Big Brother House, Portugal
Portugal’s Big Brother house needed to grab attention like never before. More than 2,787m2 of Polyflor’s Expona Flow, Bloc, Designatex, and Secura products were installed to create an iconic aesthetic that would also stand up against heavy wear and tear.
Location: Portugal
Products Used: Expona Flow, Bloc, Designatex & Secura
Sector: Housing
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The Big Brother franchise – originally launched in the Netherlands in 1999 and later syndicated internationally – is one of the most popular reality television shows around the world.
As of 2021, there had been more than 500 seasons of Big Brother shown in 62 countries and regions. With every new season in each new country comes a new Big Brother house. Renowned for their outlandish décor and high quality fixtures and fittings, the design process of each Big Brother house is just as integral to the show’s success as the selection of its contestants – and flooring always plays an essential role.
When Big Brother Portugal’s seventh series launched in 2021, the house needed to grab attention like never before. As a brand new development built specifically for the latest series, the design brief was essentially a clean slate but with a number of key objectives: to bring nature and elements of the garden inside the house to create a seamless link; to create a warm and comfortable living room, and to deliver a modern and versatile kitchen.
Big Brother Portugal utilised an interior designer from Endemol, the programme’s production team, to identify the best fixtures and fittings to create an iconic aesthetic for the house. Knowing the flooring would experience a lot of footfall in a short space of time, durability and ease of maintenance were top of the list of features required, as well as bold patterns and colours. The designer appointed Polyflor after noticing its credentials and the wide range of products that perfectly suited the design lead objectives of the project.
In total, around 734m2 of Polyflor product was used throughout the house. In the bathroom and bedroom, Designatex in Chalk White Oak was installed, selected for its authentically-replicated natural wood finish and its textile backing which creates warmth and comfort underfoot; perfect for residential interiors. In the living room, Secura, another contemporary collection with the practicality and durability that comes from luxury vinyl sheet flooring, was selected in Sterling Oak as its shade perfectly set off the furniture, wall colours and other soft furnishings.
Expona Flow in Light Industrial Concrete was fitted in the shopping room, while Luna was chosen for the kitchen. The Expona Flow range is available in 50 shades and has been developed specifically for installation in areas with high footfall and where maintenance is often required. In a stark contrast to the Luna-shade of flooring fitted throughout the kitchen, Bloc in Classic Black was fitted in around the adjoining breakfast bar to create a point of interest. Bloc, with its range of 16 enticing and vibrant colours selected to be harmonious with any interior design scheme, was also installed in Rock Salt to create a striking walkway to the Diary Room, arguably the most recognisable space in all Big Brother houses.
The Polyflor products we selected achieved a beautiful and elegant design; in particular, the wood-effect floorings look like natural products when you view them on television. They were all straightforward to install and have been easy to clean. The customer service received from Polyflor was always helpful, with shipments arriving within estimated deadlines. The quality of the coverings also exceeded our expectations.
Tiago Cordaso, Marketing Director for Thumann – the representative of Polyflor in Portugal – was the main contact for Endemol throughout the development of the house and oversaw the relationship and supply of products.
He said: “When it comes to Big Brother, the finished design of the house has to be spectacular; not only does it become home to people who go on to be cultural icons, but it appears on screen every single day for weeks on end, so has to be engaging to the public viewing at home as well as those using it.
“The fit out was a huge success; Big Brother Portugal became a trending topic on social media from the show’s debut through to its final, it was the audience leader on its first show with more than 1.3 million viewers. Plus, it had an average 65% share of audience every night.
“This was great exposure for Polyflor products and the ways in which our ranges can adapt to suit any type of aesthetic.”
Housing case studies
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