It was initially believed that this would be the last series to be aired from the house in
Elstree Studios, with a new house set to be built in Hammersmith for 2008, although,
Endemol decided to renew the lease at its current location for another two years. The layout of the house remained much the same as the previous series, although the kitchen moved to the other side of the main living area. One big theme in the house was annoyance; the kitchen appliances were scattered around the house, with the oven and heat proof surface in the bedroom and the fridge in the garden. As further annoyance, the bathtub was placed in an open space right next to the main living room. Where the oven was in the bedroom was approximately where the kitchen area was located in
Big Brother 7. The bedroom contained a single, double and triple bed as well as two four-person beds. Outside the bedroom window, in the main living area, is a lip shaped sofa that the presenters of the show refer to as "the lips". The house also contains a salon/bathroom, which houses two large hair dryers and two steam suits.
Garden As well as the kitchen fridge, the garden contained a swimming pool, a seating area and, due to the
smoking ban that came into effect in all public places during the series, a smoking area which housemates had to use from Day 1, even though the smoking ban didn't come into play until 1 July. This was checked by health officials, and deemed acceptable. The grass from the previous series has been replaced with
AstroTurf. The garden was one of the smallest this year, in comparison to the garden in
Big Brother 7. On Day 25 it was revealed that a caravan was hidden behind a garden wall. The caravan came with two single beds and sleeping bags. Brian and Charley went "on holiday" to the caravan for one night. The caravan was again accessible from day 36, this time any of the housemates were allowed to use the room. An extension to the pool was revealed on Day 67, along with a bar area. The area was hidden behind the "wet" sign in the garden. "The Insider" on BBLB revealed that there was a fully functioning washing machine hidden in the garden, throughout the show.
Dermot O'Leary revealed this to the housemates during the BBLB reunion show. Because of the
Big Brother 7 water shortage, the garden included a water tower, which at the beginning of the series was full. The water tower was located next to the fridge and the mangle.
Vestibule Between the entrance/exit stairs and the main house was a vestibule area. This was used for several tasks, rewards and punishments, such as Ziggy's dating task, Amanda and Sam's birthday party, the punishments on Day 43, and the "Sin Bin" which is the room Charley was made to stay in while the rest of the housemates had their sin party.
Diary Room A corridor was added between the Diary Room door and the main house which changes colour from red to blue to green when the "eye" button to open the door is pressed. The diary room chair was changed to a much larger see-through chair which contains white neon lights. For
Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, the lights inside the chair were coloured purple, to keep up with
E4's theme. The diary room resides in almost the same place as last year, but set back a bit, making the living area larger. As in recent years, the diary room was used for several tasks. The Time Machine from Big Brother's time machine task was in the diary room. It was also used for the
Seven Deadly Sins task.
Hidden rooms The House contained a number of hidden rooms that were accessed either through the diary room or through a store room off the living area. At various points in the show, all or part of these rooms were opened up for various tasks and twists. • One of these rooms was slept in by
Thaila Zucchi, in her role as "Pauline", and it was Australia-themed and contained a kangaroo statue, a surfboard, plants and beanbags. The bedroom also contained the dossier from which "Pauline" could find out things about her housemates. Only "Pauline" was allowed in the room at that time. • The rooms were later on used to house five 'halfway housemates' as part of a twist. It included a dormitory, common room, wash room and
kitchenette as well as a small garden. Periodically throughout the series, housemates conducted various tasks in some of these rooms. • For the BBTV task, a newsroom was built, where two housemates transmitted news to the rest of the house, such as messages from home. The rooms were also used as a studio for a gameshow and later a talent show. • It was used as a "The Happy Room" to cheer up Charley and Billi, who were instructed to wear "happy" t-shirts and baseball caps for the duration of their stay. The room was full of red beanbags, and featured cheery slogans on the walls. While in the room, Big Brother played the tune,
If You're Happy and You Know It. • During the seven deadly sins task, it was turned into "The Room of Nicky" and contained pictures, books and footage of Nicky and also a sofa with cushions spelling N-I-C-K-Y. Nicky was instructed to stay in the room and learn to appreciate herself until Big Brother allowed her to leave. • For Big Brother's birthday task, a Practice Room was built, where the entertainers had to practice. A party room was then provided with a ball pool, small stage, and an area for food. Amanda and Sam, Gerry, Nicky, and Ziggy were chosen as the party guests. Carole's job was the face painter. Chanelle and Liam performed magic. Charley and Tracey were clowns. Brian was the final musical performer.
Halfway House On Day 59, five new housemates Amy, Jonty, Shanessa, David and Kara entered the house and were told they would live in the Halfway House which was reached by going through the store room or through the diary room and down a corridor. The Halfway Housemates and ordinary house mates were swapped around for different reasons.
Day 59 Amy, David, Jonty, Kara and Shanessa enter the Halfway House. David visits the main house.
Day 60 In the morning Amy visits the main house, followed by Jonty in the afternoon.
Day 61 In the morning Shanessa visits the main house, followed by Kara in the afternoon.
Day 62 Housemates in the main house choose David and Kara to enter the house swapped with Ziggy.
Day 63 The Halfway Housemates have a task called Jack in a box to win a place in the main house. Shanessa won and was swapped with Liam who Shanessa chose.
Day 64 The four Halfway housemates had to choose to swap with four housemates in the main house they chose David, Kara, Shanessa and Tracey who moved in halfway house and were automatically faced eviction.
Day 65 The halfway housemates are given a last night to go into the main house for a few hours.
Day 66 The first halfway housemate to be evicted is Shanessa, the second is David. Then Kara and Tracey re-enter the main house for good. == Housemates ==