IDM 5 Episode Five

Off we went to Sheffield, where our five remaining designers were tasked with making rental apartments work hard for a young professional clientele.

With eloquent, expert guest judge Shayne Brady

Back to working solo, our designers had the ante right royally upped with a brief to design and decorate a whole apartment. Less big ‘design’ moves required though than the need to personalise these functional but blank spaces into places that young professionals could call home. Think loads of clever ideas to take away then!

Key challenges: do you work with the given rental furniture or use a chunk of the budget to replace it? How do you maximise the views in a small space? Also zoning, no, yes, and if so how? How to accommodate working from home so that it doesn't feel like you’re living at work. How to introduce elements that can be easily removed. And can you complete it all in two days with a camera crew in !your face!

It must be said as we head towards the quarter finals that all of our designers work incredibly hard. It is seriously full on receiving a new brief every fortnight, ordering, designing, making, and then building, painting, constructing all while being filmed and constantly interrupted. Not to forget, being away from home, partners and kids for each week they’re working on location. Lord knows I get exhausted and break out in pimples, and I’m not doing even half of what they do!

So hats off to them all for making it this far. And for having the gumption to throw their hats into the ring in the first place. Major respect due.

PS If you’re thinking of applying to be a part of Season 6, the deadline is Sunday 14th April by midnight! Link via @interiordesignmasters on Instagram.

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PS For my fast-track, How to Become an Interior Designer ‘course’ see my notes on Season 4, back a year, right here on Substack (which will be behind the paywall unless you’re a subscriber). You can find quick links to every S4 episode via my website here.

IDM Alumni

Monika Charchula stole the show in Season 4, pipping fellow finalist, the lovely Jack Kinsey to the post, with a design for a Brighton pub that was bold, brave, original and bang en pointe for the brief. As a testament to how well-received it was, her design is still standing exactly as conceived. But what did she do next?

Her speciality was always bespoke finishes, a Gothic vibe and custom furniture paint work. Having already been a ‘Painter in Residence’ for Annie Sloan, the time was now to go it alone and set up her own studio. Originally from Poland, Monika now calls Nottingham her home, saying, "I feel like it's a city with a lot of culture and there's a lot of alternative culture as well, which is totally my vibe."

Her prize was to design a cocktail bar for The Cocktail Club on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue, and she certainly didn't disappoint.

The Cocktail Bar, Shaftesbury Avenue, London designed by Monica Charchula

Behind the scenes

Shayne is so fantastically eloquent, positive and jolly he makes judging an absolute breeze! Hs’s also so lovely that I don’t really have any gossip about him. Plus this episode was a touch whirlwind to be honest. I was up to Sheffield on the silly o’clock morning train, in, out, ran all about, and then straight back on the train to Brighton ready for the sofa scenes the next day. We hardly got to chatty chat aka gossip at all.

Oh but I do remember taking the gentle piss out of him for his Athlesiure wear. What no suit said I? This is Interior Design Masters! It was all quality designer garb though, cashmere and everything.

Episode 5 Interior Design Masters

Wardrobe Notes

In the studio: pink coat/jacket with flared sleeves by Chiarulli from Yoox. Denim jumpsuit by Alice + Olivia Jeans, also from Yoox, several seasons ago. Shoes: pink patent Jimmy Choos, as previously.

Wallpaper by former IDM finalist Amy Davies re-coloured exclusively for us to match our Graphenstone paint palette.

On location: Sustainable cotton jeans from Albaray as previously; white cotton t-shirt by European Culture, from the Sirene Boutique in Brighton. White bouclé jacket, absolutely ancient from The White Company. Trainers, the usual — they are my signature footwear!