Peak District The Great Interior Design Challenge

I'm constantly taken aback by the huge variety of property styles

in Britain, from characterful timber-framed cottages

to grand townhouses.

But sometimes the insides don't live up

to the expectations on the outside.

So we've gathered together the most talented amateur interior designers

who think they could be the next big thing, to show us how it's done.

But it's not as easy as it looks.

-Oh, no, I'm panicking.

-GLASS SHATTERS

It's a bit make-or-break, really.

Across three knockout episodes, a group of designers will compete

for one place in finals week.

Oh, why isn't it easy?

I just like to do things properly.

Oh, that's...wonderful!

Judging them, two industry experts.

Daniel Hopwood...

What I'm looking for is talent that can be nurtured.

..and Sophie Robinson.

I want the designers to impress me with their creativity.

They'll be scrutinising presentation skills...

That's not the way to present to somebody.

..artistic flair...

-Have you ever seen that done before?

-No. It's weird.

..and how well they deliver their brief.

Pretty amazing transformation.

Absolutely beautiful.

In the finals, the best will face giants of the design world.

-Oliver Heath...

-Oh, my word!

..Orla Kiely...

It does look quite rough.

..and Kelly Hoppen.

I want perfection!

But only one can be crowned winner of

The Great Interior Design Challenge.

In this brand-new heat, four old-fashioned rooms

with frayed edges and exacting clients.

This time, our amateurs will be updating a cosy sitting room each

in these picture-postcard cottages in the Peak District.

Our four designers have their own looks.

Industrial salvage.

Shabby classic.

Eclectic.

Rich in emotion.

But working for a client will be a new challenge...

It's hard to visualise what she's trying to achieve with the room.

..as they battle to keep their place in the competition.

Everything does kind of match.

Slightly rubs me up the wrong way.

There are really some quite mad, left-field things going on in this room.

Because one must go.

The designer going home this time is...

This design battle is taking place in one of the most beautiful

places in the country.

The Peak District was the first bit of Britain to be designated

a national park, protecting its incredible landscape

and pretty stone villages,

and it is places like Tissington that show you exactly why.

This quintessentially English spot comes complete with its own

duck pond and babbling brook, its 17th-century manor house

and a smattering of stone cottages draped over the landscape.

Inside, these modest but homely workers' cottages are about to

get a new-look living room from our designers.

-Five litres for these walls.

-OK.

-2.5 for that one.

The designers have been prepping for a week,

working to a brief from their client.

I've never kind of looked into this kind of style before, but

when I've kind of looked into it, it is kind of what I've got at home.

Let's do the clean, and if we have time, we can panel.

I haven't slept a wink last night because of being so nervous,

but also excited.

They've each got a small team to help them,

including a builder and a decorator.

Take them off and make some fresh ones.

'I loved the brief, and the home owner,'

I really think he is going to love it. I'm excited.

They also have a budget of £1,000 and three days.

The artwork is going to look amazing on this colour.

I'm really excited about creating a new room for the homeowner.

First up is 42-year-old art director Rachel,

whose home in Leeds makes quite an impact.

I like to mix bold colour

with a kind of rough and ready lived-in feel.

Kind of liken it to wearing a silk bow tie with a creased

denim shirt for a wedding.

The room Rachel is working on was a simple but rather plain living

room, which judges Sophie and Daniel checked out before Rachel got going.

I know the homeowner thinks this room is quite cold and gloomy.

Well, it's magnolia, isn't it? So, yes, it is pretty bland.

Rachel has been asked to replace bland with warm

and cosy country style.

The temptation would be to put something quite

dark on the walls, but I think with a room this size,

with quite a small window, it could feel gloomy quite quickly.

Well, Rachel has been tempted to go dark,

as her take on a cosy cottage

includes deep red walls and tartan fabrics,

which she had to run by her client, Karen, before work started.

Okey dokey, this is my mood board for your room.

Pitching to her first ever client is tough,

but what Rachel doesn't know yet is that the judges will rank all

the designers according to how well they present their ideas.

For the walls, I want to paint it this kind of sludgy red.

That's going to create a real den-like room.

I'd like to paint your bureau this colour. How do you feel about that?

-Right.

-What do you think?

-Oh. Ah.

-Are you a bit nervous about that?

-Yeah, yeah. Um...

-OK.

-When you talked about this fabric,

where are you going to use this?

-On the curtains.

-Oh, really. Oh, that's exciting.

-That's my...

-That's my most exciting bit, actually.

-Yeah.

One thing I can say about Rachel's presentation is

I can really see what that room is going to look like.

I think it is just so safe.

Rachel is an urban girl, and she's not really getting the country

vibe, so what she is giving us is tear sheet, country interior design.

Blissfully unaware, Rachel cracks on.

I try to be organised but

because sometimes my thoughts are a bit like this, I have to get them

down so I can remember what I've got to do and put them in order.

She's spent a fifth of her budget on some fabric for curtains,

and with so much at stake, it's got her worried.

Stressing last night about getting it cut to size.

It's psychological. I'm feeling like

if I get these measured out, I'll be able to sleep tonight.

SHE LAUGHS

The fabric at the top of the eyelet,

just take that off and sewing it over,

so it is just the top of the metal eyelet for the curtains.

Our second designer is 21-year-old sales assistant

Jamie from County Durham.

The thing I love most about interior design is kind of creating

a positive space. Everyone should love to come home.

It needs to be a place where happy memories can be made.

Jamie has been asked to update what was a rather cluttered living room.

-This room has got bags of style and character.

