After a tough quarter-final transforming wedding lodges, our three remaining designers return to the design studio in Brighton to discover their penultimate challenge.
With the final in sight, host Alan Carr and series judge Michelle Ogundehin reveal to the designers that this week they'll be working on their own to give three Bristol hair salons a makeover. Each salon has its own strong identity, but they're all in need of a fresh look to help them stand out and be a cut above the rest.
Tom redesigns an edgy industrial salon split across two floors. Jack takes on a high-end salon keen to deliver a luxury experience, and Monika renovates a classic salon with a unique charm. Following a productive zoom call with their clients to learn more about their individual brief, the designers head off to Bristol where they have just two days and a budget of £3,000 each to transform their salons.
With a brief to convert her classic salon into a bold alternative space, Monika decides to embrace her gothic maximalist signature style, starting with a black paint job. After a confident start, reality soon hits home – with 16 lampshades to make from scratch. Monika is soon racing to finish and contemplating significant sacrifices to her vision.
Up the road, Tom has the challenge of modernising the industrial salon, giving a fresh edge to the rugged and characterful interior. Keen to enhance the brick walls and steel workstations by adding soft fabrics and furnishings across both floors, he confesses to Alan that this brief is the trickiest he's faced so far – Tom worries that losing his mojo could lead to missing out on a place in the final.
Despite the owners of his salon asking for a Scandi makeover, Jack decides to take it one step further with his ‘Japandi' theme. After convincing Alan it's an actual word, meaning a mix of Japanese and Scandi, Jack starts transforming the walls with hand-drawn bamboo and floral murals. Keen to impress Michelle, Jack proclaims to go big or go home a potentially risky tactic for the semi-final.
As the builds progress, the salons begin to take shape, but the designers come under increasing pressure from knowing they're only one step away from the final. Nobody wants to fall at the final hurdle. Joining Michelle this week is the one and only Mary Portas, queen of the high street. Michelle and Mary are wowed by boldness, uniqueness and the clever features on display, but have the designers got the balance right?
The designers head back to the design studio in Brighton to hear their fate. Alan announces that Michelle would like to speak to them all, giving them an equal opportunity to explain the thinking behind their decisions. With only two places up for grabs in the final, Michelle faces her hardest decision yet.
