Original subtitles

It's been a long road to the semifinal,

and I'm sure our designers are desperate to kick back

and have a little bit of TLC,

but we're one challenge away from the final

and now is the time to pull out all the stops.

Oh!

It's luxury Holiday Lodges.

Welcome to Interior Design Masters.

I should advertise Jacuzzis...

Ten aspiring designers competing for one life-changing contract

to transform a luxury hotel apartment in Cornwall.

Margate, scream!

Last time... Oh!

..the designers took on cafes.

Whack her up. OK. Now we're talking.

While Banjo and Paul were soaking up the Caribbean...

That's just genius.

..Amy and Fran went head-to-head.

I don't have time to do it.

OK, we'll just leave it.

But it was Fran who conceded defeat...

Which one of you should go?

I didn't finish the bar.

Go and smash it.

GULLS CRY

It's the semifinals

and for the three top talents of the competition

things have never been tighter.

Semifinals, baby!

Yeah, new day, new challenge.

It doesn't matter what I've done in the past - got to bring it.

So, Michelle said last week that it needs to be less about me,

which is quite hard!

Last week was so tough being on the couch again,

but I'm just so excited to see what Michelle has in store.

Hi, guys. Hi, Alan. Hello.

It's the final three. I feel like I'm in a dream.

A dream? It was a nightmare.

THEY LAUGH

Listen, last week, it was so tense.

It was, very. There was a bit of a dilemma with you.

One week you're told don't do your wallpaper. Uh-huh.

But it's what you're really good at.

Are you going to do wallpaper this week?

Do you know what I'm going to read the brief really thoroughly

and see if it's warranted?

It's that balance of being "too me" and then not enough me,

so I need to get Goldilocks in the middle. Yeah, that's right.

And what about you? She wants less of you.

I know! Was that a bit insulting?

THEY LAUGH

I do know what she... How do you take that?

I do know what she means. It's got to have more depth

and more meaning, not just my taste.

And what about you, teacher's pet?

Oh, Banjo, is your head getting too big?

No way, I'll leave that to Paul.

THEY LAUGH

No, I just want to keep pushing myself as well

so I know she's got high expectations from me.

Well, that's a pressure in itself, isn't it? That is.

Oh, hello. Oh, hi. Hi.

Wow, look at that -

you've come dressed as my favourite Quality Street!

Hello, everyone.

Well, I have a little treat for you.

We are off to the glorious Cotswolds

to check out some luxury lakeside holiday homes.

Fancy!

The designers must transform the open-plan interior

and terrace of three lakeside holiday lodges.

Each lodge has a different brief, one aimed at families,

another at friends planning a celebration,

and finally, a nautical lodge targeting water sports enthusiasts.

There's a lot at stake here.

This is about earning a place in the final.

So, bring together everything that you have learned

in the last few challenges

and show me some interior design mastery,

not just decoration, savvy shopping or styling.

And, as you know, there's only two spots left

and, sadly, at the end of the week, we will be losing one of you.

So, good luck, enjoy the Cotswolds.

Thank you. Thanks.

Oh, my God. Cotswolds, here we come!

It's quite frightening that it's the whole area plus the terrace.

I need to just get my head into it and figure out a plan.

Every week you have to bring it,

and now would be the worst possible time to stumble.

I could win. I could win. I have thought about it.

And now, as I'm this far, I want to win.

Another deceptively difficult brief, Michelle.

They sort of looked frazzled last week with everything.

It's getting more and more difficult, isn't it?

What I've seen before is that these guys are really struggling slightly

when they have a theme,

and the mistake Paul and Amy have made,

"If I'm on holiday in this retreat what would I like?" Yeah.

And that's the final bit that those two have really,

really got to work out this time.

I'm not being funny, Michelle,

but Banjo's coming across as teacher's pet.

Yeah, he is doing well, so he hasn't had as much feedback. No.

He could get complacent. Yeah.

That would be a very dangerous thing to do at this level.

Do you want them to have a bit of Cotswolds in there

or will that be a bit cliched? What do you reckon?

No, it's got to be about the place.

I mean, the Cotswolds has its own natural palate.

This beautiful stone that's from there,

the kind of gorgeous woods. I would expect them to reflect that.

What do you look for when you're at a luxury lodge?

Service. I expect, you know. Oh.

"Alan! Drink, please."

Oh, yes, madam. Coming up.

Cerney Wick in the heart of the Cotswolds water park.

Well, this is fancy.

Luxury lodges by the lake.

Each designer has just two days and a budget of £2,500.

Oh, my goodness.

Man, it's huge.

To transform the kitchen...

That's a lot of kitchen to paint.

..and open-plan living dining area

complete with a double height ceiling...

I only have a van full of stuff to fill this, including a sofa.

So, I've got a little bar that will go under here.

I'm mildly freaking out that I don't have enough stuff to fill it.

..and furniture that can be kept or cleared...

So, I'm recovering the sofas in an unbleached natural linen.

And if that wasn't enough...

Oh, it's big, way bigger than I thought.

..there's also a lakeside terrace.

Oh, I think it's cool.

As always, the designers have help

in the shape of a builder and a decorator.

I've got quite big lists for both of you.

I'm just getting my binoculars in focus, guys,

so we can start the meeting cos my eyesight is getting really bad.

So, this is where I'm putting my canoedelier.

What? My canoedelier, it's a canoe chandelier.

You ever hung a canoedelier before?

No, but there's a first for everything!

I want to put some personality into it

and my brief is like adventure and family and fun and colour.

I wanted to keep it subtle and everything this week

cos we're in a beautiful chic space,

so I'm painting the kitchen bright yellow!

THEY LAUGH

Aiming for a family friendly lodge, Banjo's bright yellow kitchen

will sit beside a living area clad with green panelled walls

and dressed with vintage sport equipment.

He's keeping the rest of the walls white

but replacing the living and dining room furniture,

adding a games table, under-stair storage,

and his canoedelier light fitting.