-Completely.

I think you need to get rid of some of the modernity in this room.

For example, those shelves over there, which is

-killing the character and the space.

-Jamie's clients agree.

As they've asked him to give the room some traditional, rustic,

Scandinavian style.

So the key, really, is to actually just embrace the traditional

elements of this room, and no modern touches at all, it just looks wrong.

But Jamie thinks differently,

as his take on traditional Scandinavian includes

cool grey walls and cutting edge shelving,

which he had to get approval for

from his clients, Annie and Ed, earlier on.

The colours for the room, kind of looking at Scandinavian.

So I wanted to pick some light kind of colours but warm as well, to kind of keep it cosy.

It is similar to what my home is at the moment.

There's going to be a little collection of tables that I'm going to make out of little logs,

-which are going to have the accent colours.

-Love it.

For the storage, these little boxes.

It's slightly more modern than we had in our...

certainly in my head.

-But it's not chrome and glass.

-Yeah.

-Look forward to it all being ready.

I know. I might want to move in myself.

-THEY LAUGH

-Putting this all together.

What the brief was, was traditional Scandinavian,

and he didn't read the word "traditional".

No, he wasn't listening to what his homeowners need or what they asked for.

He was designing for himself, he even went as far as to say,

"This is the look I would create for myself."

But Jamie thinks he's hit the mark.

The homeowners seem to love what I've had put on the mood board

and the designs I put forward. Yeah, it went really well.

It has elements of the modernity that I wasn't totally...

-Expecting.

-Expecting, I suppose.

With work under way, Jamie needs the room clear,

-but it seems the sofa doesn't want to leave.

-No.

Um. Having a bit of a struggle, cannot get it out of the room.

-First they try the front door...

-No, not that way.

-No.

..then the back door.

But his team have a suggestion.

OK, you've got a log burner in there.

THEY LAUGH

If I talk to you about painting first,

and then we'll go on to all the carpentry work.

Our third amateur is 41-year-old garden designer Sarah from Hove.

Gardens, you are designing them to grow

and they will come to life over years.

Interior design, for me, once you've done the room, it is

there instantly, you're not waiting for something to evolve

and grow, although my interiors tend to do that as well.

The room Sarah is working in was a room of two halves,

with a main living area and an annexe at the end.

Oh, this is gorgeous, isn't it?

It has to be. You've got the wood burner, lovely pale grey walls.

-A few beams.

-There is a but.

-This hasn't been done.

-And this is unfinished.

Sarah has been given the task of bringing these two spaces together.

As I understand it, these different areas have got different purposes.

This is going to be like a reading area, book nook.

Whereas this is the main living space.

Because you've got a bit of a wall between it, you can decorate it slightly differently,

and our fear always is never to be too matchy-matchy.

-Although you are doing quite well.

-SHE LAUGHS

Sarah plans to use colour to unify the room,

with different shades of green at each end,

which she had to get the OK for from client David before work started.

-Wow.

-That's a good response to start with.

-Oh, gosh.

-So, in this room here, which is your main living room,

I would like to paint it this colour, green.

It is light, it is warm.

The darker colour here is going to go into the snug reading room.

-Wow. OK.

-So, it is quite bold.

The colours aren't something I would normally choose,

so I'm going to take your guidance on this.

All this green is pushing her client out of his comfort zone,

and there's more to come on her soft furnishings.

The fabrics that I've chosen, they have character,

but they are really in keeping with this kind of property.

-Right, fantastic.

-'There wasn't a very good layout plan.'

It was hard to really visualise where pieces are going.

You just can't see it on her presentation, and I actually can't see it in my head.

What I love about Sarah's room is the way

she has related the two spaces.

She's got that soft green in one area, and in the other area,

-that dark green.

-Too much green for me, I'm afraid.

Possibly too much green for the client as well.

I have got some trepidation about doing this.

Maybe the dark green might be a little bit of a leap of faith,

but I'm pleased he's prepared to let me go with it.

Before he can change his mind,

Sarah is getting that green on the walls and the ceiling.

What a gorgeous colour, he's going to love that.

Fantastic. Good job.

Good job. I like it.

Just cutting some MDF into shapes and cutting this square canvas...

-Yeah.

-..the other side of that.

Our final designer is 41-year-old photographer

and mum-of-three Lily from London.

I think my style is homespun, touch of vintage, mismatched.

And rich in emotion and texture.

The room Lily is updating was a little worn around the edges.

When you look around, you can see there's been some serious wear and tear.

A couple of dogs, and they've certainly made their mark on this room.

Lily has been asked to come up with

a dog-friendly design in autumnal tones.

There's got to be a very good, practical approach.

The key thing in this room is just keeping it really simple.

Lily, however, is doing anything but.

Her autumnal design comes with decorative craft projects

aplenty, including handmade frilly lampshade and petal-edged coffee table.

Which she had to run past her clients, Simon and Xenia,

before she could get started.

These are the colours, and I wanted to bring in this

really rich, warm wine burgundy red,

and kind of a very subtle brown.

Really beautiful blocks of colour layered together.

The thing with having dark colours is it gives that

illusion of being bigger, because the dark colours recede

and they add depth to the room.

Client Simon is a professional painter and decorator,

so her next idea may be too much.

The big thing is I want to paint the sofa and the armchair,

if you'll let me.

I'm not sure about painting the actual fabric, I have to say.

-That does fill me with horror. And I really don't want to do that.

-OK.

I absolutely loved Lily's scheme.

I mean, she did those beautiful boards,

with all the kind of photomontage so I could really visualise it.

