Victorian - Salford The Great Interior Design Challenge

In Britain we have an amazing array of places we call home...

from thatched cottages and conversions...

to terraced housing and tower blocks.

But when it comes to interior design,

we don't always make the best of the rooms we live in.

So we're asking 24 amateur designers who believe

they have got what it takes to be the next big thing

in interiors to show us how it should be done.

We'll travel across the country and through the ages

to Victorian avenues, Art Deco cul-de-sacs and Regency squares.

Each time, three would-be designers take on similar rooms

in three neighbouring homes.

I don't really hate it, but I'm not sure.

I haven't upholstered cat beds before.

This is going really well.

Across eight heats they'll compete for a place in the quarterfinals.

Judging them are designer and president-elect of

the British Institute of Interior Design, Daniel Hopwood.

The really great designers have a level of flexibility

and they can work around a client and yet give them a lot of style.

And interior stylist and magazine journalist Sophie Robinson.

What I'm looking for in this competition is designers

who have a high level of creativity.

Now it's their imaginations

and design skills that will determine who'll come out on top.

This time, our amateur designers will be redesigning one room each

in three Victorian terraced houses in Salford, Greater Manchester.

The three homeowners have very different briefs

for their open-plan double reception rooms.

I'm not too sure about pink.

The judges will decide which designer is

worthy of a place in the next round.

This is like being in a Van Gogh painting, isn't it?

It isn't going to be the best piece in the room,

I'm kind of resigned to that.

The designer going through to the quarterfinals is...

These are the streets of Salford.

In the early 19th century, this became a centre of

the textile industry, boosted over the next 100 years by

the coming of the railways

and the Manchester Ship Canal,

earning Manchester and Salford the nickname Cottonopolis.

But rapid industrialisation created job opportunities

and massive urbanisation.

Mill and factory owners responded by building row after row

of terraced housing for their workforce. Fitting in quite

so many homes meant conditions were cramped and basic.

House size varied according to social status.

The homes on this street were built in 1890 for skilled workers

like teachers and weavers and engine drivers. A step up

from basic back-to-back housing, they featured drainage and running water

and had bay windows out the front and these teeny weenie front

gardens to show off the relative grandeur of the residents inside.

Now, three Salford terraced homes are getting a new look

double reception room courtesy of our amateur designers.

I've always loved painting and making things.

When I was very young, we didn't have a lot of money.

Most of our furniture came from

relatives that donated pieces, but I just painted it.

I've always wanted to be different.

Hello, Charlotte What's the weather like?

I never thought about designing other people's houses,

I mean, I have been asked.

Unfortunately, when I paint something and I really like it,

I just want to keep it.

From when I was quite young, my parents would take me

round National Trust properties.

I always enjoyed looking around those,

looking at different styles of architecture

and different colours and periods of furniture and suchlike.

I'm currently on a six-month sabbatical from my job,

which is working in the City for a well-known bank

and I wanted to use that period of time to do something

completely different, and so I did an interior design course.

It's obviously a very creative environment

which I wouldn't say banking always is.

At the moment, I'm a mum of two little girls,

so my main job of the day is to get them to school on time.

And I also have a small company which sells handmade

children's clothing

and lots of other vintage-inspired things that I make and source.

I would love to be an interior designer.

It wouldn't seem like a job, I suppose,

because it's just something that I'm doing all the time, it's a passion.

This will be their first ever foray into professional interior design.

They'll each have £1,000 and 48 hours spread over three days

to transform their room.

The first house belongs to Becky and Richard,

who want their living/dining room to have a new lease of life.

Our taste is quite vintage, shabby/chic.

We really love quite bright colours.

We'd like this to be more of a feature where we can entertain.

It'd be nice to invite people round and enjoy our new space.

Judges Sophie and Daniel want to assess the room's current state

before the designer makes their mark.

Oh, very nice.

-It's very pleasing, isn't it?

-It's really nice, isn't it?

And the fact there's an original ceiling rose up there.

Do you know why they had them?

Not only because it looked pretty and it centres the room,

but also because if you had candles, or here would have been gas light,

it stops the ceiling going on fire.

I'm guessing that's not the original woodchip.

No, but woodchip is used a lot to hide a lot of little imperfections.

I'm seeing a bit of movement over there which is telling me

that it's the original plaster ceiling here.

And the plaster was made with horse hair and urine,

it stinks if you try and knock it down.

Nice to see, though, that they've got the bay window, even though

the windows have been changed.

But they are a challenge to dress,

as this homeowner has obviously already found out.

Here, because you've got brick in-between the paint, you could

actually have four curtain drops here that wouldn't cheat out

the light, which would just had some softness and some warmth.

I don't think there's anything wrong with

a good old-fashioned lace curtain.

Planning to redesign Becky

and Richard's room is 65-year-old Susan from Kent.

The designers have each been given a week

to work on their clients' brief,

but today is the first time they're meeting face-to-face.

Hello, Becky and Rich, it's lovely to meet you,

and lovely to see your house.

This is what I have designed for you.

The judges will watch how well the designers present their ideas,

how they build a working relationship

and how well they respond to their clients' needs.

I'll start off with this,

I found this little picture of Sorrento in Italy and this reminded

me, all these little houses, of your lovely patchwork sofa.

The pink in the room is the sunset,

and this is the blue which you said you loved for your dining area.

