Episode 6 Your Home In Their Hands

Would you hand over your front door keys to complete strangers...

I can't believe what we've done.

Coo-ee!

..in exchange for a massive makeover?

Red sky at night.

I'm not sure I would.

Different people have different tastes.

I'm Celia Sawyer and I've been interior designer for a decade.

In this series, I'll be introducing families

at the end of their decorating tether...

We just can't move forward. Everybody's ideas are so different.

..to interior designers who are desperate to help.

Yes!

The plug for the light.

But these designers are not professionals.

Let's just hope they like space films, eh?

In fact, they're complete amateurs.

They've wrecked that room.

That is different.

What have we done?

They may have passion.

I know about composition, dude.

They might even have vision.

I'd like to create a temple of hope.

Lovely colours, lovely colours, lovely colours.

But I'm giving them just five days to do the job.

You beauty.

My question is, will it be tears of joy...

-Wow.

-Wow, look at this.

Couldn't have wished for anything better.

..or just plain tears.

I'm regretting it.

He's going to hate it.

Interior design is a difficult industry to crack.

I launched my career through word of mouth after I restyled my own home.

But the next step is a tricky one.

You need to have the skills and vision people will pay money for.

The biggest mistake interior designers can make

is to actually just design a room that looks like their own home.

You're working for a client and even though you have a style,

you have to adapt it to your client's needs and taste.

In this series,

I'm introducing budding interior designers to my world.

It's time for me to go international. Aim high!

Each amateur has been chosen because their own homes

reveal they have a unique creative vision.

I finished designing my house,

now I can't wait to get my hands on someone else's.

Now I'm giving them the chance to show they can cut it

by match-making them with families so stuck,

they're prepared to take the chance on amateurs.

It's a huge risk for everyone, because the novice designers

won't meet the clients until the work is complete.

This week, I'm heading to Staffordshire to meet two couples

so embarrassed by their homes, they never invite guests round.

My first stop is Tamworth.

# I'm on fire... #

Meet the Daleys.

Fireman Steve, his wife, Zoe,

and their 15-year-old daughter, Jess.

It's fair to say they're not in love with their home.

Living here, I would say, is dire,

just because of the state of the house.

It's just quite depressing, to be honest.

We don't really involve anybody else in our lives.

We kind of isolate ourselves quite a lot,

because it's a horrible environment to live in.

If I am in the house, I'm mostly in my room.

I think I go downstairs to have dinner and that's about it.

Normally, when everybody in a house is depressed by its state,

something is done about it, but not in this one.

It's been going on since they moved in 20 years ago.

Every time we go shopping for things,

I'll see something I like, she'll hate it.

She'll see something she likes, I hate it.

I've never seen such extreme stagnation

caused by a difference in taste.

Just a plain white would do me

or something like that, you know, on the walls.

Just very clean and not busy.

I would choose cosy, warm, functional kind of cottagey style.

Unfortunately it seems daughter Jess is the one caught

in this taste-off crossfire.

It's quite depressing to be in an environment like this.

I feel sorry for Jessica really.

She wants to spend a lot of time with her friends.

They have a lot of sleepovers

and Jess doesn't want people to come here.

She's embarrassed by the house.

I don't like bringing friends round

because I feel like they'll judge us.

I just don't want them to think different of us

because of the house.

Hello, babe.

Jess' distress with the situation has now moved Steve and Zoe

to try something drastic...

putting their home in the hands of amateurs.

It's incredibly risky, but when you're living in something like this,

you've got to take a risk.

The risk involved is that we won't be able to change it afterwards.

So whatever they do, we're going to have to live with.

I mean, if you look at it from the perspective,

if you do really hate it, I'll probably love it.

SHE LAUGHS

That's true.

'Sounds like this family are perfect candidates

'for my extreme form of design intervention.

'And as they won't meet the designers until the end of the process,

'I'd better get in there and find out exactly what's needed.'

-Hello!

-Hi, Zoe.

-Come on in.

-Thank you.

-Hello, Steve.

-Hi, Celia.

-Nice to meet you.

-You, too.

It's just like you've just moved in.

Do you not use this room very much?

This is where we spend most of our time.

-It's...

-Which is quite sad really.

Crikey. OK, talk me through it, then. Come on, Zoe.

If it was up to me, I'd have flagstone paving

and, you know, exposed beams and things like that. But obviously...

Oh, OK. So natural textures brought in.

Absolutely. For me, definitely.

Whereas Steve's quite happy to have a lazy boy-ish...white walls.

Nice, flat, white wall, that would do for me.

I think you'd better show me the rest of the house.

Oh, OK.

This is our bedroom.

-The floor definitely hasn't been finished, has it?

-No.

What's the story behind that?

I asked him to put a floor in but he wants sea grass carpet

and I wanted flooring, so we have nothing.

It's going to remain like this until we can agree upon

what we do with it...

which could be a long time.

I am, for once, lost for words.

Tell me about the wallpaper.

I decorated the room about five or six years ago.

I'd been asking Steve for ages to do it and he was like,

"Yeah, yeah, whenever."

And then he went away for a couple of days

so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I did wonder what the hell had happened when I got back.

Did you think she'd gone through the whole plasterboard

and gone through to bare brick?

So are all the rooms like this in the house?

Cos I'm starting to think they are.

Not quite all.

They are. Well, are they not?

Which ones are nice?

Jess' is not too bad.