If she just simplified her design, it could be really good.

She's responded extremely really well to what we've asked for.

I'm not worried about anything

because I'm not going to let her paint my furniture.

So, definitely no paint on Simon's sofa, but Lily

does manage a small breakthrough with wife Xenia.

I found this footstool.

I've asked Xenia if I can paint it, and she said yes.

Lily plans to give the stool three coats with red acrylic paint.

It's very hard wearing. Kind of plasticky.

But it also feels rubbery afterwards,

so let's hope it works anyway.

They've all started work, but our four

designers are about to find out the judging has already begun.

-I've just heard that the judges want to see you.

-Right.

I'm wondering what the judges are going to talk to us about.

Let's see what they say.

Apprehensive, I suppose.

An important part of being an interior designer is

communicating ideas, and so the judges are going to rank them

on how well they briefed their clients.

We are both going to drop a little bombshell for you right now,

because we are here to judge you.

But we are not going to judge you on your designs, we are

here to judge you on how well you have presented your projects.

Jamie, you had some lovely boards.

And actually, they were very easy to read.

One criticism, however, when you were presenting that project

to your client, you kept relating it to your own home.

As a professional designer, you are not an important person.

Your client is the important person.

No, I completely agree with your comment.

Lily, we thought your presentation was an absolute visual feast,

it really helped me see your room.

I think, moving forward, be more confident,

have faith in your ideas and sell them to the client.

Rachel. Visually, fabulous.

That board, I can completely understand it.

Sarah, we thought your presentation

could be a bit more visually enticing.

What you were talking about sounded quite exciting, but what

we looked at on the presentation board wasn't so exciting.

The judges will be sending one designer

home at the end of this project.

And where they are ranked now will count towards that decision.

-First place is Rachel.

-Wow.

In second place, Lily.

In third place is Jamie.

And in fourth place...is Sarah.

'It is good to have feedback at this stage,'

so I'm going to give it even more welly now, I think.

So far, I'm in first place.

-SHE LAUGHS

-So that's exciting.

-Well done, you.

-So, let's do it.

-Yeah! Great.

-Yay!

The current tenants here are getting a new look in just three days.

But the village has been evolving for centuries.

Like most of Britain before the Industrial Revolution,

the landscape around here has been shaped by agriculture,

tenant farmers renting plots from local landowners.

Around Tissington, the land is very rocky,

so it is only really good for sheep or dairy farmers, who would

work for wealthy families like the Fitzherberts,

who have dominated this village since the 15th century.

The family made their most significant mark

on the village in 1609 when they built Tissington Hall.

It was designed to impress visitors of the family's wealth,

using the very latest Jacobean architecture,

including some newfangled classical columns for chimneys.

It might look quaint today, but in 1609, in a remote Derbyshire

village, this building would have looked freakishly modern.

Hoping there's nothing freakish about her cosy design,

Rachel's deep red walls are being painted.

But her client is worried about the bureau turning blue.

-I'm just a bit anxious about that colour.

-Right.

It's not a colour I really want.

I don't want to create something that's all matchy-matchy

for you, I want there to be little bits of interest around the room.

-Right.

-THEY LAUGH

Oh.

-OK.

-Lovely.

-Keep your fingers crossed.

-Yay!

Here goes!

Some people, because it's wood, they get a bit..."Uh!"

It looks better, OK?

Hello. I like to talk to my furniture as well.

Jazzing up furniture is what Rachel is all about at home, too.

I found this in a charity shop. It was £25.

I knew it needed an uplift, so I kind of went for the pink.

So, yes, I am a bit impulsive with colour.

I get an idea in my head and I find myself in the car

driving to the paint shop and I think, "Here I am again."

She seems in control, she seems confident,

but I ain't seeing the magic at the moment.

That kind of scheme is pretty tried and tested, isn't it?

But what we're wanting is a higher level of creativity.

Hoping he's showing enough creativity in his Scandinavian sitting-room,

Jamie's walls are going grey,

while he is busy turning rustic logs into modern tables.

The tops are going to be painted in accent colours that are going to be used within the room.

Sand the top down and make it a bit more flat,

so make sure all that's smooth.

And I think it looks great.

Jamie's stripped back style is

evident all over his County Durham home,

where he splits his spare time upcycling furniture

-and caring for his grandad.

-I take a lot of inspiration from my grandad.

Since quite a young age, he's lost his sight and now he's completely blind.

The way he kind of takes life on really makes me want to go for this now.

Jamie would always come with an idea. He'll make anything look good.

Back on site, it's his

contemporary shelving that Jamie is hoping to make look good.

Yeah, they are looking great,

I can't wait to see them kind of in the room.

I'm really worried, because he's not getting traditional Swedish design.

He's giving them something that's really cool and edgy.

It is really not to brief, you know that?

Keen to meet her brief by unifying her room in shades of green,

Sarah has got the lighter tone going up,

while she is out in the garden.

They've got this beautiful old piece of wood that the homeowner

would like us to use as the top for the window seat,

so we are going to give it a clean off and see how it comes up.

Sarah has brought the outside in at her home in Sussex, too.

This is the room that we call the poppy room. I found the wallpaper.

We put it up on the walls and it was all like, "Oh, my God,

"that's a lot of poppies!"

But I've kind of layered other colours on top of it.

Colour is everything.

It's how it makes you feel and how you live in a room,

so it's really important to me.

There's going to be a total glow of green in this room.

I kind of wanted to bring this amazing outside inside,

and give him a feeling that there was a kind of continuation.

