The Great Interior Design Challenge

What don't you like about the rating for presentation gettingonabit ? I'm sure they said it will be a feature in this new series.

I don't think Frankie should have gone through but it's clearly not about taste.

I wasn't sure about the new bit where they get marked on their presentation because I felt it just put extra pressure on the contestants, but tonight I could see how it can make them improve in that area if they make it to the next round.

Thank goodness Frankie made it through and not Holly. She needs to remember someone will be paying for her services. She did a great job with her room though, but agreed with the judges about the decoupage tables and roughing up the dining furniture. Loved the mirror panels above the window.

I thought Frankie had blown it when he didn't get enough wallpaper and couldn't use the extra lighting because he would go over budget. Really pleased he made it to the next round.

I don't mind the male judge, but the female judge gets on my nerves and I wouldn't let her through the front door of my house!

merlotgran why do you say it's not about taste?

Frankie produced a layout plan on all of his design mood boards, so that the client could see where furniture etc would be. Holly didn't do this. A client would expect to see a plan and possibly a lighting layout.
Holly was a bit slap dash.

I agree about the rubbing down of the dining suite. It looked far more elegant just painted.

I loved Frankie's wall papers, I wish I had a huge room to use them in!

X

Enjoyed the last series but can't get into this one. A bit like reactions to the rooms, we're all different

nina I just don't think that giving a position is adding anything. I think it's a cheap way of adding " excitement" which is really not required, in my view.

I'd prefer to see a considered critique of strengths and weaknesses, areas for improvement etc.

I thought the steampunk was clever.

I agree about Holly's lack of planning. And a layout IS important because it determines how the room will be used.

Holly is hopelessly naïve, imho.

The junk make over was interesting.

I would have made the plant stand into a light feature by painting it with metallic paint, putting led strips in each round and using the Perspex to cover them.

I'm now on the lookout for a similar stand to try it out!

I must at it Frankie's make over was a safe option.

x

They REALLY like Frankie. He was always going to go through.

Sorry, Wilma. I've been out and only just spotted your post.

I suppose taste is in the eye of the beholder but I thought the room that Frankie did on Tuesday was 'tasteful' but last night's looked as though a bunch of yr. 10 art students had designed a set for an end of term play.

Hollie's clients were absolutely delighted with their room but that didn't seem to count for much with the judges.

I think a lot of these competition programmes are edited in favour of the contestant that the judges want to go through.

I must say am enjoying this series just as much as the last one.Frankie outclasses the others on every level.

I watched the last series and have caught up with first two episodes but not last nights. I don't think it's changed much at all from the last one and I enjoyed it just as much. I agree that the judges clearly like Frankie but then he really is quite sweet.

I think Frankie is a class act too. I think Holly was too full of herself to appeal to the judges, and too stubborn to listen. Frankie is more methodical and conscientious. The sort you'd want to employ.

I wouldn't employ Holly, even if she is creative. I agree her room last night met the brief, however; maybe she'll learn from this.

Two words-unlined curtains. I rest my case.

merlot I get what you mean now. The thing about last night was the client asked for steampunk which tbh I thought was a pretty unusual request for an adult male of that age to request. In case you don't know, steampunk originally comes from science fiction novels. It's been around since the 1980s, but it really became popular in fiction about 20 years ago. It's hard to define, but it's a mixture of science fiction and fantasy, and like an alternate Victorian-industrial version of history, filled with steam-powered devices and inventions, plus quirky stuff. Books are usually set in a time of upheaval. So the book wall and marble wallpaper was supposed to give the feel of a Victorian library and the copper pipe work, etc., was the industrial element. The skull lights were industrial and quirky. Think HG Wells The Time Machine or Jules Verne 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, crossed with industrial. Not my thing, but it was the brief.

He did mess up with his budget and wallpaper order, but what he did deliver was spot on, where as Holly got things wrong, like the side tables and paint finishes. He also presented his design better than Holly and his chair was better than Holly's gin bar. If Holly had managed a better finish on her gin bar, it would have been closer.

It was a hard one to call because of the mistakes both contestants made, but I'm glad Frankie went through and not Holly.

Blimey, Wilma, I've led a sheltered life

Me too merlot when I hear "steampunk" I hadn't a clue but I got the gist by the time the room was finished.
A testament to Frankie I think.

Sorry for the essay, but I didn't think the judges really explained what it was. Actually the client wanted steampunk and something else, but I can't remember what it was.

Steampunk jewellery is very popular with teenagers and young adults because they can make something unique for themselves quite easily. This is a great example of a steampunk pendant.

No, Wilma, that was a fab explanation. The judges didn't explain it at all, and even Frankie didn't have much if an idea to start with. Doing the room in this style must've been a real challenge for him.

I think Holly's brief was more conventional; she had a better chance of getting it right.

WilmaKnickersfit, I think the rest of Frankie's brief was "mid century retro", so 50s stuff I suppose?

I'm glad Frankie's going through - I loved his first room, despite the rather impractical high up drawer. His linen was late arriving, shame really - I think that's why the wardrobe finish was so poor. Not sure how practical fabric covered furniture would be in terms of being a dust attactor, but I did think it looked good if you made some allowance for some lumpiness.

I agree with the pp. Frankie was the only scheme that made the bedroom look less narrow.

I think the fabric wardrobe was a mistake, and that he's learned from it.

What do we think of this week contenders? I agree that the yellow paper should have been confined to one wall, but then it didn't even match the carpet? The young lad's room was fantastic, very imaginative. It's just started again now so off for another glorious sesssion of brain out tv. Yippee!

I liked the paper, actually, but the contestant didn't follow the brief, didn't listen to her client and deserved to be kicked off, imho.

I liked the boy's bedroom, as did he!

I thought Boho Beardy's scheme was a bit underwhelming and didn't really gel.

I liked Boutique Chic in principle but thought it a bit unadventurous. Perhaps more to come there?

I hate all that blue in Rob's room. The rug is gorgeous though.

I quite liked them all last night! Poor "peeved owl" though: no wonder he looked peeved - he had a hole drilled through his head, to be fair.

Regarding the additional storage question posed by a customer-surely the designer could have incorporated it jnto the existing alcove?