Lead the way, come on.

I'm dreading this.

Jess' bedroom is not very feminine, is it?

-No, she can't even get into her own wardrobe. So...

-No, I can see that.

She has to move the bed to get into the wardrobe.

-Oh, my goodness. Where does she move the bed to?

-Just over there.

-What, to get dressed?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I've definitely seen enough now. Come on, let's get on with it.

'The amateur designers can't start soon enough for me.

'This home needs some attention, and fast.'

Feeling good?

Quite nervous.

You know, it's a big thing, leaving your house to somebody else.

-Hand over your keys. Your car awaits.

-Thank you.

-And off you go.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

It's not just about Zoe and Steve, this is about Jessica as well.

The whole family are affected by the fact that they cannot agree

and cannot get this place finished.

The Daleys now have two nail-biting days before they return

to give feedback on the first two rooms.

Well, I wonder what that's going to look like when we get back.

I just hope it's finished.

Can't be any worse, can it?

Oh, I don't know. Can it?

In total, three rooms will be transformed

in the Daley's run down home.

I guess they should probably see who I'm sending in.

OK, let's have a look.

The first to arrive is a bright light from London's theatre world,

32-year-old prop-maker and set designer, Anna.

Hello, my name's Anna Bruder.

My design style is very humorous and funny

and it's like walking into a Paddington Bear illustrative world.

My favourite design tool is my giant black marker

with a three-centimetre nib.

So if you need a window, draw one.

If you haven't got a toaster, draw one with some toast.

Zoe, Steve and Jess, you're definitely not going to get a bland,

boring, unimaginative world from me.

I've designed sets, pop-up shops and lots more, but never an interior,

so you're going to be my first.

Now, that has got me worried.

Joining Anna to create something special is my next amateur.

She's a 43-year-old writer living in East Sussex...Nadene.

I'm half-Afghan, half-British.

My Afghan heritage plays a really massive part in my creative design.

My style is global, kitsch, industrial and sexy.

But above all else, it's personal.

I hate brand-new mass-produced furniture.

Honestly, I would rather stick a red-hot poker in my eye

than fill my house full of that stuff.

I love art. I love texture. I love comfort.

But above all, I love things that have got a history,

things that tell a story.

Your home needs a pretty drastic makeover.

I'm not going to be holding back, what I'm going to be doing

is giving you the confidence that you guys lack.

I'm going to be giving you a home that says, "Wow."

I love that.

No. I don't want animal heads,

even if they do have a miniature top hat.

So we have a taste clash on our hands.

Playfully original, versus gothically exotic.

Should be fun.

Both designers have been given a budget of £3,500

and have seen floor plans of their room in advance.

For Nadene, the master bedroom.

For Anna, 15-year-old Jess' room.

But this is the first time they've seen the actual spaces.

Needs a bit of love.

I think everything's got to go.

It's kind of staggering that they haven't even got a carpet.

Well, this room's quite masculine, I would say.

I don't imagine her to be tomboy, because at the age of 15

you're quite girlie. I can see some make-up bits.

The wallpaper's interesting.

-I think I've got my work cut out.

-SHE LAUGHS

The amateurs have had some information on the family

and their design dilemmas.

I need to make sure they really understand the brief.

-Hello.

-Hello, hi.

-Hi, Anna. Meet Nadene.

-Hello, how are you doing?

-Good to meet you.

So, Nadene, Zoe and Steve want a relaxing room,

somewhere where they can spend a bit of time

and not feel, sort of like it's not finished.

They can't agree on anything.

Anna, Jessica's bedroom, not really suitable now for a 15-year-old girl.

We want this teenager to walk into this home

and bring her friends and spend time in her room.

OK, you've both got £3,500. Do a good job.

After Nadene and Anna finish their individual rooms,

I want them to collaborate on the living/dining room,

which will be interesting, as they've got such different styles.

But for now I reckon they've got enough to think about,

concentrating on those bedrooms.

What I've got here is a scale model of Jess' room.

It's mainly a solely black and white bedroom,

with dashes of colour,

so it's kind of like walking into a cartoon world.

Sometimes people get scared of small rooms and think you can't be too imaginative.

'I think the opposite is true,

'I think in small spaces you can absolutely let your imagination run riot.'

And that's what I'm going to do.

While Anna and Nadene begin their designs,

I'm going to find out about the next couple in need of help.

In Coventry,

this three-bedroom house is the home of the Gill Machins...

..Harjit and Ian.

And once more, we have a couple whose different tastes

have left them with a home they are embarrassed about.

My culture is full of colour.

My favourite colour is red.

It always reminds me of my mum. She always wore red.

But I love red and it looks good on me.

HARJIT LAUGHS

Anything does.

My ideal colours would be very, very simple, earthy browns and greens.

And being from Coventry, maybe a hint of sky blue.

This design dilemma is a culture clash

as much as it is a taste difference.

Ian moved in with Harjit ten years ago,

and slowly the house began to change.

-Oh, yes.

-Now it reflects more of Ian's neutral taste

and less of Harjit's colourful tones.

All my colourful cushions, rugs and things were put in the attic.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't realise it was being toned down.

It just sort of happened.

Maybe Harjit was thinking too much of me.

-Not enough of herself.

-Yeah, I was looking after you.

-Mm-hm.

-Your taste.

-And I forgot about my about me.

-Mm-hm.

So, come on, let's colour it up now!