I've made some light fittings here,

and this isn't a particularly good drawing, but they're basically

five lampshades which have been strung up together on different

coloured wires and I've put lace at your windows here which I think

gives you a bit of Victoriana there, which looks amazing with the pink.

I absolutely love the duck egg in here and I love the chairs.

I'm not too sure about pink...

over all the walls in here.

I just don't know if it's a bit too girly with the lace.

The brief was for more colour, it's just got to be the right colour.

Would you go for this sort of colouring,

which is more what I call a plaster?

I'm just not sure if it's too...pink still.

Would you go for pale green?

I don't know whether pale green might be better?

I would prefer it to pink.

Would you be happy with that?

Yeah, I think more green than the pink.

I've found you a cast iron fireplace which I've had sandblasted,

so it will look absolutely glorious, so it'll be matte black.

Love the fireplace.

Yeah, I'm really pleased we're actually going to get a fireplace,

-that's fantastic.

-What did you think about her scheme?

I thought it was very artistic, I think she shows herself to be

a true creative, and I liked her presentation, it was very fluid,

she'd got some nice hand-drawn paintings on there.

I was hoping she'd negotiate a bit more

because I think we were both on board with the idea of the pink,

although for me that bright pink was a bit too much.

Those dirty salmon pinks would work really well.

Pink is actually warm, it's very flattering and it's really now.

This is a woman who knows what's in trend.

Like the other designers, Susan now has three days, her £1,000

and the help of a builder

to bring her colourful signature style to the room.

I haven't been able to really let myself go with the paint brush

for quite a while now,

so I must admit I found this quite exciting going out and buying

things and being able to do them up and paint someone else's house.

The second double reception room has a similar floor space to the first,

but the dividing wall has completely gone.

Owners Jason and Lisa want a stylish look,

but it also needs to be practical for family life.

At the moment, it's just not really set out in a good enough way

for us to use as a family.

We haven't got enough storage, and that is a big area.

As Eve is getting older, as well, she's got more and more things

and I do think it probably needs brightening up

and being more on trend, really.

It's rather nice actually, isn't it?

Knocked through obviously, this would have been two separate rooms.

There would have been a wall here, no door between.

This was a grand room,

even the smallest houses had a very grand space where you showed off

everything, as my grandmother used to say, actually.

She used to say, "All red hat and no knickers," which meant you had

one very grand room but everything else would be actually rather cheap.

One of the problems these large open-plan spaces throw up

is how do you define the two different areas?

And this family have done it by putting this sofa

in the middle of the room, which is creating a divide.

I think it must be 70% of English people have brown leather sofas,

it's really popular, isn't it?

Sofas are quite a big purchase for a lot of people,

so if you buy something that's neutral in leather that tends to be

a bit hard wearing, if you've got little kids it's easy to

wipe up the spills, and actually you can change your colour scheme

without having to change the sofa. It's not necessarily going to

dictate a new look, so in terms of an investment buy,

I think people find them quite a safe bet.

Answering this practical yet contemporary brief is

46-year-old financial lawyer Nigel, who's looking for a creative outlet.

I hope you're going to like the designs I've come up with.

In terms of the overall colour scheme,

I know you like neutrals and taupe and creams

and things like that, so I've chosen a greyish colour scheme.

This lighter grey on the walls, a picture rail in the darker grey

and then a sort of off-white freeze and ceiling, and the reason

I've chosen those is they're quite sort of contemporary colours

at the moment, but also they have a sort of period feel to them as well.

And then you'll notice I've got rid of your dresser behind us,

these are wall transfers and they're like trees that will cover the wall.

It's the first thing you see when you come into the room, and the idea

is that it'll create a bigger sense of space, because you know when

you walk into a forest or something you see trees beyond and beyond.

I like the idea of the trees.

I think that will be quite contemporary and different.

The colours I wouldn't have gone for,

but I think I can see them working in this room.

-Happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Great, thank you.

Nigel's neutral colour scheme with contemporary touches

seems to have gone down well.

I'll have to get on and do it now.

I was very convinced and I think they were too.

His communication was excellent, so I understood exactly what he meant

all the step of the way and he really got his clients on board.

But what was it with that grey?

Grey paint, I know is fashionable, but we've got rain here,

it's Manchester, this is what happens.

Grey walls, it just all feels a bit depressing for me.

All the woodwork will be in this dark grey.

-Quite a nice colour, that's a transfer, is it?

-Yeah.

I've not done one of those before, so that might be a bit fiddly.

It's a bit daunting, the size of the room, so it's going to take

quite a lot of work, but we've got some good people on the job.

The third terrace belongs to Calvin, who's lived here for 12 years.

Unlike the previous two rooms,

this one has an alcove where the original hallway used to be.

I like this room, but it was last done about eight years ago

so it's looking a bit tired.

I like natural materials so there's wood and wicker.

The fireplace would have been stone but it's concrete.

There's a hotchpotch of stuff in here

and I think if it's all married together with style

then it's going to be cracking.

Oh, it's quite heavy, isn't it?

So, the old fireplace has gone,

the old range which would have been in that space has disappeared.

But it's quite original, isn't it,

it's giving a lot of clues about Calvin.

This is a guy who really can take some colour,

he clearly loves a feature wall, they're everywhere.

I think the problem is, if you choose these very dark colours

in a room where there isn't much natural light, you've got to add

a lot of lighting, lamps, standing lamps, ceiling lights and there isn't

anything in here, it's feeling a bit dark and depressing for me.

I also notice that Calvin has got fitted carpets.

