Original subtitles

I've been here weeks, I tell you, weeks,

getting this place ready for a whole new batch

of interior-design enthusiasts.

The things I've had to do with a paint brush...

Ten aspiring designers are putting their lives on hold

in search of a dream...

Yes, I am talented

and it's a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent.

..to break into the competitive world

of professional interior design.

You only live once, and what I absolutely love is being creative.

With interiors guru Michelle Ogundehin at the helm...

Everyone with a passion for design thinks they can be

an interior designer,

but I'm looking for someone who has authentic talent

and sees this as a real opportunity to learn.

..they'll need to impress some of the biggest names in the industry.

Hello, '80s! I've missed you.

This feels like an idea that should have been instantly put aside.

I am scraping the barrel for criticism

because I do love this room.

This is what we're looking for. Fearless decorating.

Each week, the designers will be challenged to transform

a commercial space...

Open the door, I'm coming in!

Ugh! Thought you were going to squish my head there!

..to test their creative flair...

That looks gorgeous now.

..and state-of-the-art design skills.

Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry.

SMASH!

Sometimes when you're trying to do too much at once, accidents happen.

I think you've sabotaged me!

You've ruined that beautiful carpet!

It's harder than it looks!

They'll be pushed to their limits...

I think the only thing holding me back is probably myself.

..as they compete to win a major career-defining contract

with a luxury hotel in the Lakes.

That would definitely be my absolute dream.

Welcome to Interior Design Masters.

ALAN SIGHS

The designers assembling at Michelle's studio

come from all walks of life...

What do you do? I'm an art director, production designer for film.

Oh, my God! I'm a bit scared of you now, actually.

No, don't be!

..but with one shared passion.

I work part-time for the NHS but, obviously, interiors are my love,

and fashion - I'm from a fashion background.

I put so much of my personality and myself in my designs for me,

so I guess that's going to be the biggest challenge,

to actually create something for somebody else.

Is your house black and white?

My front room is black and white, but none of the other designs

that I've done. Interesting.

I'm a good designer because I know what I like

and have an eye for seeing things

that other people don't normally notice.

You've got yellow nails.

Watch out, the colour is coming.

There is definitely something about having children

and going on maternity leave that has pushed me

out of my comfort zone.

Even though it's a very busy time of my life,

I'm focusing on this completely.

I work for a beauty retailer. OK.

So, how does that lend itself to interiors?

Absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever!

Interior design makes me feel alive.

My heart beats.

You know when you're stuck in a lift and the whole thing drops?

It's that feeling that I get inside.

Surprise! Oh, my God! No!

Hello, everyone!

EXCITED HUBBUB

Welcome to the design lab.

Hoo-hoo-hoo!

Are you excited? ALL: Yes.

They say you can tell a lot from a designer,

from the clothes they wear,

so it's going to be interesting, this series.

I'm loving it. Pink makes the boys wink, doesn't it? Certainly does.

Now, the lady you need to impress is the queen of what's hot

in interior design.

It's series judge Michelle Ogundehin.

Michelle... Welcome.

ALL: Hi! So, this is it.

This is your first big step towards becoming professional

interior designers and your first chance to impress.

And we're starting you off with show homes.

So, I want you to think "sophistication and aspirational".

Based in Oxford, these high-end contemporary homes

have the potential to sell for £1 million.

Working in pairs, each designer will have either a living room

or bedroom to transform into a beautiful space

that will appeal to a wide range of potential purchasers.

After you've done your designs, the two weakest teams

will have a face-off with Michelle,

and then it's not good news for one designer - you'll be going home.

So, that's it, challenge number one.

Good luck.Good luck.

With their individual room schemes already prepared,

the teams share their plans with their partners.

I'm so excited to see your design.

Yeah, I'm really relieved to see your design. Yeah.

I want this room to still look like Amy's room,

but being mindful of the brief.

I will always make my decisions based on my heart

and the things that make me smile

and the things that make me go, "Woooo!"

cos I think that's part of the fun of design.

So, go on, tell me what you're doing. OK.

Mum-of-three Amy is working with upholsterer Micaela.

Obviously, I want to do some upholstery, so... I mean...yes.

It's kind of essential, isn't it?

I grew up with my grandparents, and my grandad was a carpenter.

So, as well as, obviously, the upholstery side and the soft

furnishings side, I'm quite handy with a drill.

I want to use a seagrass wallpaper. I love the paper.

That's my background, so that's what I'M really into. Fantastic.

Also paired up are former doctor Peter

and retail manager Paul.

I am an extremely competitive

person. I normally only enter things

that I believe I have a good chance of winning.

I have my own unique style that doesn't go unnoticed.

It's very hotel-like. It's like a hotel that I want to go and stay in.

That's kind of what I want. I kind of wanted that energy,

of that luxurious, beautiful hotel that you go to,

but then you want to kind of stay.

I was a doctor for eight years and then last year I decided

that I really wanted to follow my passion

so I quit medicine and I am working on my way to becoming

an interior designer full-time.

I just want to move into that house now - that's my dream home.

It's going to be great. Yeah!

Michelle, what are you looking for in this task?

What's "aspirational"?

Because, for me, buying a bag for life is aspirational.

It's a tricky one, show homes, because someone buying these houses

is going to make a decision in seconds.Yeah.

And they've got to get that balance between stunning them,

but not shocking.

The people that will do well in this are the ones that get

that balance between showing me enough of a style,

but remembering that the client is everything.Mm.

I can't wait to see your design.

Working on their show home together are NHS worker Siobhan

and film set designer Mona.

Behind the bed is going to be a wall panelling. OK.

And the headboard I'll try to make myself. Right.

I normally hate curtains.

Any kind of... I hate it.

I never use curtain.

If something makes sense to me, we do it.