# Got to be, got to be myself... #

I want to get back to...

..me, my personality.

We, we just need...

..someone to help us get over this.

It's starting to affect the relationship.

'In an effort to marry their different tastes

'and create a home they can both be proud of,

'they've agreed to take a huge gamble.'

-Hello.

-Yeah, how are you?

-Nice to meet you.

-Hello, Celia, come on in.

-Thank you.

So, this is the kitchen.

Ah-ha.

Tell me how you feel about this room.

I actually quite like the tiles.

The colours represent me, these colours.

What do you think about those, Ian?

I think the whole kitchen's a bit of a disaster, it needs redoing.

-Too much colour for you?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Oh, dear.

So, Harjit, the kitchen is an important place for you, isn't it?

It's just a cultural thing,

that you're cooking all the time for your families.

In fact, we haven't actually invited people for the last...

-Quite a while.

-..quite a few years.

Just the kitchen, or is it the whole house, then?

-Everything, really.

-You don't feel like entertaining any more?

-No.

-Ah, that's really sad.

-It's like hard when people come into your house and you say,

-"I'm ever so sorry, we're just in the middle of decorating."

-Oh, dear.

-Show me the rest of the house.

-OK.

-I'm intrigued.

-This way.

So, this is our bedroom.

Oh, OK.

Harjit, what should a bedroom mean to you?

Somewhere I can come and meditate, relax.

-And does it do that for you now?

-No.

-No?

Ian, you're quite happy, with it like this, I presume, are you?

I don't mind it. I like it, yeah.

So, how much has this room changed since Ian's been here,

-I guess I should ask.

-It's completely changed.

-Has it?

I've had various shades of colour in this room over the years.

We used to change them every year, basically.

-I used to have red duvet covers.

-I hate red.

-Ian hates red, so..

OK. Well, I think I've heard enough.

-So, lead the way, please.

-HARJIT LAUGHS

'I think this is going to be very tough week

'for the amateur designers.'

There's Harjit, who loves her soulful,

colourful home, going back to her roots,

and then there's Ian, who likes this very simple,

neutral, earthy colours.

And I think, how are they going to get this balance together? It's going to be quite tricky.

Got to hand over those keys now.

-Are you sure you want to do this?

-I don't know.

-Off you go.

-See you soon.

-Bye-bye. Bye.

'Harjit and Ian now face two anxiety-filled days

'before coming back to pass judgment on the first two rooms.'

But they still have no idea who I'm unleashing on their home.

Bye-bye, house. SHE LAUGHS

And this is where the fun begins.

First in is a punk-inspired amateur designer from Bolton.

35-year-old Graham.

"I'm inspired by punk"

because I've spent a career working in avant-garde fashion.

MUSIC: Peaches by The Stranglers

I used to work for a famous designer called Vivienne Westwood,

and I don't like to do what everybody tells me to do.

Some might say I'm arrogant, but I like to think that I'm confident.

Dark colours are a signature of mine.

I like to go from soft black, right down to light grey.

I've never tried and tested this style in somebody else's home,

so I'm really looking forward to

plonking it down in somebody else's house.

Ian and Harjit, I won't be holding back at all.

So as long as you're open to the extreme change,

I'm sure you're going to love it.

-OK.

-He's got a lot of grey, and I hate grey.

I don't know, I like the background colours. That's, that's a given.

-It was the fussiness in front of it...

-Yeah.

-..that might upset me.

-Yeah.

-I don't know.

To hopefully brighten things up a bit,

I'm also sending in a 41-year-old florist from York.

"Hi, I'm Lucy."

My designer style is all about bringing the outdoors indoors.

# Daydream

# I fell asleep amid the flowers... #

I grew up in a concrete jungle.

There were no trees around.

So now I surround myself with plants and greenery.

My favourite colour, as you can probably guess, is green.

It goes with everything,

and if it doesn't, I MAKE it go with everything.

Harjit, I know what it's like to not have colour around you

when you desperately crave it.

By the time I've finished with your house, it will be colourful.

-See, I like the outdoors.

-Hm.

-So that would be perfect for me.

I think both of them are bringing home to me,

"Oh, God, what have we done?"

An intriguing design taste-off, then.

50 shades of grey versus the green goddess.

For the first two days, the amateur designers

will be working on their individual rooms.

Graham's got £5,500 for the kitchen,

and Lucy 3,000 for the bedroom.

Wow.

The tiles are completely dated and...

..I don't think they're coming back into fashion any time soon.

It's very plain. But there's nothing...

..personal.

The yellow blinds, definitely gone.

I think anything you do with it is going to liven it up.

Now they've seen what they're up against,

I should make sure they understand the brief.

-Hi, Lucy.

-Hello, hi.

-Meet Graham.

-Hi, Graham.

-Hi, nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

Graham, the kitchen is a very important place for Harjit,

from her cultural background she likes to cook and entertain.

She likes quite strong, bright colours.

Ian is completely the opposite.

He likes quite plain and simple and earthy.

And Lucy, Harjit wants this lovely spiritual, sort of surrounding,

but also Ian would like a room that he can just go to sleep in.

-Oh.

-So, somehow or other, you're going to have to put those two elements together

-and make it work for both of them.

-Yeah.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-OK.

So what is the green goddess planning in the master bedroom?

I'm going to transform it

by making it a beautiful, peaceful sanctuary.

Beautiful crystal chandeliers.

