Aulty

I'm glad Dara called it what it was: shit. I think, and this is probably down to the format of the show, they didn't have a common baseline for the skandi/retro/eclectic brief, like a mood board as a jump off point to go and do their own designs. Both, Pat and John, could have done what they did - the cut-out front, gallery wall, shapes, mirror lights, curtain, it just needed to be rendered according to the brief. Pat's shapes were very Marimekko, and too moder skandi, if that. Temi was given a very difficult task imho. Her colour palette was lovely and it would've helped if Patrycia and Justine had worked with it aswell. I am ok with Justine leaving because she got the bench so wrong. Pat was very lucky, she wasn't a great team player.

Gotta say, she is my favourite host by far and she is gorgeous. But, I've decided to remove this show from my watch list after the first episode. I am just not interested anymore. There is nothing relatable or educational in this show for make up noobs like me. I will leave you with a massive 🙄 for Val's 'I used the vacuum to make my lips look like Kylie's' glasses.

I get what you are saying, but white grout has been around for ages. I liked the yellow, whether it stays that vibrant is my question. I guess we were lucky nobody opted for the insta/tiktok trend: glitter grout.

Oh no, not Claire. Hard luck, but her mural this week wasn't great. The rest I liked, but Dara had a point with moisture getting behind the painted panels. Dara pretended to like all the artisan pieces no matter what, didn't she? I wasn't convinced with Tara's - the piece itself was ok, but sitting next to that already busy wall? no thanks. Hers was my least favourite bathroom. And James' schtik is getting a bit long in the tooth too. What are we still missing? Living/dining space, an office and pulling everything together? Looks like next week is some odd communial space.

I think Aleeza is a lot warmer than Sima and gives a lot more and better guidance for the first dates. She feels a more modern matchmaker and as a relationship-coach (?) she operates with a better understanding of what dating this side of the millenium looks like. With Sima I often get the feeling she would prefer her clients more malleable and adhering to the old ways of MM. And I find the way she talks about people, their looks etc. rather cold sometimes. I am not saying that Matchmaking in Jewhish culture is better than what we've seen of Indian MM. I think the matchmakers themselves are crucial, especially with those shows focussing on US based (more opinionated) clientele. Curious how Sima does in the UK and whether the people there are better suited to her style of MM. I especially liked Aleeza helped Stuart preparing for dating, with the stylist, and the positive, upbeat way she interacted with and handled Nakysha. Ori is the jewish Apurna, isn't he? I still have a couple of episodes left. Shame Fay and the first guy didn't work out, he was so excited.

New series of Glow Up starts tonight at 8 on BBC3, but the first episode is already available on iPlayer.

They should've eliminated Jordan last week, that kitchen had everything you'd usually avoid. Although, I'd love to know what his finished flat would've looked like. Dara was spot on when she said it looked like a strip club. And minimalist, it was not. I think we can already see a few front runners emerging, Claire, Justine and Patrycja, Tara isn't far behind. The remaining lads need to step it up a notch. Its fun to see them do kitchens and bathrooms, because we rarely get those spaces addressed in interior shows.

Thats my biggest issue. 6 episodes? They haven't even made a dent in everything thats supposedly going on. Remember when Kiefer Sutherland was cranky for two dozen full episodes (I know it was due to the show's format, but still) and even The Americans were a good watch for 13 weeks. This doesn't even get me over a weekend or medium-haul flight/train journey. BY all means, if they can release a pack of 6 episodes consistently every 6 months. But if we have to wait the now common ~16 months for the next installment, they can pull the other one. Edit: 8 episodes of course 🤥, but I still think they should've gotten into the story a bit more

That was a bit unexpected, if I am completely honest. After they showed the 3D version of the plans early in the episode I was not very taken with Monika's, but it did come together well and looked class didn't it? Considering the 'Insta Moment' 🤢 brief I liked Jack's too, don't get me wrong, but agreed with the judges that it was over the top for a gastro pub. It looked like a trendy version of a Viennese coffee house. I think I need a year now to recover from the phrase 'bringing the outside in'.

Yes, I thought the same, especially with buildings like that. On the other hand, its supposed to be a competition about their own tastes/style of interior design. On that note, even though I didn't agree with the first elimination, I see why they've chosen Disco-bedroom guy over Skandi/Japandi, because his didn't look a reacreation of the ikea catalogue. But how much cooler would that old fashioned room with the fake fireplace have looked with an exposed brick wall? I assume the format of this show will make it easier to consider their 'whole body of work' for judging, because their will do a whole apartment and everything should sit together nicely. I already like the brutalist lass, and the one who painted the cheese plant mural.

Thanks for the heads up. Interesting concept, and they did give them an unheard of 4 days and decent budget (they have to sort out flooring though) to complete the first challenge, although they didn't show much of the actual building process. I didn't agree with the first elimination (the lad with the vinyl floor and mirrors everywhere was my least favourite).

Good grief, Cassie. Jack did well, but such a shame about that VIP area. He could've zoned that with colour at least. Even I have heard of Japandi and know that it was a trend these past few years. He was really confident painting the washing station. I LOVED the lamps he used over the colouring station, was it?. Tom and Monika, I've fallen out of love with both a bit. And Jack looks very much the frontrunner anyway. Tom's salon, because his mural was so underwhelming there wasn't much else to cheer for. If that front counter had a thick conrete slab on top, anything stone is probably out of budget. I did like the aubergine colour he picked. Monika's I liked, but Michelle is right, fake plants need to go. You don't need to water them, but the dust! The curve of the golden paint job behind the washing station looked a bit wobbly (as did the curve on Tom's counter btw) Overall, this was mainly a decorating job, wasn't it? No big builds? And where is Steward?