Finally, I admitted last week that I want to be in the final

and, you know, maybe win it.

That's hard for me cos I do have massive confidence issues.

And then actually have to deliver to make that dream come true,

that is terrifying cos it's a long way down if you fall.

A few doors away...

I'm working with the furniture, so I'm keeping the sofas.

I'm keeping the dining table.

I'm keeping the bare bones of the kitchen.

You can work with them.

Why get rid of them to replace them with something else?

..for his luxury nautical brief...

Right, beautiful.

..Paul's invested in authentic natural materials

and marine objet d'art, aiming to layer up his lodge.

Usually, I'm so well planned

and I have everything down to the last detail.

But what I've done this time is, literally, arrived with

a load of beautiful stuff, natural timber, Cotswold stone.

I've spent more time sourcing materials

and actually feeling materials in my hands as opposed to planning.

These are going to be my door handles.

For the first time I'm slightly apprehensive

because there's decisions I've still yet to make

with all my beautiful materials,

about what I'm going to do with them.

To do that in the semifinals is a risk.

Looking to bring the lakeside inside,

Paul's adding a splashback made from limestone,

raw wood cladding, decorative oak panels,

and marine rope handles in the kitchen.

He's keeping and recovering the existing sofas,

but dressing the area with luxury Cotswold fabrics

and stoneware.

Under the stairs will be storage with vintage oar handles,

and he's creating a feature light by suspending a coracle boat

from the ceilings using yachting pulleys.

It's a different one for me because it is life by the lake.

So, there's quite a few playful references that I've brought in

to really just enhance that narrative.

But I am trusting my instincts now.

It's going to be very, very chic.

If you were on the water,

this is what you would be doing.

HE LAUGHS

Next door...

You want me to get this brush in there?

Ideally, I'd like it covered and I think it's possible,

You can do it. You would say that cos you're the designer.

I believe in you, Gareth. OK.

With a brief to create a chic celebration space

for a group of friends,

this week, Amy's left the bold colours at home.

The colour palette is basically muted

and by painting the frames black it then frames your view.

I'll give you a little back hander if you do it quicker for me.

No probs.

The brief here is modern and contemporary

and quite grown up, of which I am probably none of.

So, it's quite out with my normal style,

it's quite pared back so I'm a bit scared

about not being in my comfort zone, but I need to make it work

and it needs to fit the brief.

I think that's what Michelle's looking for the most.

Fighting her instinct for colour,

Amy's chosen a pared back scheme of black woodwork,

white walls with accents of honey limestone and raw wood.

She's the only designer switching the lodge's layout,

swapping the dining and living room,

replacing the furniture,

and adding faux foliage feature lights.

She's cleaning up the terrace with a jet wash

and adding a scaffold plank bar to encourage alfresco entertaining.

A cocktail bar goes under the stairs along with bespoke wallpaper,

and another bar added to the kitchen,

repainted in her monochrome scheme.

Biggest worry is that the end product

just conveys the message that I want it to.

So I think it's just about making sure that all of the things

that I'm putting in there actually work.

But, like, it's really different when you get here

so I don't know whether I'll have to change my plans a little bit.

In the Family Lodge...

Oh, my God. That is way brighter.

That is not the yellow, is it?

..Banjo's getting a first look

at his bold colour choice for the kitchen.

That's going to be a lot of yellow.

Are you having doubts? Yeah.

Do it! Do it! Do it!

I hope I haven't picked the wrong week to kind of just

do something a little bit different.

Right, here we go.

Bye-bye, mushroom cupboard door

and hello, yellow.

Oh, I don't even want to see it on.

Terrified.

Oh, look at this, in the Cotswolds bobbing along on a lake.

I'm feeling the need...

..the need for speed.

Oh, yeah, baby! Now we're talking.

Woohoo!

God, I'm such an adrenaline junkie.

Woo!

Let's get to these luxury lodges.

I want to see some top design.

Ship ahoy!

Oh, I feel sea sick.

Amy, Amy! Hi, Alan. How are you?

What are you doing, jet washing?

You've got a luxury lodge to design!

Oh, God, I don't know. There's so many jobs on my list.

But I've also got a terrace to make luxury as well.

Now, last week in your cafe,

people commented on your salmony pinks. Yeah.

So what's going on inside, then?

I am playing it much safer this week in terms of colour palette.

I've picked honey limestone of the Cotswolds,

and then it's all neutrals

So you've not really taken any risks? No risks with colour. No.

It's going to be chic, sophisticated, grown-up,

all of which I am not. So why have you toned it all down, then?

Well, it's what the brief requires

and I feel like I'm trying to listen to Michelle.

So do you feel the pressure is on?

Yeah, there's a lot of pressure so I need to do well.

Well, listen, I'll leave you to it, but you know with the jet wash?

My Mini Metro could do with a zhuzh.

I parked under a tree last night and the birds have gone to town.

See you, Alan. Thanks. Bye. See you. Bye, love.

While both Amy and Banjo's kitchens

are undergoing dramatic transformations,

Paul's taking a more subtle and naturally inspired approach.

Cotswold Stone is going to go here

and then change all the handles to rope handles.

This is a very nice fitted kitchen.

It's a really nice colour, this putty colour.

The colours that I'm working with are very natural,

so I decided to keep the colour of the kitchen.

But I've chosen to change the handles.

Now is the time to burn rope.

This is an old sailing technique.

It creates an actual seal at the end of the rope

so it won't fray.

Now, I've got 19 of these

so I need to get a production line going.

It's going to take forever. So...

Oh, BLEEP!

And then things like that happen.

That's bloody stupid.

Banjo! Hello.

Wow! Good wow?

I think so.

Now, why have you gone for this yellow?

Cos there's all different kinds of yellow.

This is quite Big Bird from Sesame Street.

I'm not 100% jazzed with the colour.

But you know what? The clock was ticking,

I made a call, I'm sticking with it. Yeah.

And it matches your shirt. They're all my colours.

I'm a walking mood board! You are.

