New Reality Show to Highlight Affordable African Interior Design and Young Talent

Retouched By Flair, an interior design company, has launched a new reality TV show. The show aims to promote African interior design, support young creatives, and show how homes can be improved without spending too much.

The 13-week show, called The Retoucher, will start in the first quarter of 2027. It will feature up-and-coming interior designers competing in challenges as they redesign homes and other spaces.

Debola Majekodunmi, the creator and executive producer, said the show is meant to make interior design more available. She wants to give young African designers a chance to show their creativity and get noticed.

Majekodunmi spoke during the launch in Lagos. She said the project will help promote African design identity, local materials, and homegrown creativity. She believes good interior design should not just be for the rich.

"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 pointed out that while African culture is recognized through food, music, and fashion, interior design still has a long way to go. She wants it to be appreciated more widely.

"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 plans to spread beyond Nigeria to other parts of Africa, including East, North, and Southern Africa, with hopes of building a franchise in the future.

Majekodunmi said auditions will take place in four locations in Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, with a fourth venue still being decided.

Around 100 aspiring designers are expected to come from these auditions. They will then go to a boot camp for training, mentoring, and assessment.

This will lead to 20 finalists who will take part in the 13-week show. The organizers also want to invite homeowners from different backgrounds to submit their homes for makeover.

They hope to include people from various economic backgrounds and life experiences. This will give contestants chances to meet real design needs.

Majekodunmi said the show will mix education, creativity, and empowerment. Contestants will use their skills on actual 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 expressed happiness with the response during the launch. She hopes the show will become a larger movement for African interior design.

Tade Ogidan, a veteran Nollywood filmmaker and producer of the show, said The Retoucher will mix competition, audience involvement, and practical design challenges.

Ogidan explained that contestants will work on different types of spaces, both inside and outside homes. They will show how creative ideas can improve living conditions.

He also mentioned that the program will feature transformations for homes of people who might not usually afford professional 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 will play an active role, making audience participation a key part of the show.

At the launch, contestants split into Team Blue and Team Orange had 25 minutes to transform empty sets using available materials. Team Orange won after judges and audience scored them.

Team Orange scored 19 points while Team Blue got 16 points. The judges also favored Team Orange.

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

Hubert Davies, a strategy adviser at Retouched By Flair, said homeowners can create beautiful spaces without spending too much.

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

Jennifer Chukwujekwe, founder of Jenniez School of African Interior Design, emphasized the chances in the sector. She also urged attention to older people's needs in design, highlighting the importance of creating suitable spaces.

Victor Afolabi, CEO of GDM Group, said the initiative offers affordable home improvement opportunities. He encouraged partnerships to help support the program and extend its reach.

Jemimah Ododo, the project manager for The Retoucher, said the goal is to promote designs reflecting African culture and identity while creating chances for local talent.

Beyond the show, the organizers plan to explore training, design exhibitions, partnerships, and product development to create more chances for young creatives. They are calling on brands, broadcasters, builders, retailers, property developers, and investors to support the project with partnerships and sponsorships to help promote African interior design.