Thatched Cottages - Dorset 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 asked 24 amateur interior designers

to show us how it should be done.

Let's try it.

We've got 15 minutes and I'm still painting.

I hope they'll like it, I think they will like it.

We travelled across the country and through the ages

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

Each time the would-be designers took on similar rooms

in neighbouring homes.

And after eight heats, we've picked the best to go through

to the quarterfinals.

Judging them are designer and President Elect

of the British Institute of Interior Design, Daniel Hopwood...

Our quarter finalists need to show

they've got an extensive repertoire and not just have one look.

..and interior stylist and magazine journalist Sophie Robinson.

The designers have already had one shot at this

so we'll be looking at a marked improvement.

Across our two quarterfinal programmes,

only four can go through to the next stage of the competition.

# Dun-dun-dun! #

This time our amateur designers are giving a new look

to a very old room in these thatched cottages in rural Dorset.

Four previous winners have already shown they have talent for design.

-Sarah, congratulations!

-THEY CLAP

-Jordan.

-THEY CLAP

-Johnny.

-Well done, darling.

Charmaine.

With two semifinal places at stake

they must show they've learned lessons working with their

first ever client, as they take on country cottage sitting rooms.

I'm panicking now.

Great little touch, even if I say so myself.

I think we know what we need to do.

Could be disastrous. I don't know what else to say.

I'm just concerned she might have bitten off more than she can chew.

If they don't like it, this is not a winning design.

Two of you rose beyond and the two designers going through are...

These thatched cottages are an idyllic vision of old England.

This is Milton Abbas in Dorset - 36 perfect looking little cottages

that look like they could have been built in Tudor times.

In fact, they're Georgian, built here by the local landowner in 1779.

Three years earlier in 1776, Lord Milton built this grand house

but he decided that the old village spoilt his view

and ordered that it be torn down.

The locals put up a good fight, even refusing to leave their homes.

But they were no match for the underhand tactics of Lord Milton.

He even flushed out one tenacious tenant with effluent pond water.

The estate workers had to live somewhere though,

so he built an entire new village in a valley out of sight.

His quest for the perfect estate led him to employ

the leading experts of the day -

William Chambers, architect of London's Somerset House,

and Lancelot Capability Brown, landscaper of Kew Gardens -

to create this model village.

Now four thatched cottages in this village are getting

a new look living room from our quarterfinalists.

Johnny won his heat with a modernist inspired design in a 1930s semi.

Now we're into the quarterfinal,

the competition's going to be a bit stronger.

I'm not nervous, I just want to get in there and get cracking.

Sarah pulled off a traditional design with a Scandinavian feel

for an Edwardian bedroom.

I feel I'm quite different to the other competitors.

I'm a mum who has a business who's enjoying this.

I'm just going to give it my best shot and see how I get on.

Charmaine won her place with a '50s themed

sun room in an Art Deco house.

So thrilled, I thought I might not be here but I'm so excited.

I'm at the stage now where I feel like that's it, I'm in it to win it.

And Jordan brought a touch of Hollywood glamour

to a Regency town house.

I can't wait to get started on the competition

and, yeah, just get cracking on the room really.

It's such a beautiful setting and the competition is on.

Our first front room

belongs to local history enthusiasts John and Peggy.

The house was built in 1773-ish.

It had some substantial changes to it in the early 19th century

which turned into a tailor's shop, hence the large bay window.

Keeping the traditional style is of particular importance to them

as, every two years,

local residents of Milton Abbas throw a street festival

and Peggy and John's living room is a main attraction.

Peggy sits down here and she's got a spinning wheel

and she also does a bit of sewing.

One of the things about having the place decorated

is we want to keep it looking traditional.

Before the designers can get started,

judges Sophie and Daniel want to assess the potential of each room.

-This is so charming.

-It's magic, isn't it?

I just love the fact that everywhere I look, there's antiques.

I'm noticing there's a few pieces of original furniture

in this room as well.

At least the furniture that you would have seen in a room like this.

Here we have a settle,

which is sort of an 18th century sofa, and also we have...

Probably a bit later, but there's a lovely rocking chair here as well.

In a historical context there is a design challenge,

and that is addressing the modern needs

in a beautiful space like this.

They love the period style. They love authentic materials.

They don't want to see anything that's fake or reproduction

so our designers are going to really, really need

to have done their homework.

And the designer charged with bringing some rustic charm

to this cottage is 44-year-old painter and decorator Johnny.

He may have shown his design skills

with an ingenious cabinet unit in his heat,

but he still needs to prove he can pull together a whole scheme.

Each quarterfinalist has been given a week to come up with their designs

but this is their first meeting with the homeowners.

I've brought in a mood board

just to show you what I'd like to try and achieve for you.

You wanted some shelving so I've come up with this style here

which is more of a free standing shelf

-which will sit in the alcove at the side of the fire there.

-Yeah.

This is the fabric I chose for your curtains.

It's silk screen print on there.

Is it based upon design that would have been...

Yes, it is, it's like a William Morris print,

so we're going back to that.

I noticed you wanted to keep the focal point around the fireplace.

I want to propose more of a natural stone on there, on top of that.

I have a lovely quartz... white quartz stone.

-I know Peggy doesn't like that.

-THEY LAUGH

I can see that!

-To me it looks a bit "in your face".

-Is it going to destroy your scheme?

-No, it will not.

-Are you sure?

-No, not at all, it won't.

-Good.

