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Wales Online
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
BBC Interior Design Masters fans shocked as series underdog takes title with stunning Welsh design
BBC Interior Design Masters fans shocked as series underdog takes title with stunning Welsh design Viewers and celebrities on social media shocked at the winning decision in the final of this popular programme John Cooper's design perfectly captured the essence of Portmeirion and now he hopes his unexpected win on Interior Design Masters 2025 will inspire his pupils (Image: BBC / Banijay ) With the latest series of popular BBC property programme, Interior Design Masters, over viewers were surprised by the outcome after a finale that saw contestants make over a Welsh property. Hosted by comedian Alan Carr and judged by Michelle Ogundehin, plus a famous guest judge every week, Interiror Design Masters features 10 novice designers tackling various 'real world' commercial and residential design challenges, with one being awarded 'outstanding space' and one being sent home at the end of each episode. In the latest series, as well as the chance to learn and grow in confidence, showcase their talent and increase their profile, the designers were fighting it out to be crowned Interior Design Master 2025 for the prize of creating their own John Lewis homeware collection, due to launched Friday, May 30 2025. For more home and property content sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here READ MORE: This is the best kitchen in Wales YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Inside the amazing colourful house named one of the best in Wales Head judge Michelle Ogundehin, finalist John Cooper, comedian and presenter Alan Carr, and finalist Rita Millat (Image: BBC / Banijay ) The 10 became two - Rita Millat and John Cooper - who were each given the brief in the grand final of transforming a holiday cottage in the enchanting north Wales village of Portmeirion, a magical place designed by legendary architect Clough Williams-Ellis as a slice of Italy on the Welsh coast that has become a popular destination for tourists as well as known as the backdrop for the cult 1960s TV show The Prisoner. Two cottages in Portmeirion were about to get a transformation (Image: BBC / Banijay ) Four times on the sofa of shame - reserved for the two lesser designs with the designer deemed to have the worst scheme booted off the show - John was surely the underdog with most viewers settling down on their own sofas with a brew to watch the final. His time management was called into question on numerous occasions with rooms left unfinished. But still, over the course of the series John was seen developing his skills and his creative thinking and epic stand-out features were beginning to break through. The living space in John's cottage is full of colour (Image: BBC / Banijay ) In the final Rita's design for her cottage was muted, calm and cocooning, looking out towards the landscape of mountains and water, but John's looked towards the colour, pattern and quirkiness of Portmeirion that is truly unique and visually distinctive. John explained the design for his cottage was all about referencing the colours and vibrancy of the village. Having learnt from his mistakes about time and budget management through the series, the 47-year-old DT teacher from Stockport, Greater Manchester, planned to paint the kitchen units and use stick on transfers over the dated tiles, as the maximum spend for this make-over was only £6,500. Sunny yellow dining room (Image: BBC / Banijay ) His design combined a palette of sunny yellow, fresh cobalt blue and striking red on the ground floor of the cottage, with John cleverly using the blue as an accent in every room to visually tie the spaces together, creating a relationship between the rooms and a seamless visual flow. Upstairs the main bedroom became calmer, with the cobalt blue the accent to a mostly white space and a gorgeous shade of aqua chosen for the window frames, creating the perfect way to frame the incredible waterside view without distracting from it. Makeover of kitchen in John's cottage low on cost but high on impact (Image: BBC / Banijay ) The second bedroom was memorable for its delicious combination of a warm shade of pink-toned terracotta with the cobalt blue as an accent, and visually lifted by the use of a cute ditsy print. Time could have killed John's design yet again, as the wallpaper from company Mind The Gap was coming from Transylvania, which kind of seemed perfectly quirky for a project at this most unusual location. Luckily for John, it arrived on the final day and was the visual key that unlocked the overall cohesion of his design. The wallpaper almost didn't make it on time but was key as it ties the whole colour palette in John's cottage together (Image: BBC / Banijay ) Guest judge for the final was the queen of minimalism, colour and pattern, Sophie Robinson who said: "I want to feel completely transported,' she told the finalists. 