We’re halfway through the season and I’m ready to get into Episode 5. Here’s what went down.

The Challenge: On this episode, the contestants head to Holiday Village in the East of England. The designers are split into two teams where they were tasked with redesigning two luxury holiday cabins. The challenge includes two separate target markets: one for women in their 30s looking for a fun getaway, and the other for older couples looking for a classic country retreat. The first target was given to Frank, Kyle, and Cassie, and the second was given to Ju and Nikki, respectively. The team members were advised to agree on a unified brief from the very beginning. So let’s see how they did.

The Work: So right off the bat, Frank and Cassie were going at it about their plans for the space. Obviously. It’s a bit suspicious that these two keep being placed on the same team (I’m sensing some production moves here…), but what are we going to do about it. Kyle seems to be leaning toward Frank in the decisions, so I can already see some railroading on the horizon. Cassie doesn’t seem to be a pushover, though, so I can sense their teamwork suffering. Nicki and Ju on the other hand, were coming together well and focused on creating a farmhouse themed look for their country retreat space.

First look at the cabins, you can see that they were generally nice-looking spaces with some outdated elements. They gave the designers a good canvas to work with. As the work begins, Ju finds herself having to slow down Nicki’s big ideas and pull her back to focus on the plan. That’s a big job considering Nicki’s ambitions are typically large and plentiful. They deal with this regularly throughout the two days. Even so, the two ladies work well together. They identified some nice touches for the outdoor area, and took to focusing the sofa on the view. Also, the color and pattern options seemed to flow very well.

Meanwhile, Frank, Kyle, and Cassie were battling it out at every turn. What I find problematic is that Frank, have chosen a Hamptons vacation theme for the space and Kyle jumped into the idea. However, the target was a 30 year old women’s fun getaway, and both men refuse to allow Cassie into the design process. They actually stonewalled her from making decisions. Cassie didn’t backing down, though. She fought to the end for her ideas, even when they were vetoed. She did get some control for the outdoor area, and her vision there was great. I was not a fan of the wallpaper, though. We’ll see what it looks like when everything comes together. Kyle decided to build a headboard and fireplace and paint it, but he got worried towards the end about being able to add final touches. He leans too much on building and not enough on the design as a whole, so that worries me. Frank seemed focused on project management, and his own space. None of the designers are connecting their ideas, though, so I can almost guess how this is going to turn out.

The Walkthrough: This episode’s guest judge was Abigail Ahern. She was really interested in seeing texture in the space, making it feel more welcoming as opposed to flat and uninteresting. Ju and Nicki were up first, and the judges were met with a pleasant space overall. Both Abigail and Michelle felt that the bedrooms were really sweet and mixed with some great patterns. Michelle was impressed with how Ju evolved her pattern combinations. Nicki’s space was also a pleasant room, and I could see how Ju’s partnership helped Nicki bring about a more completed and focused outcome. The living area was also seen as a win with the focus on the view, however the judges disagreed on the amount of small items and knickknacks that were around. Last up was the outdoor space. While it was a nice area, Abigail believed it could use more privacy from the other cabins. So with that, they headed off to see what Frank, Kyle and Cassie did.

For the second cabin, the judges begin with the outdoor area, as it’s their lead-in to the home. They appreciated the privacy that was given and the views that were created there. On the inside, though, they found problems. The first room includes a custom headboard that just didn’t work and was not necessary. The judges were surprised at how uninviting the space was. The second bedroom wasn’t as bad, and the judges appreciated how it tied in with the landscape. The living area wasn’t met with much favor, either. The pattern became too much for the judges, and the designers created a space that focused on the television as opposed to taking advantage of the view. That was a huge disappointment, especially for Michelle. She said that the design is in the details of the space, and Abigail was in full agreement.

The Judging: So here we are. Who stayed and who got cut from the competition. Well, as I suspected, the judges felt that Ju and Nicki’s cabin was simple and beautiful, and successfully spoke to the target audience. They were safe from elimination. Frank, Kyle, and Cassie were sent to the couch to chat with Michelle and Abigail. For the first time in this competition, they as a team fully expected to be in the bottom. They saw the other cabin and knew that they hadn’t pulled together anything on the same levels. With that, the couch conversation was a somewhat different approach where they, especially Cassie, knew they had to fight for their seats.

Cassie stepped right up to express her frustrations and the fact that her teammates locked her out of the decisions. Being a member of the team’s target audience, Michelle asked Kyle and Frank if they included Cassie in the planning, and of course they said no. Abigail pointed out that their underlying friction presented itself in the design. Frank didn’t say much, but when it was revealed that the concept for the space was his, both Abigail and Michelle jumped on it. They told him the Hamptons is not the English country, and the concept didn’t fit with the task that was given. At the end, Michelle gave her final thoughts to the designers. For Frank, he showcased a flair for design and beautiful textures, however, he still needed to understand that it’s about the user first, and the design second. Cassie has come in, followed the brief and completed the challenges, but her specific design style was still not apparent in her work. Kyle consistently showcases amazing builds, but he needed to show them what else he could do. In the end, Michelle was looking to see the designers evolve and push themselves to grasp the lessons that were given. Because of that, Kyle was eliminated from the competition.

For Kyle, he was sad to go. He felt that his lack of attention on the design was because of the work he had to do to mediate conflict between Frank and Cassie. I think it’s more than that. He was informed in Episode 4 that he did too much with the build, and he needed to design more, so him not taking that cue was what hurt him in the end. However, a strong case could’ve been made for Frank going instead. He is a great designer and makes for great TV, however, his design concept was off, his teamwork was nonexistent, and he didn’t focus on the end user, all recurring themes for him and the designers as a whole. In this instance, his talent saved him, but will that last ‘til the end?

We’ll have to see. In the meantime, like and follow the page and comment on how you felt about this episode. Chat with you all next week!