If I have the control, I'll make sure the design work

is exactly how I want it to be.

I think with it being a show home,

I think they will expect curtains, won't they? Exactly.

I can go with... Ladies. Oh, my goodness!

Mona. Siobhan. Hello! Hi, Alan.

What ideas have you got cooking up?

I am injecting some of my personality with some bespoke

furniture, lots of gold, I love gold, and some bespoke artwork.

Are you quite good to separate your personality from your work?

No, I've never done it before because I've always

been decorating in my house,

so you're decorating for me and I love pink and I love,

you know, flamboyant interiors.

I'm definitely not minimalist.

I'm a maximalist.

And more is more, in my opinion.

I like to, you know, for somebody to walk into a room

and be, like, blown away.

The main element of this room is this room divider.

The idea was to divide the space, but not block the view.

Also teamed up are former visual merchandiser Barbara

and textile designer Charlotte.

I am making a coffee table and a desk as well.

There's a lot! You've crammed a lot in!

I've got so much to do. Can we get it done?

I think maybe we might strip back a couple of things in yours,

looking at the timetable, maybe.

Yeah.

There's a natural instinct to get excited and want to show

what you can do design-wise,

and show homes aren't necessarily the place

to put every cool, creative lighting idea or whatever that you have.

Looked like you've done it really, really well,

but is that the right full package for a show home?

I think she's right.

I've certainly taken some risks,

but I'm trying to keep it as classical

and within the brief as possible.

So, I think with this challenge, for me, it's a little bit

about pushing the boundaries.

On the outskirts of the historic city,

five identical luxury homes...

It's huge, isn't it?

The windows are massive.

Each a blank canvas,

ready to be transformed.

Oh, my God. How are we supposed to...?

Taking on a room each,

the designers can choose to use the existing furniture or go bespoke.

Two, three... Ah!

That's really lovely.

Each pair will have help from builders,

decorators and electricians.

I've got a lot of work for you to do today.

With a budget of £1,500...

There's no feet. Ah!

I've literally just had a heart attack.

..they now have just two days to complete their designs.

I'm just like, "I'm going to go for it." Yeah.

What is there to lose? Yeah.

That window is a good size cos you can never buy extra natural light.

In the first house, Peter's in charge of the bedroom...

This has been wallpapered, that's been wallpapered,

but these are just remaining as is.

I've gone for a classic take on a contemporary room,

keeping the colour palette restrained with navy wood tones

and natural textured materials, woven textiles,

fabrics, bamboo, all to give depth and give that luxe feel.

..while team-mate Paul tackles the lounge...

Wow. My living room. The view is incredible.

Yeah, it's better than I actually thought.

These walls are just crying out for wallpaper.

I think the scheme that I've put together is going to be quite warm

and inviting.

I'm papering the whole room, which is quite daring.

If everything comes together how I've planned,

it will be a beautiful end result.

And then 261 minus 75.

Next door, Micaela is using her upholstery skills to make an impact

in the living room.

The key feature of this room is the window,

so I really want my statement piece, the chaise longue, to bring that

as the focus, kind of paint the picture of sitting there

and reading and looking out to the view.

In the bedroom is partner Amy.

It's going to be sophisticated, it's going to be cool,

it's going to have a bit of soul to it.

I always use black in my schemes.

I wanted a little bit of me in it,

otherwise, what's the point?

Oh...

It's big. Isn't it?

At the end house,

architect Lynsey is paired with retail executive Jon.

The curtains come to here and then the panelling starts. Yeah.

The panelling goes along this wall.

I'm really pleased with the space and being able to try things in it

that I've been thinking about.

I've gone for really big kind of luxurious curtains.

When the curtains are finished,

the panelling starts to kind of create that feeling of luxury

and really large windows.

I hadn't realised there's panelling there.

Yeah, just to frame the piece of art in the middle. Nice.

Oh, lovely. The piece of art that could be a disaster,

but we're winging it. It will not be a disaster!

I love raw natural materials,

bold statement pieces and pulling it all together in a cohesive way

with loads of different textures and deep colours.

In the bedroom, Jon's briefing his decorator on his colour scheme.

This wall here is pink

with a green block that goes up that wall.

OK, brilliant. Then the pink carries on around here.

When we were given the brief, I literally just did a brainstorm

of all the things that I would want.

It's a room that I would quite happily sleep in.

If I was to describe myself as a sound, it would be...

# Ta-da! #

My style, I think, is probably quite theatrical, dramatic.

It creates an opinion

and I like that about interiors.

The thing that influences me is drag culture.

I wear my style like people wear their heart on their sleeve.

If somebody wasn't to like it. I would be hurt by that -

I'm not going to lie.

I've got pink on the wall, pink on the ceiling, different shade pink

on the curtains and the bedding.

I don't think it's too pink.

Yeah, I don't think it's too pink.

I'm owning the pink.

I have got the room divider coming from this point.

I might need to have a think about what happens here

when the divider comes over.

Two doors down, Barbara's planning a custom-built room divider,

but it's only one part of her grand scheme.

She's also designed an ambitious colour-blocking pattern with three

shades of blue reaching up on the ceiling, a long fitted shelf,

and geometric artworks.

The room divider has these kind of battens that run across this way,

and they line up with this part of the window.

If I'm coming in the room,

it blocks off me seeing the room.

It's called a room divider, but it really doesn't block

any of the view into the room

cos it's literally just the frame.

I'm just a little bit worried

there's too much going on in the lounge, but...

..I've voiced my concern,

so that's all I can do.

Just need to envision it,

just need to mentally take that off the floor...

..and picture it on the wall.

In Charlotte's bedroom, her piece de resistance

will be a navy feature wall with a 3D art display

made from individual tiles.

If they're all skewwhiff...

I did lay these out at home, as well, I promise,

but now you're here... Pressure!