The stone quartz might have gone but Johnny's design has plenty of other

natural materials to deliver the rustic style.

When we show this room every two years to the public,

the first thing we have to do with this radiator

-is cover it over with old sacks.

-Leave it with me then.

I'll see what we can do to conceal that lovely...

-..white radiator.

-THEY LAUGH

I was astonished at how sensitive he'd been to the brief.

And we know Johnny.

He likes modern, he likes retro, he likes quite masculine design.

I thought he was so sensitive to their requests

and even when he pulled out the white granite tile cladding,

he moved on away from it very quickly.

He knew from their reaction that it wasn't the right thing to push.

There was one moment of insecurity that I picked up on

and that's when John suggested to Johnny

about having a radiator cover of some form.

I just would hate to see any MDF fretwork monstrosity over there,

that'd be really wrong.

So he's going to have to think of something more original than that.

Like all the designers Johnny now has £1,000 pounds, a builder

and 48 hours spread over three days to bring a natural touch

to this historical room.

I would really love to incorporate this natural wood.

We've got enough of this timber

and I think he's got a wood shed that he said we could raid as well.

-I can't wait to get up there.

-I know. See what he's got.

First he's going in search of the right piece of wood.

This is a lovely little Aladdin's cave up here, isn't it?

The next front room belongs to Lars and Monique

and their two-year-old son Viggo.

With Viggo's arrival,

we've changed the front room into an area

where you've got a lot of floor space

that he could play on when he was a little baby.

Now that he's bigger we can actually go back and make it into a...

-An adult room, cosy.

-..more of a cottagey, cosy room.

Oh, lovely. What an elegant room. Nicely restored.

The first thing that hits you, isn't it? The quality of this restoration.

Yes. What's ingenious is actually,

they've left exposed, at the bottom, the original flint footings

and plastered over what's called the cob,

which is at the top which is the rubbish

which they used to make the walls up.

Old beams, which would have actually come from the original village,

cos the village was moved,

and they would have taken anything that they could,

cos it was of value, and re-used it in these new buildings.

So these beams are actually older than the house.

Furnishing-wise it's just looking a little drab.

Monique and Lars, they like that Scandinavian look

which is quite cool in terms of colours,

but it's a lot about bringing in texture

and rustic finishes, like wood and stone.

But our designer's going to have to make it feel warm and homely too.

Making an impact in a room that already looks well designed

could prove challenging for our next quarterfinalist.

Asked to balance a country look with a modern influence

is vintage homewares designer, Sarah.

During the heat she impressed with her craft skills.

This time the judges want to see versatility

with some contemporary touches.

I've put together a little board for you with some ideas.

So I have chosen, as the natural theme...

I'm looking at very old, earthy tones,

beautiful warm colours with perhaps a little bit of textured linen

and that sort of thing to add some highlights to it.

We have the sofa and a collection of linens and tweed materials

to make almost like a patchwork with the cushions.

So the front of the cushions are all beautiful, natural tweedy colours

and then the backs of them we've done with linen fabric.

It will be quite bold but it will give you more than one look.

An important thing for me is to try and get some

light in here at, say, at night time when we have closed the curtains.

I have three of these bulbs to hang here but I also have two more

that I've had wired literally as a plug and a flex and a wire.

And I have got some silver birch

that I've brought with me that I'd like to make a standard lamp out of.

Sarah's attempting to balance modern elements with a woodland theme

and can't resist her signature tool.

I have used them before and I really love them

but I have found some paint rollers that you can apply to the wall.

They're just brilliant because they work on uneven surfaces.

-Will it be the woodland animals?

-Yes, my plan is to just do it here.

I think the room would be quite cluttered

if it was all the way round. So I think there, behind the sofa.

I'm quite excited about that. The...what did you call it?

It's a paint roller.

I used it in the last house I did and I nearly didn't bring it along

cos I don't want to be this kind of one-trick pony

but I think it's so good, given what you've asked for,

with the natural element of your brief.

I think it's too good to leave behind.

She's working to brief but she's putting her style on it as well.

You'll recognise that as being a Sarah design.

But I've got to admit, my eyebrows were certainly raised

when she mentioned that she was bringing out the roller stencil.

She does need to prove that she can be versatile

to different looks and styles.

-It'll remind you straightaway.

-Oh, putty. Linseed oil, yeah.

Our third cottage, a few doors along,

was previously used by Corrine and her family as a holiday home.

We were using the house just as a holiday home

so it didn't really, really matter what it looked like.

But after relocating permanently to the cottage 18 months ago,

Corrine and her four children have found themselves

competing for space in the living room.

The children play there a lot.

They've got their games out so if we could have some storage,

we can put the toys away.

I'd like the room to work for the whole family.

The beauty of the room is the architectural details

are still here, it hasn't been spoilt.

Including a bread oven.

You'd set a fire on inside, get the whole brickwork around it

very, very hot, then you take all the cinders out

and put the dough in and the radiating heat will cook the dough.

And that was the first example of a modern day oven.

It's a really interesting brief, this one, and it's very common.

People want their rooms to feel light and airy but also warm and cosy.

So that storage clearly needs to go, doesn't it?

It's very dated, flat-packed furniture.

I'd like to see something much more considered in there

with the cosiness and the soft furnishings.

We want to see lots of texture,

wools and linens sitting next to each other.

I think this is an opportunity to mix lots of patterns,

see checks and plaids and the tartans all mixed together

and build up the look that way,

so the room feels really inviting and soft and warm and cosy.

