Vern Yip became a fan-favorite during his time on HGTV‘s “Design Star.” The former “Trading Spaces” star appeared on multiple home renovation series.
However, since “Deserving Design” ended in 2013, fans have seen less of the beloved star.
HGTV’s Vern Yip Transitioned to Magnolia Network
After getting his start on TLC’s “Trading Spaces” in 2001, Yip became a fixture on various HGTV series.
Born in Hong Kong, Yip graduated with a double major in chemistry and economics from the University of Virginia. He would later earn his master’s in management and architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology,” according to HGTV.
Originally working towards becoming a doctor, Yip pivoted his career goals.
“I have a natural disposition to help people,” he told Daily News in 2007. “It makes me feel good, like I’m giving back.”
“You can be entertained and inspired at the same time,” he added about “Deserving Design.” “It’s not just about making a space attractive. It’s the ability to transform someone’s life by transforming the space.”
In addition to “Design Star” and “Deserving Design,” HGTV fans watched Yip on “Urban Oasis.” Outside of television, Yip runs his own design company, Vern Yip Designs, based in Atlanta.
Yip has been been honored with awards such as the 2003 Distinguished Southerner Award from Southern Living magazine and 2000 Southeast Designer of the Year.
Since stepping back from HGTV, fans can still keep up with the beloved designer on his new home network. In 2025, Yip landed his own show, “Home Reimagined,” on Magnolia Network.
“This show is packed with heart, grit, ingenuity, and remarkable people determined to create stunning transformations unlike anything you’ve ever seen,” Yip told TV Insider in December 2025. “These are atypical renovations happening in spaces that were never intended to be homes. The necessary creativity, commitment, and passion brought to each one of these very unusual renovations is off-the-charts compelling, as are the journeys that lead to such stunning and very innovative end results.”
Vern Yip Is the Proud Father of Two
Yip and husband Craig Koch are the proud parents to two teenagers: daughter Vera Lillian Beatrix and son Gavin Joshua Mannox.
“I can’t even fathom the concept of not having this unit that we have created here,” the designer gushed to People in 2017. “It’s the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning. It’s the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night, and it’s just incredible to experience life with these other three human beings.”