Yeah, I can't be doing with it. Let's just do that.

One thing the designers will need to manage

is how to share their builder's time.

24. And then we've got...

Barbara's definitely got a lot of stuff to build,

so it's just kind of up to me to be like, "I need him here.

"It's not for you all the time."

That's the bottom, yeah? Yeah.

Bottom middle. Hoo-hoo! Exciting. How fun!

Next door...

This is going to be perfect.

..are Mona and Siobhan.

And what I'm thinking with this is doing it half a run,

but just, you know, in random places,

so maybe like half a run here with the gold on either side.

OK, cool.

Just to kind of give it that little extra element of luxury.

Siobhan will be painting two walls in a light grey

and two in a darker shade,

with strips of marble wallpaper edged with gold.

Bespoke furniture and gold accessories will be complemented

with floor-length grey velvet curtains

topped by a handmade pelmet.

I'm trying to push the boundaries with more of a luxe vibe,

so, you know, with the golds and the metallics.

Oh, my God, it's this...

Like that!

SHE LAUGHS

Looks like I have ordered the right size.

In the bedroom, Mona's planning to panel the whole of the back wall.

The wood is cut because I wanted to make your and my days easier.

Yes. It's perfectly cut.

There's quite a lot.

This panelling is a very important part of the design.

The brief asked for luxury,

and I thought if I'm going to build

luxury individual panelling and headboard,

it actually makes it very high.

I'm very confident that it will work out very well.

Mona works as a set designer for an Iranian TV company.

My roots are very important to me.

The history and the pattern,

everything is an influence in my design.

On a film set it's different.

You make it beautiful for the camera.

This is making a space for somebody who will actually live there.

You cannot just fake it "for the camera".

It's important... That it looks good, yeah.

If you put paint on this...

Unfortunately for Mona, the wood she's bought for her panelling

will need an undercoat of PVA before painting.

The issue with the wood is the inners, as you can see.

The paint might not stick to that

and it wouldn't look nice and neat and clean.

Apparently, it will take longer.

Yeah, let's hope at the end it's actually what I want.

I really hope that the outcome is good.

Right, keep your eye open for this estate.

It doesn't really look like Oxford, does it?

I mean, I thought Oxford was like Hogwarts.

Where's the wizards? Where's the people flying?

Where's the owls?

Oh! I think this will be the show homes.

Yes, Michelle mentioned a lake.

Time to see how the designers are getting on.

Oh, hello, Paul, love.

Hello.You decided to do the whole of the room in the wallpaper.

Why would you do that?

I just think it's time to change from the feature wall

sort of thing - we've all seen it. Yeah. We've all done it.

Now, this... Yeah.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen...

You're not going to put this up in the room. Why not?

So, he's going to be judging with Michelle.

I know, what a coincidence. That's so cunning!

You want to win this competition, don't you?

I wouldn't be here otherwise.

Well, listen, I'll leave you to your hanging.

I'm glad you like it.Yeah, well,

I don't like the mirrors, but you can't like everything.

I don't like that shirt, but...

Could maybe make a cushion out of it.Don't fall off the stepladder!

See you later, Alan!Ugh!

It's the middle of day one...

Oh, gosh, it's getting some air bubbles in.

Paint and paper are going up everywhere.

Oh, I REALLY like it.

The way, around the edges, it feels like it's a framed piece of... Yeah.

Oh!

What do you think? Love it.

I LOVE the layers of three. It's so nice.

It's just that bit of extra detail, isn't it? Yeah.

This way.

Michelle's expecting a top-class finish

in these million-pound show homes...

It's taking a little bit of time just to get it right,

but I want to make sure that, you know, this is the show stopper.

Next door...

Now, you see, why's that happened?

So, that's a bit pink.

..Amy has a problem with her custom-mixed paint.

It's too pink.

OK, what can we do?

Can we put some white in or something and try and have a play?

Yeah, we can kind of match. Yeah.

Please, let's try.

It's not quite as pared back as I was looking for,

and I didn't want sickly sweet pink.

The danger is I don't like it, Michelle won't like it,

and it won't be a winning room - that's the danger.

I think we need to kill it by at least half.

OK. The more I look at it, the more I don't like it.

Just along the street...

There is nothing else at this point

that can be physically done with the panelling.

We have to just wait for it to dry.

..the wood for Mona's wall panelling has been sealed

and painting has started,

but the extra time it's taken has affected her schedule.

Yeah, I just shifted things around.

I thought actually this artwork part would happen tomorrow.

If you would ask me if I'm worried - at this point, I'm not worried.

I'm actually super-confident that it's going to go well.

Mona?

What's this?

I am making some artwork.

Is that Michelle?

Oh, my God, you're the first to guess it right!

I thought I recognised that smile, yes!

And you know what, I'm going to draw you, live, now.

Oh, please! Be my model.

Oh, naked, naked? Please do. Only.

MONA LAUGHS

So, you stay like that. It might take a few minutes.

OK. OK?

Why aren't you looking at the paper?

This is the technique - I'm just looking at you.

My glasses are steaming up with the concentration.

MONA LAUGHS

Next door, the builder has spent the morning with Charlotte,

so now team-mate Barbara's building schedule is running behind.

Has the partition been done yet?

No, not yet.

OK. That's the worry, then.

But the carpenter is going to do it extremely quickly tomorrow morning

and I'm going to whack paint on it very quickly. OK.

But, I'm going to be right up until the last minute tomorrow, for sure.

Oh, God.

I'm worried that it won't come together how Barbara wants,

because not too much has gone up yet,

so that's probably my main concern.

Charlotte, how's it going?

It's OK. I gave my decorator to Barbara cos she's got a lot to do,

but I'm on my own now.

Has there been a problem with sharing the workmen?

Have you needed them more than your partner or...?