Aiming to transform this plain space into a functioning family

living room is 29-year-old design student Charmaine.

After her well-managed,

practical '50s office design in her first heat,

the judges now want to see a more adventurous scheme from her.

So, I just put together a quick concept board

just to show you first.

I'm going to be building you some bespoke cabinets on this wall

just here, so we've got some cupboards for storage

and some lovely shelving.

I would actually have preferred the shelf...

-to be on this wall and around the doors.

-Mm-hmm.

As a second option I have done just that.

So, similar thing - cupboards at the bottom, shelving at the top

and on this wall here, as opposed to here.

Ultimately, I want to make you happy

so if you would prefer it to be on this wall then I'm happy to do that.

As well as the shelving I'm planning to extend the window seat.

-Oh, lovely.

-So it's a little bit bigger, more comfortable to sit on.

I'll put a lovely tartan seat pad, again with some cushions,

so you can sit in the window, read a book, drink a coffee.

-I think it's a really good idea, actually.

-Excellent.

Along with her practical cupboards and seating,

she's chosen an autumnal colour scheme.

I'm going to be bringing the colour into the room

with the soft furnishings so we're going to have colour,

-texture in the linens.

-Very much like what...

-What you've asked.

-Yes. What I've asked.

-Brilliant! I'm very pleased. It will be great.

I think she really helped Corrine visualise the room

and Corrine was clearly very unconfident

about design and how it's all going to work.

She did keep saying, "It's going to be fabulous!"

"You will love it!" But I wanted her to say why.

Because I was feeling that it was perhaps a little safe.

HE SHUDDERS

Steve, you are not scared of spiders? SHE LAUGHS

-Are you serious?

-Seriously.

-Oh, no.

Our final front room belongs to Diana.

She's owned her home for 28 years

and lives with son Steve and dog Lulu.

I want it re-designed because I think a lot of the furniture's

too big and I'd like a change of colour.

And so long as it's warm and comfortable and bright,

that's what I would like.

Diana is keen to hold on to the authentic feel of the cottage.

As much as I like modern design, I wouldn't like it in this house.

If it was a suitable house, a modern design could be lovely

but it would look ridiculous here, wouldn't it?

-Crikey, what a lot of stuff!

-Yeah. It's a very cosy room, isn't it?

It's about people who are proud of living in a cottage

and they want to celebrate that.

They reflect on the past a lot.

For example, we've got lots of horse brasses hanging over on the beam,

old cooking utensils hung up around the fireplace,

sort of indicating what this was used for,

but they're never going to be used.

What I would like to see with the designer

is how they can take all this

and turn it into something new and fresh.

The other big challenge I see for a designer in this room

is making sense of the layout.

There's clearly too many chairs in here, you can hardly move.

We've got lots of different finishes.

There's different woods in here, different fabrics -

we've got mustard Dralon, leather and then quite a wacky bedspread.

All that is doing is just cluttering up the eye

and I think rule of thumb is maximum of two finishes

for soft furnishings, especially in a room of this size.

It would just help just visually calm it all down.

Taking on Diana's brief for a colourful cosy cottage

is 30-year-old ex-actor Jordan from London.

In his heat he created an elegant design

with a restrained grey colour scheme.

This time the brief is to brighten up the room,

so Jordan must prove he can work with bold colours.

Don't be frightened by the colour initially.

We've got this fabric here.

-You said you didn't like chintzy things.

-Not really, no.

I avoided that and went for a bigger floral

which I think is going to be really bright and cheerful.

Yes. So what are these colours here?

These are some of the colours that I've picked out from the fabric

that are going to feature in areas within the room,

but nothing too scary.

It's going to be bright and cheerful and hopefully you'll love it.

I'll move this one and you can see

the other one with a couple of my sketches.

-You've got a rocking chair that's going to be coming in.

-OK.

It's going to be a nice place to sit and read by the fire hopefully.

I just don't want the fabric to overwhelm the room, that's all.

The only pattern that's going to be coming in is on the curtains.

There's quite a lot of curtains, though, isn't there?

There is. But the room can... I think it's going to work well.

I think it can take...

It's the colour and the cheerfulness that I wanted to bring in.

Hopefully it's going to be a room that you're going to come into

and smile and enjoy spending time in. Not too scary?

Well, no, not too scary, no.

I really love the way he's bringing a contemporary

new look into Diana and Steve's home.

This is a daring scheme and either this is going to be massively

successful or, "Oh, no. This is a total disaster."

There's nothing in-between on this project.

After clearing the room,

Jordan wastes no time in splashing on some bright tones.

A lamp I picked up in an antiques market.

I gave it a quick undercoat which has now gone off

and I'm giving it a top coat of this lovely mustard yellow,

which is the same colour as Diana's favourite chair.

With the shade on it, I think it's going to look really smart.

Ideally I would have sprayed it, because it's quite a tricky shape,

but I couldn't get a spray that matched the colour

I wanted for the room so...small brush and a lot of patience.

Work is now under way in all four of the rooms.

The challenge for our designers will be to enhance

what are already such beautifully designed homes.

Lord Milton's architect William Chambers made the designs

as simple as he could so they could be put up by unskilled workers.

Even the residents of the old village themselves

often using reclaimed materials from their newly demolished homes.

Chambers was best known for the neo-classical style

but in fact he could turn his hand to anything.