Somewhere that is just a relaxing, gorgeous space.

She sounds confident.

But what about grey lover Graham?

We're going to be getting rid of nearly everything.

I'll be replacing ALL of the cabinets.

The walls will be a backdrop of greys

and accented with pots of bright, graphic colour.

And the light fittings will become a feature within the room.

As usual, I'm not leaving the designers

completely on their own with the renovations.

# Watch the hammer come down. #

I'm giving Graham and Lucy builder Russell

to help them achieve their grand designs.

While at the other house,

Nadene and Anna have builder Nathan, who's always brutally honest.

His first job is to help Nadene.

We're going to be putting some new wallpaper over it. Um...

She's decided her priority is to remove that nasty grey wallpaper.

And she's replacing it with...

..MORE grey wallpaper.

I think this wallpaper is going to make this room look amazing.

I do hope you're right.

It's hand-silkscreen printed and it's meant to look like, sort of "swagged" curtains,

so it's going to look quite modern but at the same time quite romantic.

And I think Zoe's going to love it.

It's horrendous!

It looks like an X-ray of a baggy bit of skin or something.

Well, I guess there's still time to see the light and paint over it.

In teenager Jess' bedroom,

Anna is drawing on her artistic skills...and the walls.

So, this is the plug.

The plug for the light.

It's got a lead like that.

And then she's going to have her dressing room table.

I'm a firm believer in challenging design,

but this may be a challenge too far.

This is really exciting because...

you know, Jess has got to live in here, so that's a really cool thing.

Yeah, but as 15 is a tricky age,

maybe you shouldn't be using a permanent marker.

20 miles away in Coventry

there are signs that grey Graham is making a "grey-ve" error

with his kitchen design.

I'm just a bit worried about the whole functionality thing.

He seems to have glazed over that a little bit.

We've taken loads of wall units off the wall

and we're replacing them with a couple of shelves.

It already makes the space feel miles bigger.

Well, it would do, wouldn't it?

But good kitchen design is supposed to be functional.

And Graham's not the only one "glossing" over the important things.

I know Harjit loves bright colours.

But I think in a bedroom,

I think it has to be, kind of, more serene.

Down the road at Harjit's daughter Kelly's house,

the topic of which designer is doing what is in full swing.

So what's your thoughts then on having a punk-style kitchen?

I'm not quite sure how functionality and punk fit together.

It could work with a bit of colour in it.

But Graham is a bit dull.

-Hm.

-Er, I didn't like the grey at all.

# My house, my house... #

Grey is me on a happy, sun-shining day.

-The bedroom could be interesting, then.

-Yeah.

I think my worst nightmare would be having wallpaper.

I can't believe how good it looks.

I think it works really well in here. I'm really pleased with it.

You might be, but you're not the client.

Back in Tamworth and it's nearly time for me to bring the Daleys back

to inspect the first two rooms.

With the walls all finished,

it's time for Anna to brandish her black nib on everything else.

So, the mannequin lamp is fun.

Very unusual, it's quite an alternative

type of lamp to have in your home.

But I know she's going to like it.

That's a brave claim when dealing with teenagers.

To make matters worse,

Nadene's boudoir bedroom is getting weirder and weirder.

Here we go. If I drop this, it would be a disaster.

I'm not convinced.

-Mr Squirrel says no TV in the bedroom.

-Does he?

The dead squirrel in the bedroom is horrendous.

It's like a devil squirrel, its eyes are red, it's poised to attack...

..nobody's going to like that, I'm pretty sure.

Nadene's design is so dramatic

it's as if she's trying to steal the spotlight

from set designer, Anna.

Their styles are so far apart,

I'm already worried about them collaborating on the living room.

'Right, that's it.

'Time for the designers to disappear.

'I want to see what's been done before I show the Daleys.

'First to the master bedroom.'

At the beginning of the week this room was an unfinished job,

with badly painted walls and bare floors.

Now, with a budget of £3,500,

Nadene's covered the walls in hand-printed drape wallpaper,

and laid a textured, fitted carpet.

She's installed a leather bed

and finished her look with a fluffy-tailed piece of taxidermy.

Oh, my goodness. It's very theatrical in here.

I think the wallpaper shows up how irregular everything is in here.

It shows the problems in the room.

Well, I don't like any of it.

I feel like it's a theatre set, it just feels very...

..dramatic, but in not a very good way.

Ooh.

I'm not really sure it's right for a man who likes plain white

and a lady who craves cosy cottage.

Oh, dear.

Before, teenager Jess' room was boyish and impractical.

With a budget of £3,500,

Anna has drawn on her artistic flair to create a complete one-off.

She's covered the now-white walls, floor and furniture

with her trademark black marker pen illustrations.

She's installed a new wardrobe, pull out bed,

and she's even given Jess her own telephone.

-Wow, that is different.

-SHE LAUGHS

It's mad.

It's completely mad.

SHE INHALES AND EXHALES DEEPLY

I would never do something this dramatic,

and at 15...

..is it really what you want?

Anna, subtlety is not your thing, that's for sure.

But it's the client's opinion that matters most.

Although as Steve and Zoe haven't agreed for 20 years,

if one hates it, the other's bound to love it.

We can't lose. Or win.

Knowing that we're about to see some of the designers' work,

I'm extremely nervous.

I feel a bit sick, actually.

Jess will have to wait.

I want to show Zoe and Steve their bedroom first.

