antonio ballatore

A lot of you made your feelings heard about Antonio Ballatore winning this season of Design Star by commenting on a post I wrote earlier this week. The scruffy and tattooed LA. designer has tons of fans (just check out his Facebook page), but a lot of HGTV watchers couldn't warm up to his unconventional designs and slacker dude persona.

Me? I'm a fan. The guy is obviously talented. I like his edgy designs and his laid back everyman attitude. His new show, The Antonio Project, will definitely be something different for HGTV. It won't be for everybody, but it'll be refreshing to see a guy like Antonio host a show on a cable network mostly populated by dull yuppie types.

The HGTV Web site has a preview of this Sunday's premiere of The Antonio Project. The former set designer will have to redesign his own home in five days. By the looks of his house, the network is doing Antonio a favor. The place looks like a crime scene or an abandoned strip mall. Head after the jump to see a pic.

Antonio Ballatore has won the fourth season of HGTV's reality competition series 'Design Star.'

Ballatore, a 40-year-old set designer from Los Angeles, beat Dan Vickery in the finals to win his very own HGTV series, premiering in January 2010. He'll also star in a one-hour special entitled 'The Antonio Project,' airing next Sunday, Sept. 20 at 10PM. 'The Antonio Project' will feature Ballatore as he attempts to make over his own home in just five days.

Season four of HGTV's Design Star came to an end last night with the final two designers completing the biggest challenge in the show's history. Antonio, known for his edgy designs and laid-back attitude, and Dan, the talented and sweet-natured kid of the bunch, both redesigned an entire house in only 44 hours.

Both designers were cool and confident throughout the challenge, and their final products were nothing short of stunning. These guys know their stuff, and they deserved to make it to the end of the show, beating out nine other contestants for a shot at their own series on HGTV. But there could be only one winner.