Season 8

Ten gifted contenders will compete for their own show on HGTV. Host and Mentor David Bromstad gives the Designers their first challenge: to create a vignette, or section of a room, that represents their personal style or brand. To make their space really distinctive, each Designer will have the opportunity to create their own original fabric and wallpaper. The challenge winner will have an item from his or her space adapted for sale on the popular website One King's Lane. Stress levels are high as the Designers race against time to showcase their POV's, and prove that they deserve to be the next HGTV Star. Genevieve Gorder and Vern Yip are joined on the Design Panel throughout the season by fellow HGTV host Sabrina Soto. At Evaluation, the winner of the challenge is declared, and the first Designer is sent home.

For their second challenge, the nine remaining Designers must transform an old industrial warehouse loft into a multi-functional space for living, eating, sleeping and working. The Designers divide into teams to take on the various areas. Some teams get along swimmingly, but others butt heads under the pressure. In keeping with the theme of repurposing this old warehouse loft, each Designer must also creatively update a vintage item and integrate it into their space. This item forms the basis for their first camera challenge, intended to test their TV hosting abilities. Host and Mentor David Bromstad asks each contender to show the viewers how they are transforming and using their vintage item. The performances are wildly varied, from smooth and slick to comically disastrous. At Evaluation, the Designers must defend their work before the Panel, HGTV hosts Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip and Sabrina Soto.

Host and Mentor David Bromstad informs the eight remaining contenders that they must work in pairs to transform four identical new apartments, all for the same young married couple. Each team has a short meeting with their clients to learn about their tastes and desires, in hopes of designing the one apartment that the clients will want to move into. Some Designers ask thoughtful questions; others aren't nearly as prepared. With only two days to complete this challenge, tension on the teams runs high. There is added pressure, because at the end, two Designers will be eliminated. On the morning of day two, HGTV Magazine Editor-in-Chief Sara Peterson arrives to add a major incentive: the winning design will be featured in HGTV Magazine! The Designers' work is evaluated by the Panel, Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip and Sabrina Soto. The winning apartment is announced, and two Designers are eliminated, leaving only six to compete for the grand prize: their own show on HGTV.

The six remaining Designers must transform the kitchens and dining rooms in two neighboring homes, in just three days from start to finish. This is a historically difficult challenge, and in all the years of this competition it has never been one hundred percent completed, so the stakes are extremely high. The Designers divide into teams and meet with the homeowners to find out their tastes and desires. Each team must help demolish the existing kitchen cabinetry, and make decisions about every aspect of the spaces. Host and Mentor David Bromstad checks in with each of the Designers, and also oversees camera challenges, which test their hosting skills. This week, each Designer must give a tip about one of three aspects of kitchen design: flooring, cabinet hardware, or backsplashes. The Designers race to complete the kitchens and dining rooms, and to satisfy their clients. Their finished work is evaluated by the Panel: Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip and Sabrina Soto.

The five remaining Designers find themselves on a major college campus, where host and mentor David Bromstad tells them that they have just three days to make over the main room in a sorority and a fraternity house. It's boys against girls as the male Designers take on the fraternity, and the women work on the sorority. While the Designers race to make over their spaces, they must also showcase their TV hosting skills in the Camera Challenge. This week they must work on camera with another person for the first time, as they teach a home improvement task to one of their sorority sisters or fraternity brothers. The finished rooms are evaluated by the Panel: Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip and Sabrina Soto. And they are also revealed to the students, who react energetically to the transformations. One Designer is chosen as this week's winner, and another is eliminated from the competition, leaving only four in the running for the grand prize: their own show on HGTV.

The final four Designers face their most ambitious challenges yet. For their Design Challenge, they must each transform the inside of an old school bus! The sky is the limit, as they can turn the bus into any sort of space they want. This week's Camera Challenge is also the biggest yet for the Designers. They must appear on the national daytime show, The Talk. Each of them must present an unconventional design tip to the viewers, while interacting with hosts Julie Chen and Sheryl Underwood. The pressure is intense, as the Designers attempt to complete both challenges successfully. The performances on The Talk and the bus designs are evaluated by the Panel, Genevieve Gorder, Vern Yip and Sabrina Soto. When Evaluation is complete, only three Designers remain in the competition for their own show on HGTV. David Bromstad serves as Host and Mentor.

The three remaining Designers are surprised to find out that all three of them are moving on to the final challenge. They are further surprised to learn that the finale will take place in the glamorous resort area and design mecca of Palm Springs, California! There they will each make over a huge suite in a resort hotel. No sooner do they arrive at the resort and see their spaces, than each Designer is surprised by some of their former competitors, all of whom have come back to help. Three days of work fly by, as the Designers and their support teams transform these massive spaces, which consist of one bedroom plus an open living, dining, entertainment and bar area. The Designers will have two very special guest mentors for the finale: Drew and Jonathan Scott, The Property Brothers. For the final camera challenge, each Designer must take the viewer on a walkthrough of their finished suite, highlighting the most distinctive features.