HGTV’s 2025 Smart Home Winner Shares Surprising Connection to Its Texas Location
HGTV announced the winner of the 2025 Smart Home, and the recipient already has a special connection to the San Antonio, Texas, property.
“Our winner is Cathy Everts. She is a retired small business owner, a mother, and grandmother,” the home’s designer, Poonam Moore, shared in a Wednesday, August 27, social media clip of the winner reveal. “She actually lives in Idaho near her son and his family, but she is here in California spending time with her mother.”
Moore broke the news to Everts with the help of her son, Drew, who pretended he was visiting his mother in California on a work trip. “We lost my dad. It’s been five years now. She’s been trying to recover from that,” Drew told Moore in the clip. “It’s been challenging, and now, her mom’s going through what she’s going through now. I think it’s gonna be helpful for her, mentally.”
For the reveal, Drew took his mom out to lunch at a restaurant, where Moore posed as a waitress. Instead of handing Everts a menu, she gave her photos of the 2025 Smart Home. “I don’t work here. I’m actually Poonam from HGTV,” the TV personality stated. “And we are here to tell you that you are actually the lucky winner of the HGTV Smart Home 2025 in San Antonio, Texas!”
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Everts joked that she was “gonna fall over” from shock before getting emotional over her connection to the Lone Star state. “My husband’s buried in Texas, and I was planning to go back there,” she revealed. “Oh, this is awesome. I can’t believe it!”
In addition to the house, Everts also won a 2025 Mercedes-Benz GLC Plug-In Hybrid SUV and a $100,000 both of which she was surprised with outside of the restaurant.
“Holy moly!” Everts said before embracing Moore for a hug. The announcement video ended with Everts and her son driving away in her brand new car. “Thank you, HGTV. Woo-hoo! I’m the winner,” she exclaimed.
Per a Wednesday HGTV press release, Everts was “randomly selected from more than 72 million entries” to win the home. “A devoted fan who has entered HGTV sweepstakes for nearly a decade, Cathy signed up for daily email reminders to make sure she never missed a chance to enter.”
“I love San Antonio, and I want to see my husband’s place of rest,” Everts said in a statement, per the release. Everts and her late husband, Dan, were married for 35 years and shared three sons and 11 grandchildren. He is buried just a few hours away in Rockwall, Texas.
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The 3,000-square-foot home includes three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and picturesque outdoor living areas. “Inspired by San Antonio, the home embraces nature with its color palette of bold, earthy tones,” reads the home’s press release description. “The inviting soft beige, striking black, crisp white, and rich wood tones are met with sleek Midcentury textures like aged leather, exposed wood, brushed brass, and cozy bouclé.”
The home’s numerous amenities include a private basketball court, a media lounge, an in-home cold plunge, several gaming consoles, and additional smart features.
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