I think she needs them more than me,

but then that's also a planning flaw.

Yeah. Because we were always going to be in a team.

Yeah. You shouldn't plan too much if there's not enough...

Yeah, yeah.

With Charlotte distracted,

Jon's taking the opportunity for a sneaky peek

at the competition.

Oh, wow, that's beautiful.

It's quite nerve-racking to see what someone else has done

cos instantly I'm comparing.

I'm not normally lost for words...

..and now I am. What do I think? What do I think?

Yeah, it's very different from my room.

You walk into my room and, you know, it's...pink.

I'm being true to myself, and I'm now just questioning

that I haven't done enough arty stuff.

If we were all the same, it wouldn't work, would it?

And when people see interior design,

they don't want the same thing from everyone.

Self-doubt for me is a real challenge.

I doubt myself about a lot of things.

To some people it's just wallpaper,

it's just fabrics, it's just a cushion.

For me, it isn't. It's an expression.

It's just that thing in my head that keeps saying,

"You didn't do enough,"

and, um, I need to get rid of it.

As day one draws to a close,

some teams are feeling happy with their progress...

The finish is amazing.

You've got to be pleased with that, right?

Yeah, I really am. Absolutely beautiful.

Oh... If only I didn't have so much left to do.

Oh, my goodness!

Actually, you know in this sort of slightly later-in-the-day light,

it's really settling.

Oh, it looks really lovely. I'm super-happy with it.

I think going into tomorrow, that fire in the belly is going to be

even hotter and I'm going to have to work really hard.

I am slightly concerned where we're at at the end of the day,

with the amount of painting.

..while others are feeling less confident...

I'm not going to swear, but a lot to do.

It's the prep work that takes the time. It's easy, really!

Hm.

DRILLING

Excited to get back in there.

Yeah. Here goes.

It's the final day of the challenge.

I did another list this morning.

All right, do you want to...? Be with you in a sec. OK, thank you.

I've got quite a lot of things, you know, that kind of need doing.

I'm feeling really confident. As you can see, a few sheets left to do,

and that will be the whole room complete.

# Do-do-do-do-do! #

In Mona's bedroom, the wall panelling is finally up and ready

for a headboard.

Staples in.

Oh, my God, I'm super-excited! It's actually working.

Hi! Hi!

Oh, my God, it actually looks like it's part of the wall.

Oh, my gosh. It's going to be a little thicker than the rest.

Is it like a huge sigh of relief?

Yes. Look at it.

I'm happy that it's actually finally up.

However, we don't have much time left.

There's still a bit to do.

While Mona finishes off her centrepiece, team-mate Siobhan

is working on the window treatments for her living room.

I always think the pelmets just kind of finish off the curtains,

and especially because the window is the real feature,

I think it just looks really polished, having a pelmet.

Hi, Siobhan. Hiya!

It's a bit hot for yellow leggings.

I just wanted to bring a bit of colour,

and I've made an error, really, haven't I?

So, what is this? This is a pelmet.

OK. So, this is going to be going where I've got the windows,

so just to kind of frame that lovely view of the lake.

Are you on schedule? Um, not... Hm...

I thought I'd be a little bit further on with this, but it's taken

a little bit longer than I thought. Corners, tricky corners.

The last thing you need is me mincing along, chatting to you.

Shall I leave you to it? Yes, please.

Good luck, Siobhan. Thanks, Alan.

Next door, at Barbara and Charlotte's house,

Barbara's still working on her custom-built wooden frame.

The purpose of the divider is to define the seating area.

It kind of creates a little bit more intimacy

and I think it adds a bit of drama.

I'm feeling just nervous, actually, just anxious,

and I'm aware of time today.

I just want to check about today. Yes.

So, with the carpenter,

you've got furniture being made this morning, right?

Yep. When you're painting it,

can I take him to finish off some of the jobs I've got to do?

Absolutely.

So, just a couple of jobs to tick off so they're not done last minute.

Landscape. Landscape? Oh, OK.

Give me a height. Higher or lower? Um...

No, maybe where it was, I think.

Yeah. Perfect.

What have you got left to do with Barbara? Everything.

Does that mean she's got loads to do? Still got loads to do,

cos I did all of yours first, and now I've got to finish on hers.

Yeah, but that's the only thing you've done of mine today -

that's cos you were doing her stuff all morning...

As well.

Cos I need these chopped in half. OK.

A little bit of tension.

I've been pulled into Charlotte's room to finish off little things,

when actually I should be doing the big build next door.

So, I'm using this fabric here, but I'm also picking it up

in the cushions as well, just to take it through the room a bit.

At Jon and Lynsey's house,

Lynsey's vertical panels are now in place,

so she's moved on to her soft furnishings.

I wanted a piece of furniture that would tie in with the colours

of the outside and bring it in, so that there was some piece there,

you could sit there and look out the window, read or something.

What I didn't want,

when you came in this door, for it to block the view.

Ooh!

This is a bit different to how it was before.

So, once we've done the green block up the wall, the green block

comes across the ceiling just on this side.

Meanwhile, team-mate Jon's making a last-minute change

to push his design even further.

And it needs to come out 50 centimetres.

Cos the idea is it gets the bed in, it gets the pillows in,

the cushions and the bedside table,

so it feels like it's a canopy over that - so it kind of frames it.

Cool. When I walked into the room, I was like, "Do you know what?

"I'm going to go with my gut instinct. The bed needs to be here."

I just want to make sure there's enough walkway to get through.

What I might do is remove one of my bedside tables

cos it might be a bit like "furniture corner".

Sorry, if that kind of delayed you,

but it just wasn't looking big enough.

It takes quite a lot of time cos you have to kind of get the paint

into the fabric. Yeah, soak it in.

It's drying really, really quick, which is good.

Now it'll just be about feathering it off

and making sure it seems more purposeful.