Originally there wouldn't have been carpets in this house,

instead they would have had rugs, and they used to have rag rugs

which was really saving money where they would just make it out of

old clothes and just sew it and spend hours doing it.

And that would be placed in the middle of the room, and then

round the edges the floorboards would have been stained a dark

colour which would have exaggerated the colours of the rag rug.

Well, rag rugs or not, I think

this room could be up for a massive transformation.

Calvin's brief is for an elegant room of natural materials

and some Victoriana.

Taking on the task is 38-year-old mum of two Lynne.

These are some of the ideas that I've put together.

Initially I was struck with it's slightly dark, the walls,

and I just want to lighten it up for you.

I was hoping to paint the room in this grey colour which I think will

add some colour to the room without actually painting it all white.

I thought perhaps for the fireplace that we could make it

look like it was brick again.

Bringing back some sort of brick feature in.

So, if you feel this, it is slightly textured.

And that would then look slightly like these pictures here

where we have a brick fireplace which has been painted over.

Which I think will bring it back to sort of

more of a Victorian era of the house.

I know you wanted to use it as a thoroughfare,

but I want to make it extended hall almost.

I wanted to use some wallpaper which looks like library books.

Cos there's not furniture there, I thought

that would bring an element of furniture, fill the space

without filling the space, so it's not looking too blank and too bare.

-OK.

-Round the corner we're going to pop a desk in the alcove

and give it a bit of a purpose.

And I'm going to try and recreate something like that for you.

Something of a Victorian feel desk

and pop it back in there, in an industrial sort of a vibe,

so it's quite manly, it's somewhere nice you can go and work.

I wasn't looking for a workspace, however I do like your desk.

So I am a little bit concerned with regards to this paper,

I'm not particularly keen on the faux effect of the brick,

I'm not sure whether it would look almost a bit cheap, to be honest with you.

I'm going to fill that with some wood like this.

Not 100% on filling it with logs,

I think you could do something a little bit more bold

and design-y in there, otherwise...

..I'd have filled it with logs or candles.

It's not just any old logs, it's round logs.

Lynne is working hard to persuade her client to agree to

some of her Scandie details.

The rest of it I think will be spot on, and hopefully

and probably look beautiful, so I'm looking forward to that.

I loved her ideas, she created a Scandinavian feel,

something quite fresh and bright with lots of light.

I also love with Lynne that she had some local references,

there's a slight industrial look she wants to go for.

I don't know if they were a bit lost on Calvin because he was

so concerned about that faux wallpaper, that was the big

elephant in the room that wasn't going to move, was it?

She's got quite a challenge ahead of herself,

not only with a very difficult space,

but actually a client who I think is going to be a little bit picky.

My major concerns at the moment are just the timescale

and getting everything done for Calvin.

There's quite a lot to do and also just coming up with something

for the fireplace situation.

Firegate. So we just need to have a bit of a rethink there

and come up with something new.

But before choosing different wallpaper,

she has a lot of dark paint to cover.

If we did put the white coat on then this strong colour would come

through and probably affect the colour of the grey paint that

I'm using and I wouldn't get the real colour that I'm going for.

Each of our three designers' projects are up and running.

The latest in a line of changes that these houses have seen

across their 124-year history.

When Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837,

Salford was little more than a village, a few farms and cottages.

Within 50 years it had swelled into a city,

a dense network of streets was built. Many homes had back alleys

like this where people would throw the ash from their fires.

Many didn't even have these, they were literally back-to-back.

To give you some idea just how tightly packed these houses

could be, we found this genuine Victorian cobbled street,

minus the yellow lines, which from one side to the other

just 86 inches, 2m from here...

..to here.

That's wide enough for a hand cart,

but you'd struggle to fit a horse and cart through this.

But many early houses were so badly constructed,

often built without foundations, that none survive today.

Fortunately these later terraces were built of sturdier stuff,

well deserving of an interior update.

To make her colourful shabby/chic scheme work

practically for family life,

Susan has given herself a lot to do.

A built-in cupboard in each one of these alcoves

with three shelves above.

We're going to have a built-in cupboard

again in that unit, mirroring there.

I have a cast iron fireplace to fit on this wall and so you're going to

fit that in the wall there, that'll come across like that.

Back in Kent, Susan's focus is her family,

who all appreciate her ability to make a house a home.

I guess when I was younger, I thought

everyone's mum made cushions,

made curtains, stuff like that.

And then I started a family and kind of realised actually

she is amazing, she can do all these things...

..and I can't.

But artistic Susan has no formal design training.

My style is a bit theatre, really, I'm on show.

I can do most things, I can sew, I can paint.

I don't do electrics and I don't do plumbing and I've never

tried my hand at bricklaying, but I can do most other things.

No bricklaying required back in Salford,

but she has had to rethink her colour scheme.

-I see it's green.

-Yes.

-So you're going for green?

-Yes.

I could see that they really weren't going to go for the pink.

And with the blue, it's a bit sort of...

I have lots of bright colours to go in here.

-Are you going to zing it up?

-Oh, gosh, yes.

Sometimes you see designers come in and say, "I've chosen pink,

"it's what you're going to get,"

and sometimes you have to say, "OK, throw that out, we'll move on."

I had other ideas, but I was passionate about the pink.

I was also rather chuffed that you picked up on using rag rugs,

because also they have lots of nice bright colours in them

that you can pick out with other bits and pieces.

That's what I thought.

