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Telly addicts

Interior design masters new series - let the battle commence

867 replies

Chrysanthemum5 · 11/04/2026 21:27

The next series starts on the 21st April. Looking forward to banquettes, and bizarre paint choices, and upcycling of old junk. DD and I are rewatching the old series and I’d forgotten how crazy some of the rooms were!

OP posts:
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7
deeahgwitch · 27/05/2026 00:06

littlbrowndog · 26/05/2026 20:26

How can you display art on stripe wallpaper

I thought exactly the same.
But Michelle loved it 🙄

deeahgwitch · 27/05/2026 00:10

jay55 · 26/05/2026 22:55

Still can’t understand that the one time this series they really, really hit the brief it was dismissed.

Makes me think I’d never hire someone to design as if end up with what they want not what I want.

I fully agree.
Michelle is always banging on correctly about the client and how their needs are vital when designing an interior.
I thought the Guitar shop was great.
So did the owner.
Loved the name.

Madcats · 27/05/2026 07:37

Somebody must live close enough to Hay on Wye to report back what the shops look like now.

The ‘50 shades of sex’ tree was a strange choice for a gift shop likely to have kids in. That tatty ceiling decoration would have looked dire.

Wallpaper on a busy narrow staircase was a brave choice; it will get ripped pretty quickly.

I can’t help thinking that the show would benefit from a new judge; there have been some very odd decisions this year. Maybe they are being swayed by what the firm the winner gets to work for wants (and I can’t remember who that is?).

GertieLawrence · 27/05/2026 08:42

SabrinaThwaite · 26/05/2026 20:47

Not sure I’d agree that some old dangling paintbrushes are cute and clever.

They looked so bad.

I was confused by the judging this week too. I thought Lia’s team would be absolutely panned for the irrelevant tree - who needs to refer to books when every other shop sells them? Also, the owner will never be able to keep the dust off it. As for designing a logo without owner input, no thanks. And I agree with a lot of you, that striped wallpaper will be grubby in no time.

You could see how confused Emmerley was. She’d absolutely nailed what the client wanted and Duran had parked her instinct to paint all over the place. If bringing the client something extra they didn’t know they wanted means a paper tree, no thanks.

I think the outcome was predefined and it was Duran’s time to go. I think the designer with the orange bunches should have gone.

Lia is the only designer left who I could see as collaborating with Next, although Emmerley is my favourite.

deeahgwitch · 27/05/2026 09:18

Most of us have thought the contestants this year aren’t great.
Neither is the judging imho.

NeedWineNow · 27/05/2026 09:20

DH and I have just been discussing it again on the back of this thread and we are both still really confused about Michelle’s judging rationale. It’s so inconsistent - give the client what they want one week, oh no that’s not right, the next. A change of judge needed for the next series I think.

He also reminded me of a gift shop that was in a village not far from us. It was similar in that it stocked cards and gifts from local artists as well as mainstream gifts (Katie Loxton accessories for instance). It was cluttered and the layout was a bit confusing, but it was decked in cool colours which showed off the products. All it needed was a bit of a redesign in layout and take some of the stock out. The one thing was that it was always busy as the owner really knew her customers and what sort of things they wanted.

She sold up, and the new owners took over, redesigned the shop, lots of unnecessary gimmicky shelving and displays (nightmare for little fingers picking up things and bumping into sharp edges) and awful colours. It really changed the whole ethos and, needless to say, it closed relatively quickly. A shame but it just goes to show that sometimes a tweak is required rather than a full blown change. Maybe they should have put a 50 Shades of Grey tree in the window….

mixedpeel · 27/05/2026 09:35

That tree was awful - as has been said, will be a total dust magnet, and the ‘50 shades of leaves’ thing was absolutely grim. If Lia had been my partner I’d have been fuming with the time she wasted on that, plus not just picking a different book. She genuinely seemed to think it was amusing. I hated the wall colour too.

Guitar shop all the flipping way.

mixedpeel · 27/05/2026 09:36

Also agree with PP that Duran was classy to mention the trades that work so hard for them every week.

Seaside3 · 27/05/2026 09:54

Emmerlys face was hilarious when lia.said she had taken inspiration from her this week. 'What, paper?'

Hahaha, very diplomatic.

I.see.everyine is outraged on Instagram too.