At the boys' house, Peter's preparing some hand-painted curtains

for his bedroom.

Peter!

Hi.Look at YOU in your dungarees!

What's going on? What is this?

These are Peter's curtains,

so basically, I wanted to embellish them by putting a border on them.

Normally, you would get another fabric and sew it on,

but because of budget and time constraints,

I'm going to be painting the border on.

You're painting it? You're painting your own curtains... Yes.

Have you seen anyone do this before? Yes, I have.

Oh, you have. OK.

I mean, YouTube and the internet is great, isn't it?

Michelle said "aspirational and luxurious",

but, actually, he's started painting curtains.

I've never seen the like. Why would you paint your curtains?

We'll put this one up first.

Next door, good news for Barbara.

Her room divider is ready to install.

Nice. Looks good.

Then we'll just spike and pin them.

I would hate to have got to this point and be finished,

knowing that I could have done more,

so I'm proud that I am actually working until the very last minute.

# Laaaaaaa...! #

Yeah, it looks good.

I've just got to tidy up.

And I am going to... I've started bringing my soft furnishings in

just to have them in the room so I don't rush around

bringing them up the stairs.

Then I think we're good.

A bed is very, very important. It's the heart of the bedroom.

The heart of the bedroom.

With Mona's bed finally complete,

she can now focus on the finishing touches.

Mona, what are you doing?

It's embarrassing!

I'm sweating here.

Your earring's stuck to your face.

You have not seen another woman sweating like me?

I've never seen a woman sweat, you're right.

So, listen, have you had time to do my caricature?

Let's see.

Oh, look! I mean, it so looks like me,

I might just use it as my passport photo.

Probably you should. Put me next to Michelle's.

That's lovely, that is.

You don't like it? No, I do love it.

It was just a shock.

I mean, I know my teeth are bad, but they ain't that bad!

THEY LAUGH

It's coming to crunch time,

so I'm just like, I'm all of a bit of a tither, really.

One hour to go...

I'm getting there.

..and it's a sprint to the finish line.

Is that bob-on? That's bob-on, that's where I want it.

Yeah, busy busy.

I'm definitely feeling excited,

because all the things I've been thinking about for such a long time

are now coming to fruition.

I might need to put it landscape.

It's good. I'm just like, "Oh, God!"

CLATTER!

Oh, my God!

SHE WHISPERS: Oh! I just burnt a bit of plastic on it.

What do I do?

Do it like this and then we'll... Yep.

I love this. I think it's worked really well.

Really nice. Cool. Thank you.

I'm now getting petrified about being judged.

Do not want to be on that sofa.

Ready to cast their professional eye over the completed houses -

the judges.

I think you are just evil that these poor people start with a show home.

It's the most difficult thing in the world to do,

and yet there you go, you just throw them off the diving board,

"Swim, people, swim! Or drown."

Helping Michelle this week is guest judge and interiors legend

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.

People might think that a show home,

because it's all kind of a blank canvas,

is maybe an easier challenge, but it's absolutely not, is it?

You've got so many things to balance.

You've got the personality,

the identity of a proposed client that's moving in.

It's not as if you're even meeting someone for real.

But the good thing is that they can really show us what they can do

in comparable spaces.

Each of the spaces is the same size and shape,

so I'm hoping that we're going to get a real feeling of surprise

and transition and difference between each one.

First house to be judged, Peter and Paul's.

Do you think you'll be finished in time? Of course.

I'm just fluffing cushions. We're going to be done. Woo!

Yeah, I think overall that looks really, really nice.

I'm going to concentrate now on getting the furniture

into place and getting the room dressed.

There.

It's worth the stress, the strain, the sweat, the tears, the drama.

I love the finished result.

And I think I've only got that result because of how brave I was

in papering all the four walls.

Well, this is a transformation from a white box, isn't it?

I'm quite excited by this colour palette.

It's warming. It's quite masculine, isn't it?

I mean, a note on the styling,

that is not the same language as that. Yes.

It's definitely different to what's going on with the mirrors.

We've got a lot of things here.

All very sophisticated.

We're hitting those notes of aspirational,

but he's kind of mixed his metaphors a little.

I don't like the wallpaper choice at all.

I think that it is quite overpowering for the space.

Maybe that's because he's used it on all four walls.

I mean, I actually rather love it because it's so textural.

If he'd kind of kept the wallpaper maybe to sort of two walls,

so you get the kind of hug of wallpaper behind you,

but you're allowed to kind of breathe out towards that view,

I think that would have just lightened it a bit.

The winner, winner, chicken dinner

in here has to be the photograph.

Would you not do that?

I mean, actually, if you had a photograph of yourself

with the incandescent loveliness that is Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen,

I think you'd put it at the heart of your scheme.

I find that unbelievably bizarre

that you put a picture of yourself in a show home.

My room is even better than I imagined it would be.

I'm very confident, therefore, if I did end up in the bottom two,

I would have more questions for them than they would have for me,

I think.

One of my favourite things is when people start the design

of the room from what I call "the envelope".

You start with the wall finishes, the texture, the layering.

And I love that.

I think there's too much design in here.

As a show home bedroom, I think it would be quite off-putting.

There's a harmony I feel to the room. There is,

I still would like to point out that you've got your back

to that picture,

you probably can't see much of this picture

cos I'm standing in front of it.

We've got a whole corridor of smears going down there!

The window treatment lets the room down.

Nice idea with the curtains.

There's no authority to that painterly expression,

if you know what I mean.

There's something curious cos I really rather love this room.

It looks like a room you'd see in a magazine, which I think people

coming into these show homes,

they kind of want to move into the magazine lifestyle.

So annoying. Need to find a way of getting rid of these wires.

Next to face the judges, Micaela and Amy.

I'm unbelievably nervous.