SHE LAUGHS

It looks a lot bigger than it was.

A lot bigger.

-Actually, I think it looks smaller.

-No, I don't at all.

You don't look overly-excited.

I don't particularly like the case,

I really don't like the squirrel, I'm not a big fan of the pearls.

I don't like the drawers, I don't like the mannequin,

and I'm really, I'm very undecided about the curtain effect.

But other than that, yeah, I like the bed and the carpet

and the lamp.

Oh, Steve, it's beautiful. I love it.

It's much brighter, it's quite romantic,

-but kitsch at the same time.

-Mm.

So, for me, I'm delighted. I really am.

Neither of you could agree on anything anyway, could you?

So I don't think there would ever have been a perfect solution in this room.

So, shall we go and see what Jess' room is like now?

-Shall we grab her and have a look?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Really excited.

-OK, Yeah.

-After you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

Oh, God.

Oh... STEVE LAUGHS

No.

-I like it.

-No, I hate it.

-STEVE LAUGHS

-I like it.

-No!

I think it's just...

..more childish than I wanted it to be.

A lot more childish than I wanted it to be.

In all fairness.

Nobody, none of your friends are going to have a room like this.

None of them.

-I think that might be why she doesn't like it.

-THEY LAUGH

It's not me.

I really don't think this is me at all.

-It's not, is it?

-No.

-What?

-I don't like that you're you upset.

OK, so not thumbs up on this one. Sadly.

That is a shame.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Oh, dear.

It's a real shame because Zoe and Steve had chosen to take the risk

to hand their keys over to the amateur designers.

It's sort of paid off for them, it's certainly paid off for Zoe so far,

but it really hasn't paid off for Jess.

So we need to rectify that.

I really don't like my room. It's... It is too childish.

It's not what I wanted at all.

I feel awful for Jess.

We just wanted her to have something for herself,

and she really deserved to have that.

'Well, that's a disappointing result for Jess,

'but a surprisingly good one in the master bedroom.

'I'd best feed back the feedback

'before the designers start on the joint room.'

Welcome back.

-Nervous.

-Are you?

You don't look nervous.

I'm just keeping quiet at the moment. Fingers crossed.

Nadene.

-Zoe loved it.

-Yay!

Steve, however, was a little bit 50-50.

-He liked the bed.

-Oh, good.

-He liked the lamp in the corner.

But he wasn't sure about the rest of it.

Anna.

A lot of drawing in your room.

Well, for me the full effect is when everything is drawn,

not just bits here and there.

I've got some bad news.

ANNA GROANS

-Jess didn't like her room.

-What, at all?

She felt that it was very young for her.

She didn't feel it was a room for her.

-Fair enough.

-So you're both going to do a joint room.

We don't want to see two rooms.

We want to see one room designed by both of you.

Zoe particularly liked that sort of romantic kind of look

that you gave her in the bedroom.

Really work together on this so that they are really,

-really pleased with the results.

-OK, good.

At the other house in Coventry, it's very nearly time for Ian and Harjit

to return to see what amateurs Lucy and Graham have done to their house.

This is a vintage Coventry City programme.

Trying to appease him,

trying to say, "Sorry, your bedroom is quite girlie now."

I've tried to instil a bit of Harjit's cultural heritage,

but I've also tried to maintain enough clean, masculine lines

and colours that Ian won't feel out of place either.

Now, this had better be good.

I'm soon going to have to present these rooms to the clients.

Before, the master bedroom was washed-out and plain.

A world away from Harjit's dream meditation space.

With £3,000, Lucy has transformed this room into a stylish sanctuary,

with Asian-inspired furniture, crystal chandeliers,

pale green wallpaper,

and personal touches for Harjit and Ian.

As far as Ian is concerned, it might be a bit feminine for him.

Perhaps you could have brought in a little bit more...

..of an Indian feel.

Perhaps just even with dressing the bed.

Because it was very important to Harjit to feel

like she had her colour back in the room.

I hope they haven't got it too... too you, not enough me.

Well, it's good if it's all me. You know, it's all about me.

Mm-hm. Always, dear.

The old kitchen was outdated and ill-equipped for keen cook Harjit.

With £5,500, Graham's transformed it into a contemporary space,

with upcycled wooden worktops, patterned vinyl floor tiles,

and very low-hanging pendant lights, all set against his trademark grey.

Oh.

Gosh, what interesting lights.

Bit strange, especially in a kitchen of this size.

Don't actually like them at all.

It feels bigger when you first come in.

But there's actually nowhere to store anything.

I can't see Harjit and Ian in this kitchen at all.

But we'll see. Perhaps they'll love it.

(Please.)

It's a critical moment.

For Harjit and Ian, there's a lot more riding on this than just taste.

Oh, right.

What do you think?

I like it with reservations.

Frankly, not too sure about the bedside table.

But I like the fact they've got Manny and Kelly on there.

Oh, and a sky blue one for me.

Right.

-It's really nice.

-You like it?

I really like it, yeah.

What about the colours?

-I like it. I like the colours.

-OK.

-And I like these.

-Chandeliers.

-The lighting, yeah.

Do you feel this is kind of a space that you could relax in?

I can, yeah.

It's kind of got a very relaxing feel.

Ian, you wanted somewhere you could go to sleep.

-Yes. Which we can do...

-You think this will work?

..if we lose the cushion.

Oh, there's only one.

Yeah, could have been worse.

It's the perfect combination.