In the village he went for a more rustic look

with brick chimneys which, set on both sides of the house,

are typical of Georgian architecture.

Each cottage was then subdivided into four dwellings,

two at the front and two at the back,

so that up to 36 people, at any one time,

could be living in each building.

Luckily modern day living means fewer people per cottage,

giving the occupants more space.

And it's this living space our designers are now updating.

With only £1,000 the amateur designers have to be clever

with how they spend their money, and for her modern woodland look,

Sarah's found ways to cut back.

This is my internet auction sofa.

It doesn't look great at the moment

but it's going to be a fantastic contrast when it's finished, I hope.

The sofa cost £170,

and she's avoiding extra expense by doing the hard work herself.

I've never upholstered a sofa before

and all the cushions have already gone off to be re-upholstered

so they are fantastic and going to be beautiful.

I'm hoping that I can do justice to this.

I'm aware of the fact this is their family sofa,

they're going to be sitting on it every day.

It can't be an amateur effort,

it has to be really substantial and really well done.

It's looking great, I absolutely love it

but I have got one little concern.

I'm not sure it's Lars and I'm not sure it's Monique.

This sort of patchwork look I don't think is theirs.

A few doors down Jordan has concerns about his bold colour scheme.

I was a little bit nervous. I mean, the fabric's quite bold.

From her just seeing the mood board, it frightened her a little bit

but, actually, once she sees the whole room she's going to love it.

It's not the traditional chintz.

It's a very bright, paintily floral

and actually they're really on trend right now,

this is the new way with floral.

So she's going to have the trendiest house in the whole of Milton Abbas.

She's going to be the envy of all the neighbours.

There's no reason you get to a certain age

that you can't enjoy pattern and colour and go for something bold.

It's all about the fabrics really in that room,

he's keeping it very plain and neutral.

The only slight nag is this is a very big leap for Diana

to take on board, it's going to look incredibly different in there.

With his rustic period design in mind,

Johnny's starting with a traditional coloured paint.

John and Peggy like natural heritage colour

so I decided to go for this "starling's egg",

which is like a pale blue, lighter than the duck egg blue,

which I felt would have been a bit too cold.

He's doing well to stay constrained because, you know,

Johnny's rock'n'roll, not Milton Abbas.

Before she can start on her autumnal colour scheme,

there's a practical problem for Charmaine.

I thought, "How are we going to build around this?"

What we'll do is come here

and we'll incorporate our radiator cover into the end of the cupboard.

It's still usable space. We'll have to space it into the corner.

I had to change the design a little bit

but it's going to look great, actually,

that it's going to wrap around and cover the heater

and incorporate it into the window seat.

She has got such an ambitious project.

Acres of bespoke shelving and cupboards.

I'm just concerned she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

Day one is drawing to a close for our quarterfinalists.

Smooth sailing.

Which I don't know is a good thing or a bad thing at this stage.

But, yes, I'm still confident.

But, for Sarah, the night is still young.

Slightly unconventional, sewing in the dark.

I'd really love to get this finished today,

it'd be a great thing to check off the list

and then tomorrow we can really get stuck into all the furniture

and get the pattern on the walls.

It's day two, and after winning one heat already

our designers are now competing for a place in the semifinals,

but only two can go through.

With so much to play for,

the designers have really got to step up a gear

to deliver their briefs to their homeowners.

To bring textures to Charmaine's autumnal colour scheme

she's putting up some blinds.

But unfortunately her client gave her the wrong measurements.

-This is the one that came.

-Oh, I'm sorry!

No, no. Don't worry about it, I'm going to fix it.

I'm going to fix it.

I'm either going to make a new one or I'm going to do something very

special with this one, I haven't quite decided yet.

This is actually in very good nick and it's the perfect size.

It's a blackout also,

so I'm just sort of having a bit of a tinker around with those

and I'll figure something out. Don't worry about it, I can fix it.

-OK.

-Situations like this,

it's important to be adaptable and flexible.

I'm going to get my A game on and I'm going to get sewing

and get crafting and make sure everything looks beautiful.

And I've just noticed a crack in the wall! It wasn't there yesterday.

Oh, my God! The plaster's falling off!

So, yeah, A game on. It's on.

Having finished reupholstering her sofa, Sarah turns her attention

to the more modern elements of her woodland theme.

I'm really worried about the lighting.

Lars and Monique had their pendant light swinging off.

They have a clip in the ceiling and I thought about doing the same thing

but I'm worried that it's just not going to look lovely enough.

I've got three flexes and I'm going to wind them round...

it's actually a wreath frame,

that you buy when you're making a Christmas wreath.

A copper frame, basically.

and the weight is going to be self-supporting.

It's level, when it's dressed it's going to look lovely.

I've got some birds to go into it.

I think I'm going to be pleased with it when it's done.

This isn't the only light.

They could always knock this one off and use another light.

-What's your plan with that?

-Well, I've actually, I've bought a twig...

well, quite a substantial bit of silver birch down.

-This one here?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my goodness. It's quite amazing

And how will you light it?

I have another one of these flexes that literally has

a plug on the end, and a bulb.

-And it's just one bulb hanging off this?

-It is.

Sarah's a designer who has lots and lots of creative ideas.

Some super ideas but I just wonder if we're going one idea too far.

It's really got a lot of algae and dirt on it basically,

so I've borrowed Lars' jet washer.

I've never used one before so I'm going in.

While Sarah cleans up the bark on her lamp stand...

