How to Build a Sex Room (2022) User Reviews

Won't please them all

[kristynpeterson · 8/10 · 14 July 2022]

This is a sweet, heartwarming show. I see a lot of feedback about it not being realistic from a functionality perspective. These rooms largely aren't extreme - because a lot of folks don't have extreme sexual relationship. It shows a great deal of restraint, and eliminates a lot of shock factor that people watch reality TV for. I don't know that she's an inspiring designer, but I appreciate her candor, curiosity, and her active listening skills.

The editing (frequently discussed) is non-linear, and sort of off putting at first. It's to drive binge watching. As a psychologist I knew this, and I still binged it.

Consider it a primer to kink, a unique design show, or an exercise in perspective taking. No matter how you view it, it's not perfect, but it's worth watching.

Ignore the show's low rating, this is wonderful!

[ryanh-16026 · 8/10 · 20 July 2022]

I put this on at random to kill some time and expected to just have it on in the background while I sat on my phone, but I was hooked from the minute the host Melanie opened her mouth!

The whole show is an amazing, Melanie is an absolute legend, her witty banter, her passion for each project, how she really listens to every client's unique wants and ideas, her taste is also sublime! The contractor she has with her (Dave?!) is hilarious and clearly incredibly skilled in making Mel's dreams reality. And the clients themselves are all lovely, unique and diverse people. It was great to see straight couples, gay couples, non binary couples, even a polyamorous group! Rooms for a whole smorgasbord of kink, rooms for passion and lovemaking, each incorporating its clients unique tastes and needs.

Really, this show boils down to celebrating love and the re-kindling of intimacy for those that need a bit of help in that department. Every episode gave me a massive smile and the warm fuzzies from seeing people so happy and in love with each other!

Please, please, please do more seasons Netflix!

Give it a chance

[lovethisworld3377 · 8/10 · 15 July 2022]

This show draws you in, it had me smiling the whole time. The designer Melanie is a fun person who really tries to listen to her clients wants and needs whilst still putting her twist on the room.

Her style isn't necessarily mine, but I appreciated her attention to detail and textures, the clients seem happy with the end designs.

Sure the show might not be perfect with its exploration of bdsm and kink, but for the couples and people involved, it seems to go with their level of comfort and how far they want to push their boundaries.

I think the low ratings for this show come from people who'd never be won over by the concept no matter how well it was executed.

It's easy to binge - give it a chance!

A Fun Time!

[roadwicca-52428 · 10/10 · 16 July 2022]

I could not stop watching! Wonderful ideas. Ms. Rose is a delight and her carpenter is a hoot. The diverse world of designing for different types of sex and dynamics was a great learning experience.

Does this feel good?

[sdrvqvr · 7/10 · 9 July 2022]

I enjoyed watching this show. To me it's another step forward to normalize talking about sex and sexual preferences. Communication in a relationship to me is key and that also counts for what we enjoy in the bedroom.

Critics made remarks on the hosts' comments along the episodes. I understand their points however felt like though at times, yes it can be interpreted as clumsy or not carefully thought through, they come from a good place.

This show is not here to win an award but does help to lighten the topic of sex and kinks and communicating them with your partner.

Finally a new show!

[clintlovestennis · 10/10 · 16 July 2022]

Seems like everything on tv today is basically the same with different titles. Love this show. Too many people freak out about sex talk and this does a great job of showing it's normal!

She's so fun and creative with her designs.

I love this show!

[nikkimozingo · 7/10 · 10 July 2022]

I love this concept for a show so, so much! I appreciate how they used a format that people are familiar and comfortable with -the reality makeover show- and paired that with something that people might not be so comfortable with. This is SUCH a gentle and fun introduction to kink and alternative sexual lifestyles. Bravo to Melanie and this production team for showing the world that kink is normal, attainable, and probably happening right now in the house next door!

Fantastic, I love it. A must see for all in a relationship.

[jarndie · 10/10 · 17 July 2022]

Love how Melanie creates & designs these amazing rooms & brings couples ideas into fruition. Love how she helps couples explore their relationships more. The relationship with builder made me laugh at some of the things that were getting done. I cried a lot realising that I am missing out on so much & wished Melanie could come to help me to bring some magic to my relationship that feels like it ended years ago.

The ratings seem wrong, system bias?