One green was nice, but two greens, working together, I don't know.

-Yeah, it's a bit of a risky strategy, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Hoping she's got her colours right, Lily is ploughing on with her

autumnal scheme, making red velvet cushions.

I was going to put a button on here, but now, having met their dogs,

lovely as they are, they might eat the button,

so I might not put the button.

Lily's multiple craft projects echo the way she's decorated her

-London home.

-I love hand making things.

I love the process of it, and having a finished product gives me

great satisfaction. I think my family like my designs.

-They haven't complained yet.

-I was on my way home the other day and there was a picture on Facebook

of one of our walls being painted gold, which I would never do.

When I came home it looked great, and it was like, "OK, that's really good."

So, Lily, I can see you're totally going for it, painting the furniture.

This is the third coat now. I've sanded it,

so you get back to the velvety, soft material.

And then do you have to seal it or anything?

No, because this is emulsion with medium,

so it is already kind of plasticky and it is durable.

What I do like about Lily, she is just not laying back

and doing cottage, she wants to give them something new

and not something that is just really obvious.

Our four designers may think they have enough to do,

but there's more to come.

The judges have a surprise upcycle project that will test how

well they can think on their feet. They are giving them an old barrel.

-Hello.

-You are looking very relaxed there.

There you go, I'm going to give you a bit more stress. You need it.

I want you to take this barrel,

and I would like you to get creative with it.

24 hours to turn this barrel into something that either

integrates with your scheme...

Or, better still, reinvent it, redesign it, come up with something new.

I'm curious to see what you're going to come up with.

-I did not expect that.

-Oh, my God, a barrel.

Oh, what can I use this as?

If I take it to pieces it would be really

good in the wood-burning stove.

It's late on day one and having come last in the client

presentation judging, Sarah is feeling the pressure...

-I've got to up my game.

-THEY LAUGH

Oh, no. 'I'm going to sleep well tonight.'

It's been a long day. And tomorrow is going to be even longer.

..while others are more confident.

I'm feeling much happier than I thought

I would do at the end of day one.

And not as exhausted as I thought I would be.

Maybe it is all the fresh air, I don't know.

With so much to do, Lily is continuing work back at the hotel.

I am feeling a little bit anxious, because today has been manic.

And I really want to get a move on to start doing

all the sewing projects, which I have plenty of.

After a day of clearing and prep work,

paint has gone on the walls of all four houses.

But our designers still have a long way to go.

Today should be a good day. I'm raring to go.

Really got to knuckle down today.

I think there's loads to do, but I'm quite optimistic.

Feeling good. Just kind of want to get cracking on.

On day two, each designer will show their rooms so far to their client.

Any unexpected issues at this crucial stage could be

a serious setback.

Come in, David.

For Sarah, her client is seeing all the green for the first time.

Hopefully, he'll like it. The colours are bold, so

that might be a shock.

-It's dark.

-Yeah.

THEY LAUGH

-It is dark.

-'I basically just walked into'

a couple of B&Q colour cards.

It is just so nothing that I would ever choose.

It's hard at this point to visualise

what she's trying to achieve with the room.

There are controversial colour choices at Rachel's,

too, as she finishes the blue bureau.

It is such a kind of country colour. It is going to look beautiful.

She's also putting her artistic touch on some country scenes.

These are just some tourist board pictures

I've printed from the internet of this area.

And I'm just going to give them a wash of white emulsion,

just to make them a bit softer.

It just makes them look more painterly than a photograph.

Yeah, I'd just like to show you kind of the progress of how we've got on.

The finished picture seems a long way off

in Jamie's Scandinavian scheme.

But the time has come to show his clients his work so far.

Are you liking it?

I'm slightly concerned that it's slightly more modern than

-we were expecting.

-Right.

-In my mind's eye, I had

-rural farmhouse.

-Yeah, I understand.

-And I'm thinking I just don't want to get Stockholm flat.

-Yes.

So, a clear steer from the client, but Jamie is standing by his design.

I could have just came and kind of done a traditional

Scandinavian room, like they asked on the brief.

But then that's not kind of pushing me,

and kind of wanting to show my kind of creativity.

So I feel it's important for me to put this modern kind of twist on it.

So, next to get a modern twist is an old chair.

So, this is the first chair I've reupholstered,

so hopefully, fingers crossed, it will work out.

I'm always kind of wanting to push myself for a challenge and,

who knows, I might be doing like a sofa next.

-So, Jamie, upholstery?

-Yes.

-Where did that come from?

The only thing I had really done is a stool, which anyone can do.

So doing a chair is a massive challenge,

and kind of just doing it while I was here, but, yes,

learn as you go, and kind of wanting to progress and do other things.

Progressing with her endless craft projects is Lily,

as she creates bespoke art...

and dries petals briefly in the microwave to revamp an old table.

I'm using thin PVA. 50-50, 50 PVA, 50 water.

And just pasting the flowers on.

Having failed to convince her clients to let her paint the sofa,

Lily has come up with a dog-friendly idea

using the old sitting room curtains.

The idea is to Velcro this on the back of the sofa

so that they can just whisk it off and wash it, then put it back on.

Coming up with practical solutions

and beautiful schemes is not all our designers have to contend with.

They've also got just 24 hours to design

a unique product from an old barrel.

How creative they are here could affect

who goes through to the next round.

Jamie is completely reinventing his,

taking it apart and using it as cladding.

What I was kind of thinking is making a storage box

for one of the holes in the shelving.

