Interior Design Masters 2026 thread two

[Chrysanthemum5]

Hi all I’ve started a new thread for when number one is full.

Checking in - thanks!

Bailing out of this one now. What a shit series with bonkers judging. Might pop on this thread next week to see who didn't deserve to win it but did win it.

Probably will give next series a miss too if Michelle is in it still. Nice lady, but shit judging.

Thanks for the new thread. Well that was shitty wasn’t it? I really couldn’t stand Sophie’s pink room, gosh, way too much pink.

I was just thinking, the judges should judge the rooms without knowing who’s is who’s. I think knowing is an absolute bias on the judging.

I felt sorry for Emmely, she should be the winner.

It really was shite tonight, not a single room didn’t come in for criticism.

I know it’s probably nasty but I thought Lia’s house really showed she isn’t a natural designer. You can see what her inspiration is but the actual decor just looked a bit try hard and unnatural- I can’t explain what I mean but it’s like she has some components but not the actual magic.
it’s like on all these shows, Bake Off, Sewing Bee, Pottery Throw down, there is a difference between learning to emulate current trends and styles , skill and then real natural flair which should set a winner apart.

I was sad for Emerly and I actually liked her papier-mâché shirts , but ultimately none of them deserve to be in the final.
That mirror in one of Lias arched coves that had a different arch shape to the actual arch, stuff like that a designer would see and know it was bad.

Someone like Banjo clearly has a gift, an eye and can turn his hand to anything and understand quality and form, and Lia and Sophie come nowhere close.

wonder if the BBC do any research on how successful a series is in terms of was it good not just how many people watched because this show will always get the viewers so I hope there is motivation somewhere to change it up.

We need a different presenter and a new judge.

Checking in. I agree that the quality of contestants has really gone down. No more Banjos.

Emmely is the best of a bad bunch. I really liked the guitar shop last week and thought that was unfairly judged. This series has been very disappointing. Maybe it is time for this particular show to end? An unpopular opinion but I like Alan Carr. I wonder if his doing up his castle series will be any good?

I can’t believe what I’ve just heard! The faux foliage discussion “just because the client likes it doesn’t mean you do” wtaf!! It’s the client's room they have to incorporate at least some of what they like! It’s made me cross 🤣

Mind you that grass was pretty naff wasn’t it. But still, you have to consider the client’s taste surely and not prioritise your personal likes and dislikes over theirs. Argh.

I like Alan Carr too.

Probably even more of an unpopular opinion, but I quite like Alan and Amanda Holden together on their European house renovation jaunts.

I’m sure she's said the complete opposite previously - it's not about what you like, it's what the client wants 🤷‍♀️

One thing that annoyed me was the curved top put on one of the credenzas - the judges were praising it but I was just thinking how awkward it would be to try to access the fridge and cupboard underneath it.

Emmeley's treatment of the credenza - putting it in the corner seemed by far the best idea.

I like Alan Carr although the ‘sketches’ have been OTT this series.

This has been a poor series - every week the spaces I’ve liked best have resulted in the designer going home. Michelle is very uneven with her criticism - the early focus on sustainability seems to have been forgotten now.

Emmerley has improved but that brown room was shocking. Who wants to sit in that? I also often find the themed rooms just off - I do agree with Michelle there than one or two ‘nods’ to something are far more effective

Don’t care who wins - but I expect I’ll inevitably watch the next series.

Thank you @Chrysanthemum5for the new thread.

I don’t mind Alan Carr but he’s been awful in this. You could argue that he’s just following the script but surely he’s got enough influence to speak up about how awful the attempts at humour are.

This show is a total fix.

No way was that pink room appropriate and the hideous chairs shoved under a shelf attached to the fridge facing the wall were praised ffs!!!

If they wanted a ‘high end’ finish, they should’ve given them a high end budget. Some of the nit picking was absolutely ridiculous. Plastic wrap was criticised, pleather was praised. Table settings and shades of blue seemed very important but the practicalities of actually watching a match in comfort were barely mentioned.

Emmerley has been robbed along with some of the much better ‘designers’ that were ditched along the way. Poor, inconsistent po-faced judging every single week.

Gaudy animal print and hideous flowers for the final. Groundbreaking. 🙄

I've enjoyed Emmely's work - at first I thought she was too left field, but she's the one who's really learned how to be designer, as opposed to an artist. I thought she should have won the whole thing. I loved the guitar shop, too. She's a real talent.
Lia and Sophie have followed trends and present beautiful spaces, but I don't think they've been as creative.

I also really hated that the stools were up against the bar with no knee room, so you'd have to sit side on. A basic design mistake.

Interestingly, I remember the last time they did football rooms the designer was criticised for putting chairs and a shelf up against the window because it blocked the view of the match for people sitting behind them. Yet this time that feature was praised.

I suspect most people in thise boxes aren't really watching the game, they're there smoozing, eating and drinking. The real fans will be below in the seats. We got a box at a Prince concert once because I had broken my leg. The box next to us was a corporate one. 99% of the people in it didnt watch the show they just chatted and drank all night. It was really irritating as an actual fan.

I am not sure what Alan Carr adds to these series with his inane remarks. I hate working class slap and tickle humour. If I was rushing to complete a design and he came sidling up to ask what I was doing I would tell him to eff off.

I like Alan Carr in everything else but this. I just don’t see why he’s in it.

The judging is so inconsistent. I agree with pps who’ve said if they want high end they need to up the budget. Also agree that sustainability has stopped being mentioned yet was mentioned constantly earlier in the series.

Yep @IPartridge they need to give the client what they want one week and then not give them what they want the next week. The main aim each week is for the designers to guess whether to follow the client’s brief or to not follow it 🤦🏼‍♀️

Agree with your comments I felt Emmely definitely should not have gone home.

Shane really annoyed me with his comments about the blue and using a different tone. If you are a player at the club or a fan you want the blue - that is what fat boy slim and the players agreed on. Of you change the tone like Sophie did it’s just not the same.

I did like how Lia included the player’s family history in the box I thought that was a nice touch.

Hated the banquette seating it looked cheap and as if they would all be squashed in. And I hated Lia’s metal shelves everyone would be banging into those once the box was being used and I’m sure they would be removed quickly

personally I like Alan as the presenter I think he obviously enjoys spending time with the designers.

Michelle I like as a person but I’d like to see more consistency in her comments and decisions.

Just caught up with the show. And what a shit-show of nonsensical judging it was. Frankly none of them deserve to be there but objectively Emmeley is an impressive candidate. I did predict last week that Lia will be the winner as I think Michelle has favoured her from the off. I think she’s also very next.

Thanks for the new thread @Chrysanthemum5

When Michelle said ‘just because the client likes it doesn’t mean you do’ Sophie’s face froze and looked like mine does when my boss asks for something abstract but expects me to read her mind rather than spelling it out what she actually wants. Are you suppose to please a client or not Michelle?

I wonder if some of the contestants did a quick google to see what the current boxes look like: https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/executive-box

It looks like a bit of budget kitchen worktop on top of that cabinet to me.

That also looks like they have used Brighton blue colours in the box - something else Michelle objected to.