It's tough to know whether you've done enough.

I thought I'd find it more pressured than I have.

I'm guessing being a mum, handling three kids, is good preparation.

That's not quite straight, babe.

I think it's beautiful in here.

I'm super-excited.

This is the first room I've pulled together that's not my own house,

so I'm really proud of what I've done,

but it's difficult with a show home, you've pared back your design a bit.

I don't think I've played it safe.

I love the way that it's been decorated.

What she's done is she's made mixing patterns and textures look easy...

Yes. ..when we know that that is not easy. Yes.

I can actually see someone coming in here

and just so falling in love with these colours.

What's let it down

is her understanding of how you design a room.

Not enough analysis

of how an ordinary family would use this room.

Fine, if actually all your family does is sit opposite each other

and listen to cello music.

I'm confused by why we've got two different lamps, and the mirror

is absolutely in the wrong place.

She's just got to start understanding about rooms,

rather than just hoping that the softs, as we call them,

the soft-scaping, can pull her through.

So much of my heart and soul has gone into that room,

and I totally understand that some people will just not like my scheme.

I'm just hoping Michelle and Laurence are in the "love it" camp.

Ooh, this is so interesting, isn't it?

I LOVE the panelling.

Using the three levels of trim, brilliant,

and then I turn here and go,

"But how could that person have done this?"

It's all about how you dress the WHOLE wall behind the bedhead.

One of these panels horizontally above the headboard,

you've created balance.

But I think she does understand this business of sort of, you know,

punches of accent,

so, black light fitting, black table.

This is good.

Barbara!

You're taking some pretty intense angles right now.

For Charlotte and Barbara, it's a race against time.

Barbara! Where's Wayne? He's in here.

Would you please ask if he lifts the plastic off from my bed? OK.

There's some things I'm not happy with, but I'm living with them.

But as a whole...

..yeah, it's come together nicely.

So stressful!

Absolutely exhausted.

I mean, I cannot believe how much I managed to get done,

but it makes me think if I do get through to the next stage,

I'm going to have to rethink.

I'm going to have to really learn from this.

Oh, my word, Laurence.

I REALLY didn't see this one coming.

Wow!

How completely different.

Let's get this out of the way. This is the elephant in the room.

It's not nice. It shouldn't be here. It's not necessary.

And it distracts away from the cleverness

of the colour blocking.

I mean, that is such an ingenious thing to do in the corner of a room

because it feels as if your eye is going up into a stairwell.

Suddenly, this room feels so much taller and bigger.

Before we get too carried away...

I mean, there is the whole thing, is this appropriate for a show home?

Absolutely not!

But we must absolutely applaud her ambition,

cos it's extraordinary.

Mine's different to everyone else's

because I deliberately wanted it

to be a really calm and serene place that felt luxurious.

I went for that more simplistic look.

Oh... I've found one of the things that I can't bear.

Immediately, I'm struck by the kind of visual virtuosity of this room,

and yet the same person didn't notice

that the first thing I see when I come in

is the side of a rather humdrum cabinet.

What has happened is that

we have come from this explosion of design next door,

and now we're in a space where it just feels very, very redacted,

it feels very pulled back.

And there is a tailored restraint and serenity to what she's done

on this back wall that she then just carries symphonically,

very gently, into the patterns, into the curtains.

Completely disagree with you. Well...

I don't see how you can use words like "considered",

when you turn round and look at that mirror.

That mirror, to me, the frame of it has nothing to do

with what else is going on in this room. Oh, yes.

I'm talking, literally, about what's happening over here.

I mean, yes, with the layering of these fabrics

and the bed in front of it, brilliant.

Love it. Absolutely genius.

And the casting of the shadows... Unbelievable. Very Instagram.

But she has just then forgotten, to me, about the rest of the room.

The point is, I don't think she's done enough.

Oh, Mona, this looks so beautiful!

At Siobhan and Mona's...

I don't have your view yet.

Oh, I love what you've done with the paper bags,

it looks like you've brought the outside in.

Mona's made a last-minute decision -

she's binning the curtains.

It IS a risk because everybody is expecting curtains

and it's not a risk because I am true to myself.

I stay to my style, I stick to my style.

When I was designing it, I didn't feel good, putting a curtain in.

When I was ordering it, I didn't feel good.

Yeah, bit closer to each other. There? Yes, please.

That's the creative process.

This is how a creative brain works.

OK, yeah, I make it work.

I've never really been judged before because I've always just

kind of done my own house, so I'm the judge of that.

Yeah, I think I've nailed it, actually.

I think it looks aspirational.

I feel super-proud of myself, actually.

So, Siobhan likes the 1920s.

Really hooked on glam, isn't she?

I like these sort of frames happening,

and, actually, I'm finding the colour scheme

really rather pleasant.

I like that I've got this lovely grey mushroomy colour behind me.

There's lots of elements of extra style,

but it's when I actually then dive into that style,

I start to feel a little bit wobbly.

I think this is the absolutely fundamental flaw because the most

dominant influence on this room isn't in this room at all -

it's out there. We're looking out into countryside.

Can you get that to sit comfortably

with what is an incredibly urban,

very, very metropolitan way of decorating?

Does it work as a room in a show home?

Interesting point.

I'm happy it's done - "good" done,

and not like half-finished or so.

I have delivered exactly what I wanted.

That's my style, it's elegance, it's clean.

Yeah, I'm proud of it, yeah.

There's a wonderful freshness. Springtime. It is.

That's exactly what it is. We've got kind of spring fever here.

Mona is the first person we've seen so far to completely change the bed,

but I can't help wondering why?

Like, if you're going to do this big chunky panelled wall,

then should the headboard not be...? That chunk.

There's a very glaring omission in that you're lying in bed,

there's no curtain, there's no blind.