Jamie has taken his barrel back to the raw material,

but I'm a little bit disappointed. I think it's always nice

if the idea incorporates some of the original incarnation.

I disagree, I think it's a really neat idea.

He's made the most of the angles and slats of the barrel

and come up with something really decorative.

Great, I'm really happy with them. That will work really well.

I was thinking of doing something like a personalised dog bed.

Lily has her doggy client in mind.

-The dog's name is Dogbert.

-Dogbert.

-And just a "D".

-Lily has been really creative.

She has come up with something that is actually useful, and also answers the homeowners' brief.

And the homeowners wanted that room to suit the dogs, too.

And coming up with this bespoke dog basket really ticks that box.

This is the canopy bit of the bed.

For Dogbert.

And this is her glam cushion.

She can just snuggle in there,

and I've put a "D" there to personalise it.

-Sarah is thinking book storage for her barrel.

-Many, many, many books.

I've just got to make it look like it's meant,

rather than an afterthought.

Sarah has upholstered her basket

in the same fabric she's used for the cushions, which is clever,

because that ties it in with the scheme rather nicely.

And she's thinking about her homeowner's needs

and given it a practical use, too.

God, I hope I never see another barrel as long as I live.

Unless it has got beer in it.

Rachel is planning a log basket.

She had a large basket on the fireplace,

and it was quite overpowering, I thought,

so I'm going to put this smaller one on the fireplace.

Well, I suppose a log basket is really useful,

but Rachel has hardly touched that barrel, she has just added a handle.

Very disappointing in terms of scale of ambition.

I'm stressed about the time and getting things finished.

Painting used to be therapeutic for me. Not today.

The judges have seen all four barrel projects,

but they'll have to reserve final judgment

until the items are placed in the finished schemes.

The upcycle challenge may test the designers' ability to adapt

to changing circumstances, something Tissington has been doing for years.

As in most traditional villages, Tissington's cottages have evolved

over time as the needs of their inhabitants has changed.

This began life as a quarryman's cottage,

close to the very site where its stone was cut,

before a dairy farmer moved in and built a little dairy to the side.

Then, generations later, their families have expanded

into the old dairy and built a new dairy to the side of that.

The stone used in the village's houses has a distinctive

two-tone look, typical of the Peak District.

The walls are in ordinary limestone,

but the door and window surrounds are in local millstone grit.

That's easier to precisely carve and chisel.

No carving or chiselling to be done in Sarah's rustic room.

Just more green. This time on an old table.

I'm going to paint one leg the darker green.

This will probably look like it's actually got three legs.

It's going to be like a visual illusion,

giving it style and purpose.

So, Sarah, one word, green.

I thought that might be the word you were going to use.

I bet everyone says, you know, if you are a garden designer,

-you must love green.

-I should be good at this question by now.

-I've been asked it enough.

-THEY LAUGH

There's no denying that the house is literally in a sea of beautiful

countryside, and actually to bring that indoors

seemed really relevant.

So there was good reasoning behind the green,

above and beyond the fact that I'm a gardener!

Over in Rachel's cosy cottage, she's struggling to make

the curtains she spent £200 buying material for.

It's concerned me that it's taken me three hours to make one curtain.

So I'm going to have to pick up the speed on that.

With the arrival of her client imminent, Rachel's having a wobble.

I've got self-doubt creeping in, it's not good.

Rachel, could I... Could I just have a chat with you about something?

Er, I was just having a look at the mid-board

and I saw that you'd got the TV on the top of the cupboard.

-OK...

-I really, really would like it to be hidden away.

-Right.

Because I'm kind of putting it with all your pictures

and all your books and lots of knick-knacks.

-I see what you're saying...

-Do you know what I mean?

..but it won't convince me, because I hate it.

I kind of feel strongly that the best solution is for it

to go on top, so I'm going to stick with that.

I don't really want to give in on this.

I really want to dig my heels in, because it's important to me.

Jamie also thinks he knows best, with a balance of modern

and traditional in his Scandi design.

Just really explain to me what it is in your design that is

bringing the traditional Scandinavian element?

The organic textures and the organic materials and the fabrics

and kind of bringing them in.

I've painted the walls light and stuff like that, so an open, airy feel.

The penny still hasn't dropped with Jamie, that he's actually

got homeowners with quite traditional taste

and he's working in a very period, charming cottage.

It might be late in the day, but Jamie may just have twigged.

HE SIGHS

I feel like I've sort of missed something... Kind of research

and the kind of traditional... I don't know.

I feel really sick.

Nerves are getting to Lily, too, as she's swamped

by all of her craft projects.

At this stage, I'm trying to squeeze in the extra work,

so I'm just focusing now on getting everything to come together.

With a visit from her client looming,

she's worried it won't be enough.

I've put so much in this competition,

So much work and planning and sleepless nights.

I didn't realise it would take this much work.

Time for client and professional decorator Simon

to pass judgment on Lily's two-tone colour scheme.

You've got a very nice tidy line on that, anyway. Well done.

-As long as you're happy, that's the main thing!

-LILY LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Oh, don't you worry. I'll tell you if I'm not.

LILY LAUGHS

When I hear that he's pleased with some stuff,

that's just a big boost, because I feel like I'm under scrutiny.

There's a two-tone wall going on there. Where did that come from?

I was trying to be edgy!

But, um... It was from Mark Rothko.

The painter.

So Mark Rothko comes to the Peak District?

Yeah, but it has to be straight edges, though.

For this one!

Also keen to check out Lily's two-tone walls is her rival.

-Hi!