..further down the road Jordan's working hard

-to prove he knows how to play with colour.

-What's going on here?

I'm just doing a dip dye effect on the lampshades

for the wall lights behind.

It's just water and a concentrated watercolour.

It's not an ink then,

it's a watercolour paint that you get from an artist's shop?

Yep, absolutely. Fingers crossed.

Just hold it in there for a couple of seconds.

And then the dry fabric is soaking up.

That's it, and it'll actually climb up a little bit as well.

Jordan's got the potential to pull off quite a daring colour scheme.

I mean, he's really giving this country cottage look

a very contemporary twist.

But is it too daring?

Keeping to his homeowners' rustic brief,

Johnny's using natural wood to cover the modern radiator.

Can't wait to see the shelving now!

Having moderated his style so far,

he's keen to release some creative flair

on the leftover wood in the garden.

Just sizing up the two side legs for the standard lamp.

So this is the main piece, these are the two side bits.

I think it'll look nice.

What's bringing the room together is using this local sourced wood,

that's giving the room the character.

This is really going to tie the room into the rustic,

traditional country house feel.

Hopefully that vision I have of the room, it'll come together.

I know Johnny loves modernism

but he's really showing that he's able to be an adaptable designer.

Our amateurs are working hard on the insides of these idyllic cottages.

That would look really funny on there, wouldn't it?

But 240 years ago it wasn't just the buildings

that Lord Milton was keen to redesign.

This may look like the green and pleasant land of Britain

but it's not as natural as it appears.

In the 1700s landscaping was all the rage

and one name stood above the rest,

the most prolific name in design, Lancelot "Capability" Brown,

so called because of his dictum that any land was capable of improvement.

Brown was renowned for his determined attitude,

shown here by his agreement with Lord Milton than the old

village should be demolished. It may have been controversial

but over time the residents did benefit and now Brown's work

here in Dorset is considered among his best in the whole country.

The designers are just halfway through their three-day challenge

and for Sarah it's time to bring out her secret weapon.

In the first round I used this roller to put a very lovely pattern,

cow parsley seed heads, and that was on one wall in grey.

There was a grey wall with some white on it.

This time I'm doing the reverse.

It's going to show up a lot more using a dark paint on the distemper.

Keeping a steady hand is crucial for making the pattern knit together.

That looks great, doesn't it? I'm glad you're doing it, not me.

I think if you seek perfection when you're doing this, you will fail.

In general if it's going off course,

it's just the way it is, you know. I try my hardest.

I'm a bit concerned that it looks like wrapping paper,

it's standing out quite a lot, it's quite bold.

You come in, your eyes are drawn to it

and it does look a bit Christmassy.

I think it probably needs to dry a bit.

SHE SIGHS

Jordan's curtains are back from the seamstress.

-I mean, what the hell?

-But there's a problem.

I'm holding it underneath the window.

It's going to be about there. And then that one is just ginormous!

That's for the door.

The curtains appear to have been made short,

which could be disastrous.

I don't know what else to say, dun dun dun!

After struggling to finish his room in the last round, Johnny must

show the judges that he's capable of managing this project to time.

Wow, Johnny. You've moved on.

Slightly, slightly.

-No, not slightly, a lot! This is fantastic.

-Thank you.

We've got a sort of joinery fiesta going on there on the other

side of this room, haven't we?

Please don't mention that! It's not finished yet.

It's not finished yet, it looks like a giraffe at the moment.

There's not many giraffes around here so I doubt it's indigenous.

I'm guessing it's a lamp stand, right?

-And you've taken quite a modern inspiration.

-I have.

-And is it working for you?

-Kind of.

You're not really happy with it.

-No, I'm not really.

-Maybe it's too much?

There's the fireplace there so maybe that will go into the fire.

THEY LAUGH

-So there's a use to it!

-It has a use, yes!

Further up the road, using just a small slice of her budget,

Charmaine's paid £20 for a piece of foam to create

a window seat cushion.

Voila!

Perfect!

No. Hang on, no, it's not perfect.

Put it in place, and although I measured it,

it's actually a little bit too short. It'll work, it'll work.

I'm a designer, I can do this.

This British tweed style fabric has taken just £100

out of her £1,000 budget.

I see you've chosen this wool plaid and wool fabrics are a great

way of getting some rustic texture and some warmth into a scheme.

Absolutely. Corrine talked a lot about autumnal colours

and she actually mentioned that she liked tartan

so I definitely wanted to throw a bit of that in there

and, like I said, yes, some authentic tartan.

Good, excellent.

It's probably the only bit of sewing that I'm going to be doing

this time round because the biggest part is the built-in storage.

Charmaine's showing herself to be a great project manager,

she's had that enormous bit of bespoke fitted storage design and build.

There's also a look that we're looking for.

She's going to have to pull it together on all the accessorising

the cushions and the finishes, I'm still not quite sure.

So that's the final bit I've just stitched on there,

I'm going to turn it inside out now, and try and fit my cushion in.

What a nightmare!

Much better.

Our amateurs have until lunchtime tomorrow to get their designs

for these traditional living rooms looking just right.

But when this model village was built,

the focus was on outside aesthetics, demanding precise planning.

Each cottage is built on a very generous plot of land,

so out the front there's a lovely lawn

and originally, at the rear, there would have been space

for an allotment and somewhere to keep your chickens, and your pigs.

Each cottage has a thatched roof which keeps it cosy in winter

and cool in summer but of course it's highly flammable.

