By Ashley White
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 01:47 AM CDT
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Competition is heating up between seven interior designers, and all the action can be seen right on the Web.
It’s part of the first “Nation’s Next Top Model Home Challenge,” and it’s based in North Carolina. Each designer is decorating living areas of seven new model homes in the Compass Pointe Community, located right over the bridge from Wilmington.
The designers are competing for $25,000 and the title of a top designer.Two of the designers are from Wilmington, two from Raleigh and three from out of state. The show’s producers are also local.
Corine Maggio, a competitor out of San Diego, said her style is environmental, meaningful and honest.
“The entry way is nice and large and we’ve got this great bamboo flooring,” said Maggio.
When filling their spaces, designers said they will be incorporating their personal style while staying on a $5,000 budget. And they said that comes with a lot of smart shopping.
“I am going to go look around and see what kind of things are interesting and see what kind of key pieces I can get,” said Cindy Blunt, a Wilmington competitor.
Following the competition is just a click away. Fans can vote for their favorite designers based on weekly challenges. More than 400,000 people are already hooked.
“It’s not something I can tell you what they are, but there are surprises along the way which will be a lot of fun for us and hopefully the designers,” said Susan Johnson, with the Nation’s Next Top Model Home.
The competition is expected to bring new attention to homegrown talent and shine a spotlight on coastal area real estate.
New webisodes are Monday nights at 8 p.m. and the finale is Aug. 29.