With most of us spending more time at home than ever before, you might find yourself in need of interior design inspiration. In fact, over the past 12 months, we have become a nation of DIYers, with searches for decorating tips up 51% and searches for home décor up a huge 122% during 2020.
Whether it’s a fully-fledged makeover, a much-needed clear out or you simply fancy a change, home makeover shows have over the years continued to be a fantastic way of keeping up with trends. Using audience ratings, home furnishings retailer Terrys has revealed the UK’s favourite home interior TV shows from past and present, which are brimming with inspiration. The big question is, which will you stream first?
- Escape to the Chateau
Coming in at the top spot is the oh-so-charming Escape to the Chateau! The Channel 4 documentary series follows couple Dick and Angel Strawbridge and their family through the twists and turns of renovating and redecorating a 19th-century castle in north-west France into their dream home. Viewers of the show witnessed the couple snap up the beautiful estate for a bargain £280,000 back in 2015 and have followed their journey ever since.
Proving such a source of inspiration for viewers, Angel has since gone on to launch a collection of home interiors aptly branded The Chateau Collection, including curtains, bedding and soft furnishings.
2. Grand Designs
Presented by designer and writer Kevin McCloud, Grand Designs just misses out on the top spot, proving extremely popular with architecture-lovers and DIY amateurs alike. Having run for 20 seasons over the last 20 years, Grand Designs is one of the UK’s longest-running of home makeover shows, with each hour-long episode following different people who have set out to pursue their vision of a dream home. Each project is seriously unique (and often on the quirky side!) which makes for inspiring viewing.
3. George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces
10 series in and as popular as ever, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces explores the extraordinary world of small and unique properties which are turned into incredible places to live, right across the UK. With everything from a glass lodge to floating homes, the Channel 4 series shows homeowners how to get the most out of their space by adapting properties to suit the modern way of living.
4. DIY SOS
If the competition was for most seasons to date, then BBC One’s much-loved DIY series DIY SOS would have topped the list, racking up an impressive 31 seasons over the last 22 years. Presented by Nick Knowles, each episode of DIY SOS (now known as The Big Build) follows the personal story of a deserving family, with the DIY SOS team enlisting the help of local tradespeople, suppliers and the wider community to help bring each family’s dream home to life.
5. Changing Rooms
Back in 1996, Changing Rooms was one of the first DIY TV shows of its kind to hit our screens, with its fun format making for exciting and often dramatic TV. Originally presented by Carol Smillie, the home improvement show followed two couples swapping houses to each decorate one room, enlisting the help of an array of top designers including stars such as Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. The makeovers typically went down a storm, though there were sometimes a few tears and tantrums along the way. The show is set to make a huge comeback in 2021, with Davina McCall confirmed as a presenter for the re-boot – we cannot wait to watch!
Adding a competition element to interiors inspiration, Interior Design Masters is BBC Two’s most recent dip into home inspiration, with the hit TV show following ten talented up and coming designers as they tackle a range of exciting challenges to compete to win a life-changing design contract with a huge brand. Following the first series’ huge success, the show is set to return in February 2021 for a further eight-part series, with much-loved comedian and TV presenter Alan Carr taking the reins and former ELLE Decoration magazine Editor-in-Chief Michelle Ogundehin reprising her role as head judge.
7. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The only US-made series to make the list, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition features a weekly race against time as a team of designers, contractors and several hundreds of local workers have just seven days to rebuild an entire house from scratch. Featuring a star-studded cast including Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo and Tracy Hutson, each episode follows the journey of a family facing hardship being sent away on the trip of a lifetime, with the team completely rebuilding their home before they return. Cue plenty of excitement and often tears!
8. 60 Minute Makeover
A daytime TV favourite, Peter Andre’s 60 Minute Makeover saw a team of experts challenged with redecorating several rooms within a house in just 60 minutes. With much-deserving participants often nominated by friends and family to receive the makeover, emotional reactions became the norm – with Peter Andre there to support the families every step of the way. Though the show hasn’t made an appearance on our screens since 2018, we’d love to see it back!