'This isn't home from home; this is about going somewhere magical. It's all about dreaming big. I want to see all the colour, all the passion, that can match the energy and wonder of the rest of the village." Michelle decided each week who goes home based on the particular project and fulfilment of the brief for that episode and not on the bank of designs already created through the series, and on that point John was felt to have perfectly encapsulated the essence of the village and was announced the winner. The bedroom is fresh and restful to let the view be the main feature (Image: BBC / Banijay ) Michelle explained the winning choice, she said: "The key of this brief was to capture the essence of this incredible, magical, mystical place and John did that using colour, pattern and texture and design." Viewers on social media had a mixed reaction with many shocked that the underdog had secured the win. Even celebrity viewers were caught out, with popular comedian and actress Jenny Eclair saying, 'Not who I had my money on, but definitely who I thought should win tonight - excellent job'. Terracotta and cobalt blue is a winning Mediterranean inspired combination in John's second bedroom (Image: BBC / Banijay ) Some expressed annoyance that Rita had been more consistent through the series with designs that had impressed, with one saying, 'Gutted Rita didn't win Interior Design Masters. She was consistently head & shoulders above everyone else week after week'. John chose past contestant Craig to help him in the final (Image: BBC / Banijay ) Some viewers thought that Craig, who wasn't even in the final, should have been the overall winner, with one saying, 'Still disagree Craig wasn't in the final ! Did great through out the series! Craig winner of this series!' But in the end the majority of viewers on X agreed with Michelle, that John had nailed the Portmeirion brief, with one saying, 'Yeah Johns design was perfect for that location, Rita's was nice but it was totally wrong for Portmeirion' and another commenting, ' Having stayed in a few of the cottages at Portmeirion over the past 16 years, I can say that John's cottage is exactly what I would expect to see. It was really bl**dy good'. Rita and John wait to find out who is announced the winner (Image: BBC / Banijay ) On winning Interior Design Masters 2025 John said: "My ambition is boundless right now, there's so much that I want to do and this feels like the first step. I've actually done it, I'm an interior designer, oh my goodness! This is life-changing, it changes everything." He went on to tell House Beautiful: "Every week after the show, my sixth-form students would give me a mini-breakdown of my performance, including what they liked and what they didn't. My form, Year Eight, would tease me and say, 'You were on the sofa again.' Article continues below DT teacher John hopes his win will inspire his pupils (Image: BBC / Banijay ) "What's been most surprising, though, is that some of the school's more challenging kids have clearly got wind of it [Interior Design Masters]. They'd be like, 'nice one, sir, I watched that programme you were on.' Hopefully it's helped them see that whatever the setbacks, if you really want to do something, go ahead and do it." For more home content, including products, join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Who is in Interior Design Masters season 6?
Alan Carr's Interior Design Masters is back on BBC with a whole collection of new designers hoping to impress the notoriously tough judge Michelle Ogundehin. From a farmer's daughter to a sexual health charity development manager and a teacher born with a limb difference, there are 10 new faces to get to know on Interior Design Masters over the coming weeks. Former travel adviser Roisin Quinn was crowned the Interior Design Master winner, beating Matt Smith-Wood to the title in the final last year. This year the novice designers are competing for the winner's enviable prize — to team up with John Lewis for their very own collection of homewares. The first episode of Interior Design Masters sees the contestants head to Lake District to show off their skills. Now it's time to meet the designers! Who is on Interior Design Masters 2025? (BBC) Age: 33 Location: Brighton Occupation: Interior Design Student and model Style: Fresh romantic A fresh interiors graduate, Ayisha is just starting out as a professional designer. But she has been a model from the age of three years old. The designer has walked catwalks all over the world from London to Milan and New York City. She has set her heart on having her own design studio working on commercial spaces for clients in the UK and internationally. At home she lives in Brighton with her husband and her two children. Age: 25 Location: Liverpool Occupation: Social media executive Style: Colourful playful At 25 years old, Bradley is the youngest taking part in