George stole the votes in the reader-selected category, beating off competition from much-loved gardener, broadcaster and novelist Alan Titchmarsh, who was runner-up. Last year’s winner Kirstie Allsopp, along with Jamie Oliver and Nick Knowles were also shortlisted for the award.
The House Beautiful Awards 2011 was held this year in one of England’s finest Art Deco buildings, Freemasons’ Hall in London. The awards comprised 26 categories, commending not only the UK’s top TV personalities but also 2011’s best homes products and retailers.
In addition to the three reader-voted awards, an impressive panel of judges, including experts John Rocha, Jeff Banks, Sophie Conran, Naomi Cleaver, Oliver Heath, Nick Munro, Lisa Stickley, Simon Boyle, David Domoney and Tommy Walsh, joined forces with House Beautiful Editor Julia Goodwin to select a further 23 category winners.
Dunelm Mill won the prestigious Home Retailer of the Year Award. Other winners included John Lewis, which scooped Online Retailer of the Year; the Red Star range by Emma Bridgewater won Best of British; and Lisa Stickley, picked up The Editor’s Award for her outstanding design in fabrics and ceramics.
House Beautiful Editor Julia Goodwin says, “In tough economic times quality and value are vitally important in making good products and services stand out from the rest of the crowd. The House Beautiful Awards recognises excellence – pointing consumers towards the best of the best.”
