“I’ve decided that interior design is 99% logistics and 1% design” Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr, and series winner, Banjo Beale
BANJO After eight weeks of decisions, dramas and driving thousands of miles to secure those very special reclaimed and second-hand items to make his super-stylish schemes stand out, Australian-born cheesemaker, marketeer and stylist Banjo Beale, 35, who lives with his partner Ro on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, has been crowned the winner of Interior Design Masters 2022. Head judge Michelle Ogundehin was joined by fashion and interiors designer Matthew Williamson and businesswoman and owner of the London Cocktail Club, Sarah Willingham, for the final. Banjo and his fellow finalist, Amy Davies, were each tasked with a personal project to transform two floors of their own bar in Soho, central London, both in desperate need of a style refresh. Banjo’s client wanted a sleek ‘British members’ club’ vibe. Banjo admitted that he’d never been in such an establishment in his life. The winning result? Elegant, understated and so impressive, the bar’s owner has now asked Banjo to restyle his own apartment. Banjo – nicknamed by partner Ro, because ‘he’s highly-strung’ – when he came back down to earth after taking the winner’s crown, said he couldn’t quite believe it. ‘’I was genuinely, really surprised 26
and overwhelmed and speechless. It was such a long rollercoaster, the whole process, and to be standing at the end an absolute winner, well I did cry. I know, I’m a crier – happy tears, sad tears, overwhelmed tears, every kind of tears – and at the end, it was probably tears of exhaustion. The entire process is exhausting, don’t underestimate that. I don’t shop in big bucks stores, so it involved a lot of driving. It wasn’t unusual for me to drive to Grimsby, then back to London, then to Bristol or somewhere, then back, just to collect that piece of treasure. I’m Australian, so driving is just natural to me, but it was hard because I couldn’t go home and decompress every week. I spent lots of time on the road and lots of time in hotels. I never mentioned why I like a light fitting on the show, and perhaps I should. It’s a big like this. You know if you put on a few extra pounds, you might buy WOKINGHAM LOCAL • JULY / AUGUST 2022