Get that green paint on the wall, sorry about the pink,

and see you soon.

-It'll still look good.

-It will be fabulous.

Practical Nigel has designed new storage units for the walls,

but he's less sure what to do elsewhere.

These fireplaces, I'm not quite sure what to do with yet.

I think I could probably tidy this one up a bit and put something in

there to make it look a bit homelier, the other one is still

concerning me a bit, I'm really not quite sure about that one yet.

At the moment it's just blanked out,

there's a mirror I might try and use.

No. I'll keep thinking about it

and hope for some inspiration, maybe someone else

will come up with a brilliant idea that I haven't thought of.

At his home in south east London,

Nigel's love of period interiors is obvious to see.

I think my style's a fairly sort of classic period, but I like to

add a little contemporary twist or a bit of humour or a bit of drama.

I just love the fact that there are so many fabrics

and wallpapers around.

It's really sort of exciting to go out and find things

and source items.

I like some quite bold patterns, I suppose this room shows that off.

I'm not a huge fan of ultra modern interiors.

So, this is the main colour for the walls.

Obviously there's a bit of a brown showing through

at the moment from underneath, but it's a nice colour.

I think it will be quite warm. Pleased with the choice so far.

Nigel's fashionable grey paint would have been popular in Victorian

times, although they often favoured stronger colours like rich reds,

dark blues and greens.

Nearly done the first coat.

This is the home straight. It's looking pretty good so far.

So, with the second coat... I think it should look really good.

For her bright Scandinavian design, Lynne

and her builder are painting over the room's original dark colours.

Shall I start rollering? Is there two rollers?

Shall I just carry on with my brush here?

But she also wants to bring a Victorian element to the scheme.

I am painting using this chalk-based paint over this old desk.

The beauty of this paint is that the furniture doesn't need sanding

down or anything, I have cleaned it with

a bit of a sugar soap just to make sure there's no furniture polish

or spilt coffee or anything there that could affect the final finish.

But it's just slap it on, any which way, and it's a very forgiving

paint which looks amazing when it's finished.

At home in Buckinghamshire, re-purposing old furniture is

second nature to Lynne, who's house is a showcase of her creations.

I'm always doing something,

last week it was dip dying a duvet cover. Paintings, pictures,

crayon art with the kids, I just love trying new things.

It becomes a bit of a game to me, if I see something I'll challenge

myself and think, "How on earth can I make that at home for no money?"

This is the living room, I wanted it to look a bit like a ski lodge

at the end of the day, all cosy with lots of furs and comfy cushions.

I used the wood to give it that sort of rustic feel in here,

a cosy feel, it's a great way of filling up an old shelf.

Nothing in my house ever cost a lot,

it just needs a bit of time spent on it.

And it's time that Lynne is putting into revamping this

second-hand desk she picked up for just £90.

I think everybody looks at these pieces sometimes and thinks,

"That's so untrendy, I would never have that in my house.

"It's something that's really gone out of fashion,"

but I think, fingers crossed, that it can, with a bit of work,

come back and look something amazing. A bit special.

She plans to paint the Victorian desk grey

and give it a distressed treatment later on for an industrial look.

I'm in a hole!

It's late afternoon on day one.

Can't wait to see it all finished and the rug, the fireplace,

everything going in.

I would have been more excited if it was pink, but hey, ho.

Whilst Susan finishes off her first coat of green paint, she's keen

for her builder to start work on reinstalling the £40 fireplace.

Done it now.

There's no going back.

In the 1950s and '60s, a trend for covering fireplaces

began in order to fit gas and electric alternatives.

Susan now wants to restore the traditional look.

Oh, we've hit a plasterboard.

There's something else behind there.

Got air bricks behind it.

Oh, dear.

It's up to you. If you want me to carry on, see if I can...

smash it out.

I think it's scary.

They were expecting to find plasterboard,

but bricks present a far harder task.

Trouble is, where's the lintel?

As long as they're not doing anything structural,

which I don't think they are,

we're just going through the original hole.

Not taking anything out that wasn't originally out.

When it's not a horrible time of the night for the neighbours,

we're going to chisel these out.

Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed we might be right.

And time is slipping away for all three designers.

The big job is the painting now, apart from building the cupboards.

There's a few fiddly things which might take a while, I think,

longer than I expected.

Excellent. Great. More tomorrow.

Lots to do. Good night. Sleep needed.

After a busy first day of design discussion

and a whole lot of painting,

it's day two and there's still a lot of work to do.

Having such large double reception rooms,

the designers must be particularly creative with their £1,000 budget.

-Morning.

-Morning.

Lynne's arrived to find her room's not how she left it.

-What is it?

-Damp.

Not great, is it?

I'm going to have to dry it out some way, a bit stumped.

We need to turn on some sunshine in Manchester and heat the room up

and get that dried out a bit so we can do the next layer. Tricky!

Aside from damp walls, Lynne's client didn't like her

original brick wallpaper, so she's chosen a replacement.

Not going to wallpaper until tomorrow morning, so this wall we can do,

but we can't do the fireplace until tomorrow morning.

I thought it'd be easier, but we can't do it until last thing.

And the requests keep on coming.

Overnight, he's had a little bit of a think about the curtain situation

and he's really adamant that he doesn't want curtains

to go to the floor.

And then he also mentioned that he would like us to knock through this

and turn it from the arch into a square opening...

..a little bit late to perhaps be thinking about that

because we've painted it.