We wouldn't have thought about it really.

Well, I guess we should go

and have a look at the other room now, shouldn't we?

Next up, Graham's grey kitchen.

-Oh!

-Oh, my God!

I'm not too sure about that.

I don't know what to say.

I actually like this. Yeah, I like the blocks of colour.

No, actually, I like it.

I didn't think I would like the grey and the white.

-It makes the kitchen look really big.

-Mm.

You don't seem 100%, like you were in the bedroom.

Yeah. I haven't got enough storage for all the spices and things.

-I had one cupboard with all the spices in.

-Yeah.

And then had a cupboard with all my lovely dinner service,

and I don't know where they'll go, because I've got quite a lot.

You like most things in here, just the storage could be a slight issue.

Yeah, it might be a bit of an issue.

And you wouldn't be embarrassed inviting anyone in here.

No. And I think that's perfect.

You know, when I'm cooking, people can give me company.

-They can sit here and chat to me.

-Yeah. Absolutely.

I'm going to have to call that a result.

A bedroom that works for them both,

and a kitchen they're not embarrassed about.

Lucy and Graham need to hear this.

-Welcome back.

-Thank you.

-How are you feeling?

-Nervous.

-Very nervous.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-Lucy.

-Yes.

They loved the bedroom.

Yes! Good.

-Ian felt there was too many cushions on the bed.

-THEY LAUGH

I don't follow him on that one.

But, yes, they did love it.

Oh, thank God. Goodness.

-Graham.

-Yes.

-They loved the kitchen as well.

-Oh, my God!

Well done!

I think there is a reservation for the storage.

There is a slight worry about that.

But generally, it was a good response.

-Brilliant.

-Well done.

So you can breathe a sigh of relief, both of you.

So far, so good.

But now Lucy and Graham need to prove to me

that they can collaborate on a shared space -

the living/dining room.

Graham's quite strong and ambitious with his ideas,

and I'm not sure how it's going to work with Lucy.

Whether she's going to back down a bit,

whether it's going to be equal pegging,

very hard to tell at this stage.

I hope they're going to work together as a team.

That's the whole point, and I won't be very happy if they don't.

I'm quite a big wallpaper fan, and I'm not sure that you are.

-No.

-I'm not a big grey fan.

I'm really, really... I'll go as far to say that I detest wallpaper.

I hate peeling wallpaper. I hate wallpaper with bumps underneath it.

I hate old-fashioned wallpaper, I hate...

We've got it, Graham. But has Lucy?

But if it's done properly, I think gives such a good visual,

whereas paint would be quite flat.

It can be quite flat,

but it's flat in the good sense that you can switch it up and change it

from time to time, just with the things that you put on the wall.

Once you get a large print on the wall,

you're kind of married to that large print indefinitely.

But if you love it, then it'll be all right.

This could be more evenly matched than I first thought.

The suggestion of a collaboration

isn't going down well at the house in Tamworth, either.

Jess cried when she saw Anna's room. She didn't like it.

And I do really believe that my design for that room

is much stronger and it's going to have much more punch.

And I think Zoe and Steve are going to prefer it.

OK, Nadene, it's "put your money where your mouth is" time.

My idea for the room was a modern Moroccan fairground ride.

I'm thinking a bit of 1970s Marrakech

-with a little bit of we've run away with the circus.

-OK.

So this is a piece of original fairground.

See that, already, just looks fantastic, in my view.

I've got some coloured window film too.

For me, playing around with external windows is a bit of a no-no.

Because actually it can look quite naff.

Says the lady who draws on furniture.

The main look of mine, it's very white, it's very monochrome,

kind of shabby chic. No?

Those words, "shabby chic", I actually get a pain in my heart.

-Right.

-Do you want to show me what you've got?

Oh, what is this?

Oh. It's white, it's distressed, it is hideous.

Anna, it's hideous.

No, I think it's quite sweet. I like the lining inside.

-I think...

-Sweet?

-And I like it.

-I don't do sweet.

You don't say?

When I get bossy I turn into an Afghan grandma.

I can feel that happening, I can feel Grandma rising.

I think there might be tears before the end of the day.

She just needs to take a step back,

look at our situation together as a co-room.

She just needs to remember that it's not just her room,

it's my room as well.

Actually it's Steve, Zoe and Jess's.

So both of you had better get it right.

At the other house, it's Lucy who's ahead on points.

I love it. Apart from Russell's mucky finger marks on it.

-Grr!

-SHE LAUGHS

You may love it, but the clients may not.

Ian hates red and Harjit detests wallpaper.

I chose red purely

because it's... The brief says that Harjit's favourite colour is red.

It's not my favourite colour.

I don't think there's anything red in my house,

or anywhere in my house.

I can't help noticing she's wearing red.

Graham may be on the ropes in this room design,

but he is still putting up a fight.

I have agreed to some of Lucy's wallpaper.

But I'm not going to give up on the grey on the walls as well,

because I think if we filled this room with too much white space

and large patterns, I really don't think Ian's going to get it

at all when he walks in.

But I think it will be tipping more in my favour

by the time we're finished.

Round two. Time for Graham to pull some punches.

I'd really like to see all of this kind of L-shape painted in the grey.

OK. Well, if we mix it up and make it a lot paler,

like dove grey, then...

How about a pigeon?

-Hate it.

-Lighter?

Hate it. It's just not going to go with the red.

-It's getting better.

