Top Design Australia
| Company type | Television program |
|---|---|
| Industry | Reality television |
| Founded | July 13, 2011 |
| Headquarters | Australia |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Jamie Durie (presenter), Amanda Talbot (judge), Nick Tobias (judge) |
| Products | Reality television series |
| Parent | Nine Network |
Top Design Australia is a reality television program centered on interior design and renovation, presented and evaluated by Jamie Durie, with design expert Amanda Talbot and architect Nick Tobias serving as judges. Adapted from the American version bearing the same title, it follows a comparable structure and elimination format. The champion was awarded a prize of $100,000. The show debuted on 13 July 2011 on the Nine Network and consisted of a single season comprising nine episodes.
Designers
| Name | Age | Occupation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Davidov | 29 | Architect | Winner |
| Stephen Trupp | 41 | Youth worker | Runner-up |
| Lisa Christie | 32 | Interior designer | 3rd place |
| Chris | 33 | Graphic artist | 4th place |
| Dee Tang | 29 | Visual merchandiser | 5th place |
| Dan Stephens | 36 | Graphic artist | 6th place |
| Karl | 47 | Furniture designer | 7th place |
| Katrina | 43 | Former design teacher | 8th place |
| Kai Ieraci | 27 | Interior designer | 9th place |
| Jo Bursill | 39 | Interior designer | 10th place |
| Leigh Mccrabb | 29 | Carpet cleaner | 11th place |
| Mary Tarling | 54 | Broker | 12th place |
| Craig Voltz | 49 | Building/interior designer | 13th place |
Elimination chart
| Designer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4Template:Ref | 5 | 6 Template:Ref | 7 Template:Ref | 8 | 9 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert | low | in | win | win | win | in | low | win | win | in | win | winner |
| Stephen | high | high | in | in | low | win | win | high | in | in | low | out |
| Lisa | high | high | high | in | in | low | low | low | win | win | low | out |
| Chris | high | in | win | in | in | in | out | |||||
| Dee | win | in | low | in | high | high | high | out | ||||
| Dan | in | win | low | high | in | in | out | |||||
| Karl | in | WD | ||||||||||
| Katrina | low | out | ||||||||||
| Kai | in | in | low | low | out | |||||||
| Jo | low | low | in | out | ||||||||
| Leigh | high | low | out | |||||||||
| Mary | low | out | ||||||||||
| Craig | out | |||||||||||
- Designer who secured the competition victory
- Designer who won the challenge
- Designer eliminated from the contest
- Designer achieved a high score in the challenge
- Designer received a low score in the challenge
- Designer was among the bottom two contestants
- Designer voluntarily exited the competition
Episode one
Original airdate: 13 July 2011
For the inaugural challenge, pairs of designers were tasked with transforming a single shipping container into a livable area within four days, working with a budget capped at $25,000.
| Teams |
|---|
| Robert & Mary |
| Jo & Craig |
| Dan & Kai |
| Steve & Lisa |
| Dee & Leigh |
Although Steven and Lisa exceeded their budget by $4,000, their space received positive feedback. Dee and Leigh's modular deck concept was highly commended, earning Dee the challenge victory. Conversely, Craig & Jo and Robert & Mary failed to impress the judges; Craig was eliminated due to poor carpentry skills.
- Winner: Dee Tang
- Eliminated: Craig Voltz
Episode two
Original airdate: 20 July 2011
Designers were divided into three groups to renovate compact studio apartments into stylish bachelor pads for celebrity clients: actor Daniel Amalm, ironman Caine Eckstein, and radio personalities Ant & Beck, all with a $15,000 spending limit.
| Teams | Client |
|---|---|
| Dee, Kai & Robert | Ant & Becks |
| Steve, Dan & Lisa | Daniel Amalm |
| Leigh, Jo & Mary | Caine Eckstein |
During the task, Jo experienced an electric shock. Dan had conflicts with teammates Steve and Lisa but ultimately delivered the top design. The team of Leigh, Jo, and Mary produced a safe yet uninspired design; Mary was eliminated due to limited input.
