Wild Isle Style: Resourceful And Sustainable Interior Design Ideas

Product Information

BBC/Darlow Smithson Productions Out of all the schemes you've done on the show which has been your favourite, and why? A new television series following Banjo as he launches his design career in the Hebrides is set to air in summer 2023. The series follows Banjo as he renovates incredible properties in remote locations including a lighthouse, castle and bothy two hours walk from the nearest road. Banjo battles wild weather, straight talking locals and tiny budgets to create characterful spaces in spectacular places. On Saturday, guests can join world renowned novelist, poet, librettist, playwright, member of the Really Terrible Orchestra, all-round polymath and raconteur, Alexander McCall Smith as he dissects his latest books with Anna Marshall, author of the 44 Scotland Street Cookbook, followed by dinner. Christine Leach tells the extraordinary story of the Beatons of Pennyghael, physicians to chiefs and kings, while Sir Lachlan MacLean, chief of Clan MacLean of Duart, will be joined by Ray Canham to explore the life of his ancestor Sir Fitzroy MacLean. 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.

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

The second episode of the six-part series features, which airs on Monday evening, sees Banjo heading to the small Inner Hebrides island of Ulva to take on the crumbling bothy that locals want to rent out to visitors. 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 yourself a nice pair of shoes to give yourself an instant boost? A light fitting is like that, it's the fastest way to get a really easy result, a nice big result in a room. The judges praised your 'intuitive' grasp of interior design – when did you first realise you might have this? We were actually in 'my' bar in Soho, with Alan and and the rest of the nine other guys [10 designers took part in the competition], and the production crew and some others. Watching it with 30 rowdy A type personalities in a Soho bar was all a bit mad for me. It wasn't like watching it in the little hotel room in London I'm normally staying in. Where are you now? 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.’

Sustaining local craft

Combining history, myth and travelogue, Dougie Strang’s The Bone Cave recounts a month-long walk following the invisible strands of story across the Scottish Highlands, and Kerri Andrew will be examining how walking is a source of creativity and comfort, a means of expressing grief, longing and desire and an activity full of physical and emotional significance in Way Makers, an anthology and testament to the rich literary heritage created by generations of women walker-writers over the centuries. 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. Combining unique finds with clever design, Banjo is known for creating sustainable, characterful and collected spaces for his interior design clients. Since taking home the crown on the BBC’s Interior Design Masters in 2022, Australian-born Banjo launched his own interior design business from the Isle of Mull, his home with husband Ro for the last eight years. In Designing The Hebrides Banjo brings his unique design style to the people who welcomed him into their community and other Hebridean islands.

TV interior design guru Banjo Beale launches new book

Steve Allen, Commissioning Editor, BBC Scotland, says: “Banjo’s passion for design, and his love of island life really does shine through in Designing The Hebrides, as he breathes new life into properties across the Islands.” The publisher says: “Living on the remote island of Mull has inspired Banjo to be resourceful and inventive in his design outlook. With sustainability and budget in mind, he combines vintage finds with clever design and re-purposes the old, re-imagining it into something new. Donna Clark, Executive Producer and DSP MD says: “When Banjo told us that he wanted to start his interior design business on the Isle of Mull, we knew that we had to follow him on his next adventure. It’s been a real pleasure to film with Banjo in such a breathtakingly beautiful locations and bring his idiosyncratic design work to the screen.” From contemporary to classic, his spaces are characterful, curated and eco-conscious. In Wild Isle Style, Banjo encourages people to give design a go and create their own signature style.” But what was it like to be on the side of the judging panel? ‘I thought it would be really hard because I have empathy for anyone that throws themselves open to judging. But when that camera rolls and then you see someone’s house, you have a visceral reaction, good or bad and there’s no hiding that! If I tried to lie, I’m wearing it on my face anyway. It’s a very lovely show, and all the houses are quite beautiful. But I’m not afraid to give my opinion on it.’ Sustaining local craftI’m staying with my friend in Herne Hill, south London. Before the show started I only had one friend in London. And I have nine friends in London now… Do you get recognised in public now? 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.

BBC Designing The Hebrides - Media Centre - BBC

The whole premise of the book is from the perspective of living on an island, embracing the materials that we have, using finite resources and only our own skills to bring them to life. So, it’s about taking that mindset into everything we do. Also on an island, you just have fun, there’s no pressure, and it’s not trying to be trendy. It’s just, it’s just a little bit of fun and tongue in cheek.’

Where it all started

Well, I would have said that the pace is slower, but I’m quite a chaotic person and anything I do tends to be a whirlwind, so I’m probably the wrong advertisement for slow living. But there is a definite pace that things move on an island, which means that you get to enjoy the smaller things. Tourism is a big thing on an island, and it just closes up in winter. It swells from around 10,000 people in summer, to 1000 or 500 people in winter. Banjo Beale Banjo’s passion for design, and his love of island life really does shine through in Designing The Hebrides, as he breathes new life into properties across the Islands. Banjo is the winner of BBC's Interior Design Masters 2022, host of Scotland's Home Of The Year and author of a forthcoming book which will be released in October 2023. Based in the Scottish Hebrides, the interior designer is also the star of a brand new TV series, Designing The Hebrides .