What kind of family likes this, then?

The Griswolds. The Griswolds?

Yeah, you know the '80s film. Oh, National Lampoon! Yeah.

I mean, they're a zany, crazy family.

They wreak havoc where they go.

It's the Griswolds do the Cotswolds!

And also, Banjo... Yeah?

HE WHISPERS: ..you've got a canoe in your lounge.

Where's that going? That's hanging up there.

It's going to fill the whole space,

and I just hope it doesn't fall.

Yeah.

That's what I want Michelle to do! I don't get it!

But it's really heavy. How are you going to keep it up?

Just little, tiny wires.

It could fall and kill Michelle.

Well...

..it's a risk I'm willing to take.

I'm going to go now because I feel... Yeah, please.

..I'm actually affecting your confidence. You have, yeah. Bye.

I'm going now. I'm not saying another word!

In Amy's Lodge...

Shall I talk you through the bar design? Yeah.

..with her toned-down colour scheme coming on...

So, basically it's going to be this scaffolding

waterfall edge type thing. Yeah.

Just so it covers over the edge here.

Are you all right there? Yeah. Oh, it's a long one.

..Amy's adding in a rustic wood accent

using that most chic of materials,

scaffold planks.

I've never used scaffolding planks before,

never built a bar before,

never really reconfigured a space in that way.

I've not really mixed it up.

So then we'll leave it in here

and then I'll do a bit of a stain or a wax on it. Yeah.

There's always an element of nerves cos it's a massive space

and we've got one carpenter and one decorator.

Halfway through the day, and the semifinalists

are keeping a close eye on their competition.

Being in the final three is like...

..definitely is more intense

and everyone's got a bit of a game face on.

This is mine.

I'm nervous. They didn't come here to play.

Like, they are doing some cool stuff.

There's three talented individuals left in the competition,

so there's no reason why I can't win.

What is it? It's my canoedelier.

Your "canoodle ear"?

It's a chandelier crossed with a canoe. Oh, I see! Canoedelier.

I'm doing a coracle. It's a round boat.

You're doing a boat? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, a battle of the boats.

It is going to be battle of the boats.

Paul is putting some kind of vessel on his roof.

May the best man win,

but mine's a 14-foot canoe.

They will read very differently, I know they will,

because they're different pieces,

but he hasn't got marine pulleys either.

HE LAUGHS

Paul! Oh, hi, Alan.

Hello, love. What are you doing?

So I'm cladding.

This piece of timber here is kiln-dried aged oak,

and, essentially, that panel is going to go here

and then the island at the front has got a huge piece.

It's going to look like a raft. It is, yeah.

Great outdoors. It's going to be immersive, Alan. Oh, I see, yes!

I'm treating it kind of like wooden sculptures.

Almost like, you'd go into a gallery

and you'd see a sculpture on a wall. Yeah.

So that's my zhuzh on the kitchen.

And tell us about this. This is very Swedish.

I'm thinking ABBA. I'm thinking IKEA.

That wasn't the reference when I came.

I wanted to do this natural timber wall,

bringing the outdoors in.

I really wanted to soften the kind of language

of the building with all these natural textures.

You can run your hands along that and it's like velvet.

You won't be saying that if you get a massive splinter.

No, it's all been sanded and buffed.

Oh, has it? Oh, good, good, good. Sounds like me.

I'm going to be Devil's advocate. Yeah?

Is there too much wood in here?

Can you see the wood for the trees?

I can see the wood for the trees. Yeah.

This is kind of the foundations,

what you're seeing at the moment. Yeah.

Once all the soft furnishings go in... I see.

I've got beautiful Cotswold wool.

It's got to be a sanctuary and a haven.

That's through texture and fabrics.

It's going to look amazing. I can't wait. Oh, lovely.

See you later, love. Thanks, Alan.

All right, Paul?

Oh, beautiful.

That's gorgeous.

Yeah, loving your work.

While Paul has splashed out on real timber...

# Ah! #

Magic.

..Banjo's doing something similar with MDF.

I'm loving the panelling.

I think it was a very simple, cost-effective way

to bring some depth and add something extra to the room.

So I'm really chuffed with it.

I don't know if the green's right now.

The saga continues.

I'm just trying to make sense of, like, what else I'm going to do.

That's the trouble when you don't have a plan.

Like, I'm making it up as I go along.

But Banjo's freestyle planning is creating issues for his builder.

I've got the panelling to do.

My only concern is, I don't know what else I need to do

because we don't have a list or any plans as of yet.

In the friends' celebration lodge,

after keeping it low-key on three out of four walls...

Gareth's wallpapering under here today.

..Amy's taken the brakes off under the stairs.

Well, kind of.

So last week when I was doing cafes,

I just removed print and pattern almost completely.

So I've brought it back this week and it's here,

but it's just in, like, a much more muted version.

So I put orchids in the print along with

a lot of the wild flowers that you get here, that are quite common.

The colour palette is quite pared back, which isn't really my vibe,

and everything is a bit more considered.

And maybe that's what it's like when you get further in the competition

and you start to think about your choices more,

rather than, like, panicking and putting stuff in.

This looks nice.

These are nice. Are they new? Yes.

I don't think I ever thought I'd make it this far.

Honestly, to get to the semifinals is just crazy.

My husband has definitely been my biggest cheerleader.

He's got a lot of blind faith in me,

so I need to keep going so I can impress him some more!

Amy is constantly redesigning the house.

For example, I went out to work one day,

I came back and she had wallpapered the entire bathroom.

Our staircase has gone from orange to blue to green,

and every time, it's looked great.

The Amy from challenge one

and the Amy in the semifinals

is almost a completely different person.

The personal growth has been, like, huge.

I always knew you'd do really well.

Do you think? Yeah, definitely.

Being a print designer and working in fashion,

I've had to really adapt to the different designers that I work for.

You're just almost like the puppet that is getting work done.

But now, being creatively fulfilled really helps

because I'm not answering to anyone any more.

