Changing things up
IT has been 17 years since interior design show Changing Rooms last aired, but it feels like it’s never been away.
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is back, adding his flair to rooms across the nation, while cohost Anna Richardson is our nosy tour guide and occasional shoulder to cry on for horrified victims of design.
This reboot also features designers Jordan Cluroe and Russell Whitehead, and carpenter and joiner Tibby Singh.
In case you’ve forgotten, this show sees neighbours swap houses and transform a drab room for each other, working with a designer to bring something spectacular and unexpected.
It’s all building towards the big reveal, where a participant could just as easily shriek with delight or break down crying. Either way, we’re here for it.
Kicking off in Swansea, Anna, Laurence, Jordan and Russell stride side-by-side Reservoir Dogs-style towards their target.
Anna says: “In Swansea there are two washed out rooms that time and design forgot.”
Florist Claire’s living room is
blighted by beige and she wants something bright and ostentatious.
Her neighbour of 25 years, postal worker Lisa, has a dull, cluttered bedroom that needs an overhaul.
Claire and her friend Jo swap keys with Lisa and her daughter Kirsty to meet their designers and get to work.
Russell and Jordan suggest a high glamour drag theme, dubbed ‘Shantay Swansea’, for Lisa’s bedroom, while Laurence hopes an Indian pleasure place theme called ‘Forever Peacocky’ will win Claire over. But it might all be a bit much...