Interior design masters series 6

[Chrysanthemum5]

Hello all
I couldn't see another thread but it looks like this starts on Thursday 10th April.

What will be the themes this year? Banquettets aplenty? Grumpy contestants coming on to the thread to tell us off for not being kind? Hideous colour combinations?

Who know what joys await us!

There was another interior design show where part of it had a section where they had an unprepared challenge eg upcycle from here to make a piece of furniture for your room, and when they sent them into the woods to forage dried flowers from the vase and slate laid out on the ground to place in their rooms I thought oh dear…. I really hope they haven’t decided to create a little formatted gimmicky piece. Producers trying to justify their wage. I just like seeing what ideas they come up with their rooms and be inspired by them.

I’ve just caught up on the first episode - DD12 and I have been watching for years and we love it.

We think it was so unfair that Rita had much more space than some of the others did - basically a whole bathroom at the side.

And you know when someone reminds you of something really really strongly but you can’t think who - well every time Craig came on the screen my brain is just an inch away of remembering who he reminds me of but I can’t get there. Real life? TV or film actor? It is doing my head in!! (I’ve googled and it seems that one other person thinks the same as me on Reddit but with no answer.)

Can anyone help…?

@Halsall I totally agree. I love all three - Pottery Throwdown, Bake Off and Interior Design, but can't understand why they all feel the need to put those cringe-worthy bits in. It's insulting to the audience and wastes time. A bit of light hearted banter is fine (I think Noel Fielding is very good at that) but the contrived sketches just make my toes curl.

I couldn't get over the houses half of them lived in at the beginning!
Don't think much to the Alan carrathon element to the programme, we don't need silly ymca sketches!
They all seem relatively normal however why was Victoria dressed for clubbing at the end?? Pink sequin trousers??

The YHA Windermere website states that 9 of the rooms have retained elements of the contestants' designs. It would be interesting to see which one hasn't been used.
BBC makeover at YHA Windermere | Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr | YHA

Retained "elements" is doing a lot of heavy lifting!

Looking at those pictures they kept some of the wall paint/wallpaper but all the beds and fripperies have been stripped out in favour of tubular steel utility bunks. Perhaps that was cheaper than whitewashing the walls as well.

In reality for a hotel or hostel a key aspect is also ease of cleaning and maintenance - most of the rooms would have failed on that dimension in budget accommodation. All those fabrics and knick knacks would be a nightmare to keep clean and launder between room changes.

@C8H10N4O2 Yes - I can't imagine that test-tube-with-dried-'foraged'-flowers lightshade lasting 5 minutes in a hostel. And, although some of the wallpaper was nice, it's really not practical there (though I loved the boat mural one).

I don't think anyone who is talented but skint makes it onto this show. 😂

Oh my God, that is awful. I can't believe a TV show would get away with treating its contestants like that. It is their home ffs.

I get time is money and adds a bit of drama, but why not just allocate an extra day? I think these shows miss what people want sometimes. I'm so used to the "we haven't got enough tiiiiime!!" drama of these shows it just has no impact now. A proper job would have more impact. I get money is tight in broadcasting now though, so that us a part of it.

Looking at those pictures they kept some of the wall paint/wallpaper but all the beds and fripperies have been stripped out in favour of tubular steel utility bunks. Perhaps that was cheaper than whitewashing the walls as well

It looks as though the ‘retained element' of the winning room (Rita's?) is just one of the very dark walls. The rest has been painted white. And I’d bet my boots the gnarly corrugated iron bathroom wall has gone…..

I have mixed feelings about the usability of the rooms

I completely understand it would be a dull experience to just watch very functional utilitarian rooms be slowly painted.

But equally the waste involved makes me wince, and if they are just get painted over because they aren't fit for purpose or a good standard then what's the point of making it in real life businesses?

I think the fact it's businesses makes this stand out from usual home make over stuff but equally adds a whole load of health and safety which predominantly gets ignored

I loved those little sheep bookends for example but immediately thought it's a home touch vs a youth hostel touch

I agree with you both @Netaporterand @LillyPJ it was a better show with Sophie Robinson and Dan Hopwood.
It just feels “dumbed down “ but the viewing figures now are probably better 🙄

How so many posters learn the names of the different contestants so early in the series is amazing.

There was one room in episode 1 of this season with a wallpaper designed by the contestant - the wallpaper was very red and orange with boats and was on one complete wall, I just thought if I was staying there and had a banging headache after a day out sightseeing I’d lose the will to live.
The judges loved it. 😂
Mind you after seeing Michelle’s home I realise we have very different taste.