I don't feel, in this space that Mona, who designed it,

is thinking about the people that are going to go to bed in it.

So I've just moved the bed a millimetre.

HE CHUCKLES

Last pair to be judged,

Jon and Lynsey.

I've just made that worse, haven't I?

No.

I think the past two days have felt like four months.

There's been a whole host of emotions,

and I'm at the end of it, and it feels good.

Ooh!

I think it's aspirational.

I don't think it's something everyone would think to do

with their lounge, but I think that's what aspirational is to me,

something that you can't do yourself.

Gosh. Oh, my. There's an enormous amount

of design bang for the buck in here, isn't there?

I really like the vertical slats of wood on the wall that suddenly

become this curtain. Yes. You know, that's very, very playful.

It's quite surreal, but also very, very sophisticated.

I think that the palette itself is actually really quite

successful, because it's focusing your attention,

compelling you to look out at the view.

A tight palette, a touch dark for me.

Then I love the fact that she's done what many wouldn't have,

is that within this terribly sedate, quite restrained scheme,

she's just thrown this kind of fabulously bonkers leafy fabric in,

which is that connection with outside.

There's a lot of bravado that's gone in here,

and she's pulled it off well.

JON: I'm really pleased with my room and what I've done.

I've learned a lot about myself, I've learned a lot

about what I'm capable of. I really like the look of it,

I like the feel of it when I walk in.

Yeah, it feels great.

Ooh, moody, Laurence, moody.

LAURENCE CHUCKLES

Hello, '80s!

I've missed you!

I'm feeling that this is really tightly pulled together.

I think he's shown you what you can do

with some very, very simple moves,

because we've seen kind of really full-on treatments

behind the bed and panelling and lighting,

and he's created exactly the same effect using paint, but been clever

enough to also take it up over the ceiling.

He's kind of given us a post-modernist four-poster bed.

Listen, the entire nation is going to be doing this soon.

It's such a such a smart thing to do.

You know, you look at Jon, you would never know that

underneath Jon beats this heart of Joan Collins.

He's restrained himself with this albeit quite bonkers wallpaper,

but he's only used it sort of on this area

over here. Yeah. He's allowed this to be really quite cool.

And he's not even overplayed the wall opposite the bed.

I mean, I think it's very well considered.

Before the teams return to the design studio,

there's time for a snoop around each other's show homes.

Oh, my God!

I can see Siobhan in here.

SHE GASPS

Oh, wow.

This is next level.

Oh... Oh!

This feels quite Moroccan to me.

Yeah. I don't think it's show home-y. Unfortunately.

Wow!

My turn to get nervous now.

Oh, my God!

SHE GASPS

Wow! Oh, my...

Wow, wow, wow.

Everything is beautiful.

Oh... I swear, I've gone cold.

It has made me more nervous.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my goodness. This is absolutely...

Oh, my...

SHE GASPS

Wow! I think looking at this,

mine just seems quite plain.

I am actually really worried about being on the sofa this week,

because my style is just a little bit too different.

Oh, my God.

These two guys, if one of them will win, they deserve it. They're...

Oh, my God, this is impossible what they've done.

It's like a show home.

It's... It's perfect.

With a life-changing contract at stake, the designers meet back

at Michelle's studio.

Time for Michelle to make her final decision

on which designer will stay, and who will be going home.

I'm feeling pretty nervous today, actually.

All that kind of calmness is gone.

If I go home today, I'll be gutted.

No-one wants to go out first.

Going out first is, like, brutal.

I've worked extremely hard to get to this point, and the last couple

of days have been a mammoth effort.

I didn't struggle with the brief this week, but I definitely

didn't want to push too far.

And that might be a little bit of a regret for me.

Hello, everyone!

Why are you looking so nervous?

DESIGNERS LAUGH

Just cut the atmosphere - duh-duh-duh-duh-duh!

Michelle and Laurence were really impressed

with some of the designs they saw.

They felt some rooms in particular really met the brief.

These rooms were sophisticated and they were really on point

with what the client wanted.

Now, Jon, Michelle loved your simple but super-effective

use of colour and pattern. So, well done, Jon. Thank you.

And Micaela, Michelle loved your mix of materials, but she felt sometimes

you've got to just stand back and look at the bigger picture. Yeah.

The judges felt a couple of the houses sadly missed the mark.

So, going through to next week is...

..Jon and Lynsey...

..and...

..Amy and Micaela...

..and...

..Peter and Paul.

THEY EXHALE AND CHUCKLE

Oh, Paul!

TEARFULLY: Don't, you'll start us all off.

Well done, everyone. I'll see you next time.

Good luck, guys. You've got this.

I'm so sorry for you. This must be soul-destroying for you,

because I know how much effort you put into it.

Michelle's going to have a chat with you and talk about

why it went wrong.

And then, sadly, one of you will be going home.

Good luck. Thank you.

QUIETLY: Oh, God. OK? Yeah. Are you? Mm-hm.

Now, why did you pick those two teams,

because there was a lot of talent? There was.

I mean, what we had, really, is the incredible

variety of what could be achieved. Yeah.

And then we went from one extreme to the other.

So all the people that sort of fitted in the middle,

they're through. The people on either end, it's like,

"You went too far. You didn't give me enough."

I'm very surprised that you two...

Super-surprised.

Talking about Barbara, I loved the room.

But you're just saying it didn't fit the brief? Yes.

She threw everything at it. I mean, here was someone that, suddenly,

I thought I was in a completely different building.

It was all terribly clever.Yeah.

And there was so much we loved about that.

And did you like the partition? The partition was unnecessary.

I liked the partition! Cos then she created that little space.

She'd done that anyway with colour.

It was much, much cleverer than that kind of rather flimsy

gibbet that she'd separated the two spaces with.So you're saying

she's in the bottom four because she's got a flimsy gibbet?

