A Co Down woman is set to battle it out for one of the biggest prizes on television in Channel 4’s new interior design competition series.
The Big Interiors Battle hits our TV screens tonight and sees eight talented interior designers battle it out to try to win their own flat.
Whoever wins gets to keep their apartment, which is worth £250,000 and among those taking part is Claire Noble from Banbridge.
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Hosted by AJ Odudu and based in Eyewitness Works, a high-end development in the heart of Sheffield, the show sees the eight contestants receive the keys to an apartment where they are challenged to transform a different room each week.
The contestants’ work will then be judged by Dara Huang, an architect and entrepreneur with clients across the globe ranging from billionaires to the world’s most famous brands.
After judging, hopefuls will return to their apartments and use an electronic key-card to learn their fate. If the light on their door goes green, they will remain in the running for another week. However, each week one contestant’s door will turn red, indicating they have been locked out of the competition for good.
At a time when home ownership has never felt more out of reach, The Big Interiors Battle boasts one of the most coveted prizes on television as the winner of the competition will then become the owner of their very own two-bedroom apartment within this historic development in South Yorkshire.
Being adopted from Sri Lanka into a Northern Irish family at just five weeks old and brought up in Belfast meant Claire has always stood out, so her large scale art designs are a reflection of this part of her character.
A past pupil of New-Bridge Integrated College in Loughbrickland, Claire later studied textile innovation and design at university but the penny dropped when she realised all her designs were interior based rather than fashion!
Claire was heavily influenced by her grandfather, Bill Adair, who was a highly successful visual merchandiser and interior designer in Armagh and Belfast.
"My grandfather worked in Lennox's in Armagh doing the windows. I always grew up knowing that people would travel there to see these windows that he had created," she explained.
"His talent was unbelievable and when I was studying art he was always my go-to person to ask what he thought.
"I always respected his knowledge when it came to art and design and he was always on point. His ideas were ahead of his time - he would mention something to me and then I'd see it in a magazine a few weeks later."
Claire has worked as a painter and decorator as well as now being a large-scale mural artist. She also spent time as an assistant to an established interior designer before starting to get time with her own clients.
"I'm buzzing for the series and looking forward to everyone finally being able to see it," Claire added. "For me the trickiest part was having a camera filming over my shoulder and asking me questions when I was working on a mural. Usually it's just me with my headphones on and taking my time so that was very different.
"Interior design is so subjective so you're not going to like everything but it was such a fun experience. I think that's what this show is trying to portray - that you can enjoy where you live with your own style and just go for it.
"I think the show will very much come across as having a lot of confidence in who you are as a person. Each person had their own room to create with their budget and theme but it was entirely up to them what they did.
"It was like designing your dream and hopefully the viewers will enjoy that side of it and have the confidence to say that they could try that too."
In tonight's opening episode, the focus is on the bedrooms. Each space has a different layout, and so the designers can really put their own stamp on it.
Their chosen themes range from brutalist and "lads’ pad" to Japandi and jungle spa, but can they pull off their ambitious ideas in just four days and on a limited budget? And who will impress Dara and survive their first lockout?
The Big Interiors Battle will air at 8pm on Friday, April 21 on Channel 4.
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