10 pieces of advice to up your interior styling game – if you’re ever a contestant on TV! Episode 065


You can listen to the podcast here or read the blog post below. 

.

New interior show on the block: Interior Design Masters

How can any interiors fan have missed the latest interior design program to hit our screens? I was away in Cornwall when Interior Design Masters first aired and on the way home we could only pick up radio two where it seemed every other ad was for the show! The Beeb obviously want it to be MASSIVE!

Did you see it?

Of course, I checked it out – I mean who wouldn’t? Right? It’s interiors. It’s full of our kinda people. And design projects. It was gripping- yell at the TV kind of entertainment. And I loved it.

The premise of the show is ten aspiring interior designers who are on the verge of turning pro are set design challenges. Fearne Cotton is the show presenter and former editor-in-chief of ELLE Decoration magazine, Michelle Ogundehin is the main judge. Each week Michelle is joined by a guest judge. The first guest was fashion designer turned interiors specialist Mathew Williamson. Have you seen his home? It’s so incredible. I know exactly what it looks like and can tell you exactly where I’ve put the tear sheets of his home from Living Etc! Just see below!

 

The contestants

So, the contestants come from all walks of life, some are interior stylists, some architects, the lovely Verity Coleman was in the army (hello Verity ;0) before becoming a stylist. There’s even a social worker.

Want to find out more about them? Check out their Insta bios here.

Nicky
Terian
Jim
Ju

Jerome
Cassie
Trish
Verity
Frank

 

What advice would you give to the contestants?

Once I stopped yelling at the TV I got to thinking. There are some real fundamental pieces of advice an experienced commercial interior stylist would share with the contestants that would help them up their game and get ahead of the others. Here are the best pieces of advice an armchair lounging, tv watching stylist would share…

10 pieces of advice to up your interior stying game

  1. TEAMWORK: It’s not location, location, location. It’s teamwork that’s the name of the game. The contestants were put in a really difficult position in this first episode as they needed to work as a team but also make their mark. Very few wanted to change their designs but without teamwork, it’s almost impossible to win. As an interior stylist you need to be able to work as a team member whether that’s taking direction from an editor or getting the right shot from a photographer. The end result doesn’t come from just one person – ever!
  2. FOLLOW THE BRIEF– who’s your target audience, who’s buying the house? Always make sure you are keeping the end user in mind.
  3. Always, always, ALWAYS test the colour of paint in the room and test it on all four walls. Go with your gut. If you feel the colour is wrong. It’s wrong. Change it.
  4. TRENDS TRAP; Don’t get swayed by the current trends. They are fleeting most of the time and the majority of people don’t want to live with the bolder styles. They like to play it safe.
  5. FILL THE ROOM: Design, style and dress a room, don’t just fill an empty box. Make it a home, not just a colourful house.
  6. THE RED THREAD –  as Kate Watson Smyth calls it on Mad about the house. Have one colour that is in every room to ‘thread’ the whole house together. It can be a rug, a picture, a cushion or a vase. Anything goes and the difference it makes is huge!
  7. LEARN from your mistakes – we all make them and they are what make us better stylists as long as we don’t make the same mistakes again.
  8. TIME: Remember DIY and crafting always takes waaaayyy longer than you think it will.
  9. £££: Stick to the budget by going local, vintage, auctions and Facebook market place – With my green / save the world head on, there are so many amazing pieces you can add to a room without spending the big bucks and preventing landfil at the same time!
  10. YOUR STYLE: Stay in your lane and put the pedal down. You know your style. You know how to put a room together. Keep that in mind, follow the brief and make it work and you’ll be a star – and we won’t yell at you when we watch you- promise!

 

So that’s it. Who do you think will win? Who do you want to win? I’d love to know.

Tune in to BBC2 at 8pm Wednesdays to watch or catch up on the first episode on  iplayer now

And if you want to listen to this podcast episode just click below!

EmmaMT x

.

Leave a Reply

Latest on Instagram


Follow Us

Come and join us Inside Stylists


Why not sign up and join this great community of Interior Stylists, writers, assistants, PRs and all the shoot service providers you could ever need. It’s the fast track way to connecting with others in the interior styling and writing world.

Get Started