Interior Design Masters this year. Still living at home with his parents, the social media executive uses their home as an interior design canvas. He has redecorated a bedroom for Mother's Day and completed a freshly painted mural on the living room wall, often sharing his designs on social media. Bradley has also helped out on projects for his friends. The designer has set his hopes on launching his own design studio. Age: 36 Location: Surrey Occupation: Homewears retailer Style: Earthy organic Briony already has an interiors and lifestyle brand with her partner, who she met at the Brit School, and they opened a few shops. She is in charge of the creative elements of the business including visual merchandising. The lifestyle guru has fallen in love with the idea of becoming an interior designer after her friend suggested she redecorate her bedroom. The dream would complement her life perfectly as she wants to be at home more with her two young sons and the business with her partner has moved online. Age: 58 Occupation: Giftware designer Style: Retro vintage Craig first started his career as a chef in London but now he wants to serve up interior designs. His career took a turn into the creative industry when he went to art college where he studied Fine Art and went onto become a freelance display prop maker for high end department stores. Now he owns his own kitsch homewares shop in Clapham, plus he works as the head designer for a gift and homewares importer. Craig has a great sense of fun. On New Year's Eve he throws a fabulous Cabaret inspired party and transforms into his drag queen alter ego Coco Canal. Age: 53 Location: North Wales Occupation: Art and textiles teacher Design style: Bougie Boho Emma was born with limb difference but growing up her dad taught her to believe that she could achieve anything she wanted. After studying textiles at university, the mum-of-three went onto become an arts and textiles teacher. Making the most of her skills, Emma has transformed the school staff room and designed her own home as well as those of her closest friends. Age: 27 Location: Glasgow Occupation: Development manager at a sexual health charity Style: Nature and organic inspired Ese works in strategy and promotion for a sexual health charity in Glasgow after completing a masters in Public Health. Thanks to UK design shows, the contestant has rediscovered his passion of interior design and was inspired to apply. Ese has always had a love of fashion design and ran a clothing business on the side when he lived in Nigeria, where he was born. Moving to the UK, he was able to follow his design dreams as he has a Diploma in Interior Design and has enrolled at university to study for an Interior Design degree. Age: 26 Location: Salford Occupation: Fabric designer Style: 70s beach house Holly is a small business owner with an eye for sixties and seventies interior designs. She drives a 1969 Sprite Alpine C caravan which she has named Flea after the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist. The surfer has designed the interior of her caravan and now she's in the process of completely renovating her home. In the future, Holly would love to design caravans and take her fabric designs to the next level as a career. Age: 46 Location: Stockport Occupation: DT Teacher Style: Graphic bohemian John retrained as a Design & Technology teacher when he started a family with his wife in Stockport. His DIY skills and interior passion came in handy when renovating their Victorian doer upper. Of course, his DIY skills will make him a formidable contestant on the BBC show. The teacher is on Interior Design Masters to follow his dreams of becoming a professional interior designer. His love of design goes back to his childhood when he would watch Changing Rooms with his mum and then help her redecorate their house. Age: 42 Location: Lancaster Occupation: Visual merchandising consultant Design style: Rustic textural On the side of her job as a artist and illustrator, Rita runs female empowerment art workshops and advises women on their wardrobe. She spent her childhood moving between Iraq, Cyprus and Lebanon before finally coming to the UK in 2006, where she lives on a farm outside Lancaster. The countryside is something that can always be found in Rita's designs. Already she has redesigned several rooms in a Lake District B&B and transformed a house into a pub. The designer can often be found in her local antique shop looking for her next treasure. Age: 31 Location: Glasgow Occupation: Project director Style: Contemporary luxe Victoria may be a farmer's daughter but she has a love of living in the city in Glasgow. Growing up she worked on a dairy farm with animals, tractors and spending her summer milking cows. Her love of interiors was ignited by her mum who redesigned their family farmhouse. She has become affectionately known as the arty farty one in the family and has competed nationally in Young Farmers handicraft competitions.