-I'll add a tiny bit more.

See, I'm not sure.

I could live with the last one you did, perhaps.

Do the grey wall, but I just want it known

that I think it's an... ill-informed choice.

-DING-DING

-End of round two.

Lucy, go back to your red corner.

Graham, I think yours is the grey one.

We've had a little drama today between the two designers.

If they can't decide on paint colour,

what's it going to be like when they come to dressing the room?

I think there's going to be a bumpy road ahead.

I think I should buy a steam roller,

because there's a lot that needs smoothing out

back in Tamworth as well.

So this is the scaffold board cladding

that we're going to use on the cabinet. And what do you think,

-if we try and get that finish on the floor?

-Well, I like this,

but I actually would describe it as a bit like shabby chic.

I think this is nicely distressed,

the way that I like the shabby chic style.

I really glad you agree. But it is not shabby chic.

I concede it's distressed. Different word.

However, it's very nice. And we both like it. So spot on.

-Thumbs up.

-And I concede it will work with your shabby chic cabinet.

Very good, thank you very much.

I don't know about chic, but that's about as shabby as it gets.

Up the road at Steve's dad's house,

they're filling him in on the goings on.

Nadene has done the decoration scheme for our bedroom,

which is a bit of turn-of-the-century Parisian brothel

kind of a style.

And Anna did Jess's bedroom...

which is like a... a child's fridge magnet kind of a style.

I'm actually nervous about what's going to happen in the main room.

I just can't comprehend how the two styles will be put together.

Your designers, are they first-timers?

Yeah, they've only ever designed

rooms in their own properties before.

Anna's not an interior designer at all. She designs sets for theatre.

She's never designed somebody's house.

It's like going to a plumber for your toothache, isn't it?

Yeah.

Cheeky devil!

A plumber for your toothache sounds far less painful.

-MUSIC:

-Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys

When two designers work together in harmony,

it really is a sight to behold.

I'm pleased I'm getting more of my objects in now.

Nadene's backing down a little bit.

She's being more understanding that it's a joint room

and we're trying to share and balance our props.

That doesn't sound like the Nadene I know.

-I'm getting quite frustrated with Anna at the moment.

-That does.

We've got a few hours left and I feel like she's just trying

-to force her things into the room for the sake of it.

-Here we go.

And I think that is going to compromise the final design

and I'm really not very happy about it.

I'm a little bit worried because she's got a big smile on her face

and a big pen in her hand, and it's starting to creep into this room.

It didn't go down very well earlier in the week.

Let's just hope she reels it in a little bit and give us

something they're going to like this time.

'Miracles can happen.

'In Coventry, designers Lucy and Graham have both gone the distance,

'and I'm about to judge their finished room

'before the homeowners return.'

There's been battles of wills going on in this house

and I really do hope they've resolved this

and come up with a great design,

because the most important people here are Harjit and Ian,

not their egos.

At the beginning of the week,

the living/dining room was filled with Ian's beiges and browns,

with none of the vibrant colours or ornaments

that mean so much to Harjit.

Now the amateur designers have attempted to fuse

Harjit's love of colour with Ian's preference for more muted tones.

A storage wall provides a showcase

for Harjit's collection of ornaments.

And they've even added a bold patterned rug.

It's quite a transformation.

Is this one of Harjit's rugs?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

That was a clever move, wasn't it?

I believe I see the colour grey on the wall.

Quite a watered-down version, though.

It's called "compromise grey."

I think it just got a little bit heated

because we were so passionate about our vision.

Graham basically said, "I'm having it or I'm stopping."

Tools down, on strike.

But I have an 11-year-old, so I know how to deal with it.

HE LAUGHS

Who chose the red?

I did.

Did you choose the stripes as well?

I did, yeah.

It's a gamble, but it's Harjit's favourite colour.

I'm slightly concerned about Ian with the red. So much of it.

Let's just hope Ian doesn't have a fit. Off you go.

Thanks, Celia.

'Hopefully, these designers have done enough

'to fuse Ian and Harjit's cultural style differences.'

My absolute nightmare would be too much colour in the room,

too many ornaments.

Too over-fussy.

Hopefully we haven't got too much grey and there's no paper.

Too late now.

With the amateur designers hiding in the kitchen,

Harjit and Ian have no idea they're listening in.

Oh, wow!

Erm...

How different is this?

Oh, my God, paper.

I really like the African art, you know, the statues all there,

because they were hidden away before, you couldn't see them.

Yes, they were. And I'm not disappointed with that.

That's very nice, yeah. Yeah.

I'm still unsure about all of these cushions.

Ian, you've got to get used to cushions.

It's part of comfortable living.

It looks lovely. If you take them all off,

it's like having a glass of wine with no wine in it.

You can drink straight out the bottle, though.

Oh, that's dreadful.

Ian, what do you think about the red wallpaper?

I'm not over the moon about the wallpaper, to be fair.

But I like the way it's all tied in...

-Yeah.

-..throughout the whole downstairs.

It's very cleverly done.

It's... You haven't got the wallpaper all along the wall.

So it's a thumbs up, then, is it?

-It's... For me it's definitely a thumbs up.

-Yeah. And me.

Do you want to meet the designers? Because I think it's time you did.

-Yes, please.

-Yes, please.

OK. Come on in then, guys.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hello there.

Harjit and Ian have spent years disagreeing

over what they want in their home, and now it's a happy ending.