I think this is an interesting approach. Adapting the material once a generation in different formats could pay off (and I assume they've done their homework and know that there is still mileage in this). Usually nobody wants to touch the original version of the really big movies. With Star Wars movies, so they just extrapulated from there and built a megaverse. Nobody wants to remake Jackson's LOTR (yet), so they are tipping into Tolkiens other material (please redo The Hobbit!). On the other hand, rewriting with the same characters is basically what superhero movie franchises are based on. But going back to the same story? How very A Star Is Born. In my opinion movies 1-3 were ok, but they lost me afterwards with what they didn't include, and the stuff that wasn't in the books. And it could be so much better visually now than it was 20years ago - look at Rings of Power (the visuals, not the story). Plus, unlike the movies they don't have to start production with the final stories not yet published - aka no excuses for bad writing and continuation errors! Casting will be interesting, and the production schedule will be tough on young actors.

Nah, let's hope it's a lot better and they find matches that actually make it to the altar

Whoever was in charge of editing this episode should've been the one to go home. An hour of Monika whining about the garden and doing her own thing, with Jack on a loop of 'bringing the outside in', just for another plywood enthusiast to be sent packing. Plywood in a kitchen for an elegant brief? And nobody managed to get a stack of tile decals to cover that puce crime against ceramics? On the plus side, Monika's room did look great (she alone didn't use ply) and Tom is the antidote to the average strong-headed team challenge contestant. I liked the chairs he chose for the dining area. Temi, bless her, but I think her projects started to look very similar. I watch Laura Caldwell on Youtube. She is an interior designer, mid centry modern enthusiast, does a lot of thrifting and probably would've broken down sobbing seeing those four (with Michelle's blessing, no less) paint over the beautiful A frame beams. She loves that architecture and would've 100% celebrated it.

Last year's winner Banjo has his own show out. Designing the Hebrides is him and his husband redesigning homes on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, where he lives. Its on BBC 2 Wednesdays, but all episodes are already available on iPlayer. Comes with special appearance of our Pierce ;-) The Guardian reviewer really liked it.

I missed how and when it sprung up, but I hear it all the time on YouTube. It's cute, but so overused. Thrice within 10 min to describe what was the same piece of furniture was a bit much.

Word. Although I think, in the real world, interior designers have their comfort zones and would not neccessarily take on jobs that aren't in their wheelhouse. However, this show is set to test them on the ability to put their stamp on different projects, adapting their styles to the briefs. It would've been brilliant if she had done some dark academia version of beach. Going back to the first challenge, she did brilliantly not overwhelming the space in goth, but the dark window vignette looked great. Even with the shitty brief she had, she could've gone way younger than Edwardian parlor. I am so underwhelmed in general with those beach hut episodes, enough with them already. Between this show and its predecessor (Interior Design Challenge) I have seen those redone 3-4 times and it always looks shite. Thankfully it wasn't the themey cliche diorama we were treated to last year. And they should've made the designers put all the furniture back into the hut to show how good their storage really is. They'd be filled to the rafters, if it even fit, and would you really want to spend an hour putting things out or away when you go down to the beach? Or when you are caught out by a sudden bout of rain? I would have sent Tom packing. That wall panelling was a decent idea, but the painted result was gruesome. Why did nobody flip the kitchen area to the side (with keeping the sing in the same corner) and have the seating on the back wall? They were allowed to paint the outside in bright colours? None of the other chalets had those. I need to find out if they've been painted over afterwards. Anyone else got a little bored with Temi and lovely Steward overusing the 'she looks beautiful' for their furniture? So grating.

Casting call is already out for the next series 🎉

I initially didn't expect Ry to go, but out of the 4 who were on the couch I am afraid the was the obvious choice. Peter did great stuff with the branding for the store even if his 'sculptural' chairs weren't that good. Monika did the multi purpose furniture - I liked the idea but the execution, especially the fold out tables, didn't look that sturdy. Jack did well with the handbag-gallery. Temi and Tom did the best shop transform on this show by a mile. And how lovely that they were able to express their opinions without taking it personal or getting catty. So our lovely hairy builder with the big beard is Pierce and Wayne is an old favourite who was in the orange shirt this week. No Steward, poor lad probably needs a lie down after the first few challenges.

I am a horse girl and even I am not getting worked up over this because things like aorta ruptures can come out of nowhere and there is nothing that can be done. Even with the best vets on scene. It's happened to sport horses quite a bit over the past years - maybe thats because there are more post mortems to check for cause of death or maybe its down to breeding - even in competition in front of spectators or to horses idling in their stables. I understand why PETA is kicking this into the court of public opinion, but if they really wanted to make a stink about equine wellfare there are a lot of other, very gatekept, targets to aim for.

iirc Michelle and Matthew have known each other since college, they are great together and both very successful in the design world. I am with Matthew re the yellow sofa. Compare that to a long line of unqualified guest judges on Project Runway whose only contribution was whether they would/wouldn't wear something or liked a colour. It's like me down the car dealership 😏

That does not excite me. And she probably won't be one for nibbles either.

5 minutes in it was already obvious who would go home. I didn't get the blue in Tom's room, and Temi's cheap looking little sheepskin rugs. Still love me some Michelle & Matthew.

I am still waiting for an episode of Antiques Roadshow where someone brings in a small trinket and learns they've accidentally acquired the stewardship of a sizeable eastern country. Obedient peasants included. Or maybe it was on Russian TV and they didn't get it quite right.