He's worried about the arch being old-fashioned, and you can't

see it as much now, it was two colours before and it's sort of

blended into itself, so it actually looks, I think, a lot better than it

did anyway, so I think he's going to be pleasantly surprised with that.

This is the first time that I've had to deal with somebody else's

opinions, but at the end of the day it's their house, so...

they are perfectly entitled to do that. We're all up for a challenge.

Having hit a brick wall last night,

Susan has prioritised getting other jobs done this morning.

Just finishing off the last bit of painting on the walls

and it's really nice to see the room coming together.

The cupboards are being built now and the fireplace will be

going in soon, so I think it's going to look good.

Why do I like painting?

You get instant results. And transform something so quickly.

Sitting back and...

think at the end of the day, and you think, gosh, you know,

you've changed all this, and doesn't it look good?

But with the hand-painted dining table

and handmade lampshades not started, Susan still has a lot to do.

When I've finished painting, I'm going to do some crafty things

and I'm going to be sitting at the table for an hour or two

just doing a few... Have a few bits to make.

I was thinking about the fireplaces yesterday.

Woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly thought of an idea,

which is to take this panel off,

so I'm just going to make sure there are no horrors behind here.

Ah!

Whoa! Put it back on!

THEY LAUGH

Just a bit of soot and ash but nothing too horrendous behind there.

So, I wonder... Might not actually fill it right up to the top

with logs cos...

..it might be just quite nice to put some in the bottom.

So, we just need to clean this off and then somehow use the frame

from the mirror just to put an edge around to hide the sharpness here.

And I think that might work quite well, actually.

Nigel's builder is constructing the storage units,

while Nigel paints his surfaces his special shade of grey.

It's a sort of historic paint colour.

I think this one's been around since the 18th century so it's possible

that it would've been used in this type of house when it was built.

But also it has quite a contemporary look to it, as well,

so I think it'll provide...

Sort of bring all the room together by connecting all the woodwork

with the same colour.

It's looking good. I'm really pleased with the colour, it's lovely.

Nigel hopes his period but contemporary colour scheme

will restore the house back to its Victorian glory.

Our 1819 houses were built on what was then the very edge of the city.

This was the very start of mass commuting.

Living on the edge of town meant larger, grander houses,

closer to nature - a sure sign of social status.

In fact, these houses would once have had railings right up to here

before they were melted down for scrap in the Second World War.

Despite their relative grandeur,

they predate many building regulations,

like compulsory damp coursing.

The heaters are really starting to work.

They're really sucking that moisture out, so that's great.

It is about 400 degrees in here, though. We're all...glowing.

Industrial heaters are only a short-term solution.

Homeowner Kelvin will have to solve the issue in time.

We've picked up the pace and I think we're back on schedule.

Which is the good news. If we don't all pass out with heat exhaustion!

Lynne's Scandinavian scheme wasn't an instant hit with her client.

So she's making sure there are plenty of Victorian touches in the room.

We just discovered that we do actually need probably another two pieces of the picture rail,

so we now need to nip out, pop out to the shops.

Lynne, it looks like you're making real headway.

Getting there. Yeah, I'm on my second coat now.

I've done a base coat in a lighter colour

and now I'm going over the top with this darker shade. This is the final shade that I want.

But I've done a coat underneath so that when you knock it back,

as they call it, or sand it at the end of the process,

it reveals a different colour underneath,

and then you put a wax on the top of it and it protects it, waterproofs it.

-Gives it a nice sheen as well.

-Yeah.

-And have you got any ideas?

I've seen people use brushing techniques to put their wax on, or lint-free cloths.

I use one of my daughter's old school socks.

It allows you to get around all the corners and all the grooves

cos you've just got it on rather than a cloth.

I am a little bit concerned about Lynne. She's got a difficult room there.

It's dark paint, there's been damp coming up,

the owner's quite choosy, yet...she's doing well.

This is the fittings for the centre lights. This is my own design.

I bought them from a shop local in Kent

and I've hand-painted the fabric.

Susan's crafting her unique light fitting using decorative,

coloured flex bought online for around £3 per metre.

They're all going to hang at different lengths from the ceiling in one single rose.

I hope they'll like it. I think they WILL like it. I do.

Hope they will.

They seemed to like the little drawing, which wasn't very good!

Susan has chosen £15 shades,

but with five per light in both ends of the room,

this stacks up to £150 of her budget.

The colours are going to look amazing against the greens

and the blue, and it's going to join each room together.

I'm very, very excited! Can't you see? I feel happy again!

Susan's doing a great job with her brief.

Her homeowners, they wanted colour, they wanted a fireplace,

they wanted fitted storage, they wanted all their furniture painted.

A lot to fit in but she's going for it. She's going to try and do it all.

I think we're quite excited in what she's going to produce.

Nigel's grey paint job is finally complete,

and now his list-making skills are coming into their own.

I think I've planned quite well

and I do a lot of project work back at the bank, so, hopefully,

I know what needs doing and I'll hopefully remain fairly calm.

At least on the surface!

Nigel's designed a lot of new storage,

which is taking time to build.

So, he's left following instructions.

Having a few problems with this flat-pack at the moment.

Seems to be a screw hole that may be in the wrong place.

And I think it's been made wrongly.

I don't think it can possibly be my fault!

Flat-pack furniture is the ultimate in mass-market design.

Mass-marketing is also a concept in the very DNA of these streets.

