Six Weeks. One Room. Challenge Completed.

Six weeks ago, 12 incredibly talented DIY designers set out to change one room in their homes in hopes of creating a space their families could enjoy for years to come. And today, the good news, no scratch that, the great news is that each one bravely took on the challenge and made it to the finish line in style.

Every space with its own unique style to match the personality of each designer. From new welcoming entry ways, to bathrooms, mudrooms and kitchens, so much inspiration pouring out from each.

One designer in particular stood out to fans across the county. Literally starting from the ground up, she built an amazing home and completed a fully functioning kitchen in the six weeks. Shara McCuiston of Woodshop Diaries took on more of a challenge than we were hosting and came out on top, earning a well-deserved dream vacation.

We had an opportunity to catch up with Shara after announcing her as the Fall Renovation Challenge winner to hear more about the space and the things she didn’t share along the way.

“When I first entered the Renovation Challenge I had my doubts,” said Shara. “I’m not a designer and I’ve never done a challenge like this.”

Well, we are sure glad Shara didn’t back out and took on the challenge sharing her design journey with everyone.

Shara began her search for inspiration like most of us, on Pinterest of course. Noticing a trend in her pin board, she knew she wanted two-toned cabinets with a clean and simple look. Sketching out her plans she began to search for a design element to bring her kitchen together adding some texture and style with tile.

“I knew I wanted grey tile and I liked the Basalt but felt it was too dark for my design and kept going back to the Tundra. We had something similar before and loved it.”

But what happened next surprised even Shara. She finally landed on her tile selection and when it arrived on her then barely laid foundation for her home she was in awe. “This is the most gorgeous tile I had ever seen,” Shara said of her new love for the Tundra Grey field tile.

Selecting the perfect tile was only the beginning challenge for Shara and her home build. From materials not arriving, to having to move the entire kitchen build over 6-inches and inspections being delayed Shara had her fair share of challenges to overcome before putting the finishing touches on her new space, just as time was running out.

The fans went wild over the transformation of an empty plot of land to a beautiful home build with a full kitchen.

“While this was a crazy challenge to take on building a whole house in six weeks with just my husband and I, I would definitely do this again,” said Shara. “I may not start from scratch next though.”

We don’t blame you at all, Shara.

Talking with Shara we asked what her favorite part of the Renovation Challenge was and if she had any advice for those looking to join in the completion next year. “My favorite part was the end,” Shara jokes. “In all seriousness I really enjoyed working on the cabinets, tiling and dry wall. These were the three things that made the biggest difference and really helped the space take shape.”

Advice for those taking on their next or first renovation: “Commit to the process and plan your design. I had doubts the whole way through about my design choices and the whole space turned out better than I had imagined. It was worth it to stick it out and I love my new space.”

We are loving your space too! Such an incredible challenge to take on. Oh, and did we mention that Shara did all of this while starting a new job and just after selling her old home? Yeah, pretty crazy right? She is definitely deserving of her dream vacation and plans to spend part of her prize traveling to Tennessee to visit Dollywood.

Be sure to check out all of the amazing design renovations from each designer from the Fall Renovation Challenge, and stay tuned for your chance to enter the next competition.