See the homes with the wow factor behind the front door 

You don't have to stray too far from the sofa for inspiration for that interiors revamp. We review must-see Netflix shows 

A derelict canal boat is transformed into a chic home for a young couple, and proves to be one of the more accessible homes on Amazing Interiors.

Unless the Christmas tree has remained up being merry and bright during lockdown, doesn’t the house feel bare now the decorations are back in hibernation?

Its absence might also show up flaws in décor which become more obvious as daylight hours lengthen and the nesting instinct accompanies the arrival of spring.

But with the current taboo on in-store browsing for ideas to feed the next project, park yourself on the sofa and be inspired, even mesmerised, by some of the home interiors shows on Netflix.

A ship-in-a-bottle approach was taken when a 19th-century New Jersey clapboard house was fitted into an aircraft hangar structure for a young family.

First up is Amazing Interiors, an American reality TV show featuring people living, for the most part, in houses which are normal from the outside but offer surprising interiors.

Think you might fancy an aquarium large enough for a spot of impromptu scuba diving, or space to accommodate multiple cars and motorbikes so human accommodation is of secondary importance?

Without an interior design trend in sight, the show is strangely refreshing. In fact, most of the homeowners, men in the main, don’t know a thing about trends; they just know themselves and are comfortable in expressing that in their surroundings, although the same can’t be said for their wives.

Among them is Jess, married to Wesley, a policeman and horror movie buff who fills their home with terrifying memorabilia and props. Some rooms are so scary she admits to being afraid to enter when Wesley is on night duty.

Another long-sufferer, Melody, lives with boyfriend David, and endures a nightly vertical climb to their suspended bed from which flows a waterfall. At this point I’m itching to ask how many descents a night to the bathroom does the sound of flowing water prompt her to make, and how does she cope with the bathroom being open plan?

Conclusion: Amazing Interiors? Amazing wives, more like.

Shay and Sid McGee of Studio McGee, hosts and interior designers on Dream Home Makeover.

Next programme up is Dream Home Makeover where interior designers Shay McGee and husband Sid of Salt Lake City offer potential for calm, stress-free interiors as an antidote to Amazing Interiors’ excesses.

As a proponent of the neutral interior, I delighted in the promo shots of a calm, pale interior until it became clear Shay doesn’t venture beyond the algorithm of paint it white, furnish it white and fire on a few white and steely blue cushions to finish.

Poor Sid’s timid attempts to introduce colour has Shay responding with an enthusiastic, “But there are so many shades of white,” one of which she itches to slather on beautiful wooded trusses holding up a roof.

This family room recieved a makeover by Shay and Sid McGee for the Hutchinsons and their five young children on Dream Home Makeover.

Unfamiliar design styles like California Cool and Modern Farmhouse held such promise, but amounted to no more than different quantities and configurations of white and blue products and finishes at the hands of Shay.

So, whether the client had five children still at the sticky-fingered, upholstery wrecking stage, or a purple-loving occupant of a new granny flat, they got white walls and white furniture.

Admittedly, Shay occasionally braved some cream and wood, and even relented when a client insisted on a reference to tan which Shay, naturally, secreted in a room of minor importance.

Conclusion: A spotless but spiritless experience from the one-trick-pony school of interior design.

Finally, breathe with ease through Abstract: The Art of Design, a series looking at design, from architecture to shoes. Or fast-forward to the final episode of series one and meet Ilse Crawford, furniture and interior designer, who might have more in common with the participants of Amazing Interiors than the interior designers of Dream Home Makeover, as her focus is singularly on the people who occupy the space she’s designing.

Maintaining that we spend 87% of our lives inside buildings, her aim is to make the house, hotel, airport lounge or restaurant she’s designing a thoughtful, sensory and human space, an approach she developed while editing Elle Decoration and studying anthropology to better understand our needs in our homes.

“Hold off: You have two eyes, two ears and one mouth; use them in proportion,” she instructs her staff when communicating with a client. But while those clients are undoubtedly high end, the finished interiors are neither over the top nor trend driven, but something more rarefied with the promise of longevity. And while most of us may not be in a position to hire her, Ilse’s lovely definition of luxury being “attention and care” is something we can all aspire to, if not achieve.