So to counter this, they placed the cottages far apart

and in-between, brown planted chestnut trees,

living would be far less flammable than deadwood.

There are several wells in the village fed from a local spring,

reducing the need to travel for water.

And the entire village is built on a gradient, so all the drainage

flows that way, making the air generally more pleasant.

It's late afternoon of day two

and Sarah's unhappy with her wall design.

I really want to cover up some of these darker lines

that are really jumping out,

so I'm just getting a little bit of wet paint on this one. Well,

at this rate I'm thinking it's best to re-paint it all and re-do it.

-It won't take me long to paint it.

-Just paint it.

I think it'll look bad if it's a bad fix. I might as well be bold

and start again and just clear it up.

I think we know what we need to do.

I was really hoping to get the curtains up this evening.

They've just been jetted off to somebody who's kindly offered

to try and repair them for us, and hopefully they're going to be

back tomorrow ready to hang in the morning.

Tomorrow, all I really want to do now is bring the furniture back in,

put some throws over the sofa, and actually sit down on the sofa

and have a look where I am, with a cup of tea.

Just up the road, uneven walls are causing

problems for Charmaine's unit.

It's not a problem, you just need to stick a leg on.

I'm panicking now.

I'll be devastated if things aren't finished tomorrow but I'm not

even thinking about that because they will be finished tomorrow.

We can do it.

So time is nearly up for our designers.

Today the homeowners will see their rooms

and what they think of them will help the judges decide

who goes through to the next stage of the competition.

After being unhappy with her paint roller effect yesterday,

Sarah's aiming for more subtle results.

That's my new colour.

Just a few hours before the deadline this is her last attempt

to get it right.

That's definitely putting it in the background, isn't it?

The wall is looking better, I think the colour looks great.

It looks like it might have been here 100 years,

not painted today so that's really good.

Little woodland accent going on in the background

rather than a full forest.

That's all right, isn't it?

We can call it a day. I'm on schedule,

definitely ahead of time and not pushed for anything, so that's

a bit worrying because I'm thinking perhaps I'm not doing enough.

A few doors down there's been a delivery.

Curtains are back from the emergency seamstress

and I'm about to open them and check if they're right.

Look at that, aren't they groovy?

Absolutely wonderful, it's brilliant, I couldn't be happier.

Panic over and all systems go.

Keen to prove he can be brave with colour,

Jordan's painting the rocking chair.

Although on its own it may seem like quite a pop of colour,

once it's sitting against the fireplace with the brick wall,

I think the contrast of that is really going to stand out beautifully.

To bring his natural scheme together

Johnny's using some rustic-looking fabric.

I'm trying to get the extension

but the extension won't plug in the wall!

I'm going to do a little...

Well, it's the first time I've attempted it actually.

I've got some fabric left over from the curtains

and I'm going to glue it to the interior of the lamp,

hopefully it'll give it its own uniqueness.

I don't know, the room does look a bit bare

but I don't want to overcrowd this quaint little

cottage, you know? I don't want to put too much stuff in it.

Great little touch even if I say so myself.

With work not going to plan there have been some changes to

Charmaine's bespoke unit.

I've run out of time

and I'm not getting to build my shelving unit over the door.

My main concern is obviously I want to get through

but I really just want to do a good job for the homeowner.

Corrine really deserves it. I don't think it would affect

the design much because I've still given her a lot of storage.

Having spent a third of her budget on the sofa, she's

struggling to find a home for it in the room.

Great start, it's not fitting.

It fits in the room,

it just doesn't fit INTO the room, which is a bit of a nuisance.

I actually don't even know how much time I have left, which isn't great.

It's quite heavy.

Our designers have had three days and £1,000

to create front rooms fit for these thatched cottages.

That looks beautiful, mate, you've done a lovely job of that.

They have been working to different briefs,

each presenting its own set of challenges.

At this point, I can't help but wonder if any of the other

designers are up a ladder weaving acorns into their light fitting.

All four are racing to the finish and it's up to the judges to

decide who will go through to the semifinals.

I'm just stressing, Steve.

Yeah? No worries.

Dressing or stressing?

I think it's looking super,

I love the final result and I just hope Diana does too.

I'm done.

That's it, we're done.

First to be judged is Johnny who had to prove

he could pull a whole room together with his rustic, cottagey design.

Three days ago it felt cramped,

with traditional features battling the modern additions.

Now, the room feels more airy,

with a natural wood radiator cover,

a set of handmade laddered shelves,

and a bespoke lamp creating soft lighting throughout the room.

Showing he can work in keeping with period properties,

Johnny has used heritage pattern prints for his curtains,

repeating the theme across his design.

That's a transformation, isn't it?

It's more than that, it's just lovely.

He's been really sensitive to the period of the house,

their love of all the natural materials.

He hasn't put himself in here,

and yet he has given them an updated look.

And I even like the radiator cover.

It's really cool.

Look at it, this is this green oak,

so you've got that lovely softness to it.

-He's known to keep the rustic edges.

-Exactly. And I think this is

what's happening here as well with the laddered shelving.

They've actually made it look like it's got little pegs,

-it's been pegged together.

-My sort of overall feeling, actually,

looking around the room, it's all very pleasing,

but it has lost, for me, an element of that lovely, snug, cosy feeling

that Peggy and John had created.

It does feel quite cool in here, and I wonder whether he's taken it

a little bit too far, stripped a bit too much out of this room.