It's about what's good enough for me.

Cheers. Thanks.

I think if Banjo and Paul haven't seen me as a threat to this point,

then I think maybe they should now.

SHE LAUGHS

It's almost the end of the day,

and everyone is head down and grafting.

Well, almost everyone.

It's very different.

It's not what I expected.

I do reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow

if I wake up in a fright and don't like it.

Oh!

As her colour scheme takes shape,

it's not just the carpet Amy's wrestling with.

I want to put colour in.

I want to make it a space for me,

but it's not about that when you get the brief,

so I'm paring it back. It does feel risky.

It's going really well.

It's going really, really well.

Next door...

You either put, like, a little wooden bracket on the back

and literally just hook it on...

..Paul's pondering the perfect spot for his pieces of tree.

It will look beautiful.

However,

is the sofa going to go in front of it?

Put it there. That's where it was bought for.

What I've achieved today hasn't quite delivered the vision yet.

But what I'm worried about for tomorrow is time and finishing.

I suppose when I see it all come together tomorrow,

that's when I'll feel differently.

As the others wind down,

Banjo's carpenter has requested some much-needed plans.

I was just a little frazzled today

cos I didn't know what I was doing,

and I wasn't 100% confident in what I thought I was going to do.

But I just am not there.

I don't know if I ever will be.

When I was a little boy, like, I even had confidence issues.

Like, I was a little gay boy and I didn't know who I was

and I was staring in the mirror and I, like...

I'd be like, "You are fabulous."

And I'd look in the mirror and I'd say that.

And over the years, I think, like,

people and life kind of chips that away.

And so I just kind of retreated into my own world.

But in this process,

it's like I'm slowly realising, like, I am capable of stuff!

And so it's a journey.

I guess that's why I have, like, those confidence issues

because, like, yeah, I was, like, kind of beaten down a little bit.

It's day two in the Cotswolds.

PAUL: Morning, guys. Morning.

The plan in my head,

we need to get the coracle up into the ceiling,

but that's going to take some time because essentially,

we're hanging a boat from the sky.

No pressure!

Hello, hello, hello, hello.

In the family lodge, Banjo's got some news for his trades.

Guess what? I have a plan! Wahey! Oh, amazing!

Feels good to be organised.

I don't know what to do. I'm going to tell you.

I'm like... All right, Wayne,

we need to get that canoe up today with the electrician,

finish the kitchen, obviously, painting.

So lots on. Let's do it.

It's actually nice to get it out of your head, into their mind,

because yesterday it was all in my mind and I was just in my head.

But it's a new dawn. It's a new day.

This is going to be great. I can feel it.

Next door...

Let me put... Put this down there, yeah?

..Amy's turning her attention to the terrace.

We've got to put both in at the same time cos... Oh!

..you put one in... What if I drop it? Hang on.

It's still a bit loose.

This terrace area is like the real entertainer's space,

so you want to use it at night,

cos mine is, like, the booze lodge, obviously.

You should want to come here and enjoy the view,

but have fun in your lodge.

Hello, my darling. Oh, hi Paul.

I've come to check out your lux pad. Come and...

Well, it's not very lux right now, but it's going to be.

Oh, wow. It's looking good. Do you think?

I really want to beat Paul so, so much.

Paul is my main competition this week.

I need to be in the final. Paul needs to go home.

You kind of get the vibe that you're in a London pad by the water. Yeah.

Amy's colour palette, she's taken risks

because where she's using the black against the kitchen,

if it doesn't work, you could have ruined something that's beautiful.

I still wouldn't have changed mine

because my colour palette, they work.

I'm just tiling on my tiles.

I've only got these because the lady was selling them on a second-hand site.

Beggars can't be choosers.

Love it!

Paul's also tiling his kitchen,

but he's splashed out on a unique local material.

These are old Cotswold roof tiles.

Just making sure that they're all slotted in properly.

There was a woman selling them off her roof, literally.

She just had them in the garden.

Oh, BLEEP. Why doesn't it fit?

Cos you've got it the wrong way round, you BLEEP.

I mean, come on...

And I've just smashed it. Oh!

Being able to wake up every morning and just think about design

is so refreshing, to reignite that kind of

flame and passion and creativity.

I feel like I've turned back the clock 30 years.

So, give that a shake.

I think, from the day he was born,

he's always been very different, unique.

Not because he's my brother.

And, of course, he grew up to be creative.

How are you finding things so far, Paul? Are you enjoying it?

Yeah, I am really enjoying it.

When you were a teenager, you'd just go for it.

You'd just act on your instincts and you'd go with your gut.

And I've taken that attitude again.

I mean, I say ridiculous things like I'm a creative genius,

but at the time it happens, that's how I feel.

I'm like "Oh, my God,

"that's like the best thing I've ever seen in my entire life."

So I grew up in a fishing town in the North West of England.

My dad was a fisherman

and Mum was a really good seamstress,

and I think that's where using my hands came from.

It really came from both of them.

My mum, I know how proud she was of me

and I think I could have done more before she died.

She saw some of my successes, but...

So, yeah, I suppose I'm doing it as much for her as I am...

And that's why, that... If I won, that's...

..that's what it would mean.

# The minute I walked in the lodge

# I could tell you were a girl of distinction

# A real big spender. #

I love this! Do you? I feel like it's very becoming.

Thank you. It's nice, innit?

What you doing up your ladder?

I'm making my little herb garden.

Do you want to help? Yeah!

So this is like a pick-your-own vibe above the dinner table.

So you've got your dinner's just been laid out for you

and you help yourself to your herbs.

How do you get the inspiration for this?

I don't know. It just comes to me in the night and I write it down.

So you have to make sure your strings are

in the middle of each side, but they should be fine.

Yeah, hook it on the wire. That's it. Woohoo!

So is this chic and sophisticated?

Um, I think it's chic and sophisticated

and it's a bit of a wow factor,

which Michelle is looking for this week.

And what's that you've got out there?

