Wild Isle Style: Resourceful And Sustainable Interior Design Ideas

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BB: I think that would be when I was on Interior Design Masters. Michelle Ogundehin told me that I just have to trust my gut and you know what you like and you know what works. Sometimes you've just got to go with that feeling. What is the best home bargain you've ever snapped up?

TV interior design guru Banjo Beale launches new book

An Antipodean Hebridean, Brendan ''Banjo'' Beale grew up in central west Australia in the middle of nowhere.I have three. I really love the 'drunk botanist' boutique hotel room in week two. It was quintessential, moody dark green. I love a nook anywhere you can curl up in. I really loved my shepherd's hut as well (week five) – it was full of little collections. But absolutely without a doubt, the café in Margate (week eight), with the shutters and especially the owners' reaction, it was such a buzz. And I was really blown away when in the same week, the café was used in that episode of [BBC drama series] Killing Eve, also on TV. What advice would you give to anyone thinking of applying to the show in future? Left: Banjo Beale on Designing the Hebrides. Right. Rubha nan Gall lighthouse, north of Tobermory, is one of Banjo’s projects. Photos: DSP/ BBC Scotland / BBC Two Becoming a judge Over another mouth-watering lunch, John Goodlad will explore how salt fish from Shetland became a staple food for Europe, powered an economic boom and inspired artists, writers and musicians.

I won a reality TV show - but disaster struck my new telly job

The tiny home, which features on the latest episode of Designing the Hebrides on BBC Scotland, had no power or running hot water, and was damp and rotting. BB: When we were filming my television show, Designing The Hebrides, we didn't have any money whatsoever really to do these spaces. It was about what we could find for free and how resourceful we could be. So, I think the best price is free.In Designing The Hebrides, interior designer Banjo Beale and his friendly team of tradespeople travel across the Scottish islands using their craft skills, energy and creativity to bring Banjo’s Hebridean design dreams to life. Banjo and the team take on the challenge of renovating a variety of Hebridean establishments, including a family-run fish shop in Tobermory, a bothy on the isolated island of Ulva, and a bookstore and café on Skye. I turned cowbells into light pendants at a farm because they had no money. Also, some of the spaces are inaccessible, I had to take a boat, full of stuff out to a lighthouse we were designing, and I had to walk two hours to one space. On an island logistics are a big part of it. The following year, Chris invited Ro and Banjo to lease the café and farm shop - a gorgeous vine filled barn erected by the Reade family in the 80's. Ro was the cook and bookkeeper and Banjo, the stylist behind every plate, picture and latte art. The Glass Barn is a playground of curios and collections and a constant canvas and it was here that Banjo learned the art of reimagining whatever was at hand, into something useful or unusual. ​

BBC Designing The Hebrides - Media Centre - BBC

Banjo says: “My hometown of Tobermory is one of the most colourful in the UK but on the inside, some of the spaces are crying out for character. Thankfully, some brave locals are handing me the keys to their places, from a bothy two hours walk from the nearest road to a remote lighthouse, castle turret and beloved community rugby club. They’re dream properties to design but logistical nightmares to deliver. The final result sees the bothy retain its rustic feel, while being transformed into a stylish and comfortable living space. Pieces of upcycled furniture add to the authenticity, while the wooden panels that cover the lower half of the walls are painted in neutral colours to reflect the natural landscape.Having won both Interior Design Masters 2022 and the hearts of the British public, Banjo Beale is fronting a new TV show, Designing the Hebrides. It offers the viewer an insight into his life in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Good Homes sits down with the loveliest man in interiors for a chat about the six-episode series, airing from 12 April 2023 on BBC Scotland, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer… Island life Banjo Beale is an Australian Interior Designer based in the Scottish Hebrides. Winner of Interior Design Masters, Banjo is the host of Scotland's Home of the Year on BBC, author of a forthcoming book and star of a brand new TV series premiering in Summer 2023.

Wild Isle Style: Resourceful And Sustainable Interior Design

The weather is unpredictable, the locals are straight talking, the budgets are lean and you can’t just run to the shops to buy supplies - you have to be resourceful!” Clare Mottershead, Lead Commissioning Editor, Factual Entertainment and Events, adds: ‘Banjo’s originality, warmth and wit made him a favourite with our Interior Design Masters audience so it’s great to be able to share the next chapter of his story as he brings his infectious passion for design to his adopted Hebridean home.”

What’s next for Banjo?

I think it’s just such a special place,’ says Banjo. ‘I live in Tobermory, which I don’t know if you ever saw watched Balamory [the children’s TV show], but it’s the most colourful town in Scotland. But all the houses really are quite greyish inside. And I thought, it’s a bit crazy to start my business here, but I can do it. And the locals, they’re all my mates. Even in the show, they’re my mates.’ My city of Tobermory is one of the most colourful in the UK, but some of the interior spaces are begging for individuality, according to Banjo. Thankfully, some courageous locals are giving me the keys to their homes, including a bothy that is two hours by foot from the closest road and a distant lighthouse, castle turret, and cherished local rugby team. Although they are logistical problems to deliver, they are dream properties to design.