Interior Design Masters 2026 thread two

[Chrysanthemum5]

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

I said awhile ago I felt lia would win and she did, I liked her design, it was very elegant, I liked parts of Sophie’s, like the master bedroom was lovely and the living room. The dining room needed a bit more.

i felt Sophie’s was disjointed to an extent and parts of it bordered tacky, especially the hallway

I think Lia deserved to win but her designs got worse as they went to each room. I just hate that insipid shade of pink/terracotta that they all use.

I think this has been the poorest series so far in terms of design.

I thought Lia’s was uninspired and dull, it worked for a holiday let because it was just enough to be boutique without offending anyone but it wasn’t a finalist wow by any stretch.
When they walked up the stairs and it was so gloomy and dull that they had to make a comment about a chest under a window.
You could walk into a bar or hotel in any uk city and see almost everything she had done, the lights, the dried flowers, the wallpaper, just perfectly nice and that’s it.

I was late watching tonight. I really didn’t like Sophie’s cottage. I dislike fake animal prints and that leopard print ceiling was hideous. There was just too much fake animal - the wildlife references could have been made with more subtlety.

I’m not a fan of maximalism but Lia’s cottage was a country mile better than Sophie’s in terms of coherence (and a paring down of the endless dead flowers). One of the press articles described her job as retail inventory and house staging - she certainly put together a room better than Sophie. I couldn’t live in Lia’s house (well not the downstairs) but it made more sense and for a short break would be fine.

Emmely has tried to rearchitect her spaces through the series and gained praise for it - I wonder if that was the inspiration for Lia’s changes to the dining room (and I agreed it was a good idea to swap rooms).

I still think Emmely should have been in the final and was robbed - Emmely and Lia together would have made an interesting final. Presumably Next wanted a botanical collection.

They need to do something different next year - the judging seems to have been all over the place. A new series judge and bringing back some of the better guest judges would help.

I still haven’t worked out - what is Rock and Roll Maximalism? It seems to be just an excess of cheap looking fake leopard print.

https://www.longleat.co.uk/stay

Am I looking at the wrong thing here?
I can’t see either of the cottages unless they have been completely changed.

Me and DH have just watched it. We preferred Lia’s cottage although we both really liked Sophie’s main bedroom. I couldn’t have coped with the snakes and spiders wallpaper, that would give me nightmares. Loathed the teal and leopard print hallway. It looked like the entrance to a dodgy wine bar or nightclub.

This hasn’t been a strong or classic series by any stretch and the judging has been all over the place. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is a great judge and I think he would be really good if they decide to replace Michelle. Onwards to next year.

I can’t see them. I thought the houses looked very empty as they were, and we didn’t see kitchens or bathrooms. I wonder if they were ones they were setting up as rentals.

I thought Sophie would win based on the judges reactions and comments as they looked round. Lia’s hallway looked dull in comparison although I agree with a pp that Sophie’s hallway looked like a nightclub entrance.

I think the fact that Lia switched round the use of the rooms was the thing that could have swayed the judges. It’s a much cleverer thing to do than just decorating the rooms for the purpose they already had.

Agree LLB would be a great judge, I really like him. Producers must like him too as saved the best guest judge til last.

That’s what I thought too.

I wanted Lia to win , as thought throughout her designs had been better . I quite like a bit of maximalist but hate animal print as decor - I just find it looks a bit tacky . I am happy to wear some animal print though ,,but pared down .

I couldn’t really decide which was better . I did feel Sophie’s had more of a “wow “ factor and that Lia’s was a bit boring in parts , the hallway and the twin bedroom . I liked her main bedroom and the downstairs rooms , although the actual dining part was a bit bland .

Did love Lia on the phone to her Dad in the end . LLB was great and is always quite positive about the designs .

I hated papier-mâché woman’s designs at the start . But did grow to appreciate her style . I was disappointed she was knocked out last week .

The 2 helpers this week - Jonny and ? I was also disappointed when they had to leave . I found this series was quite unpredictable - I am usually pretty good at guessing who is going to leave . This series I guessed wrong about 3 times .

Will be interesting to see Lia’s designs at Next . Didn’t really rate last year ‘s winner - John ‘s -,John Lewis collection . I checked and I think he was still teaching , although perhaps part - time .

I think a lot of interior designers will struggle initially whilst they build up a client base . So they really need a financial cushion ( if they want to go full - time ) which those who have kids to support / don’t have a high earning partner may not be able to manage . I follow a few of the previous contestants on instagram and am not sure how many make a full time living from it .