How well each designer fulfils the brief

is crucial to the judge's decision.

Homeowners John and Peggy will now see the completed room

for the first time.

So?

Wonderful!

This is restful.

You keep looking around and you keep seeing something different.

I just never expected it to turn out like that.

And then, this you see...

I really do like the cover, it becomes a kind of feature,

-a piece of furniture, not a horrible old radiator.

-It is!

Next up, and wanting to show her versatility, is Sarah,

who designed a woodland theme with modern touches.

Before, this was a plain, uninspiring living room.

Now, it's been completely transformed,

with natural colours and fabrics,

items from the garden,

and home-made woodland creatures.

She's added a new set of curtains,

a large rug, and a cleverly designed tray

to store children's toys, which rolls under the sofa.

To give the room a more modern edge, Sarah has introduced

designer light bulbs and more contemporary furniture,

including a coffee table and a re-upholstered 1960s sofa.

Oh, wow.

-Look at the little birds.

-Gosh.

-The first thing I spotted.

This has worked very successfully.

First time round she recognised that it was too strong

and so she went to the trouble of painting it all out and doing it

again in a very subtle effect and I think that's lovely

and I think that was important in this room, that it doesn't

become too cluttered visually, that it still feels clean and simple.

For me, I think this is ingenious

and it's an idea that, frankly, I'm going to steal.

Putting all the toys underneath the sofa is a great idea.

I think it's really fun and there's humour and thought in it.

I'm not sure how relaxing these lights are.

Yeah, they're a bit harsh.

I think what we need in here is a dimmer switch, that simple.

It's a very practical lighting, though, and I just love the idea

of the branch, I mean, how ingenious.

Sarah's certainly brought the outside in.

Really depends if Lars and Monique like it.

If they don't like it, this is not a winning design.

-Oh, wow.

-Wow.

Oh, my goodness.

-What do you think?

-Very good.

It's amazing! Beautiful.

It's really light, isn't it?

Has she managed to square the circle between a cosy room

but also a modern room?

I think so, yeah, it's very modern, isn't it?

I like the way she takes old things and puts them together

and makes it look new. It's my kind of style, I like that.

Brilliant. And a little tray for Viggo.

Looks like Norway to me, I can see that.

Denmark there as well, I think. What do you think of the light?

-I love the light.

-And I love the wall, with the stencil.

Yes, you can just see it.

The pattern there is great but maybe just that little bit too...

-Too subtle?

-Too subtle, exactly.

I actually like it subtle, I wouldn't want it to be overpowering.

There you go, she wouldn't have pleased both of you.

No, you can never please both of us.

Next, Charmaine's design for a country cottage look

with autumnal colours.

Three days ago it had the feel of a holiday cottage,

lacking warmth and seating space.

She's now transformed the room with a large bespoke unit

with designer touches.

And a comfortable L-shaped sofa bringing the whole family together.

She's dressed the windows with a natural tweed fabric

and created a new window seat with tartan material,

all in autumnal shades - giving a cosy warm feel to the room.

-I think that's very nice.

-It's lovely.

Yeah, I mean, that was a really ambitious part of the brief,

to build this bespoke unit and I think this is a lovely idea,

putting wallpaper in the back, so rather than it just being

painted white, she's adding a little bit of texture and interest that

makes it feel a bit older and also links in with the cushion fabrics.

I like what she's done with the window seat,

because it was a little bit narrow.

You actually now could sit in that sidewards and read

-and look out the window.

-The other thing that's jumping out for me

is how this room very much looks as it was presented at the beginning.

She did her board, she did her plan,

and you very much see the journey from inception to presentation

to the result, and I think that's very professional.

-So, welcome to your new cosy look.

-Wow.

Oh, it's beautiful, I love the sofa, this is gorgeous.

What I like is the fact that now we can all sit together on the sofa

without fighting.

We had plenty of seats before but for some reason it didn't work.

And say goodbye to your shelving unit on the side of the windows,

you've got a whole new bespoke made one here.

Yes this is...wow...it works so well with the wallpaper. Brilliant.

Finally, it's Jordan's colourful cosy cottage design.

Before, it was overcrowded, with a lot of dark furniture.

It's now a less cluttered room with an eye-catching scheme.

Keen to prove he could work with colour,

Jordan has dressed the room with bold floral curtains,

bright lampshades, a bright pink rocking chair,

and other personal touches.

He's also added a bespoke radiator cover,

and removed the carpet,

revealing the wooden floor beneath.

Oof!

HE LAUGHS

-Gosh, it looks so different, doesn't it?

-Oh, it's such a happy room.

What an interpretation of the country, great fun.

I think the layout is the first thing that hits me.

Do you remember that room? You could hardly move for chairs and furniture.

This is great, she can move around with ease.

And on the brief she wanted

a striking new treatment for her windows.

But he's used the colours in the fabric throughout

all the other soft furnishings and finishings which really brings

the room together, and I think that's actually quite a difficult thing

to do when you're using quite a lot of different colours together.

The big pink element...

-What do you think of the pink chair?

-I love it.

I quite love it because it's a pop of colour against the blue floor.

We've always believed along the way he had to really go for it.

You can't do this kind of look halfway, it'll just look half-baked.

Yep, it would have looked dreadful. And he's gone all the way,

but I do wonder if he's gone a little bit too far.

We have these curtains, they look great, but he's washed down the look

a little bit by actually having too much of the fabric

and I think this curtain should have just picked out one of the colours

from the rest of the room and then let those sing and this keep quiet.

