Olathe's design star among top three on show

Jennifer Bertrand has lived with a secret for weeks.

Filming for the third season of HGTVs “Design Star” began in March, but the world will find out whether she is a finalist Sunday.

Bertrand is one of three left in the contest, which began with nine. During the last few weeks, episodes have shown Bertrand design a lake house, a kitchen and an Italian-inspired space. An Opryland hotel design didn’t win her praise from the judges, but it is being rented for $700.

“That is one we over-thought,” Bertrand said. “But they’ve featured our suite. I actually thought it was kinda cool.”

The episodes were filmed back-to-back, she said. Designers ran on “nonstop work.” So when producers added team challenges, “there was sure to be some drama,” Bertrand said. Despite an argument with another contestant in the second episode, Bertrand said she got along with her competitors well.

After weeks of design competition, Bertrand returned home and found she needed to “take a breather” from design. She found herself looking through fewer design magazines. She took a break from thinking about the show.

“It was so intense,” Bertrand said. “It’s so much harder than it looks. I think about it and remember the whirlwind that it was.”

Bertrand now is back to the business she and her husband, Christopher Bertrand, own in Olathe, Bertrand Designs.

“My husband ran the business while I was gone off and went to steal the glory,” Bertrand said. “He’s a super-strong husband, and he has been the biggest support. It got us more business.”

Bertrand’s challenge Sunday is to design a space for her sister in Sioux City, Iowa. As Bertrand completed her first few challenges, producers of the show looked behind the scenes for a family member who could use a design makeover. They chose Bertrand’s sister, who is a mother who works two jobs starting each day at 4 a.m.

“That was the coolest part of the show, that all three of us got to do something for our families,” Bertrand said.

Should Bertrand win the competition, she would get her own design-themed show on HGTV. Bertrand has yet to film a reunion show with the other competitors before the final episode of season three airs.

“Keep your fingers crossed, and hopefully I make it on Sunday,” Bertrand said. HGTV Design Star will air at 8 p.m. on HGTV.