Most terraces like this were built without an architect

but the Industrial Revolution meant mass production -

mass production of all the bricks, the tiles and all the other elements that make up a house,

so that builders and developers could churn out terraces like this up and down the land.

These houses were built in short sections over several years.

The builders only had the money to develop a few at a time,

investing what they earned on the last build on the next one.

You can see the disjointed roofline between two sections up there.

Just like the roofs, the rooms being updated are all slightly different.

So, in order to assess the designers' creativity,

the judges are asking them all to personalise an identical clock,

in keeping with their schemes.

I'm going to rough this up and paint it with a sort of mahogany colour.

Painting wood effects was quite a Victorian thing, actually.

They would very often use cheap wood and then try

and apply a paint finish to give a sort of good mahogany look.

-Do you want to see the progress so far?

-Yeah, why not?

I'm looking at the progress from here! I'm not very sure.

-Nigel, what are you doing there?

-I'll talk you through it.

-All right.

What I thought I would try and do is create a sort of Victorian paint effect.

-They use combs to create a graining effect on it.

-Yep.

-But it's quite tiny.

-It's too small, yeah, so I'm just going to sort of leave it a brushed effect.

Is this a first time for you? Are you much of a crafter?

-It is a first time, yes, as you can probably tell!

-Good for you!

-Good for you for having a go!

-I'm not saying anything.

I was a little bit concerned about Nigel's clock.

Oh, Daniel, you were SO mean to him about that! He's having a pop at it.

You can see he's completely out of his comfort zone with that.

-It isn't going to be the best piece in the room, I'm kind of resigned to that.

-Mm-hm.

At the moment, I am decoupaging a clock with vintage comics.

I just thought it might be a bit fun.

Decoupage is a paper collage glued onto a surface and set with varnish.

Comics actually are really great for decoupaging

cos they're a nice thin paper and they mould quite easily

around things, and also, the colour in them is set,

so even when you put the glue on, on certain things it runs

and ruins the picture, but for some reason, comics don't do that.

Meanwhile, the clock is the last thing on Susan's mind,

as her fireplace still isn't in.

-Brilliant! No treasure!

-We've got ourselves a hole.

-And no treasure.

-No treasure, no rats, no dead pigeons...

-No dead pigeons. Nothing.

-..which makes me think maybe it's blocked up, which is good.

-OK.

Well done.

And she's yet to finish painting the dining table and chairs in her signature style.

I think the chairs have taken a little bit longer than I thought.

I'd like to finish the table before I leave and I'll definitely sleep better for knowing it's done.

It's the end of the second day.

Lynne is concerned about the chimney breast

after her client didn't like the original brick wallpaper.

Kelvin and I had a chat.

And he's keen on the texture idea but he just didn't like the brick,

so I've sourced a wallpaper which looks...

Sort of a hessian effect and, erm...

that's arriving tomorrow, so we're cutting it quite fine.

Little bit behind where I expected we would be. The cupboards have been a bit awkward to do.

And Nigel's still not attempted his fiddly wall transfer.

I'm sure it'll be a bit of a rush but I think we'll get there.

Tomorrow, Sophie and Daniel will decide who shows the most potential

to go through to the next round.

With lots of work still to do, it's an early start for the designers.

-Finished the shelves.

-Yup.

-Cupboard door. Knobs on the cupboard doors,

-and then put the shelves up with the light in. Ceiling lights...

-Yes.

-And then curtain rails to go up as well.

-Cool, OK.

That's not too much(!)

Top of his list -

the tricky wall transfer Nigel hopes will be the centrepiece of the room.

So far, it seems to be going very well

so it's a case of taking the backing off and sticking them on the wall...

..using... Well, as a banker, I shouldn't be suggesting you use

a credit card but... it works very well.

These self-adhesive vinyl transfers can be bought online for less than £100.

With a range of colours and designs, they're a simple way to transform a room.

So this is a quite exciting moment, I think.

Yay! Wallpaper! Special delivery!

Oh, it's brilliant!

I'm just sizing the walls at the moment so that it seals the walls, makes them less porous

and helps the wallpaper slide around so that when we put it on, it's a bit easier to do.

It's late to be wallpapering

and the other feature wall also needs finishing.

But Lynne is still finding time to fit in other jobs.

I'm just quickly dip-dyeing, improvising with what we've got at the moment cos I want to dip-dye

some cushion covers to give a sort of two-tonal effect.

So, just pop it in.

Being really careful not to splash, and, hopefully,

you will get a two-toned, designer-looking cushion

for hardly any money at all. Right, let's leave that.

We've got lots to crack on with.

Susan finally starts up-cycling her clock.

Starting by tearing up some old maps, prints of old maps,

of Manchester and Salford. I don't know where any of these places are!

Try and find Strangeways, actually. That'll be quite nice.

Strangeways! I've found it! I had to get that in, didn't I?

While Susan's builder finishes the storage,

she's completing the paint job on the table.

Tried to block this table off in blocks rather like a chessboard,

just to make it a bit more interesting,

and I'm just trying to outline them a bit where I've...

Been done very roughly,

just by using brushstrokes in different directions.

Yeah. Yeah, I think it's making it look more interesting.

It looks a bit like an old tablecloth, doesn't it?

Susan creates her crisscross pattern with an acrylic eggshell paint

in typically bright colours.

I'm going to try something else, bit more colour, just subtlely.

I'm trying to give them a design

but with a look of just blobby paint.

Just building up colour.

