Must Watch TV: The Great Interior Design Challenge on Netflix

I have to admit, I think most current design shows are just a little boring. I know this is taboo to say, but it seems like many shows, like Fixer Upper, have become too personality-driven and focused too much on the reality stars of that particular show. Maybe because I like to do a lot of projects myself, I prefer to see more educational tips and tricks or exposure to different styles and techniques. That is why I have adored watching The Great Interior Design Challenge on Netflix.

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A Design Competition that Puts the Emphasis on Design

The Great Interior Design Challenge is a BBC 2 show (available on Netflix) in which 16 amateur designers compete to win a place in the finale. Even though it is a competition show, the producers have approached it in a smart way. They divided the 16 designers into four groups of four. The people in each group only compete against each other to win a spot in the finale. This allows the viewers to really get a sense of each designer’s style and to get an in-depth view of their process. Each episode takes place in a different architecturally-significant area of Great Britain and the designers are given similar rooms to work in but they work to the specifications of different clients so each design can vary radically.

The designers are then judged by the two hosts of the show, professional designers Sophie Robinson and Daniel Hopwood. Each contestant is scored for their presentation of the design board and ideas to their client. They are then judged based on their overall design execution and the final input from the client. Each designer is also given an item to repurpose and they are scored by how well they transformed the object and integrated it into their final design.

Mixing Classic British Architecture with Contemporary Design

The show does feature colorful (some extremely so) personalities, but it also does a good job of exposing viewers to design expertise and the history of British architecture. The presenter of the series, Tom Dyckhoff, is an architecture expert and he takes time out of each episode to exuberantly detail the history and architectural style of the area in which they are working.

Because of our experience renovating an old house, I was baffled by how designers would be working in a 500-year-old house and not give a second thought to painting the walls bright blue or hurriedly refinishing the floors. It made me feel much bolder about changes we might make to our 100-year-old house. Heck, it makes our house seem modern in comparison.

Because designers are working in such classic settings, you also get exposed to styles that you don’t see much of in the States. For instance, the Georgian style (dated from 1714 to 1830 during the reign of Kings George I, II, III, and IV) seemed to be a popular design style in the show. Even though we do have a bit of it in the U.S., it’s not something we get a lot of exposure to. There were quite a bit of these less-than-common styles (at least in America) that were fun to see covered in the show (my surprising favorite being Traditional Swedish Country . . . who knew?).

 

Practical Tips and Design Ideas

I really enjoyed the fact that the show exposed me to so many different techniques, applications, and even color palettes. Because they featured such a wide array of designers and design styles, you got to see extremely unique design ideas and style interpretations. The show also created a couple of spin-off books that captured these design ideas. They used case studies from the show to highlight good design practices. I think they’d be good if you ever felt stumped as a designer. I might give a look at my local library for these once Summer rolls around and I finally get some free time to read.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed the Great Interior Design Challenge and highly recommend you check it out. Sadly, there is only one season available on Netflix at the moment (season 3 oddly enough), but I hope that they will stream other seasons in the future. You can also watch it on Amazon with their Inside Outside Home and Garden television subscription.