She really liked Jon's room, and I thought that was too much.

So now I'm just like, "Oh."

Now, Charlotte's room, I'm not going to lie,

every time I walked along those row of houses,

she was sitting on the drive.

Well, I think that's really interesting

because we loved her artwork. Oh, yeah.

But I'd like to know what Charlotte was doing.

You all right? I'm OK.

The competition was just so tough, wasn't it? Yeah.

Literally, like we went to every single room

and we were like, "Wow, wow, wow, wow."

And then you kind of question yourself

a little bit, don't you? So...

What about Siobhan?

There was a lot of style going on there,

but was there enough substance?

We felt very strongly that it had just too much flavour.

Does it fit in a family house in Oxford?

What about Mona's room?

She didn't even really have curtains on that lovely view, did she?

But these are the questions we need to ask her.

Was it deliberate or did she forget,

or did she just not think it was important?

Now, I know this is probably not where you want to be, challenge one,

you're in here in my office, but overall,

what a spectacular start to this competition.

But this is just so that I can really understand why

you did what you did.

So I'd really encourage you to just be honest, be open,

and don't get defensive.

Siobhan, I'd like to start with you.

You love Art Deco and the '20s.

How was that appropriate for a very contemporary show home?

I kind of went down the route of a bit, like, glamorous,

like, luxurious.

But also I kind of wanted to mute it down a little bit, go away

from my natural flamboyance, I guess.

So you're saying it could have been a lot worse?

Yeah. It could have been a lot, lot bigger?

Yeah. Yeah.

A room in a show home has to be a commercial experience.

You have to know when to stop.

It's about you having the confidence to step back sometimes

from your style, but just sneak it in in a much more stealthy way.

Barbara, I have a similar question to Siobhan for you.

You went for it in that room. How appropriate was it?

I obviously love geometrics, layering of shapes, and I think

that is something that's happening now.

And I wanted to create some drama and something that was not that...

Not just anyone could do. Mm. But it's drama -

the right word. Was drama in the brief?

Drama wasn't. But, yeah, you're right.

I still think that if you'd done 30% of what you'd done,

you could have got us to sit up and pay attention. Yeah.

You could have got us to understand what you can do

and who you are and where your talent lies.

I guess I didn't want to play it safe.

I think, really, ultimately, I should have pulled back on some

elements, specifically for show homes.

Mona, you were the only person that was brave enough

to change the bed. Talk me through that.

I wanted to bring something personal and self-made in there.

But was it deliberate to have no window dressing?

When I was making the design, I did put a curtain in.

I didn't feel good.

My gut was like, "I just make it because it's expected."

You could have left the curtains open.

I mean, the key word to me there is the expectation for a show

home is that it has curtains.

So by NOT having them, what was that about?

I wanted to start this competition with listening to my gut.

But it's not that I'm going to avoid curtains forever.

In fact, I actually want to get my head around curtains,

to get the knowledge.

Start on the patches, start on the patches.

One of the things that interior design has to prove

to itself is its practicality. Do you think you delivered that?

Normally when I do a design, which would be normally for

TV production or film production, it is always for the production. Mm.

And I realised, like, I actually didn't make a home.

I created a set.

Charlotte, in the time it took Barbara to completely

reconfigure her room, I kind of got the feeling that you dressed a bed,

painted a wall, and then just stopped.

My room being a more simple, calm space

was a conscious, deliberate choice.

And I think I'm kind of different to these guys in the sense

that I never took the approach that it was about me.

I'm obviously, kind of, a textile designer.

I'm known for colour, bold, painterly patterns.

And I just thought, "This isn't that."

So when I walked straight into your room, I did not

see your spectacular feature wall.

I saw the side of a really boring chest of drawers.

Mm-hm. Was that deliberate?

Did you forget? Did you run out of time?

It did bother me that I couldn't create a kind of pop at the end

of that corridor, but...

You could have just turned it round. I know, I did put it on an angle

so it was the front facing, which I thought looked better.

But I think I was just hot and I just... That's not a reason.

Have you done show homes before?

No, I've never done a full room.

What? Well, I think that that is quite telling.

You four are not here because you were bad designers, OK?

This was a tough challenge. You're here because two of you kind

of went overboard and gave me personal styles.

The other two just didn't quite give me enough to get my teeth into.

Ultimately, though, I'm always going to champion the intention

to do something magnificent.

So, Siobhan and Barbara, you can breathe easy.

You get to stay.

Charlotte and Mona...

Charlotte, you've given me a very eloquent

explanation for why you did what you did,

but I think you were a bit lazy, OK, and I find that quite inexcusable.

Mona, you were ambitious, you tried to do something different,

but your detailing and your finishing touches let you down.

However, Charlotte, what you did do showed me great quality.

So you get to stay and, sadly, Mona, you're going to go home this week.

OK.

Mona, it's just the beginning.

You're brilliant, you've got so much energy. Bye, guys.

Can we just have a good cry?

It's all a bit real now, isn't it? Yeah.

You've had the benefit of a bit of a masterclass here.

Take all that learning and push on forwards,

OK, but really hear it.

My God, what an incredible beginning.Mm.

Losing against all these other nine designers is just an honour.

Like, at least I have lost against them because they're all so amazing.

I knew that I made a bold decision to not go with a curtain.

I have learned in this week a lot,

but I definitely had so much more to give.

Sadly, Mona is the first to go because she just didn't show me

the level of sophistication and quality of finish

that I'd be expecting in a £1 million show home.

Oh, it looks amazing. It looks so nice!

..it's back to work... Ooh!

..to transform office space...

..in the capital.

We're building Wembley Stadium about here.

No!

I'm ready to see you now! It's not that kind of office!

I'm feeling this is almost veering us into cliche territory, isn't it?

Be no standing about today, right?

Crack that whip!