Oh, wow! That's terrific, isn't it?

Wow, look at that!

-Well, you can't miss it!

-That's true!

Absolutely true, yes.

That really works, doesn't it?

The boy's a genius.

Well, you wanted a sort of statement window.

It is a statement, yes. That's terrific.

So, I'm getting positive vibes from you two.

-Yes.

-Very much so.

-Yes, I think it's lovely.

Cos it is a very big statement

and I guess you're either going to like it or you're not.

-It is.

-Yes, it is, it's a terrific change.

I think it's rather nice having it all turned round.

Yes, I'll probably get used to a pink rocking chair, yes.

I love the cushions so I think what it loses on the rocking chair,

it gets back on the cushions.

THEY LAUGH

Now the designers can only wait to find out which two will go through.

If I go through and I go through all of this again, that's great.

I'm taking every day as it comes and loving what I'm doing, so we'll see.

It means a lot to me to go through, because I want a career in interiors,

it's something that comes natural - I'm creative.

I've given it my all, you know, I've put my heart and my soul into it

and it means the world to me to win this competition.

I'd love to be in the semifinal

and I'd love to be in the final,

I've got to be honest. I always came into this as a competition

and I want to go all the way.

So, judges, you wanted the designers to up their game

for this quarterfinal. Have they delivered?

Oh, yes, and haven't they delivered wonderfully?

It's very exciting, but it's going to make our decision very difficult.

So, Lars and Monique wanted something that was rustic but modern, bright but cosy.

Did Sarah deliver?

She put in oodles of creativity,

she shows that she's got boundless resource of ideas

and that's lovely to see in a designer.

My concern, though, was that were we getting

a repetition of the style that we saw last time.

Has she been versatile?

Has she been able to address this brief in a slightly different way

than she addressed the previous brief?

How did Johnny translate in rustic, rural England?

We know this is clearly out of his comfort zone.

He needed to up his game a lot, and he has.

He got that project done

and he got it within budget.

For me, where it maybe fell down a little bit is it was so cute

and cosy and magical in there, even though it was a bit mad

and cluttered and I just question maybe through his choice of colour

whether he hadn't managed to make it quite as cosy,

considering it was a room they want to enjoy in the evening as well.

So did Charmaine fulfil her brief?

Completely and she had a lot to fulfil and she did it all,

and did it with such style as well.

I thought she did incredibly well. I mean, she gave them

a really large piece of bespoke storage,

but I was really looking to see a little bit more from Charmaine

from the first heat.

Just to show that she has got some creativity, she can put an original

twist on something and, for me, it probably fell down in that respect.

Jordan. Diana wanted a cheerful room and she got a cheerful room.

She certainly did and, personally, it put a big smile on my face,

to see a designer be brave with colour.

Where he went too far was when he put the extra curtain

on the other wall and I thought that was a bit too much.

I didn't want him to restrain, I just wanted for him to actually

show that he really understands how to handle colour and pattern.

He's got almost there, but not 100% for me.

So, judges, four strong contenders in the quarters,

but only two are going to go through to the semis.

Hello, designers! Now, some might have been over-awed

by this incredible chocolate-box setting

but, you four, you rose to the occasion.

You certainly did and it's also very clear that you took on board

what we advised to you last time and have moved up a step.

And, for me, I've just particularly loved seeing

all your new and innovative ideas.

But two of you rose beyond,

and the two designers going through are...

..Jordan...

..and Sarah.

Oh, God!

Well done, all of you.

-Guys!

-Well done!

I was really confident in my design, but I was really nervous

that it wasn't going to be exactly what Diana was expecting,

but I think, in the end, maybe that's what swung it for me.

We really liked it.

Oh, goodness, I'm so relieved!

I didn't really think about things all the way through,

just little bites of the cherry so I'm amazed I'm here

and going forward.

-Yeah, we love it.

-Yeah, it's really nice.

I'm not going to give up on interior design at all,

it's my passion, it's my dream, I'm going to keep doing it.

I'm sticking to my plan - world domination.

-Do you like it?

-It's beautiful!

Oh! I'm so glad that you like it.

If I'd got through to the semis, I'd have been proud of myself,

but maybe I should be a bit proud. I've done all right, I think.

-Did you like it?

-Yeah.

Well, Jordan took a lot of risk.

He was very close to not coming through to the semifinal,

but he pulled it off, he kept his client on board

and did something that is really special and rather super.

Sarah brings a very special magic to her designs,

she really thinks in the detail.

She's innovative, she's creative, there is no shortage of ideas.

So when I'm looking to put a designer through to the next round,

I'm confident with Sarah that she'll come up

with more new and interesting ideas.

Going forward into the semifinal, I want to see adaptability,

I don't want them to be sticking to the same style,

but actually addressing the problems,

addressing the architecture and the people that live in these houses.

This is getting a very exciting competition.

These cottages were conceived to please a rich landowner's

sense of aesthetics, designed by people hoping to create

the perfect image of the English countryside.

On the outside, they're still chocolate-box perfect,

but they're just as idyllic on the inside too thanks to our designers.

Modern and yet rustic, they'll be enjoyed by generations to come.

Next time, the quarterfinals get brutal...

Every minute counts on this one.

Has she not learnt anything?

..as our designers take over a 1950s tower block.

I'm finding creativity level extremely high.

The roller coaster continues.