[akimon7 · 12 July 2022]

As of 7/11/2022 of this review, the average IMDB rating is a 4.8, however the scores are pretty high; based on watcher reviews the score totals 46/60 which would equate to roughly 76.77%, out of 10, that would be a high 7/10

Show is quirky and interesting. Just started watching and enjoying the content. But seeing this score/rainy system makes me think there's something equivocal about other ratings on here for sure.

Poorly Executed Concept

[pienpouwels · 4/10 · 14 July 2022]

I was very excited about starting this show, I love the concept, but it has left me feeling disappointed after a couple of episodes. The play rooms are basic and frankly, tacky. Distasteful to the point where I hope her clients didn't actually have to pay for them because they could have probably done it better themselves. How this woman has been a successful designer for 15 years is beyond me. If not for the sex toys, the rooms could have easily been a teenage girl/boy's bedroom or a guest bedroom that doesn't know what it wants. There is no sensual aesthetic whatsoever. No sexual appeal.

Melanie Rose seemed like a sweet lady at first but occasionally made me feel uncomfortable by excessively touching her clients, even holding their hands for longer periods of time. I get that she creates play rooms but that doesn't mean you have to touch everybody all the time. People have boundaries. She also clearly crossed the line with her married contractor on multiple occassions (even in front of his son who looked extremely uncomfortable and even commented on 'how his mom wouldn't like it'). And pressuring your contractor into flogging you or testing out restraints, is not a cute look.

Lastly, this lady is framed as an expert while she clearly hasn't got the foggiest idea what she's doing, judging by the toys she picks out and her general behaviour. Very superficial knowledge. Which is quite problematic. After Fifty Shades of Grey, this is just what the BDSM community needed: another horrible representation.

I'm sure it's an entertaining watch if you don't know anything about BDSM though, just know it's an inaccurate portrayal.

Such a surprise! This show is charming, sweet, funny... well done!

[shawcassieg · 10/10 · 14 July 2022]

The average rating does not represent the quality of this show. It's a design show... and it's a fantastic one. Without a doubt, the concept is going to offend some people, and I'm sure plenty of reviewers left a review without giving it a chance. I didn't plan to watch it; I honestly judged it by the "cover." I just expected it to be BDSM-focused, which isn't a personal interest for me. But I was visiting family and I caught a few minutes of one episode... then I was hooked. It's such a pleasant surprise! Melanie Rose, the designer, is an absolute delight. She's SO sweet, but she's also a firecracker. She puts together incredibly unique designs: some glamorous, some romantic, some spicy, but all luxurious. Every design is genuinely beautiful. And everyone featured is fascinating. Melanie's purpose is to help people reconnect, so this is as much about emotional intimacy as anything else. And the designs are just fun and fabulous.

It's a fun, breezy, surprisingly sweet binge. Give it a chance!

Scripted show with all the type of actors Netflix needs

[martn-38822 · 4/10 · 26 July 2022]

The show is a decent watch at the beginning but after 2-3 episodes it's the same everytime and only varies in the sexual orientation of the actors, I mean interviewed clients. Flogger, Bondage, don't forget to be amazed at least once per episode with eyes and wide open ("oh noooo I can't believe it"), say "oh my god" every third sentence and occasionally use a dirty swear to make sure everyone knows you're the kinky type. On the other hand my wife and I had sex every time after an episode just because of all the sex talk, so for this I give the show a 4/10.

Fantastic

[shraylo-543-208923 · 9/10 · 13 July 2022]

This show is great - I love Melanie Rose's personality and how she gets along with each of her clients. It tackles the subject of sex in a very positive, educational way while also combining the building aspect of the home improvement shows you normally see on HGTV. They also include a great variety of different couples, sexualities and relationship types. I think my only gripe is that they switch to a new client a quarter of the way through an episode, right when I'm getting invested in one couple - suddenly I'm having to get to know another. I understand why they did this though, as it results in a cliffhanger leading into the next episode.

This show is a lot of fun and surprisingly wholesome and deserves a higher rating!

Loved it!

[padgett-83833 · 10/10 · 11 July 2022]

Great show! Very funny, unique, and definitely a great binge watch. It definitely has us thinking... why not. The only bad reviews are those whose options are so far off que this show never stood a chance because something like this is beneath them. I hope they come out with more seasons.