- Winner: Dan Stephens
- Eliminated: Mary Tarling
Episode three
Original airdate: 27 July 2011
This installment comprised two challenges. The first required teams to design peaceful outdoor areas atop a parking structure inspired by the four classical elements, focusing on creating privacy.
| Teams | Element |
|---|---|
| Dee & Dan | Earth |
| Leigh & Kai | Fire |
| Robert & Lisa | Air |
| Jo & Steve | Water |
Judges commended the overall high standard of work. Robert and Lisa secured the win with a Mediterranean-style garden featuring overhead sails. Leigh and Kai ended up in the bottom two due to insufficient privacy and tranquility; Leigh was eliminated for prioritizing construction over design elements.
- Winner: Robert Davidov
- Eliminated: Leigh Mccrabb
The second challenge involved designers initially crafting chairs individually within two hours. Dee’s chair was selected as the winner; she proceeded solo while other contestants paired up to develop room designs centered around their chairs.
| Teams |
|---|
| Jo & Kai |
| Dan & Robert |
| Steve & Lisa |
| Dee |
Despite interpersonal conflicts between Dan and Robert, their eccentric design was well received; Robert earned his second consecutive win. Jo and Kai's French boudoir felt sparse; Jo was eliminated after her third time in the bottom two.
- Winner: Robert Davidov
- Eliminated: Jo Bursill
Episode four
Original airdate: 3 August 2011
Following the previous elimination, Jamie introduced three new designers, which caused some frustration among the contestants. The nine designers were grouped into three teams to create luxury hotel suites inspired by international themes, working within a $50,000 budget over three days.
| Teams | Theme |
|---|---|
| Dee, Robert & Chris | New York |
| Steve, Kai & Katrina | French Provincial |
| Lisa, Dan & Karl | Mexico |
Team relations were strained, particularly between Dan and Karl. Robert expressed concerns that Dee and Chris were too close and not contributing equally. Nevertheless, judges praised the New York-themed suite highly, granting Robert his third straight victory. The French Provincial suite received the lowest marks, resulting in Kai’s elimination due to declining performance.
- Winner: Robert Davidov
- Eliminated: Kai Ieraci
Episode five
Original airdate: 10 August 2011
Design teams were tasked with refurbishing rundown caravans for clients who happened to be their own relatives. They had a timeframe of three days and a budget capped at $10,000.
| Teams |
|---|
| Dee & Steve |
| Dan & Chris |
| Karl & Robert |
| Katrina & Lisa |
Lisa and Robert encountered difficulties working with their partners, while Karl and Robert often found themselves in disagreement. The victory went to Dee and Steve, who delivered a skillfully crafted design inspired by the 1970s. Katrina was eliminated due to insufficient individual design contribution. Jamie also contemplated removing Lisa, but Karl chose to withdraw voluntarily, citing a family health issue.
- Winner: Steve Trupp
- Eliminated: Katrina
- Withdrew: Karl
Episode six
Original airdate: 17 August 2011
Initially, contestants constructed furniture pieces utilizing recycled materials; Steve secured immunity as the previous challenge’s winner. Subsequently, each designer created a room featuring their recycled furniture as the focal point.
Judges commended Dee, Chris, and Steve for their efforts; Chris and Steve ended up sharing the win. Robert faced criticism for incorporating too many new materials and was placed in the bottom two. Dan was eliminated after producing an unstable recycled table and failing to complete his room setup.
- Winners: Steve Trupp & Chris
- Eliminated: Dan Stephens
Episode ratings
- Colour key:
- – Highest viewership in the series
- – Lowest viewership in the series
| Episode | Airdate | Timeslot | Viewers (millions) |
Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Series premiere | 13 July 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 1.156 | #5 |
| 2 | Episode 2 | 20 July 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.799 | #12 |
| 3 | Episode 3 | 27 July 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.691 | #15 |
| 4 | Episode 4 | 3 August 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.590 | #19 |
| 5 | Episode 5 | 10 August 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.635 | #18 |
| 6 | Episode 6 | 17 August 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.610 | #20 |
| 7 | Episode 7 | 24 August 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | — | — |
| 8 | Episode 8 | 31 August 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.210 | #47 |
| 9 | Grand finale | 7 September 2011 | Wednesday 8:30 pm | 0.207 | #51 |
See also
References
- ↑ Chris, Karl, and Katrina entered the competition starting week 4.
- ↑ Both Chris and Stephen were declared winners of the challenge by the judges.
- ↑ Dee withdrew due to burnout; Jamie made the decision to eliminate her.
- ↑ "Reality Not Really".