Um, that is the coffee ledge for the morning.

So once you drink all the booze in the lodge

then you just have your coffee out there to, like, come to.

And then that's a bit like what you've got here.

Yeah, same materials, just to kind of link the two together.

You are clever, aren't you?

Do you think I'm learning? I must be by now, right?

You're brilliant. Well, I'm going to get down

cos I'm getting a nosebleed up here, and I'll leave you to your herbs!

Thanks, Alan. See you later. Bye.

Hold on. No, stop. Let go, let go, let go.

At the family lodge, it's sink or swim time

for Banjo's centrepiece.

My canoe was my biggest concern coming in today,

not the colour. I was,

"How in the heck is this thing going to be suspended from the roof?"

Like, this is my wow piece.

A little bit lower again.

Yeah, a little bit lower on this side. Yeah.

I think that's good. Wow.

If she hates the yellow kitchen,

she's going to forgive me with this.

When Banjo's not hanging up canoes,

he lives on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with his partner Ro.

We came here almost seven years ago

and fell in love with the place when we were just broke backpackers.

Welcome back. Good to be home.

And somehow, we've managed to carve out a life here,

and my partner Ro runs a cheese farm and a distillery,

and life's pretty sweet.

Taste? Yes.

Mm! Yeah?

She's good.

I know how amazing he is.

I know the beautiful things he designs

and that passion that's always been there.

But Banj hasn't always had that opportunity

to give that passion an outlet, and now he has.

Oh, my God. You would not cut it on the show.

RO LAUGHS

You have, like, ten seconds to put up a curtain.

You're a hard boss.

Ro's my doer. So I'm the dreamer, he's the doer.

You know, if I have an idea,

he's the one that makes it happen for me.

Banj isn't the most practical of blokes. At the start he was like,

"How am I going to do this? What am I going to do?"

He is, like, surprised that I've got through this far

because, you know, I struggle to make it through a day sometimes.

A couple of weeks ago he was like,

"Oh, yeah, I've just tiled a shower and a bathroom,"

and I'm like, "What?!"

FOGHORN

I think interior design could kind of, you know,

take me anywhere in the world.

I'm so...I'm so proud.

Oh, I'm getting a bit emotional now! I'm just...

I'm just, yeah. Really, really proud of him.

Done.

Beauty.

The designers are entering the final afternoon of the challenge.

There's still so much to do.

I'm feeling a bit of pressure now.

Oh, there's spider webs. Oh.

With his stone wall splashback taking longer than expected,

Paul is behind schedule.

We've got a good two hours' work still to get done

before I will then be in a position to go,

"Right, I think we're getting there."

Those there... Yeah, perfect.

With her third and final bar almost finished...

We're getting there. That's so fun. I love it.

..Amy's getting crafty on the deck.

This is my light fixture.

So instead of that chandelier that I took apart earlier,

this is now going to be in its place.

This is my neighbour's old lamp shades that I ripped apart,

and then I'm just putting these faux flowers on.

In Paul's lodge...

In terms of moments,

this is one of the best moments in the world.

Paul, what's going on?

It's the launch of the fisherman's coracle.

Oh, I should have, like, a bottle of champagne and go,

"I declare this coracle open!"

So, these are marine pulleys. So, essentially,

when these are all connected, you just hoist it up.

Cos my dad was a fisherman. Oh, yeah?

So I learnt to do this as a Sea Cadet.

Oh, so you can remember how to do them?

Ah, I've just done the wrong two.

Do you reckon you're going to be all right?

Don't say, "I'm a frayed knot!"

So, yeah, that's it. Right. Right, lift it up, boys. Yeah.

Little bit higher, please.

We're getting quite close now, aren't we? Oh, I know. Look at me!

It's lovely being under your coracle!

That's it, guys. Yeah? Relax. Come on.

Are you sure it's attached? Yeah. Let go. Let go.

So, essentially, the whole thing

would go like that, right up to the ceiling.

It then drops back down.

And you're going to secure that, aren't you?

Cos you'd get some naughty kids.

"Mum, Mum, can I have some beans on toast?" Boom!

And then that wraps around there like that.

And... Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt.

That's it. Right, well, listen, I love it. I'll see you later.

All right. Thanks, Alan.

Oh! Wow.

That's amazing.

I name this...

Actually, I'll call it Alfred after my dad.

Next door...

It fits perfectly, actually, doesn't it?

..there's another unveiling.

I think it's cool cos I made it from scratch.

I'm impressed with that.

Took me a while, though. I don't know if I'll make any more!

Oh, I love it!

Banjo! Hello.

I love this. Can I get underneath it?

Oh, can I? Help yourself.

Oh, it's so nice! It's lovely.

so, listen, how much did this cost? Was it a lot?

It's the most expensive thing in my room. More than the canoe.

No way! Yes.

Where did you get bulbs that big?

A big bulb shop.

Oh, I love the big bulb shop.

It's great! Yeah, it's opposite the little bulb shop. Yeah.

Why did you spend so much on a...?

It's a classic American blanket.

I was going for the summer camp vibe and I love the colours

and then I was like, "I'm going to base my room on these colours."

Oh, I've had such a long day, honestly, you won't believe.

I had to lift a coracle!

Oh, that's well below your pay grade. I know.

So tell us, what's all this, then? It's like a lost property box.

These are going to go on the wall.

Oh! It's fun.

I'd do tennis if you could sit down and just do that.

Yes. Anyway, listen, do you mind if I have a little kip?

Oh, take a load off.

And just to let you know, I'm very cute when I'm asleep.

BANJO LAUGHS

ALAN SNORES LOUDLY

It's late afternoon,

and Paul wants his under-stair storage to have a finishing touch...

Leave that as a blue

and then you've got your line that starts there.

..a painted stripe across both units.

Cos they're on wheels, if the paint lines are put on them like this

and then they get straightened up,

your lines aren't going to be straight, are they?

Are you giving me a solution? No. No. Right.