Love it!

[epanuccio · 9/10 · 10 July 2022]

I'm vanilla as they come. I'm a bit of a prude but I have friends into BDSM - I understand it. I was smiling the entire time. This show is so light hearted and sweet. I think the negative reviewers miss the point - the rooms are to peoples taste. They are meant to be subtle, or extravagant. She nails their taste. I'm on episode 6 and I've maybe seen one weird design choice but the owner liked it? I love this show! It's actually bought my boyfriend a bit closer to me :) he watches corner of his eye. He laughs too.

Why is no one pointing this out?

[StarInspector · 21 July 2022]

I didn't get far enough in to really give it a fair number of stars, but I did shut it off for a very good reason. This show is clearly, entirely, scripted. These are actors and not real people. It's a shame cause this kind of show could have been interesting if they just bothered to find real sexual deviants who are actually passionate about their weird kinks. As it stands it's incredibly fake and boring.

Uncomfortable, but not for the reason you'd think

[nonfinite · 2/10 · 14 August 2022]

Let's be real here: BDSM, kink, and D/s can be wonderful and rewarding practices but it can also be dangerous. In the first two episodes, Melanie installs specialized equipment into rooms for clients who have little or no practical experience at all with said equipment or how to use it properly.

The show is a wonderful concept but the producers have made a terrible and irresponsible choice in selecting (or perhaps hiring, as in scripted, eesh,) inexperienced people for this show.

In the second episode one of the guys says "Uhhh....how about we go for a hike instead?" when arriving at the warehouse where HIS equipment is about to be sourced and demoed. Get these vanilla dweebs off the show and bring on people who know what this stuff is and actually want it, Netflix!

Loved it!

[gabodeno · 10/10 · 11 July 2022]

I thought the star Melanie was provocative and cheeky and very British. Loved the variety of couples, including the polyamorous family of seven, the gay male couple (who were very sexy, by the way), the lesbian couples and the variety of straight couples. Mike (the contractor) was very open-minded, and his crew were sexy as well. I think they took a subject that is often very taboo and made it accessible to so many and without judgement. I laughed at various parts of it, and had to pause it at some moments when I thought about my own experiences as I identified with some of the subject matter. There are some questions that were not addressed that I would have LOVED to find out the partners' opinions on!

Interesting concept, but lacking

[j-51304 · 2/10 · 14 July 2022]

Props to these couples for being so open and public about something so personal. Some of the couples are pretty cute! I think the idea of a dedicated sex room is out of touch, but that's par for the course with renovation TV like this. I wish there had been more focus on education and safe kink practices. I don't like the surprise aspect of the show given how tremendous some of the changes are.

I think the dynamic between Melanie and Mike is weird; if they've been working together for so long, shouldn't they be more used to each other? Melanie asking Mike to flog her harder when he doesn't seem to want to (in front of his son, in their client's front yard for some reason? Doesn't really work with the whole "my clients could be your next door neighbors and you would never even know" thing, but ok) isn't cute. Mike protesting the whole time when she asks him to test out the bed restraints to see if they work and fit right doesn't make Melanie seem more sexually open and quirky by comparison, it makes her seem like someone who should not be in charge of guiding others into the realm of kink. It also doesn't pass a basic realism check; he would be used to and comfortable with these parts of the job by now, or she would know not to ask him by now. Obviously fake, not cute, not quirky, not funny, just bad consent modeling.

I wish we'd seen better behavior from Melanie (not to place shame on her; I'm sure scripting and editing are playing a large role) and more involvement in designing the rooms from the clients. The current presentation doesn't hold up the claim that Melanie is a super knowledgeable sex guide who's qualified to lead people on a sexual journey. The lack of design involvement from the clients makes me unsure every time of whether they actually like the room or are feeling overwhelmed/pressured to for the camera. Ultimately it just doesn't hold up.

Beautiful and full of heart

[noellembb · 10/10 · 25 July 2022]

Praise melody for her huge heart and ability to show the importance of a healthy and exciting sex life where couples can grow closer in their sexuality and keep the flame and excitement alive and truly discover individually and as a couple what excites them and each other. One of the top reasons marriages start to crumble is a sex life that dies or gets boring or gets put on the end of the to do list. As more and more couples make their romantic sex life on the top of the list and prioritize sacred space it would do wonders for healthier and long lasting intimacy.

