Greetings, HGTV Urban Oasis fans.

We’re closing this blog to do a bit of housekeeping. A new and improved blog format is coming soon. We’ll alert you when it’s live.

In the meantime, please pay a visit to the HGTV Dream Home blog and cast your vote in our 2012 banner competition. Voting runs through Nov. 23 at noon ET.

Today, I’d like to treat you to a sneak peek at Vern’s ambush of our 2011 winner. Take a look — and don’t forget to watch the winner special in late December!

Congrats to Deborah Robertson of Baltimore, Md. She is the proud winner of HGTV Urban Oasis 2011. Deborah entered the giveaway twice daily, seven days a week, and checked the blog regularly for updates.

Vern Yip, who ambushed Deborah last evening, was brought to tears when he met this lovely lady. “I never in a million years expected this,” Deborah told Vern. “Thank you for coming and choosing me.”

Deborah, a staff assistant at the Baltimore Social Security Administration, planned to go to work today. (What a gal!) Here are a few tidbits about this lucky lady: She enjoys spending time with her daughter and two granddaughters, is very close with her sister, enjoys renovating a home she grew up in and has never visited Chicago. (But that certainly won’t stop this amazing lady from moving there, she says).

We wish you all the best, Deborah. Congrats to you and your family! Please keep checking this blog for more details about our winner, including an exclusive video of the ambush! And make plans to tune in to the HGTV Urban Oasis Giveaway 2011 special on Thursday, December 29, 2011, at 8 p.m. ET to see Deborah’s emotional reaction to winning.

This week, interior designer Vern Yip paid a visit to Tennessee to randomly draw the name of the HGTV Urban Oasis 2011 winner. Only Vern knows who this lucky person might be. Do you have a funny feeling it might be you? I cannot wait to reveal the name. Keep checking this blog for details!

The HGTV Urban Oasis 2011 Giveaway entry period is officially over. I want to thank everyone who participated. I truly wish you the best of luck. Feeling like you might be the new owner of our Chicago apartment? I hope so.

Keep checking back here for updates on the winner drawing and our special, slated to air December 29 at 8 p.m. ET. And we will start dropping 2012 location clues very soon. Stay tuned!

The story of Urban Oasis 2011 began with a raw space, a blank canvas. House planner Jack Thomasson and interior designer Vern Yip provided the vision. Then entered Jerry Dardick, the contractor (and genius behind the scenes), tasked with turning their inspiration into a luxurious and livable space.

“Jerry is at the top of his game. I personally couldn’t provide a more glowing reference for anyone. He certainly has earned my respect,” says Jack, who worked with Jerry and his assistant Mitch Dalton under tight deadlines and around the apartment’s inherent challenges to ready the space for an August 2011 completion date. Jerry’s secret to success under stress? “You roll with the punches,” says the construction pro, whose laid-back, professional attitude and focus on relationships has garnered the respect of the staff at Trump International Hotel and Tower® Chicago.

Jerry grew up in the construction industry, working alongside and learning the trade from his father, a Chicago contractor. Upon completion of a degree, Jerry pursued his passion for architecture before returning to his father’s business and thereafter establishing JMD Builders. Today, Jerry focuses on high-end residential and commercial contracting as well as construction management/owner representation, all with a focus on attention to detail and quality craftsmanship. “I myself was a carpenter in the union. I have done everything it takes in construction with my own hands. That gives me a lot of information and background on how to do things,” he says.

These days, Jerry serves as the go-to contractor at Trump International Hotel and Tower® Chicago. After completion of the HGTV Urban Oasis unit, Jerry focused his attention on a luxury unit that boasts a wireless home-automation system, a heated onyx shower, exotic wood flooring, a quartzite dining table and a granite countertop with curved stainless steel seaming. “I love finding out that someone wants to do something that is out of the ordinary,” says Jerry, who served as both interior designer and contractor on the job. “Because no one has done it and we take on the challenge.”

Editor’s Note: Got a question for Jerry? Post below and we’ll follow up with a Q&A.

We have just over two weeks until the end of our giveaway entry period. Remember, you can enter twice daily through October 7, 2011, at 5 p.m. ET. Encourage friends and family to do the same.

Today, I’d like to direct your attention to a series of video clips that highlight Vern’s Chicago shopping experiences and the construction process at HGTV Urban Oasis 2011. I think you’ll find them quite informative and entertaining.

Once you’ve watched the videos, take some time to post questions for the Urban Oasis contractor. We’ll pose them and post his responses in the days to come.

Hi all.

I hope you are enjoying the virtual apartment tour and entering the giveaway twice daily.

Today, I’ve been thinking about dreamy Urban Oasis locations. If money were no object, what US city would you choose and what style of apartment would you select? How would you furnish interior spaces? Where in the city would your apartment be located? What kind of views do you envision?

If I had my way, I’d probably do something in the Independence Hall area of Philadelphia. Perhaps an historic brownstone with a completely green and gorgeous interior.

Your turn!

Photo by Mulad

Are you entering twice daily? I hope you are excited about the possibility of winning this most spectacular Chicago apartment and all the unique furnishings designer Vern Yip chose to appoint it.

Don’t forget to tune in this Saturday night when we take you behind the scenes for a look at the design of HGTV Urban Oasis 2011. Follow Vern as he shops the city and transforms a blank space into a show place. Check our episode page for tune-in times.

Today is the day!

You can enter twice daily — once on HGTV.com and once on FrontDoor.com — for your chance to win HGTV Urban Oasis 2011, a gorgeous apartment that overlooks downtown Chicago.

And don’t forget: Saturday night, we air the HGTV Green Home 2011 winner special. You don’t want to miss this exclusive look at the winner’s first home walk-through.

Cheers … and good luck!