New reality show to spotlight affordable African interior design, showcase young talent

Retouched By Flair, an interior design organisation, has unveiled a reality television show to promote African interior design, empower young creatives, and show how homes can be transformed without excessive spending.

The 13-week programme, titled The Retoucher, will premiere in the first quarter of 2027 and feature emerging interior designers competing in design challenges as they transform homes and other spaces.

Creator and Executive Producer Debola Majekodunmi said the initiative was designed to make interior design more accessible while giving young African designers a platform to showcase their creativity and gain visibility.

Speaking at the unveiling in Lagos, Majekodunmi said the project would help promote African design identity, indigenous materials and local creativity, adding that good interior design should not be limited to wealthy people.

“I want every home to be decently dressed up. I want to promote that it is not only the wealthy that can have a good interior design,” she said.

Majekodunmi noted that while African culture had gained recognition through food, music, and fashion, interior design still had significant growth potential and needed wider appreciation.

“We want to promote African interior design. We have beauty in Africa. Africa has been promoted through the food, music, and clothing industries. We want to have our own African interior design. So this is the beginning of it,” she said.

She added that the initiative was expected to expand beyond Nigeria into other African regions, including East, North and Southern Africa, with the long-term ambition of building a franchise.

How The Retoucher will work

Majekodunmi said the production would begin with auditions across four locations in Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, with a fourth location still under consideration.

According to her, about 100 aspiring designers are expected to emerge from the auditions before proceeding to a boot camp for training, mentoring and further assessment.

The process will eventually produce 20 shortlisted contestants who will participate in the 13-week programme.

The organisers also plan to invite homeowners from different backgrounds to submit their homes for transformation. The selection is expected to include people from different economic circumstances and life experiences, giving contestants opportunities to address practical design needs.

Majekodunmi said the show would combine education, creativity and empowerment, with the contestants expected to apply their skills to real-life spaces.

“We are transforming homes and empowering lives. That is it. We have come to empower homes, we have come to transform lives,” she said.

She added that the organisers were pleased with the reception at the unveiling and hoped the programme would grow into a wider movement for African interior design.

Design challenges and home transformations

Veteran Nollywood filmmaker and producer of the show, Tade Ogidan, said The Retoucher would combine competition, audience participation and practical design challenges.

Ogidan explained that contestants would work on different types of spaces, including interiors and exteriors, showing how creative ideas can improve people’s living environments.

He also disclosed that the programme would feature transformations of homes belonging to people who might not ordinarily afford professional interior design services.

“We have part of the concept where we will take people in poor homes. They would all pitch in to say, ‘Come and do up our home, come and do up our home.’

“We will look at it, and then we will go and give them the surprise of their lives, do up the place to become somewhere they would love,” he said.

Ogidan added that viewers would play an active role in the programme, making audience participation an important part of the competition.

At the unveiling, contestants divided into Team Blue and Team Orange were given 25 minutes to transform blank sets using available materials.

Team Orange emerged as the winner after the judges’ assessment and audience voting, which accounted for 40 per cent and 60 per cent of the final scores, respectively.

Team Blue received 16 points from the audience, while Team Orange scored 19 points. The judges’ scores also favoured Team Orange.

The winning team received N200,000, while the runners-up were awarded N50,000.

Stakeholders call for affordable, inclusive design

Strategy Adviser at Retouched By Flair, Hubert Davies, said homeowners could create attractive living spaces without spending too much.

“It doesn’t cost a fortune for you to change your home into your palace,” he said.

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Similarly, Jennifer Chukwujekwe, founder of Jenniez School of African Interior Design and former President of the Interior Designers Association of Nigeria, highlighted the sector’s opportunities.

Chukwujekwe also called for greater attention to older people’s needs in interior design, stressing the importance of creating spaces that accommodate their specific requirements.

GDM Group Chief Executive Officer Victor Afolabi said the initiative offered opportunities to improve homes affordably and encouraged partnerships to support the programme and expand its reach.

The Retoucher Project Manager, Jemimah Ododo, said the project would promote designs that reflect African culture and identity while creating opportunities for local talent.

NFVCB added that this would help the Nollywood industry accommodate local, affordable filmmaking budgets beyond Western appeal.

She added that the initiative would demonstrate how indigenous resources and African creativity could produce world-class designs while supporting emerging professionals.

Beyond the television programme, the organisers said they planned to explore training, design exhibitions, partnerships and product development to create further opportunities for young creatives.

They called on brands, broadcasters, building-material manufacturers, retailers, property developers, and investors to support the project through partnerships and sponsorships, aiming to expand its reach and promote African interior design.