-Hi. Hi, Rachel.

-Wow! I love it!

-Oh! Do you?

Oh, I might pinch that for my own.

I love the contrast with the red.

She's clearly had the same inspiration as me,

with the dark beams and stuff,

and she's kind of gone for these, but she's gone for a two-tone,

which is really interesting, but kind of in my head,

I just need to get my room right.

All four designers want to get it right across their three-day challenge.

But the pace of change in this village is usually much slower.

Tissington was largely untouched by the Industrial Revolution,

but it did get a railway station in the late 19th century.

Farmers jumped at the chance to sell their produce to the

industrial centres of Manchester or Derby.

Horse-drawn carts would circulate the village

to collect ten-gallon milk urns from stone plinths like this,

before whisking them off to the station.

Like most of the local villages, Tissington would once have been almost entirely self-sufficient.

In the 19th century, there was a wheelwright, a tailor,

a joiner, a cheesemonger, a butcher...

With 48 of the 52 homes still owned by the estate,

it's still a thriving community.

But these days, the tourist trade rules the roost,

with antique shops, tea rooms and even an old-fashioned sweet shop.

It's the end of day two.

And tomorrow's decision on who goes home is looming large

for all the designers.

I think the reason I'm not super-confident is that

I still feel I have got so much to do.

If I had another day, I'd feel really confident. But I don't, so...

SHE SIGHS

I feel in a good place, so yeah, I'm happy.

But I want to take things back to the hotel and finish some sewing

and kind of see where it takes me, what time in the morning.

Tomorrow's a big day. I'm pooped.

For Lily, it's another night spent working into the early hours

as she tries to deliver all her arts and crafts.

It's a bit overwhelming, but I'm on the finish line.

Almost.

It's the final day of this close-run competition and come what may,

one of our designers will be going home today.

I haven't had any sleep.

But I'm so excited to dress this room

and just to see it all coming together.

I'm absolutely knackered, but now I'm really excited to get

cracking and kind of get the room finished.

I still believe in the design, I believe in the colours.

It's probably going to be nicknamed "The Sea Of Green"!

Right, Sarah...

But Sarah's day gets off to a disastrous start.

I came back in last night and I now know I'm not going

to be able to live with the ceilings in this colour.

We've got an issue with time now.

Painting back over the dark colour is going to be tricky.

The builders are literally pulling out all the stops to try get that ceiling painted.

Has Sarah managed to unite the two spaces?

Well, she did at the beginning,

because she had these two interesting greens.

But the homeowner got a little bit scared and

has actually convinced her to paint the ceilings in white,

and I think what she should've tried to do is compromise a little bit

and paint that ceiling in a stone, so the atmosphere hadn't been lost.

Lily is starting to see her many projects take shape.

First, a ruffled lampshade...

I was going to ditch this, but this...

I've spent hours on this, so...

..and a TV cabinet decorated with logs.

I'm just doing this randomly and I think it fits in

with the rest of the room and that's that.

Lily's got all her walls painted.

They look really, really dramatic.

But my concerns are, she was all about the detail.

There were lots of interesting little things

that she was showing in the presentation,

but we haven't seen those done yet.

The details are finally looking less modern in Jamie's room,

with some Scandi stencilling.

When I researched into Nordic prints,

I wanted to simplify it within the room.

I wanted it to stand out,

but I didn't want it to be too kind of scary.

It's quite Bohemian as well.

Has Jamie managed to bring Scandi style to remote Derbyshire?

He certainly has.

He's completely transformed that room already from dark red

to a really light-inducing pale grey.

What I'm seeing at this stage is there's no zing of colour,

so it's really going to be all down to the last few minutes.

It's also down to the last few minutes for Rachel,

though she still has plenty of jobs to finish.

I'm feeling very panicky now.

The enormity of what I've got to do. Oh, dear.

There could be tears today.

To add to the chaos, Rachel's had a change of heart about the TV.

TV-gate is weighing on my mind.

I've kind of just thought now that I'm just going to ask Johnny

to cut part of the shelf away so the TV can get snuck in there

and that's going to have to be the solution.

Rachel was asked for a very country cottage kind of look.

Is she delivering that?

She's come up with a very competent scheme,

but it's not blowing either of us away.

Well, no, because country cottage, I think,

is all about creating some charm and being creative,

making something out of nothing.

It all looks a bit ironed out to me.

Our designers have had three days and £1,000 to transform their rooms.

They've been tested on their client presentation skills

and had to show they can think fast to create an original piece

which will be judged in the final room.

Now their time is nearly up.

Rachel was ranked first after the presentations,

but the others could all overtake her

if she doesn't deliver a scheme with flair.

-CRASHING

-What's broken?

What have I broke? The clock.

Oh, my God, I'm knackered.

Time's up.

Rachel's fate is now in the hands of the judges.

I'm very pleased it's finished.

It's been quite emotional, actually.

Much more emotional than I thought it would be.

Rachel's brief was to create a cosy country reading room.

Three days ago, the room looked plain and functional.

Now she's warmed things up with a deep red colour scheme,

contrasting with accents of light blue,

including the revamped bureau.

There's new shelving and Rachel's conceded to her client's wishes,

and hidden the TV in a bespoke cupboard.

And she's handmade the tartan curtains and cushions,

bringing a natural feel.

I'm not sure what the judges will make of it.

I have compromised a little bit in the way I wanted it to look,

but I kind of went with my heart over my head

and I wanted to please the homeowner.

I know this homeowner really wanted to add some cosiness

and some charm to this room and I find it very welcoming.