The whole show needs.a.good shake up. Uninspiring 'designers' getting mixed feedback is making poor viewing.

jay55 · 27/05/2026 11:00

Given how combative Duran had been on the sofa previously, she did seem very muted this week and accepting of her fate, despite not making a mess of it like previous weeks.

C8H10N4O2 · 27/05/2026 11:02

Villanousvillans · 26/05/2026 23:17

#teamgutairshop

They’ve been criticised before about not giving the user what they wanted, yet here we have a perfect example of absolutely giving the gutair shop owner exactly what he wanted. But no, this week that’s wrong. The judging is massively inconsistent. The judges should have asked the man if he liked his design, after all that was the bottom line. He was actually really emotional, and really love it, that tells me something but clearly not the judges. And that window display was epic!

I hated that stupid tree with fifty shades of leaves on it. I hated the green wallpaper, which was an awful backdrop for the art work. I hated the mishmash of the display I didn’t like the colours,

why did they pick the gift shop FFs? The gutair was much better, it met the brief, it looked stylish, it was inviting.

i could go on but I’m proper annoyed.

Neither judge understood music shops, specifically vintage instrument shops. The owner plainly new his customer base and had specific requirements. They should have won.

This “provide what they didn’t know they wanted” makes sense for impulse buy shops, not for specialist shops selling very high value items.

Duran actually suppressed her wiggly lines, the window display was amazing considering the limitations and even the sound booth was made a bit more interesting.

This is also a shop where a fair amount of the stock will need moving to secure storage out of hours so the method of display and the feature area make sense to ease that.

If I were nit picking I think I’d have put up some pictures/display features about the former owners of the high value instruments, possibly a few more books and catalogs to encourage lingering. But as a music shop specialising in rare instruments and offering performance facilities it was spot on.

The gift shop tree was a ridiculous dust trap and I’d love to know if its still there. Ditto the hideous paint brush thing. Sophie’s side of the shop was the weaker and who displays pictures for sale on “statement” wallpaper and largely in a space with limited access. I would have sent Sophie home last night.

After this week I’m #TeamEmmerly entirely. The confusion and distress on her face was entirely understandable and I hope it doesn’t make her second guess herself next week. I think she has shown the most development through the series, really listening to the feedback and centering the client’s needs.

C8H10N4O2 · 27/05/2026 11:04

Seaside3 · 27/05/2026 09:54

Emmerlys face was hilarious when lia.said she had taken inspiration from her this week. 'What, paper?'

Hahaha, very diplomatic.

I.see.everyine is outraged on Instagram too.

The whole show needs.a.good shake up. Uninspiring 'designers' getting mixed feedback is making poor viewing.

I’m not an instagrammer - is this different from previous weeks where there will always be disagreement about results?

I must admit, I’ve often disagreed with the choice of winner/loser but this week is the first week I’ve felt it was massively unjust.

LibertyLily · 27/05/2026 12:04

Delurking to say I completely agree that last night's standout space was the guitar shop by a country mile! The amazing window alone should have won it. The gift shop was nothing special and that tree (resembling a huge cat tree I once made with DS!) was terrible!

Duran Duran was robbed and Sophie (referred to as Princess Fiona from Shrek 🤢 in our house) should have gone home. She's been crap from week 1 imo. But overall I concur that this year's 'designers' are pretty shit compared to previous years and Michelle is so inconsistent as a judge. Bring back Sophie Robinson!

Halsall · 27/05/2026 12:17

This “provide what they didn’t know they wanted” makes sense for impulse buy shops, not for specialist shops selling very high value items

I went in for a plectrum and came out with a 15k Fender! 🤭🤪

Yeah, no, Michelle.

C8H10N4O2 · 27/05/2026 12:40

Halsall · 27/05/2026 12:17

This “provide what they didn’t know they wanted” makes sense for impulse buy shops, not for specialist shops selling very high value items

I went in for a plectrum and came out with a 15k Fender! 🤭🤪

Yeah, no, Michelle.

Yes, its a totally different model of selling. I thought Michelle’s comment that she could tell Lia and Sophie had retail experience was odd considering the others also had retail experience. Its a lot easier to translate your Saturday job in Tesco to ye olde glory hole than to a specialist environment and Emmerly/Duran were very clear in where they could reuse retail experience and where they couldn’t.

