domino magazine (tear), Real Simple, Bon Appetit, Coastal Living, Martha Stewart Living, J. Jill, Garnet Hill and more. Check out some of her work:


Above, the winning room in Design Star’s episode 10 challenge which advanced Emily to the final round. Below are a series of beautifully styled photos from Emily’s portfolio. Enjoy!













If you want to see more from Emily she has a great blog called the Brass Petal which you can check out here!

10 Comments

  1. great new! she was my favorite and I loved her glass room–the mix of prints and textures made it so beautiful and interesting.

  2. Love her work and she definitely deserved the win. I’m really hoping her show and style will be a breath of fresh air on hgtv – I have this channel on all the time but I must say most of their designs are oversaturated with color and too theme-y. Hopefully Emily can change that!

  3. Hi. This is my first post but I’ve been following this blog since I saw Nicole’s apartment in Apartment Therapy. I’m enjoying it.

    I’m commenting to say that I did not enjoy Design Star this season. I think the designers were not nearly as good this year as in previous years but Emily was top of the heap so I’m not surprised she won it all. I stopped watching around episode 5 or 6. Anyway Nicole, you wrote that Emily will get her own show on HGTV but, if I remember correctly, the winner gets a show on the HGTV website, not the network. I might be wrong but that’s what I remember hearing when they were mentioning what the winner will receive. Am I right or not?

    Love the blog!!

  4. OOPS!!! Ignore my previous post. I just went to the HGTV site and Emily’s show will be called “Secrets of a Stylist” and will begin next week ON HGTV!!

  5. I love her work – she has such a great eye for fresh, fun spaces! love your blog… 🙂

  6. I must’ve been living under a rock! I’ve never heard of this show! But these images make me want to go out and find out more about it! 🙂 Hazel

  7. Hi Everyone! Thanks for your comments! She totally deserved her win and watching her on HGTV is like a breath of fresh air!

    And Essie – I think I know where you’re coming from. I didn’t see a ton of innovation or standout talent during the competition although Emily definitely stood out…especially as the show progressed. Glad she won!