Thank you melody for normalizing the importance of sexuality. We are building a sex room in our home and have gotten so many ideas and this also normalizes it's for us. We think everyone should have a sex/romantic space in their home to honor each other and the incredible gift of sexuality we have been given and the ability to explore it while we can, no regrets only joy and exploration.

We would love to see another series.

Pleasently surprised: Funny, inspiring and informative!

[homelabsmart · 10/10 · 30 July 2022]

First of all: Yes of course I know that the show is not a documentation of kink or a guide on how to do X properly. I know that there is much more depth to kink, consent, addressing it, talking through it, experimenting etc.

Of course this show does not do that. Neither does Bonding (which was great too).

This show is made for entertainment whilst also showcasing quite the exotic design ideas. For a reality tv there was little to no drama which was quite refreshing. The main focus was on getting to know the couples, trying to extract the required information out of them and then getting to the planning and building. The host was charming and lovely. She might not look like much but she definitely knows her way around the kink and toy world.

Obviously the design choices made in the show are subjective but I must say I thought all rooms had a very nice touch and met the clients criteria very well. She included many small details and tried to make it as adventurous as possible for the couples. Obviously some are more vanilla than others.

And obviously this is no show to showcase the most extremes of kinks. I did not expect any depth at all and I was positively surprised by how far they went with the kinks.

Now to address another criticism: Yes, possibly the host did not handle every situation optimately. But also we have no clue what her and her crew agreed on before. It could've just been her crewing not being that comfortable on camera. Either way it's not her job to educate people on consent. She is a designer and toy expert, not someone that shows people how to do stuff. That is why I found it quite good that she got professional kinkers to guide the interested clients. She as a host did very well for me.

The best thing for me about this show was seeing the finished designed rooms and the reactions. Also seeing people be introduced to new ideas was great as well. Overall seeing those couples so happy just kept me smiling throughout. These freshly designed rooms probably took many relationships to another level.

And now, I genuinely don't think that the clients are paid actors. Maybe it is just me, but usually from reality tv shows I am used to really bad actors and those actors actually seemed like they loved what they were presented with. They seemed very genuine. Of course some things were probably scripted and planned but the people themselves seem real to me.

I can only recommend the show. It was fun and entertaining and I really don't get why people complain about subjective design or the kinks not being extreme/perfect enough. It is a huge step into the right direction.

Unexpectedly humorous and heartwarming

[RandyFoxglove · 9/10 · 9 July 2022]

Melody the host is charming and entertaining, pacing is great and designs are interesting. I wasn't expecting to finish this, just was curious but the connections she makes with people are so genuine and authentic, I didn't expect to be as moved as I was and I'm usually turned off from reality tv. The banter between her and the construction guy is hilarious.

Oh Netflix, you've done it again....

[mcgoughmike · 3/10 · 24 August 2022]

This show is a home improvement show meets Jerry Springer - pure people watching bliss... if only the show was centered around that. However it's tragically a Netflix original so it needs to be edited to death. The first time they pan to slow motion whip smacking set to Hollister store background music is funny, but every 30 seconds or so? And why does the producer have a fetish for slow motion paint rolling? With both the host and Mike the fake contractor guy also cringe-inducingly hamming it up to the camera... it just derails the show even more. Great premise, terrible execution. And was the show paid for by the rope industry? At the end of the season Melanie Rose recommends a sex swing to 3 clients in a row. She just comes off as your "hip" grandma that calls you one day because she just found out about twerking. Really, really weird.

Feel good show

[acaciawilder-30522 · 8/10 · 12 July 2022]

I've binged 5 episodes in one day and love the diversity of the guests and their needs. The host is very warm and personable. The contractor is easy going and funny. I liked how the needs of the couples (and polycules) are addressed by the host. I felt the need to add a review to counteract the 1 star review from the people who never even watched the show.

For people who don't know what they want

[ukgreek · 4/10 · 10 July 2022]

Which is fine and I guess is the point but they need more than a designer if they want help figuring out their kink. Too many feathers and pillows. Get a guide with experience instead of someone who sounds like she has zero with BDSM (and for the entire show, not a guest spot). Cringe galore. More vanilla people exploring might like the almost 70s take on design, but it's def not for someone who's looking for like a dungeon.