She's injected a little bit of personality.

I like how she's played with the blue against the red.

It looks really fun and playful.

Everything does kind of match, which slightly rubs me up the wrong way.

It rubs you up the wrong way - it can be a bit safe.

Ta-da!

TV cabinet.

I do think, though, that Rachel was sulking a little bit about putting

this TV in the cupboard, because she could have designed it better

and just lifted it up so she could actually watch it from the sofa,

rather than having to peer really low down.

The upcycle challenge is a crucial part of the judging criteria

and this is the first time that Sophie and Daniel

have seen Rachel's barrel in the finished scheme.

It's not had much of a transformation, but jolly useful.

Yeah, exactly.

I'm not sure if the homeowner's going to like it.

I think she will. I may cry if she doesn't.

Come in.

SHE GASPS Let me close the door behind you

and what do you think?

It feels much more cosy and that's what was really lacking.

And the best thing of all...!

There it is,

-hidden away.

-Thank you, Rachel, that is perfect.

The only thing that I'm not sure about is the blue,

but I really would like to leave it for a while and see.

Not sure whether I'm keeping that down.

Next to finish is Jamie.

So we've got 20 minutes to get the sofas in and get everything tidied,

so fingers crossed.

Oh, God.

With worries all along that he misinterpreted the brief,

Jamie must now bring enough traditional elements

to prove he hasn't.

We got there and I absolutely love it.

Jamie's brief was to create a traditional,

Scandinavian-inspired sitting room.

Before, the room looked tired and cluttered.

Now the grey walls act as a backdrop

to Jamie's bespoke, boxed-in shelving.

He's brought in sofas from another room,

upholstered a chair

and painted log tables.

He's brought the traditional side, with textural cushions

and stencilled details.

I'm happy.

And tired.

First of all, I've just got to say, what a transformation.

Before you were welcomed into this room with that gorgeous,

coral-y, pink-y colour on the walls.

This is the total opposite end of the spectrum,

this very kind of cool grey,

-but it has definitely helped open up the space.

-Yeah.

-But ply.

-No, sorry.

It's a no from me.

It's a very industrial, raw, slightly urban material to use.

-It just looks wrong.

-It's a bit of a no.

I'm not completely convinced that he's been very sympathetic

to the age of the property,

or really some of the more traditional, Bohemian,

folksy elements that were asked of by the homeowners.

I don't know, I think he's hit that quite nicely and quite subtly.

I like the stencilling on the shutters.

It almost looks like a Fair Isle jumper.

Jamie's also stencilled his barrel upcycle,

which the judges can see for the first time in the room.

Brilliant, because look at the shapes and the angles with the wood.

He's placed them out, he's given it a nice texture

and rhythm and movement.

Yeah, I like that very much.

I'm just kind of excited to finally kind of hear feedback,

whether the homeowner likes it.

So come inside.

Wow!

You wanted a kind of traditional Scandi kind of style.

He's gone for quite temporary.

Yes, love it!

Absolutely love it. It's deviated from the brief,

but he has respected what we're after.

Next due to finish is Lily.

Right, my painted foot stool to look like leather.

Now she must display all her handmade crafts.

Right, done.

SHE GROANS

I'm looking forward to the judging.

If I go through to the next round, it'll be such a rewarding result.

Lily was asked to create an autumnal, dog-friendly scheme.

Before, the sitting room was well worn.

Now, it's vibrant, with colour-blocked walls.

The sofa and armchair have been restored with the old curtains,

while the footstool fabric has been painted.

And Lily's added an array of handmade soft furnishings

and decorative details.

The judges can have as long a look as they like.

And I hope they like it.

You know, we always say we want the designer to give

a little bit more than they're asked for.

-She has!

-They've got it, yeah, definitely!

Yeah, this room's dark,

so she's painted these lovely, warm, rich red colours,

but she's done this interesting colour blocking all the way

-round the room.

-I really like the way she's dealt with the sofa.

She's covered it in some beautiful fabrics.

We've got wools and velvets.

There are some really quite mad,

left-field things going on in this room.

I really don't like those bits of wood

stuck on that rather smart cabinet.

Maybe there's just too many gimmicks.

One gimmick Lily took very seriously

was the upcycled barrel dog bed.

It's a little spot for Dogbert to curl up in.

She is just not going to know she's born -

she's even got her own little velvet cushion.

Yeah, a miniature kennel in the room -

rather a nice thing, isn't it?

The homeowners are my biggest concern.

I would love them to be pleased with my design

and how it all came together.

Come in, come in.

-Mm-hm!

-Goodness!

-Goodness me!

-Goodness, goodness, goodness!

-Right...

-Ooh, Dogbert! He's got a new bed!

Does it feel cosy enough?

You wanted something cosy and rustic and autumnal.

It does, actually, yes.

The fireplace looks good as well.

Yes, I really like it, it's very nice.

She's caught the brief very well.

Finally, Sarah.

Having come last in the client presentation judging,

she's got a lot to make up for

and the new white ceiling isn't giving how much hope.

It's not ideal,

but it is what it is and I can't do anything about it now.

It has been manic today,

but it's been really nice to see everything come together.

Sarah's brief was to design a rustic sitting room.

Before, it was unfinished and needed unifying.

Now it has a new colour palette,

the deep, dark green alongside the lighter shade.

Sarah's upcycled pieces of furniture

and created a ladder bookshelf.

She's also linked the outside in with green soft furnishings

adding to the rustic scheme.

-OK.