In that case, if you put something under the wheel, you know,

like a 2mm piece of wood or something...

I'm offering a solution,

but it's a solution that might take 40 minutes, and we've got one hour.

I honestly don't know what...

This has to be finished for seven o'clock.

I'm ready to put a stripe on.

Right, in that case, the stripe has to go on as they are. Right.

Thank you very much.

I say, I'm very stressed.

There's no time to stop. There's never any time.

BLEEP, cos there's no time.

You've got to stop that, Paul, cos you know what?

You're just going to make me laugh.

The designers are entering the last hour of the semifinal...

Whoa.

..and Banjo's tackling his terrace.

I always prefer to shake my plant soil over a lake.

I've upcycled the sofa

and that fireplace just finishes it off nicely.

Outdoor space, done.

In Amy's living room,

it's out with the old, in with the new...

It's a bit hectic. It's all a bit hectic.

..while Paul has discovered the new covers for his old sofa

are the wrong size.

It's a bit of a tight fit.

It's a half-an-hour, 45-minute job to do this properly.

There's no time. And this should be the bit that you enjoy.

And I hate it. We have, like, 50 minutes.

And this has got to be dressed and that's got to be dressed

and the terrace has got to be dressed.

And when you're placing something,

it shouldn't just be, "Stick it the BLEEP down."

It should be a moment of beauty.

And that's why I get frustrated. BLEEP.

They need to fluff up. Can you fluff?

What's fluffing? Just do that. Oh, yeah, I can do that.

I feel really good. I love it.

Ta-da!

Cotswold ceramics. Quite expensive.

I mean, I'd have this in my home.

Right, guys, we've got to stop there.

Looks good. Thank you so much.

Ah!

Oh!

Ah...

About to pour myself a large glass of wine.

I could not have done any more.

I've done enough.

And if Michelle honestly doesn't like it, then...

..I might not be her cup of tea.

I gave everything to this one

and I'm really proud of what I've done.

It's time for judging,

and this week Michelle will be joined by interiors guru

and international trendsetter Abigail Ahern.

Abigail, here we are in the Cotswolds for the semifinals,

and our designers have got these incredible lodges,

each with a slightly different brief,

but I have to say, for me, it is all about this location.

The landscape is so important to the interior

and I want to see how they reference that.

To me, it's also about comfort and escapism

when I'm on holiday, all of that kind of thing. Yeah.

These are holiday chalets

so they've got to appeal to so many different people,

so you can't be too kooky or too over the top.

Am I going to want to book it? Are you going to want to book it?

How have they kind of thought about that? Absolutely.

I'm so excited, can we go? Can we go? Yes, let's go!

Everything is referencing the environment.

It's linens. It's wools.

It's Cotswold textiles. It's Cotswold stone.

So all I can say is that

I have delivered beauty, and that is what I set out to do.

MICHELLE: Ah. ABIGAIL: When I walk in,

my eye doesn't quite know where to look, which is a good thing

because I'm drawn in lots of different directions.

Fabulous light feature.

That's quite a stunning piece, isn't it?

And with the kind of water reference, as well,

being the kind of old coracle.

I love the kind of pulleys and knots going on there.

I like the oars that he's used. That's very clever.

I really like that the fact that the sort of, the main wall

that you see as soon as you come in has been clad in the wood.

I think that's a very good choice.

What he's done is he's been really clever

with making the whole space feel cosy.

Like, the way he's mixed materiality, I think,

is quite interesting. I love so much of it.

I just think there's some odd little bits.

Go on. What are your odd little bits?

The splash back worries me, just because... Oh, I love that!

I love it, but not against that wood.

It's like, too much texture on texture for me.

Too much texture on texture? I know.

Normally you can never overdose on texture.

It's a little disparate for me.

The only thing, though, that really, I kind of think

"Oh, why didn't you change those?" is the sofas.

Somehow, everything else feels quite contemporary

and those feel a little bit old-fashioned.

Actually, just two bigger sofas, boxier sofas,

I think could have worked a little better.

These extra slabs of wood on the side of the kitchen

and sort of on-the-end piece, they don't work to me.

They kind of stick out a bit like a sore thumb.

Plus the sofa is kind of banked up against it

so you're not really seeing it.

Having said that, I think it was the right decision to keep the kitchen,

the colour and the texture, as finished.

But great that he's sort of upgraded the handles

and brought in that kind of rope detail.

And I guess we have to accept that

he has had the chance to kind of basically

ornament what was already here.

So he hasn't changed the fundamentals,

he's just literally peppered it with finishing touches.

This is what these spaces are all about.

To spend as much time out here as you would in there.

I mean, again, we've kept the kind of given furniture,

which he's then just softened with some throws.

You can tell that Paul's background is visual merchandising

cos there's some really nice styling out here.

OK, let's go check out the others.

I've played to all my strengths and then I think I've also tried

a lot of things that I wouldn't normally do.

I've not relied on massive amounts of colour.

I've not relied on all the quirks.

And I'm not a print designer any more,

like, I can actually do the whole thing.

Oh! Well, Michelle, I'm kind of liking this.

I think it's really intriguing.

It is. The immediate big shift, though, we can see,

is that Amy's brought in her own pieces of furniture

and that makes a huge difference

cos here we've got that contemporary mix

with some kind of more rustic touches.

For me, it immediately adds more personality.

She's switched the whole layout, hasn't she?

Because the dining table is now right next to the kitchen

and this living area is here.

There's just a really beautiful synergy.

That, I think, is quite clever.

Just adding this kind of lovely, old bit of wood

to the kitchen, which could feel quite hard

and a bit sort of masculine in its sort of black and white,

just gives you that mix and that balance that we need.

She's very good, and it's a really hard thing to nail,

with getting friction in interiors,

so it just looks beautiful and not silly.

Amy has really been on a kind of journey.

I mean, her starting point is as a two-dimensional print designer.

So, this wallpaper will be her design.

And I love how she's carried the black

throughout the whole space.

