No quarter given

THE SIXTH season of hit reality interior design series The Apartment, themed Passion For Design, premieres tonight on Sony Channel (unifi TV channel 457) at 9pm.
The series focused on a different theme for each season, with the first – Style Edition – featuring contestants in pairs (brother-sister, friends, couples), while season five – Rising Stars – featured up-and-coming interior designers working on landed properties.
Most of the judges change over the seasons, but the fearsome (but hilariously funny) principal judge Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and Jamie Durie, who is both judge and host, are the two constants in the show.
Joining them on season six are new judges Tyler Wisler and Cat Arambulo, both considered among the best interior designers around.
Llewelyn-Bowen is a sharp-tongued British television personality best known for his appearances on BBC programmes such as Changing Rooms and DIY SOS: The Big Build.
Prior to Changing Rooms, Llewelyn-Bowen worked with top design firms, before starting his own consultancy in 1989. He has also been a judge on Australia’s Seven Network reality renovation series House Rules since 2017.
During a tele-conference call, Llewelyn-Bowen reveals that the sixth season was shot entirely in Johor Baru, the same location as last season.
“We are very much using the extraordinary dynamism of Malaysia and of the region,” says Llewelyn-Bowen.
“It is where the prize apartment is set as well. It is a great way to get the contestants hooked and drag them into the competition.
“What we all try to do with the challenges is to make them feel attainable for the audiences.
“Obviously, it is a very aspirational show, it feels glossy and we come up with some very fashion-oriented looks, but as head judge, I am always keen that we keep it as real as possible.”
Llewelyn-Bowen tends to be the most blunt and ‘in-your-face’ judge on the series. But he explains that the dynamics between him and the contestants have changed greatly over the seasons.
In the early seasons, contestants were scared of him, but quickly worked out that he could be tough but also supportive.
“My judgements are never arbitary, they are never capricious, they are never personal. I don’t judge contestants on their personal taste. I judge them on how well they express they personal taste.”
He points out that just as with this season’s theme of Passion for Design, he is there to make the contestants as good as they can be.
“[You] can see that I am very tough, but as the series progresses, you can see that I am also very supportive.
“When they give something that is the worst, they get an enormous amount of fuss from me. [But] I also try to explain to them why it works, so they can use that as they go on.
“I am only really, really tough when I see that they are not living up to their potential, or that they are hiding or trying to do enough just to get through rather than opening up.”
In case of a tie-breaker, it is Llewelyn-Bowen’s vote that counts. “Having said that, I can’t recall any occasion when I used my veto.”
He admits he can never override the other judges on the panel. As for this season’s new judges, he is all praise, saying they bring something extra to the show.

Asked what are common mistakes contestants often make on this show, Llewelyn-Bowen says: “I think the biggest mistake and what they often get punished for, is [being] tactical.
“They do things to try and impress, or do things to destablise other contestants, or basically not focus on the room.
“I don’t care what they did or how they got there, I am only going to judge them on what they have done.
“There is no point coming into judging with a sob story, there is no point coming into judging telling me somebody did this and did that.
“Actually, I want everybody to be completely focused on the work.”
He said season six features some mind-blowing interior designs that he himself never thought would ever be seen on any design show.
High praise indeed, considering Llewelyn-Bowen has been doing shows like this for 25 years.
Last season’s finals saw it all come down to Malaysian architect Winston See, and model and design school graduate Aleksandra Flasz from Vietnam. Flasz won, despite many viewers feeling that See’s design was far superior.
Llewelyn-Bowen explains that the season five finalists were judged not only by the panel, but by the public as well.
“Funnily enough, that was a free vote. I had no control over it. I am being very honest about this, I actually voted for Winston.
“I was very excited by the work that Winston did and continues to do. He put together a very rich, dense and romantic slice of Malaysia into the competition.
“He was using Malaysian motifs. He was using how people live in Malaysia as a style statement, which I thought was very astonishing.
“I was very proud of what he did last season.”