Banjo Beale has done really well but he also had the skills/ personality to be a presenter / have his own show . Although I would also happily watch a show solely devoted to his dog Grandpa !

Siobhan / Interior Curve also seems to be doing well .

As usual when the earlier contestants appeared, I had forgotten some of them. Also got a bit confused when Lia and Sophie’s husbands appeared as thought initially they had been earlier contestants .

I really didn’t like either interiors to be honest.
I think if I arrived at either house that I had rented at Longleat my heart would sink a bit.
Lia’s colour scheme was sludgy and dull. I hated the salmon colour.
Sophie’s was over the top.
After a busy day out in Longleat I think I would like a restful place to come home to.
I wonder will either design be kept ?

That’s interesting I’d be delighted if I got lias I thought it looked very elegant as did the judges.

sophies id be put off when I entered though, due to the hallway and the tacky leapord print ceiling. Howver a couple of her rooms were nice, the master bedroom was lovely.

as much as I can see what lia did with the larger dining area, I am also aware it’s a two bedroom property, so how many people would actually be in there eating, likely a max of four. And I was surprised at the judges going on about how it was a place to gather and eat, as I was thinking who is going to gather, there is likely 4 people max staying there, and often two of them kids.

Bearing in mind the taste of the owners, I would be surprised, but I suppose there's a bit of novelty there.
I thought the colours in both were awful.

I personally couldn't cope with that snake wallpaper - shudders

I love the tapestry paper in lias main bedroom. That was beautiful and felt right for longleat.

isnt the man who owns longleat known for his flamboyance? Is he still alive?! I think Sophie’s house was probably exactly what he’s have liked.

Interesting

from my extensive knowledge (gleaned from Hello 🤣) I can tell you that the 7th Marquess of Bath set up the park and was indeed a personality. Even Hello struggles to put a positive spin on him! He seems to have had lots of affairs and ‘wifelets’ and died a few years ago. He painted images from the Kama Sutra in the rooms which his son then had removed. His son seems much more sensible.

I don’t think the cottages are listed there - I’m trying to remember their names but they don’t look like any of the images. Maybe they were being set up as lets? I wondered why they were not making over the kitchen but maybe they were not installed yet

No, he died of Covid (although he was very elderly).
The current Marquis and his wife (Caewlin and Emma) have got rid of his father's flamboyant touches, and have restored the house to it's Elizabethan splendour. I've seen pictures of C&E's private apartment, and it's very tasteful.

I thought the same about Lia's dining room switch. Staying there as a family I'd want a larger living room with space to lounge around while kids played with toys.

Still thought it was the best design though.

If Sophie had done something like that earlier in the competition I reckon she would have been told it was too much. That there should only be a hint of the animal connection, not a themed room.

Yes I think Sophie was thinking go for it and do the wow factor. And she clearly has skill and taste, but the hallway was really not good. When watching it I said to my husband oh I don’t like that at all as she started, and when I saw the end result I thought gosh that looks awful.

ahe likely could have got away with the leapord print ceiling if she’s painted the walls a softer warm tonal camel colour, it would have looked more elegant. It really did just look like tacky night club as you entered. I suspect the owners will have it removed.

Yes I think it must be that they are not currently let , although the place must be huge if they have even more lovely period houses they don’t use.
Doesn’t the current marquess or whatever her title is do a lot of social media lifestyle stuff, I’m very surprised she didn’t use the opportunity for some exposure.

I think that contestants with more talent and potential than either Lia or Sophie (especially Sophie) were let go wrongly, too soon.

Lia's cottage looked great, out of the two...because Sophie's was pretty dire. I did really like the way Lia swapped the rooms, and using an arch was a good idea, but there was something wrong with the shape of the arch. Maybe too modern for the period of the house, also it was really chunky/thick so it took space away from the snug area, which ended up looking too small. Lia could have saved so much time by using curtains, or two tall plants instead of an arch.

I think the shops were too different. How can you compare a guitar shop with a gifty knick knack shop? The guitar shop deserved to win. It was a much better transformation and had real style. The gift shop went from one kind of twee to a slightly different kind of twee. It was also clear that Lia was finding Sophie insufferable to work with on the shop challenge.

The football boxes, ugh. But Emmely's stood out as the best. I'd have liked to see Emmely in the final with Lia, but presumably her style is not a fit with Next.

Oops. Sorry @Victoriawould24
Didn't mean to post as a reply! Meant to do just an ordinary post.

Lia’s looked professional and Sophie’s looked amateur. The right person won