The frames of the window,

the chairs, the bar stools, the kitchen.

I think it really works.

It makes it feel a bit more modern, doesn't it? Yes.

But, Michelle, there's one thing I really hate.

I think I know what it is. I'm standing under it.

It's... I don't understand this light.

I think it's really rather pretty. I mean, I know you're going to hate

the fact that it's all kind of fake flowers.

Yeah, I would have loved something a little bit more contemporary.

That is my worst thing in the room, I would say.

I love the bar. That's such a clever idea, isn't it?

Overlooking the lake with the stools. That's really sweet.

But this just feels so flat.

There is a disco ball, though, Abigail.

I don't like it! It needs to be bigger.

If you're going to have one go big. Go big, always.

There's not the zoning that she did so well in there,

she hasn't done out here. It's a shame, isn't it?

Cos I can see that she's put so much work into inside

and considered every detail.

I just think she overlooked it slightly. I agree.

One more to see. Let's go.

This is me on a plate.

Like, it's colourful, it's adventurous,

it's family, it's fun.

I think I've hit the brief.

I don't know if I've hit Michelle's design notes,

but I just hope the canoe doesn't fall on them!

Ooh! Oh, wow.

A shot of citrus brights.

It's phenomenal!

I mean, I would never in a million years

think that I would be this excited about a yellow kitchen.

But it just makes you want to smile at it, doesn't it?

It's just a really happy place.

I also love the green.

It's such a beautiful, strong, grounding green.

The thing is, though, Abigail, I'm standing facing this way

and all I see is acres and acres of white

and unpainted kind of wood.

Somehow this area feels just a tiny bit forgotten.

Although we have got this spectacular

kind of light feature above it.

I love that. That's so clever.

The bulb is beautiful.

I think you're right. I'm just going to stand this side

cos I think this is pretty cool!

I also love, you know, his panelling.

We've seen really rustic panelling but this is just,

there's something quite calming about that panelling.

And then you've got the sort of lovely kind of oars

and kind of fishing memorabilia.

And you can tell that he's swapped out

every single stick of the existing furniture

and brought all his new things in.

Cos you just want to hunker down in that beautiful sofa.

Yeah, I mean, this has got to be the sweet spot surely.

Oh, my God, with that view.

Shall we go outside? I can't wait. Yes.

Oh, now this is cosy.

It's cosy! I love the circular vibe.

Furniture was given, again.

It would have been nicer to have a little bit more.

For me, lots of attention on there.

But again, not so much attention out here.

So this is going to be another tricky one.

Different levels of success in different areas for each of them.

Ah, they're not making my life easy. Come on.

Before the designers return to Brighton,

there's a moment to check out the competition.

Wow! Oh, wow, this is amazing.

This coracle. That's lovely.

I love his use of natural stone and wood

and kind of bringing those elements in. Yeah.

I love that back wall. Yeah.

It's quite a lot, though. It's quite homey.

But it's softened, isn't it,

with all his furniture and fabric? Mm-hm.

Has he kept his sofas and covered them?

He's kept his sofas, too.

Ah, she's swapped...

..this around. Yeah, she's moved the living room over here.

Clever cookie. And then this becomes like an entertaining space.

Yeah. She's built this bar. That's really clever.

I'm absolutely ready for a martini and some canapes!

Totally.

Oh, my God!

This is great. This canoe is cool.

Yeah, I really like that. Oh, I love it.

It's a real sort of, like, family den, isn't it? Yeah.

If you brought your kids here,

they would have an absolute field day. They would love it.

He's done a great job. I think it's really well thought through. Mm-hm.

Yours is really well thought through. It's going to be so hard.

I'm not envious of their job this week.

It's results day

and the semifinalists are back in the design hub.

You OK? Oh, my legs are wobbly! Definitely.

Hello! Hi. Hello. Hi.

So did you enjoy the Cotswolds?

Gorgeous. We did, yeah.

And we got some good news as well.

No-one's been concussed by a falling boat, so well done, you two!

Phew!

Well, as you can imagine,

Michelle's got such a tough decision to make this week.

So she'd like to see all three of you on the sofa

and, as you know, two of you will be going through to the final.

One of you will be going home.

Good luck. Thanks, Alan. Thanks, Alan. Thanks, Alan.

We're all on the sofa.

It's going to be hard. Mm-hm.

So, was you impressed?

The calibre is really good.

Even Banjo's custard slash mustard... I loved it!

..slash Big Bird from Sesame Street colour? I loved it.

Really? Yeah. Cos that's not your colour palette.

It's not my colour palette,

but the yellow with the green, so beautiful. Yeah.

I mean, you could really see all his kind of trademark

kind of steps that he'd taken. You could tell the story he'd done.

The only thing that we both felt, though,

was when you're looking into that corner, I see all of the magic.

When you turn round,

there was a lot of white wall and white space,

and he kind of forgot the other half of the room.

And I really need to understand, was that deliberate

or did you just think that you didn't need to do something there?

Wasn't it lovely that Amy took all your critiques on board?

She has worked so hard on this and, again, very brave,

like painting all the woodwork black.

She got her signature moves in there as well.

I loved her use of materiality.

My slight little dislike was the outside area,

which felt very flat compared with inside.

And you wanted texture. Paul gave you texture, didn't he?

He certainly gave us a lot of texture.

There was wood. There was Cotswold stone.

There was rope. What more do you want?

He did layering very well,

so your eye kind of travelled all around the space

and it felt really engaging and really compelling.

There was small little bits I didn't love quite so much,

but, all in all, I think he did a really good job.

Our kind of slight niggle, though, was

he was the one person that basically kept all the given furniture.

He didn't change anything. Yeah. Really didn't like the sofas.

I think they should have been switched out.

I'm going to put you on the spot.

Who had the best hanging boat?

Who do you reckon?

I know Abigail loved the canoe. Canoe! Canoe for you.

I'm going to go with the coracle, actually.

But only two can go through.

Who are you going to pick to go home?