Our amateur designers are now busily applying the final touches

to their projects, and they're almost ready to be seen by the homeowners.

How they feel about their new-look rooms will help the judges decide who goes through to the next round.

After damp issues, late deliveries and ambitious workloads,

all three designers are running late.

But their vast Victorian double reception rooms are coming together.

Other way!

Why is that not screwing in?

All I've got left is to sign it. I shall put a pair of red lips on the side.

It will be up to the judges to decide which designer

has most imaginatively followed their clients' brief.

I'm happy with the colour scheme and everything that's gone in it

but I'm not happy with the finish I'm achieving.

Lynne's client didn't originally like the idea of logs in the fireplace.

So I've come up with a little idea of maybe intertwining

some fairy lights through the logs so he can flick it on

and it becomes a little bit of a feature, a bit cosy-looking. That's lovely.

-Er...

-Can I have another, please?

Right, OK. So... We're just about done now.

Just clearing away a few last bits of debris.

I've still got my list in my pocket.

I've no idea whether I've ticked half of the things off, let alone all of them!

Oof... Wow!

It's finished.

First to be seen by the judges is Lynne's room.

Her brief was to create a warm, elegant living room

using natural materials and Victorian touches.

Three days ago, this room was dark, damp and in need of an update.

Now Lynne has brought her Scandinavian style

to brighten up the whole room.

She's given the alcove a proper function with upcycled desk.

And she's added a picture rail for period detail.

Two feature wallpapers create drama...

..and texture, giving the room a fashionable edge.

And Lynne dressed the fireplace with her signature logs.

-Blimey!

-That is a transformation, isn't it?

-That is!

It was just a very dark, oppressive room that had a lot of heavy colour

that was killing this room off and...

it's light and bright and there's some beautiful details.

There's a lot of thought and a lot of style she's brought to this room.

He did ask for some Victorian references as well,

and you've got it with the desk, which works fantastic.

She really pulled that one off and I was really worried about it. And...

-..the customisation.

-Yeah, that's come out rather well, hasn't it?

-Isn't that neat?

-That's very humorous, I think.

-Yeah, that's really cool.

And I love the glow of the bulb on the reflective wallpaper.

I know. I think actually the wallpaper is the big impression for me, actually.

It's a really nice trick cos when you've got quite a dark and dingy room,

you need all the help you can get and if you're pinging off a bit more light off the walls,

-it just helps lift this space, doesn't it?

-Yeah. And then the cosy sitting room on the other side.

And it does feel SO much more cosy, as she's added cushions to the sofas,

which I think's just helped

-lighten up that very blocky lump of colour that she had.

-Exactly.

But what I've been dying to have a look at is this.

Right here, this was the big compromise.

She had an idea for a very bold graphic, brick wallpaper, it was going to be quite a statement.

She's had to go for something a lot more subtle. But it's nice, isn't it?

Well, I'm not so sure. It's flat but I was expecting some texture.

-I like the logs inside there.

-He wanted a feature.

-But he was a bit underwhelmed by her idea of logs at the presentation.

-Yes, he was.

But adding that little bit of sparkle, I hope she wins him over with that one.

A key point for the judges is how well the designers followed their clients' brief.

Lynne had to persuade client Kelvin on some aspects of the design.

This is the first time he will see the finished room.

OK, we're in the moment of truth! Come on in to your new living room!

What are your initial impressions?

Erm... It's grey, it's, er...

-Oh... It's not me, really.

-It's not you?

-No. No, it's not. It's er...

It's nice, it's attractive, it's...

Erm...

You seem a bit nonplussed.

Yeah, I can never get excited with logs in a fireplace and,

you know, I'm a bit disappointed that she didn't pick up on that.

This textured wallpaper was quite nice.

-Overall, I'm not getting the vibe from you...

-No, you're not going to get a vibe, I'm afraid.

Little bits and bobs are OK but little bits and bobs are just bits and bobs, aren't they?

Next up is Nigel's design.

His client asked for a contemporary but practical family living room.

Three days ago, it was very ordinary and empty-feeling with a beige colour scheme.

Now it's fresh and up-to-date,

with a fashionable colour scheme and bold feature wall.

Nigel's added cupboards and shelving to meet the family's storage needs.

He's made more of the room's period features

by opening up an original fireplace.

And has updated the family dining area with a new table.

Sophie, come in. The calm after the storm, eh?

-That stencil idea is fantastic.

-Really clever idea.

I think it's very simple, it's very elegant,

-and you remember they had that cabinet there before which they hated.

-And it was dead, wasn't it?

And their solution was to fill that with storage

but he's been very clever and kept that as a nice feature in the room

and then put the storage either side.

And Nigel's idea was that you're looking at a tree or a forest

and that you would look into it,

and I sort of think that works in a sort of shadowy way.

That's not good. Look at those shelves.

All he would've needed was a plate on the front painted in the same colour

-and it would've hidden that lighting and all the flexes.

-Yeah.

I can see the customisation from here.

It's in the wrong place. Why is it there?

A mantel clock means it goes on the mantel like that. That would be much nicer.

But he's painted it brown.

Yeah, I think he just could've been a bit wilder cos it's very calm.

-So, ta-da!

-Oh, my...

-What do you make of it?

-Brilliant.

-Amazing! Yeah.

Look at the trees. We were a bit worried about the trees, weren't we?

How they would look. But it really goes, doesn't it?

I really am lost for words. It's absolutely stunning.

-So, do you think Nigel did a good job?