It's fantastic.

-It's made the kitchen look wider.

-I think so.

Well, it's not wide, but it does make it look wider.

Yeah, absolutely.

It's really strengthened my resolve to want to carry this on

and do something in the future.

In fact, Ian and Harjit are going to have my number

because they've got a hall and stairs to finish as well.

And I love the bedroom.

Oh, I'm glad. I'm glad.

It's really very relaxing.

-Good.

-Calming.

I can sit and do my yoga, meditation there, that sort of thing.

That's what I wanted.

I would love to do this every day of the week.

I could do it every day of the week.

It would be a dream for me to do it.

And by myself.

With no collaboration.

-Thank you very much for transforming our home.

-Yeah.

You're very welcome.

-It looks really fabulous.

-You like it?

-Yes.

-I do, yeah.

Such a relief. You've got no idea!

Both designers worked hard, both compromised,

so I think, because of the lack of storage in the kitchen,

it has to be Lucy that impressed me the most this week.

So I've got to ask you a key question here.

You took a risk, you put your home in their hands.

Was it worth it?

Yes, definitely.

That's a good result.

We like that.

I mean, it's opened my eyes to the fact

that you can have colour in a room.

But it's still nice and clean and liveable.

We'll be having more social gatherings,

all the family coming back in.

Friends coming in.

I won't have to make excuses this time.

And, of course, it's not over yet.

In Tamworth, the Daleys' home is still in the hands of amateurs.

Nadene and Anna need to hurry up and finish,

because I'm on my way and these two have got a lot to prove.

We want this room, the joint room, to be a hub of the home,

to be where everyone wants to hang out,

to be where all three parties of that family are happy.

No more Jess being embarrassed bringing her friends back.

Let's hope this has worked.

At the beginning of the week, the Daleys' living room

was little more than a shell,

with bare plaster walls and tired furniture.

Nadene and Anna have reinvented it as a clean and bright,

shabby chic space with a Moroccan fairground flavour.

The walls have been painted white

and decorated with Anna's framed illustrations.

The dark brown sofas have been ditched in favour of light leather.

And the television's been hidden inside a circus-themed storage unit.

-So we've got a bit of shabby chic in here, haven't we?

-No.

I think a little bit's come in.

And Anna, obviously I can see there's a little bit of squiggling

going on around the room.

And these art pieces, I presume are yours.

Yeah, they're mine.

So you feel, both of you girls, that it was 50-50 on the design, do you?

I do. I do think so.

Maybe I would say it's 60-40 now. But I'm happy with that.

-But you've got the 60, I presume.

-Yeah.

You would have been happier then, if you'd got more?

I would have been happy with 80-20, yeah.

Well, all in all, I think it looks really much better in here.

This area's well used.

I quite like the art work.

I think it shows a bit of personality from you, which is good.

And generally it looks clean and airy and a nice room. So...

Off you go.

Thank you very much.

Steve, Zoe and Jess were sick of living in an unfinished house.

But so far only Zoe has been completely happy

with the amateurs' work.

It's now crucial that this last room is right for the whole family.

It's us again!

Love it. Absolutely love it.

So do I.

I like the boxy thing.

Yeah.

Oh, wow! I like him.

No, I like what's been done there.

-Yeah. I like that.

-Yeah.

-All of it.

-I like how there's bits of, like, Anna in it.

-Yeah.

Like with the drawn flowers and stuff.

-I love these. They're fantastic.

-Yeah.

Spot the family portrait.

THEY LAUGH

Oh, Steve. She got your hair perfect.

There's nothing in here that I don't like.

-Yeah. Same with me.

-Absolutely nothing.

So it's been quite a turnaround really, hasn't it?

Because none of you could agree on what you wanted,

-so nothing was ever done. And now you all like it.

-Yeah.

Which is quite a... It's a good result, isn't it?

I think it's amazing.

We've never had anything that we've agreed on.

And Jess, you're smiling now.

This is exactly what I wanted.

Like, from a living room.

With some things that I didn't expect, but I really, really like.

-And would you bring your friends round now?

-Definitely.

Yeah, so you're not going to be embarrassed

-bringing them in here, are you?

-No. Obviously not.

Well, would you like to meet the two designers

that created this space for you?

-Yes, please.

-I think we should.

Come on in, girls.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

What a fabulous result. We've now got a happy family.

They're all delighted and now they can enjoy it like a family should.

Thank you so much. Seriously, thank you, it's amazing.

You've made such a difference.

To see the big beaming smile on Zoe's face, it just meant the world.

I really want to be doing a lot more designing in future.

-Jess, now you meet Anna. Anything to say to each other?

-I'm so sorry.

I'm really, really sorry that I didn't like it.

It's just it wasn't to my taste.

But saying that, your talent is so incredible.

-Oh, thanks.

-It really is fantastic.

-Oh, thank you.

'I really want to push my interior design

'and develop possibly fabric design, curtains or wallpaper.'

You know, just explore it a little bit more. So I'm excited.

Nadene has definitely impressed me the most.

She got the brief right to the T.

So well done to her.

You took a risk, you put your home in their hands.

Was it worth it?

-Yes.

-100%.

-Absolutely.

-Definitely.

-Well done.

-This room is one of the nicest I have ever, ever seen,

ever in my life.

Now we have somewhere we can be together.

It's a place we can be proud of.

Yeah, absolutely. No more isolation for the Daleys.