News
BBC One’s Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr gives Royal Haslar a makeover
25th April 2025Comedian, broadcaster and writer Alan Carr has turned his talents for the first time to the later living residential market – at the same time putting Royal Haslar firmly in the spotlight. On April 24th, in Episode 3 of the sixth season, residents were thrilled to watch BBC One’s hit makeover show Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr showcasing the Solent-side location, in which eight budding British interior designers (whittled down from the original ten) were tasked to transform four two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments in Trinity House into irresistible forever homes.
Assisted by his co-host, the interiors guru and former Elle Decoration editor-in-chief Michelle Ogundehin, Carr turned his trademark flamboyancy, wit and empathy to pit the four pairs of novice home stylists against each other, with guest judge Sue Timney, the celebrated designer and co-founder of iconic interiors brand Timney-Fowler, on hand to give the final verdict.
All were vying for the ultimate prize, a collaboration contract to design and curate a collection of homewares for John Lewis, but contestants Briony and Craig’s interior vision and adherence to the brief not only impressed the show’s judges, who awarded them the win for the ‘Standout Space’ challenge, but also the developers of Royal Haslar, who have invited them back to design a brand new show home in the next phase of homes released for sale.
In the nail-biting episode, each duo was given a budget of £4,500 (£2,250 per designer) to style a nearly identical two-bedroom two-bathroom apartment in Trinity House, the magnificent Grade II Listed Georgian Quadrangle building that is the architectural centrepiece of former naval hospital Royal Haslar. Their makeover mission? To demonstrate how exciting a chapter in life retirement can be, with your home a place to live luxuriously, relax, socialise, as well as indulge in hobbies.
With each apartment providing a high-ceilinged entrance hall and flowing light-filled living spaces, including an open-plan kitchen/living/dining area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms, each pair of contestants was also given the services of two carpenters and two decorators to facilitate their designs. While collaboration was key, each individual contestant was set the personal project of designing a bedroom on their own. While all came with very different backgrounds and signature styles, the contestants’ skills, flair and ability to meet a budget were tested to the max.
All were clearly inspired by Royal Haslar’s dramatic waterfront setting, elegant parkland and important heritage as a former hospital that between 1753 and 2007 was used for convalescing sick and wounded sailors and marines of the Royal Navy and armed forces.
Several of the Interior Design Masters contestants drew on common themes of fresh blues, greens and statement stripes in wallpaper, linens and headboards referencing Royal Haslar’s parkland setting and nautical history. While every contestant had access to home staging firm David Phillips catalogue, various new and second-hand outlets, and items held by furniture charity Hub4Stuff, which has its own storage facility at Royal Haslar, the four schemes were completely unique.
‘Standout Space’ winners Briony and Craig took the elegant period motifs found throughout Trinity House as their guide, and used vibrant yellow with sage green accents to enliven the entrance hall. Beading was added to the walls in the open-plan living space to create a panel affect, with a plush green velvet upholstered sofa, saffron drapes at the sash windows, an ebony dresser and large gilt mirror creating the feel of a salon. Black and white photography throughout the apartment provides a contemporary edge.
The kitchen features a pastel pink wall, providing the perfect backdrop to an eclectic collection of blue and white plates. Subtle zoning of the reception provides task/function areas, while keeping the space fluid. A wooden chandelier, painted white, provides a focal point for the dining area, connecting perfectly with the white rattan dining chairs and table setting.
Colours to chime with the parkland setting and coastal location of the apartment were used in the bedrooms. Bold green and cream stripes, accent reds and floral prints in custom faux bamboo gold picture frames, set against a warm pale cream background, bring a welcoming sense of calm to the principal bedroom. The cream and pale blue colour scheme of the second bedroom is enhanced by further use of beading, creating wall panels and dado.
The use of a two-tone wall treatment, a style which dates back to the Georgian period, with pale blue up to the dado and cream above, connects perfectly to the wider period building. Soft furnishings, also in shades of blue and cream, were in harmony with the wall treatment, while reproduction upcycled period side and half-moon tables added warm wood tones, with a painted spindle back chair adding a contrasting splash of bright yellow.
Alongside the professionally interior designed two-bedroom show apartment by Hampshire-based Studio Macnamara, two of the other three Trinity House apartments styled during Interior Design Masters have also been retained as show homes (with the fourth returned by the developers to its original, neutral state).
Pat Power, Director of Haslar Developments, says: “It was a pleasure to have the team from the sixth series of Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr at Royal Haslar, to share the beauty of the site and showcase what an inspiring place it is to live in. It’s a testament to this new waterfront community that it was chosen by the production team as the first retirement development to be featured in the show.
“We were excited by the differing styles presented by contestants, each duo bringing something new to Trinity House. However, overall, we felt that Briony and Craig created not only a ‘standout space’, that was consistent throughout the apartment, but one that connected with the building and will, I am sure, resonate with many potential buyers. They understood the brief and the uniqueness of the location, which is the reason we are inviting them back to Royal Haslar to create a further one-bedroom show apartment in the next phase of Royal Haslar. We are very much looking forward to seeing and sharing their design.”