-Oh, yeah, completely.

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

Finally, Susan's design.

She was given the task of creating a bright, shabby-chic living room

for relaxing and entertaining.

Three days ago, there were glimmers of personality here but it lacked an overall theme.

Now it's a bold, bright and colourful room.

Susan put back in an original fireplace...

..added a rag rug...

and lace at the windows, in keeping with the Victorian era.

She had some cupboards and storage built in,

and completely updated Becky and Richard's dining table and chairs

with her unique paint-effect design.

Even the bespoke light fitting is bursting with colour.

Whoosh!

Oh, she's a master of colour! Isn't she? Look at the yellows.

This is like being in a Van Gogh painting, isn't it?

This chequerboard's like a tablecloth. I mean, she's got lovely brushstrokes going on here.

-It's really like an artist's palette, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Well, I've seen some paint effects in my time and most of them are disasters.

But this isn't. This is fun, this is true artist in here.

I want to have a look at these colours, as well.

They're looking a bit unfinished, I have to say.

They're not quite done. I can see the edges missing and all that but the storage idea is really good.

But there's no doubt that she was being very ambitious with her build.

I mean, that's a lot of fitted storage, an enormous amount of painted furniture.

I did wonder whether she was going to get it all done. She hasn't.

-But...

-No, she hasn't.

-..the fireplace is in.

-The fireplace is in.

And it's black-leaded and it looks gorgeous. Very pleased with that.

It would've been nice to see a bit of a hearth in there.

-She's just run out of time.

-Now, we've got also a customisation...

Oh, OK. That's sort of interesting. Let me guess, it must be Salford.

-With a bit of copper gilding on it.

-I don't know, I was kind of expecting a little bit more from her.

-Ah!

-Oh, wow!

-I love it!

So, what is it that strikes you first of all about the room?

How bright the table is, and we really wanted to make it more of a feature

so that we could sit around the table, and with the lights as well.

I love the lights. They're really good, aren't they?

It's really bold. I love bold colours, you know.

We wanted a room that we would actually spend time in

rather than just eat and then go in there, so, yeah, very, very happy.

-It is like a completely different room.

-It really is.

-I really like the colour in here, the green. The pink that Susan offered originally I hated.

-No.

But she offered us this one and it just looks great.

It'll just make it such a nice room to sit and enjoy having friends over in.

It's just really bright and... Yeah, lovely.

All the designers can do now is wait and see

if they've done enough to be put through to the next round.

So, Dan and Sophie, some amazing transformations this week.

Let's start with Lisa and Jason's place. How did Nigel do?

Nigel's sort of pushed it.

Grey is the new beige and he's given them more of a monochrome scheme,

which I think's sort of raised the bar and it looked very, very classy

and allowed him to create quite a strong transformation.

Did he pull it off? Was it elegant or was it just a bit heavy?

Especially in the Manchester light, which is always a bit grey anyway.

I might've just jollied it up with a little bit more warmth and colour in those walls.

Susan is probably, I'd go as far to say, one of the most creative designers

I've come across in a long time. She's a one-off.

She just goes that one step further.

But she didn't finish, she was overly ambitious,

and interior design is about project management as much as anything else.

And while I love her use of colour, is she too limited?

-Could she do a different brief?

-What do you two think of Lynne's design?

I thought Lynne did an amazing transformation.

She's made it light and added oodles of flair and style,

but has she fallen into the trap of creating her own identity

and completely forgetting that of the owner?

Well, she steamrollered him a little bit, I think.

But if we were judging Lynne on just the work she's done, it's beautiful.

Well, all three can't go through, so you two are just going to have to find the ruthless streak in you.

Make a decision.

So, designers, some spectacular transformations this week.

Truly spectacular. I think these two have been really impressed with all three of you.

We've loved seeing the transformations you've made to these homes. We're highly impressed.

I'd be rather happy if all three of you just came through into the next round.

But they have made a decision about who's going to go through to the quarterfinals

and the designer going through...

..is Susan.

My God! Well done, all of you.

-Well, look, congratulations! Ah!

-Thank you!

-Well done!

I've seen the other two contestants' rooms and I thought they were both excellent.

Gosh!

I didn't think I had any chance. I thought they were both very good.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Lovely experience, and Susan, she deserves to go through.

She worked really hard and it's a really fun room.

-Well done.

-Thank you, Nigel.

I was really pleased with the design

and the fact that the homeowners really loved it as well.

-Absolutely love it!

-Do you?

-Absolutely, yes!

So I was really pleased with the way it all came together.

With Susan, there was just that little bit extra

and that was that little bit extra of experimentation, too,

which made her quite special.

-It's not pink!

-No, it's not pink!

We've had three incredibly strong designers

but there was something special in Susan.

She's got a real, great sense of flair and creativity and I can't wait to see what she's going to do next.

Oh! It's scary! I'm looking forward to the next round, yes!

Yes, yes, yes, of course I am! I have to stop shopping again!

And getting my brain working into creative mode!

There are reminders of Salford's glorious past all over the city.

Now these Victorian workers' houses look set to survive

for a new generation who appreciate their period details and sturdiness,

and with spectacular interiors like this,

these three have been shot into the 21st century.

Next time, Art Deco sunrooms.

-Oh, this is wonderful.

-Oh, it's amazing!

But brightening up these suntraps is fraught with challenges.

I am getting a little bit flustered this morning.

Oh...I hate this! Under pressure!