Interior Design Masters' Francesca Kletz speaks out after exit

Interior Design Masters star Francesca Kletz has broken her silence after her exit.

Viewers had been furious when Michelle Ogundehin had chosen to save her last week over Domnall Starkie when they worked on transforming a local cafe together in Swansea, south Wales. Kletz had got the measurement wrong on the benches, meaning they were too high for people to sit at the tables.

Kletz had owned up to her mistake, winning her favour with Ogundehin, and Starkie was sent home as a result which didn't go down well with some fans of the show, which is also hosted by Alan Carr.

However, Kletz's time on Interior Design Masters ran out on Tuesday when she failed to impress the judges with her spin on kitting out a flat for modern professionals. In her typical bold style, the designer had incorporated a lot of waves into her design which Ogundehin said turned out "childish".

Now Kletz has broken her silence following her exit to say she was "glad" they had left this task until later in the series because boxy modern rooms are her "kryptonite".

She wrote on Instagram: "Well that’s all folks! I was so incredibly proud to get to episode 5 and I was also incredibly glad that they saved modern flats for later in the series because frankly, boxy modern rooms are my kryptonite!

"I wanted to show that young professionals can go to work, be serious, make money and then come home to their Pee-Wee’s playhouse dream retro home. I also was really apprehensive about damaging the walls or doing anything I felt would be really irreversible because it was for renters."

Looking back, Kletz admitted she would change a few things about her design that didn't win over the TV judges. The Interior Design Masters star said she would have liked to incorporate more textile products into the room and go even bolder with her colour palette.

She said: "There are definitely things I could have changed about this space but the feeling in the flat totally changed from the beginning grey box to the end result and I’m still really pleased with it. I wanted to show how you can make large scale art on a budget – the mobile in the bedroom was one of my favourite makes from the series and it was made from all the leftover cardboard from the flat pack furniture and the fabric wall hanging was from scraps that cost under a tenner."

She added: "If I were to do-over this space I think I would hang more textile treatments on the walls – maybe that green ombré curtain all the wall along the walls and go more out there with the wall paint colour which was a bit too pale once I got it on the walls – but after episode 1 I was so scared about using too much candy on the walls I should’ve had more conviction in my eye for colour."

Despite her exit, Kletz was confident in her choice of the electric blue for the hallway. She said: "It is honestly one of the most incredible paints I’ve ever used and it felt really incredible in that hallway."

The Interiors Design Masters star wished her "absolute loves" and co-stars goodluck as they head into the quarter finals. Also, she thanked the hosts of the show Ogundehin and Carr. "It was such a pleasure," she wrote.

"I seriously had the best time with the crew and designers and everyone who works on the show, it was such a wonderful experience and made me realise how much my silly designs can actually make incredible, immersive and happy making spaces.

"Shayne Brady said to me on the sofa “never lose your joy” in my designs and that was probably the best advice I could get going forward."

Interior Design Masters fans felt that it was Kletz's time to go home from the show after failing to nail the brief.

Among the tweets, one person wrote: "Francesca has a style suitable to some. Unfortunately, she has one style and doesn't seem able to move away from it. Unfortunately for her, it's not sophisticated or adaptable. Right person left."

Others added: "Watched Interior Design Masters an hour behind last night. I feel like Francesca's time was up - definitely the right person to leave this week. Anthony's was my personal favourite - feel like that has been the case most weeks so I would love to see him in the final!"

"Francesca’s flat looked like a really bad episode of Changing Rooms. MDF and sticky back plastic and random bits of crap stuck on the walls."

"Francesca's taste in interiors isn't the same as mine, but I think that she should not lose her exuberance or her own taste. I think that, like many contestants over the yrs, she fell into the trap of designing the project with her own taste in mind."

"About time Francesca went on Interior Design Masters – to me she should have been out before some of the others who left previously Matt or Anthony to win for me – both offer stylish, unique & classy designs without being too showy or OTT."

Kletz received a huge amount of support on her Instagram as she posted after the show. Among the comments, one person wrote: "The blue looked amazing (I have it in my tiny box bathroom)! You did so well."

Another wrote: "So, so proud of you for being unapologetically you throughout - now I can’t wait to see your very own interior design masters take place on this feed because this is just the beginning pal."

Read more

• Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr: contestants run riot in former convent cells in this series opener (Evening Standard, 5-min read)

• Interior Design Masters series 5: Meet this year's contestants (House Beautiful, 3-min read)