They should have asked the hostel manager how well the rooms met the brief. I bet their feedback would have been very different from Michelle’s and LWB’s.

There used to be another interior design show, as a PP mentioned, and homeowners would be asked for their opinions. This helped to determine who won each round.

It would make more sense certainly.

Of what is left in the rooms only the boat mural stands out as fitting the room. The rest just happens to be there.

Looking at the photos of the rooms posted by the YHA, it looks like most of the rooms have had extra bunk beds or an extra single bed added? So coffin wardrobes would definitely be a tight squeeze! 😁 And not much space left for any other frippery.

I can see why the designers were allowed to "over accessorise" in order to showcase their style. But choosing the YHA as a project probably wasn't the best location to allow for much more than a paint job IMO. YHA guests tend to just want a clean, comfy bed after a long day hiking - they're not usually spending much time in the rooms chilling, down time will be in the dining area chatting with other hikers.

Sneak peek for this week here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0l390xv

The wibbly wobbly lines on Craig’s OSB board walls are giving me serious anxiety 😂

To recap for those wanting to remember the contestants:

Craig - older chap with a penchant for adding dust magnet tat in rooms. Possibly sponsored by Flash dust magnets.
Briony - Part time cockernee/ part time Amanda from Motherland. We are yet to establish who the real Briony is.
Bradley - young redheaded chap whose only client so far is his mum and dad. Bless.
Ayisha - The striking former model who created the impossible-to-enter bunk beds then painted everything in peach for no apparent reason
Emma - The blonde haired lady who loves to sew everything but did design the lovely bird wall paper.
Holly - Dark haired lady who loves a bit of orange
John - chap who loves a flat cap and is a DT teacher. A PP mused upthread that they suspect his wife is happy to get him out of the house for a bit.
Rita - she of the corrugated iron towel rail. Nuff said.
Victoria - this year’s floral maximalist, creator of the floral light hanging.

See you all on Thursday to watch them all attempt to kit out box park offices in Bristol using seemingly only the contents of local skips. Marvellous telly.

Ooh that contestant recap is helpful! The names take a long time to stick

Thank you for the contestant recap. A couple of them had merged into one in my head already.

Rita is getting a lot of air time - either they really love her, or she's about to go down in flames.

@MrsBird03 If you can't believe that TV programmes might treat people's homes badly, see if you can find the old episode of Changing Rooms when they put someone's precious collection of teapots on some shelves, which were suspended by some obviously inadequate means...

The chap who got the boot really got a light edit, with all the focus on manky Iron Lady. Maybe they have new guidelines to throw us off.

The contestant recap will be very useful. It will take me until the final to learn names.

Im rewatching old series as well and its interesting in S2 episode 1 you can see the point at which LLB gets the memo that Michelle is always right. He is waffling on about how serene and lovely a room is and Michelle says I can't believe you think that look at the awful mirror and he immediately changes to well the half of the room I'm looking at it good but the half you are looking at is awful 😂

@lillypj oh my lord! I went down a rabbit hole and those teapots! So I spoke to my Mum and it was Claire Sweeney (not Carol Vorderman) and the programme was 60 minute makeover! She remembered lots more than i did, I've tried finding thr actual episode but no such luck yet!

It was the Mum's best friend and sister that had nominated her for the programme, the Dad had left her with an absolute fixer upper etc. My Mum recalls the local kitchen company helping afterwards due to issues and something being placed on the washing machine that resulted in a big dent and damage, making it unuseable and leaving with her with no chance of washing the kids clothes! The Mum's clothes were ruined as they had painted the wardrobe doors and quickly closed them so the edges of items were stuck and the paint damaged on the doors. The living room (Mum is conviced) was painted purple and lime green, with the plastic window ledges and fascias painted with lime green paint! She keeps texting me bits as she remembers!

When I went down my rabbit hole, there are a few exposes or articles about the reality of these shows! Surely it would be easier to do the job once yourself, then have to sort the shoddy work out afterwards? Especially for places like hostels or hotels on Interior Design Masters as they must loose business the first time, and then the second time to fix things?!

@MrsBird03 I knew it would be 60 minute makeover! You could tell they were doing a terrible job in those houses.

I think either the youth hostel they knew they were intending to change out the beds so figured the damage to the rooms would be minimal and it would be good publicity. Which is was - the whole area looked amazing

Do we think this week they will be ‘foraging’ from local skips in the same way they ‘foraged’ in the woods last week?