HGTV has learned several valuable lessons from the Food Network's "Next Food Network Star." One of them seems to be that once you have a winner, make sure there's some new show on the air almost immediately.

Antonio Ballatore, winner of the fourth season of "HGTV Design Star" gets his own one-off showcase just one week after winning his title. Even though his as-yet undisclosed series won't premiere until January, this special is no doubt designed to give viewers a hint at what they can expect from his "real" show.

I suspect HGTV was also motivated by the fact that this season's edition of "Design Star" broke all sorts of ratings records for the network. So why not crank out another hour of programming if you get the opportunity.

While "The Antonio Project" isn't exactly the most compelling hour of design you'll ever watch, it is a fabulous showase for Ballatore. As it turns out, he's been renovating a house for more than a year, and HGTV seems to have given him the chance to finish four rooms in five days. I say "seems to," because it's never quite clear who's paying for the remodel or why it has to be done in five days (other than for some random party he wants to throw). But regardless, the challenge does offer up a lot of proof that the "Design Star" judges made a good decision when they picked Ballatore.

Ballatore is totally unlike any other designer on HGTV. He's a likeable rocker guy, with a scruffy beard and enough tattoos to keep a dozen less flamboyant folks happy. He also has a design style that manages to straddle the line between tasteful and outrageous. But even better for the network (and by extension, for the viewers) is that he seems to be quite at home on camera. From the first episode of "Design Star," Ballatore came off as a guy who had been on camera for years. It's a tough skill to master, and it's front and center on his first solo special.

The premise of "The Antonio Project" is a bit vague, but it gives him the chance to hang out with a lot of interesting artists and craftsmen as he pulls together the myriad of unexpected elements for his new house. He creates an almost totally black kitchen, with strips of stainless steel as the blacksplash. He integrates a huge eight-foot table, a massive 16th-Century chair he calls "The Spanish Throne," and a number of pictures from his father into a strikingly original living and dining space. Then there's the master bedroom, which includes a huge spray-painted "sombrero girl" that hangs over his bed. The final design isn't something for everyone, but that's what makes it so much fun to watch.

One bonus for fans of "Design Star" is that this special also includes a few unaired scenes from the season, including some bloopers and a few interesting clips that look as if they justs dodn't quite make the cut due to time constraints. There's nothing earth-shaking, although it's funny to hear Ballatore take a bunch of shots at Tashika's design style as he shows off the competitors apartment to his friends and family.

I have no idea what the new Antonio Ballatore show will look like. But I'm willing to bet it'll be well worth watching, and that's all HGTV or its viewers can ask. He's a real treat, and as a viewer, it's always fun to watch a star being born.

"The Antonio Project" premieres on HGTV on Sunday, September 20th, 2009.