It's going to be another really tricky one.

Well, firstly, well done.

I think we both really loved all three lodges.

I'm just going to dive straight in.

So, Amy, you were the only person who changed the layout,

swapping the living area and the dining room.

Can you talk me through why you did that?

I felt like it was really disconnected,

so moving the dining table to where I did

meant that I could connect the kitchen with the dining

to then outside.

Well, I think it really worked. OK, good!

That was a good move. Phew!

Cos I have to say, it feels like this is probably the first time

you sat in all those seats, didn't you? You made it work.

It's the first time I felt that, actually.

I think what was really clever is how you just created this friction

between something that's quite old

and then something that's quite contemporary.

And it looked really considered

and there was a real DNA to your space, which I absolutely loved.

Thank you.

And then all that kind of glorious attention to detail inside

somehow didn't quite go outside. So...

Yeah. I think I probably focused on the main area maybe too much.

I could have done more out there and added more layering.

It's a holiday lodge, where people are going to be

spending a lot of time outside, looking at the lake and relaxing.

It was really important.

I think I didn't prioritise that in the budget

and I probably should have.

Banjo, you took quite a different approach to your team mates.

Pow! Bright yellow kitchen.

Talk me through all of that.

I wanted it to be a bright, joyful, happy space.

It was a bold choice.

I walked into your space

and I wanted to shout, "Holy guacamole!"

That yellow was so amazing

and it couldn't do anything but make you smile. Thank you.

There was such amazing attention to detail,

when I'm looking across at that kitchen.

Turn around, though, I saw a massive expanse of white.

Yeah. I didn't quite understand.

I was hoping you'd walk in and you'd look at the canoe,

and that was the main event.

You could feel that it was a bit empty there

because of the contrast. Yeah.

Was that deliberate or did it just get overlooked?

I didn't think the space could handle another colour,

so I kind of had landed with white and I...

..I guess that was a risk.

The white for me just felt,

"Oh, why? Why left blank?" Yeah, sure.

Again, I just think if you'd just given

a little bit more attention to outside... Yeah.

..I think it would have connected with inside

just a little bit better. Yeah, sure.

Paul, you kept, I think, all the given furniture.

But what I kept, I then transformed.

I re-covered the sofas in, like, a natural linen

cos I wanted to keep the colour palette quite tight.

I mean, I agree, I think you lucked out with the dining table

and the benches, cos I thought those fitted perfectly. Yeah.

A lot less sure about the two sofas. Right.

I mean, would you have replaced them

with two two-seaters, exactly like that?

Just within the terms of managing the budget,

I couldn't have replaced those.

That was the look that I wanted to go for,

so that's why I worked with it.

If you kept all the furniture, I'm thinking

you might have had quite a lot of your budget in hand, then.

So what did you spend on?

My wood and my Cotswold stone for the splash backs.

There was a lot of it went on the environment and the dressing.

Cos we loved the wood panelling. Yes.

That was a really strong kind of statement

as you walked through the door.

Didn't quite understand, though, the big chunks of wood

that seemed a little bit arbitrary.

They became bespoke artwork pieces for me.

It was like wood sculpture, and that contemporary gloss

against something that's very, very natural,

I really liked that contrast, friction.

That was my bit I hated the most about your space. Oh, was it?

Only because... I got that wrong, then!

..a sofa was banked right up against that one big piece of wood... Yeah.

..so I couldn't really see it. "Why is it there?"

But having said that, how you connected outdoors with in

was the most successful, for me, in all three lodges,

because it just felt it was really taken into consideration.

I thought I made brave choices,

because it's not my natural comfort zone.

I might dress like I own a yacht, but...

..it's not natural to me at all.

I suppose the big feature piece for me was that bespoke coracle.

I did all the ropework myself,

and all of the kind of nautical references were very personal to me.

Tell me a bit about the coracle, cos that's quite unusual,

but I have to say, I really kind of loved that.

As soon as I saw the coracle, it was made of natural reeds,

reeds by the lake. This is a gift, it's perfect.

Did it actually hoover up

quite a lot of money and time and attention?

But I felt that it was worth it.

As you well know,

at semifinal level, only two of you can go through.

All of you did stuff that was really great.

But all of you also did stuff which didn't quite work.

But, Amy,

you really made a massive leap this week.

You showed me that balance between design and decor,

which I very specifically asked for.

So well done.

You will be going through to the final.

Thank you. Thank you.

Banjo and Paul,

interestingly, although your schemes were very different,

I felt there were a lot of similarities.

You both did the kind of big statement light features.

That was really great.

Banjo, there was a kind of element of slight emptiness

to some of your space.

Paul, you really maxed out on all of the kind of,

the accessories and the styling and gave me loads of warmth.

Ultimately, in the briefing, I was very, very specific.

"Don't just give me smart shopping and styling."

And so, on that basis...

..Paul, I think it was a mistake not to have changed your sofas.

OK.

Banjo, you will be going through to the final. Thanks.

I've had such a fantastic, uh...

Pff.

Not going to cry. Um...

No, it's been amazing, and these two guys are amazing.

I've had a brilliant week

and to get this far, it's been amazing. Well done.

Yeah, no, thank you.

Off to your yacht! Thanks, guys. Thank you. Yeah!

I am so proud of what I've done this week.

We all can't go through.

It had to come down to, like, fine detailing.

I should have got two new sofas.

Now, you guys have got everything to play for.

This is it. This is the final.

Game on, Amy.

Game on, Banjo. Watch out!

Oh...

Paul's lodge was brilliant.

He is a master of the finishing touches,

but I needed to see more than just really accomplished styling

to go through to the final.

Woohoo!

Next time...

Amy, what have you done?!

..the designers take on bars...

Ah! Hold on.

..in London's West End...

It's literally a mess.

..as they go head-to-head...

Oh, sweet baby Jesus.

This is a bit "chicka-chicka bow-wow"!

..in the final.

Oh, I love it!

So, the winner of Interior Design Masters...