Tom Dyckhoff - Great Interior Design Challenge Sourcebook: Practical Advice from Series 1&2 for Your Tailor-Made Home

THE GREAT
INTERIOR DESIGN
CHALLENGE
SOURCEBOOK

In the new series of The Great Interior Design Challenge, 27 talented amateur designers competed over 16 episodes, for a chance to win the coveted title.

Presenter and architectural historian Tom Dyckhoff oversaw proceedings, while judges President of the British Institute of Interior Design, Daniel Hopwood and interior stylist and magazine journalist Sophie Robinson decided who had the vision and the skill to be the next big thing in design.

In this series the competitors travelled the length and breadth of the country, and also though the ages from medieval homes to contemporary eco blocks. To ensure a level playing field in each qualifying round, three wouldbe interior designers took on similar rooms in three neighbouring properties. They had three days, 1,000 and the help of a small team to interpret homeowners briefs and bring their designs to fruition.

The amateur designers came from all walks of life, and included a librarian, a college lecturer, a civil servant and a restaurant manager. All believed they had the skills and creativity required to make it in the world of interior design. But as the designers moved further along in the competition, the briefs and the rooms became increasingly challenging and the judges expectations were higher than ever.

In the nine heats the amateurs redesigned rooms in a huge array of buildings: 17th-century cottages in the Cotswolds; 1920s beach huts in Poole; crooked bedrooms in medieval homes; terraced houses in the heart of Londons East End; colourful fishermens cottages in Brixham, Devon; neo-Georgian houses in Welwyn Garden City; 21st-century eco homes in Greater London; Dutchinfluenced cottages in Port Sunlight, Wales; and 1930s apartments built for the film stars of the day.

The nine heat winners then went through to the second round, where some transformed bedrooms in Kentish oast houses, others worked on front rooms in handsome Edwardian homes in Wimbledon, while the final group designed reception rooms on houseboats on the River Thames.

In the two quarter-final programmes, the designers faced their trickiest rooms yet one group in doubleheight rooms in an Edwardian school conversion in London, and the other in a 1960s complex in Surrey.

The two winners from each of the quarter finals went through to the semi-final, where they all travelled to Scotland to design rooms in Edinburghs famous tenements. This time they had a bigger budget of 1,500, so the judges expectations were even higher.

For the final the two best amateurs battled it out in an elegant stately home in Cumbria. They had 4,000 and three rooms to transform in just four days. It was their toughest challenge yet, but one talented designer overcame the final hurdle to be crowned the champion of The Great Interior Design Challenge.

Tom Dyckhoff

Architecture and design doesnt have to be unapproachable interior design is something that we can all do to connect to our homes and reflect our character.

Tom has written widely for publications from The Sunday Telegraph to GQ and has written a weekly column for The Guardians Weekend magazine for more than a decade. He was also architecture critic for The Times from 2003 to 2011.

He is the architecture critic for the BBCs weekly arts programme, The Culture Show, and has written and presented many documentaries on British television and radio including The Secret Life of Buildings on Channel 4, Saving Britains Past on BBC2 and Room With A View on Radio 4.

Tom is currently writing his first book on architecture and cities since the 1970s.

Daniel Hopwood

You cant learn about interior design, it has to be in your soul as a passion passion that comes from going around stately homes at the age of six and loving it, or nicking your sisters dolls house and re-jigging its spatial planning.

Trained as an architect, Daniel set up his own interior design company in 93 which from humble beginnings is now one of the most renowned design studios in London, so much so that his fellow interior designers have appointed him as President of their professional body the British Institute of Interior Design.

Occasionally he dips into the world of television, the last time ten years ago as the judge on Channel 4s Britains Best Homes, and again now as the judge for BBC2s The Great Interior Design Challenge.

Sophie Robinson

You dont have to go into posh houses to see beautiful interiors; you can find them in the most unexpected homes in Britain.

Sophie Robinson has been in the interior design business for almost 20 years, earning the reputation as one of the industrys top interior stylists. After studying furniture design at university, Sophie went on to produce her own range of lighting for Liberty. She then moved into journalism, becoming Home Editor for BBC GoodHomes magazine.

Since setting up her own business she has continued to write for a number of interiors magazines such as Ideal Home, House Beautiful and Homes and Gardens. She has also appeared on BBC, ITV and Channel 5.

JANE BEALE

I have been told I have a talent for creating a luxurious, polished but homely look. Mum and part-time events coordinator Jane from Kent, likes to use colour, texture and accessories to create living spaces that are inviting and stylish as well as functional.

HELEN BOTTRILL

If I cant find what I want, I make it, its easy. Helen lives in Devon and designs and creates bespoke textiles from her collection of bold fabrics. Her style is a mismatching mix of the old and the new and she believes that everyones home should reflect their personality.

DEE CARTWRIGHT

Interiors is not what I do anymore its who I am now. Dee is a housewife from Kent who believes that interior design should make someone feel that their space is utterly personal to them. Her style is New England meets English country.

ANNA CHAPMAN

Im like David Bowie; I dont stick to one era or style. A retired optician from London, Anna believes she has always had an interest in interiors. Her style is always evolving and she likes to have the flexibility to change a room every few years.

HELEN CHARLTON

Your home has to feel relaxed with treasures around you, each with their own story. Helen is a parttime teacher from Durham who also runs her own craft business. Her French farmhouse-style home has featured in several publications including Country Homes & Interiors.