-I really like it, cos it sort of feels like it has all come together.

It's rustic, it's charming.

What do you think of this colour,

now that we've got all the other accents brought in?

It's a little bit too synthetic for a cottage.

It would have been better with some sort of wash on the walls,

-something dirtier.

-Yeah, a little muddier.

-Earthier.

-Yeah.

The all-important upcycled barrel is in the room,

so what do they think of it in situ?

Been upholstered...

-Beautifully.

-..and turned into a book bucket.

Never thought of having a bucket for books.

No, I've never seen it before either,

but he clearly has a big collection of books.

The big challenge for Sarah here was unifying the space

-and getting that right isn't easy.

-It works very well.

I love this area, because it's quite a tricky area to deal with,

it's very small and it's very tall.

I wish that ceiling was dark,

it would help kind of create this cosy vibe.

I'm still concerned that the homeowner

won't like the overall colours.

I've got my fingers firmly crossed that he's going to come in

and go, "Now I get it."

Oh, my goodness me.

Gosh, it's so different.

Shall we go and have a look at the other space?

-One of the key tasks she had was to unify...

-Yes.

It's not what I would have chosen.

Funnily enough, I like this green.

I've never been 100% certain that it works with that green.

Whether long-term I will keep with the green theme,

but the concept is excellent.

Now the four amateurs can only wait

to find out who will be going through to the next round

and which one will be going home.

I think everyone will be proud of what they've achieved.

-So intense.

-We got through it, though.

I've given, yes, everything I can to this design,

so I guess we'll see if I've done enough.

I love the rooms and it's kind of given me a feeling

that, yeah, I could do this.

Do I want to go through to the next round?

It's been so exhausting and emotionally draining.

I'm not sure!

Sarah's homeowner wanted something rustic

that unified the two parts of that space.

-How did she do?

-She used a lot of green and it certainly made me

feel very nervous, but the end result was a very cohesive scheme.

I love Sarah's inventiveness.

I was constantly entertained as it travelled round the room.

Well, the homeowner, he liked it.

He wasn't entirely convinced by the green.

He loved her styling.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, the styling's great.

So Lily was asked for something cosy and rustic - did she deliver?

Actually, I think she delivered what she promised.

The concern is,

was it at the right quality level?

I must admit, I was really impressed that she delivered

on the practical elements, then she gave them quite a flourish.

Yeah, but I'm just worried if there were one too many flourishes.

She needs to learn not to be quite so ambitious.

-You want to hear what the homeowner thought?

-Mmm.

An exacting client - painter and decorator, so he cast his eye.

-He could find very few faults.

-Wow!

Rachel's homeowner wanted a warm reading room.

Did she get it?

She was a little defiant with the brief, actually.

Her homeowner really doesn't like blue -

she put the blue in anyway,

but then we had the issue with the TV.

But she got a very warm, welcoming reading room.

Our concern, though, is was it edgy enough?

Well, you got one happy homeowner.

What is rather nice about Rachel -

she's pushed her client slightly out of her parameter,

-but not too far.

-So Jamie was asked for a Scandinavian retreat.

Did he deliver on the brief?

Well, he did deliver Scandinavian,

but the brief also talked about traditional elements.

For me, that's where he completely veered off

into a far too contemporary interpretation.

But the fact is, he was bursting with ideas and he's got it in him.

The homeowner I know had some misgivings,

to begin with - loved it.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

-It seems incredibly close this time.

-It is really close.

And it's going to be a really difficult decision to make.

So, designers, it doesn't get better than this.

Look at this picture postcard landscape.

It takes some gumption to rise to the challenge,

but I think you four did.

I just hope you've all really enjoyed

designing for these charming country cottages.

And I have to say, we've got four very strong designers

and it's been quite a tough decision to make.

One of you, though, has to go home

and the designer going home this time

is...

..Rachel.

-Aww!

-Give her a hug!

It's fine, it's fine! I'm relieved!

A little disappointed, cos like I said, the process has been great.

But there's also a little bit of relief

that I kind of don't have to go through all of that again!

-I love it!

-Really?!

-I really love it.

-Oh, I'm so pleased!

Losing Rachel has been one of the toughest choices,

because her room was just gorgeous,

but I didn't feel that she pushed it enough

and that's what you have to do to stay in this competition.

INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

My overwhelming feeling going through to the next round

is, I guess, grateful that I've achieved something

from all the hard work.

The whole thing - very, very well done.

In the next round for Lily, she needs to manage her time,

because she took too much on and the quality suffered a little bit.

THEY CONSOLE RACHEL

Absolutely over the moon and I kind of just want to get started

finding the brief and what's to happen and what's to come.

-Hi.

-Hi! Really brilliant.

-Great.

I'm going to have to smarten up to live in it, I think. Jamie...

-Thank you.

-..it's been a pleasure.

For someone so young,

Jamie already shows such a high level of competence,

but he really needs to learn how to nail that brief

and consider the people he's designing for and the place.

INDISTINCT CHATTER

One step at a time, see how far I go.

If I get to keep doing it, then brilliant.

And if I don't, then it's been a blast.

Moving forward, Sarah needs to improve her presentation skills.

She didn't keep her client with her

and she had to make some changes that she wasn't happy with.

-Now I've got to do it again!

-You have, you've got to do it again.

-Will it be green?

-No.

-Oh!

-Don't you start!

Next time, unusual half houses in north London,

-where Sarah, Jamie...

-Perfect.

-..and Lily...

-Slinky.

..compete for just two places in the next round.

The designer going home will be...