Interior designer Sophie Robinson is best known for her love of bright colours and work on TV shows DIY SOS and The Great Interior Designer Challenge.
And now she is adding to her screen credits with the new Channel 5 series Dream Home Makeovers with Sophie Robinson.
The show begins this evening – Wednesday – at 7pm with Sophie transforming two different homes. These include a large space in an old school house in Nottingham and rooms in a grand Georgian house.
We spoke exclusively to Sophie about what she loved most about the transformations in the first episode of the new show, including painting the walls and ceilings of one room entirely black.
Channel 5’s Dream Home Makeovers with Sophie Robinson starts tonight at 7pm (Sophie is pictured left with homeowning couple Martin and Kirstie)
In the first episode, she helps one couple transform an old assembly room in a converted school house in Nottinghamshire.
The couple have different ideas about what they want the room to look like, with Martin wanting a large snooker table doubling up as a dining table, while Kirstie wants more of a boutique vibe.
Sophie explained that her approach in a room like this is to go for maximum impact, painting all four walls and the ceiling black.
She said painting it all black helped the space to feel homely especially when there is lots of layering, using accessories such as plenty of plants.
After painting one of the rooms black, Sophie used plenty of layering, using accessories such as plenty of plants, to help soft the impact
Sophie helped to transform a bland living room in Nottinghamshire using black paint
Banning the beige: Sophie knew that the couple liked black as they had used it in their kitchen
Speaking to MailOnline Property, Sophie said: ‘I knew that Kirstie had just ordered a black kitchen and so I knew it was a colour they liked.
‘Dark colours can give a space atmosphere and drama, making it the perfect choice as that room was large, it felt chilly.
‘There was nothing nice about being in that space apart from all the light from the windows.’
She went on to admit: ‘I’ve never painted a room all black before and so I was interested to see the result.
‘I have a reputation for being the queen of colour with a very bright colour palette. But what I wanted to do with this programme was not just come in and do my thing.
‘I wanted to react to the homeowners and their personal tastes and spaces. So what you will get across this series is plenty of colour – but I have used pastel colours, dark colours and neutral colours.
‘There is the full spectrum of colour and not just my particular love of bright colours.’
Sophie Robinson’s newTV show Dream Home Makeovers starts tonight at 7pm (pictured left with homeowning couple Arabella and Mark, who also appear in the first episode)
Before the transformation: Arabella and Mark’s living room with bland and uninspiring
After the transformation: Arabella and Mark have seen their living room been given the Sophie Robinson magic
Meanwhile, in Middlesex, Sophie helps to transform the hallway and living room in a large grand Georgian house owned by Arabella and Mark.
Sophie points out that the living room is overflowing with stuff, but it is not the only room in the house that is full of Arabella’s collections.
The designer explains that many of the items could be used in the new design, but that she needs to be selective to avoid the spaces looking like a museum.
Sophie decides on a deep red paint and a large patterned wallpaper for the hallway. And she uses a smoky ink blue for the living room, which had been not been decorated for 13 years.
Sophie said: ‘Arabella is passionate about interiors but she had too much stuff and so I had to make sure she didn’t bring everything in.
‘I lot of fun designing with her as it was all colour and all pattern, the crazier the better, and I was in my lane designing for her.’
Dream Home Makeovers start Wednesday at 7pm on Channel 5