When I go into a music shop I know what I want and I might buy something extra or something more expensive but only if the shop staff have genuine expertise and insights as well as clearly displayed stock. This is normal for specialist/hobby shops - its very different from shops targeted mainly at impulse buys or novelty gifts for random relatives. Its much tougher to get a specialist shop right for its niche audience.

I really would like to know if that dustcatcher is still in the gift shop window.

#SaveForTheMusicShopTwo

FernandoSor · 27/05/2026 12:52

#teamguitarshop although I'm biased as I have actually visited the shop.

The judges clearly had no idea how people shop for instruments, in particular high value vintage instruments. It's not an impulse or passing trade buy. It's about careful research followed by often multiple visits. But it's also about making it a welcoming space for those popping in for some strings, or picks, or a new cable or strap - which will be the vast majority of visitors. And that shopper coming in every now and then for some new strings will also be the one who, week after week, keeps looking at that beautiful vintage SG on the wall, or that gorgeous Orange amp and thinking 'maybe...'

WhatHappenedToYourFurnitureCuz · 27/05/2026 12:53

The picture is cropped on the website so you can't see the left hand display, but if you look on desktop you can see the hideous tree is still there but the BDSM leaves are gone. www.oilandoak.co.uk

Bad mobile screenshot attached

deeahgwitch · 27/05/2026 13:23

mixedpeel · 27/05/2026 09:36

Also agree with PP that Duran was classy to mention the trades that work so hard for them every week.

That is true. A nice touch.

IPartridge · 27/05/2026 13:23

I agree that striped wallpaper is not a good background for artwork. But a staircase is also not a good place for it. I know it's often done in shops but it makes it really tricky to look at it properly

Halsall · 27/05/2026 13:53

FernandoSor · 27/05/2026 12:52

#teamguitarshop although I'm biased as I have actually visited the shop.

The judges clearly had no idea how people shop for instruments, in particular high value vintage instruments. It's not an impulse or passing trade buy. It's about careful research followed by often multiple visits. But it's also about making it a welcoming space for those popping in for some strings, or picks, or a new cable or strap - which will be the vast majority of visitors. And that shopper coming in every now and then for some new strings will also be the one who, week after week, keeps looking at that beautiful vintage SG on the wall, or that gorgeous Orange amp and thinking 'maybe...'

@FernandoSor your username does rather give the game away! 🎸 (no early 19thc guitar emojis, tsk 🤔)

Kepler22B · 27/05/2026 14:00

The guitar is still in the window!

But they also sell motorbikes now which changes the ship a fair bit.
https://www.wyefret.com/motorcycles

The guitar shop suited the brief perfectly. I wouldn’t go into the craft / gift shop - it is all too primary school with the tree and doesn’t give quality local artist vibes at all.

Store 2 — Wye Fret

https://www.wyefret.com/motorcycles

FernandoSor · 27/05/2026 14:02

Halsall · 27/05/2026 13:53

@FernandoSor your username does rather give the game away! 🎸 (no early 19thc guitar emojis, tsk 🤔)

Edited

Heh - yup. I usually have a guitar-themed username on here. I think I was EdwinaVanHalen for a while...

FernandoSor · 27/05/2026 14:25

Kepler22B · 27/05/2026 14:00

The guitar is still in the window!

But they also sell motorbikes now which changes the ship a fair bit.
https://www.wyefret.com/motorcycles

The guitar shop suited the brief perfectly. I wouldn’t go into the craft / gift shop - it is all too primary school with the tree and doesn’t give quality local artist vibes at all.

He's always sold bikes - occasionally there is one in the shop!

Seaside3 · 27/05/2026 14:28

Kepler22B · 27/05/2026 14:00

The guitar is still in the window!

But they also sell motorbikes now which changes the ship a fair bit.
https://www.wyefret.com/motorcycles

The guitar shop suited the brief perfectly. I wouldn’t go into the craft / gift shop - it is all too primary school with the tree and doesn’t give quality local artist vibes at all.

The motor cycle thing ia a bit odd. But good to see they appear to be holding events.

Seaside3 · 27/05/2026 14:29

IPartridge · 27/05/2026 13:23

I agree that striped wallpaper is not a good background for artwork. But a staircase is also not a good place for it. I know it's often done in shops but it makes it really tricky to look at it properly

Imagine people just stopping on the stairs ans craving their necks to look. Bad placement indeed.