Been re-watching BB7 recently, and one thing that really strikes me is how shockingly bad the house design was that year. It just did not work on so many levels.
The inside out theme is fine as a gimmick, but only really works if the lawn in the garden forms a pristine green carpet to anchor the composition. For most of the series, the grass was pretty much dead due to the hose pipe ban, making the garden look like a filthy dust pit. The dead yellow grass and dirt clashed horribly with the grey, concrete walls and red outdoor carpet. This was all the more unfortunate given that the interior was so small that year, resulting in the housemates spending so much time outside.
Another massive problem was the lack of appropriate seating that year. The designated lounge had no natural light, and the seats were extremely uncomfortable, making it a dead zone much of the time. Instead, the housemates opted to sit on bean bags, which meant that large numbers of housemates were often sat at weird angles for many of their conversations, making them difficult to film, resulting in poor and unsatisfying shots. Also, the lack of indoor dining table meant that the housemates often sat on the floor to eat. These sort of shorts frequently resulted in close ups of the carpet which was absolutely filthy and unappealing to look at after a few weeks.
Also, whoever thought that the brown wood used on the kitchen walls would look good against the bright red carpet in the living area needs to go back to design school.
Many of the walls, particularly in the bedroom, looked cheap and flimsy, and, overall, the house just had a cheap and unfinished aesthetic, in addition to being poor from a practical standpoint.
All other house designs have been far superior imo. It's quite surprising how cheaply produced BB7 looked in that regard, when, at the time, BB was Channel 4's flagship show and the UK's biggest reality show. Just goes to show that it is the housemates that make or break a series, and that everything else is secondary. Nearly all the channel 5 houses (apart from the fairytale one) have looked superb imo, despite the series overall being utter crap and garbage.
Which is your least favourite design?
The inside out theme is fine as a gimmick, but only really works if the lawn in the garden forms a pristine green carpet to anchor the composition. For most of the series, the grass was pretty much dead due to the hose pipe ban, making the garden look like a filthy dust pit. The dead yellow grass and dirt clashed horribly with the grey, concrete walls and red outdoor carpet. This was all the more unfortunate given that the interior was so small that year, resulting in the housemates spending so much time outside.
Another massive problem was the lack of appropriate seating that year. The designated lounge had no natural light, and the seats were extremely uncomfortable, making it a dead zone much of the time. Instead, the housemates opted to sit on bean bags, which meant that large numbers of housemates were often sat at weird angles for many of their conversations, making them difficult to film, resulting in poor and unsatisfying shots. Also, the lack of indoor dining table meant that the housemates often sat on the floor to eat. These sort of shorts frequently resulted in close ups of the carpet which was absolutely filthy and unappealing to look at after a few weeks.
Also, whoever thought that the brown wood used on the kitchen walls would look good against the bright red carpet in the living area needs to go back to design school.
Many of the walls, particularly in the bedroom, looked cheap and flimsy, and, overall, the house just had a cheap and unfinished aesthetic, in addition to being poor from a practical standpoint.
All other house designs have been far superior imo. It's quite surprising how cheaply produced BB7 looked in that regard, when, at the time, BB was Channel 4's flagship show and the UK's biggest reality show. Just goes to show that it is the housemates that make or break a series, and that everything else is secondary. Nearly all the channel 5 houses (apart from the fairytale one) have looked superb imo, despite the series overall being utter crap and garbage.
Which is your least favourite design?
