I last mentioned “The Pod” in the Peignoir and Worsted reveal post. You can see the flash of Farrow & Ball’s Inchyra Blue through the door at the top of the landing here:
The Pod, named mainly due to its size, 1.5m x 1.9m is just about big enough to fit a single bed in. A single bed and one small book. It’s actually used as the home office. Not the most successful one, however:
Before
It had gotten so cramped the homeowner had set up office-camp on the kitchen table downstairs. Not great when you’re working from home. Seeing your computer all the time means you’re switched on 24/7. I know a few of you out there can relate to that. It’s not good for a healthy work/life balance.
Things that needed sorting were:
- The desk was too deep and interfered with the door architrave.
- There’s not nearly enough storage but the amount of “stuff” (which needed downsizing).
- Electrical trunking ran across the top of the desk meaning cables were trailing all over the place.
- It felt cold (and was cold).
Nearly everything needed to go.
The first job was to fit the new human sized loft hatch. We needed to access the loft space to fit the chandelier over the mezzanine landing. Remember that funny story? We also got rid of the old light pull.
Before & After
Then we were meant to fit a radiator under the window. The Pod didn’t have any form of heating and still had its original sash windows. As beautiful as they are, you can imagine how cold it gets in there over the autumn/winter (and most of spring and summer). But my hope of bringing central heating to this room was scuppered. Someone idiot had glued and screwed hardboard over the floorboards. Nice one! So we had to abandon ship and opt for a plug in oil heater instead. I’ve earmarked a black one and it will sit under the desk, so it won’t really be seen. It’s not the best solution admittedly, but it was a solution which saved us drilling through brick walls or ripping up the floorboards.
Onto the fun stuff… Yee-ha!
- The whole room was emptied and “stuff” downsized.
- The electrical trunking was moved down to sit at the underside of the desk.
- Entire room painted in Farrow & Balls Inchyra Blue. Yes, everything including the ceiling and woodwork.
So beautiful. The 3m height ceiling actually disappears. You can’t see it at all. Kind of makes you feel like you’re sitting outside with the light streaming in from outside.
Inchyra Blue is a tricky colour to work out. It actually looks blue in this photo above, but it looks soooo green in real life. In fact it’s really similar to Sherwood Forest. It’s got that colour changing vibe. It looks teal, really green then blue again depending on which wall you’re facing.
Finally at this point, I managed to get my hands on this tiny space and start putting all the pieces back together. It’s not 100% finished yet, but I won’t be able to take final reveal photos until August, so I had to very quickly snap these before I left for the day. So don’t judge the layout and styling ok?
The desk top was cut down, depth wise so it could push up again the wall and fit flush with the door architrave. A shelf was fitted above the desk for on-hand storage and a grey Helmer unit from Ikea was purchased, adding slimline storage down the side of the desk.
Various old and new artwork hangs all the way up to the ceiling. The framed, blue man I picked up from a charity shop for next to nothing. It’s the perfect focal piece for this room. It also shows you just how green the Inchyra Blue is.
For the other side of The Pod, I designed a floor to ceiling, industrial style gas-pipe bookcase. The homeowner is a big fan of all things salvaged and industrial and I’ve wanted to design something like this for ages. It was the perfect time and place.
With a total of five shelves and a bulk buy of Ikea magazine files and storage boxes this bespoke unit will become the super stylish home to all the gubbins, paperwork and files anyone could ever need in an office. All made and fitted by my fave duo, Bare Joinery. These guys can make just about anything. Am well happy.
You can’t have a green room without a little splash of copper. The copper wire baskets from La Redoute (with 40% off) will be home to blankets galore. Blankets, and what I refer to as “odds and sods”.
So there you have it. The Pod is very nearly finished. It’s functional, there’s more floor space, more storage, it’s warmer, cosier and most importantly it’s a work-space brimming with creativity. I bloody love it.
Before & After
What do you think of it so far?
I love the colour, great choice. It looks miles better!
Thanks Jenny 🙂
It looks great Karen, even though you say not styled yet, you love those dark hues, and obviously the client does too.
I sure do. And yes, my client loves it too. Thanks Lesley!
It looks amazing! I’ve got to try a dark colour in my home somewhere. We’re all pure brilliant white at the moment.
Definitely!
Very nice! Well done on all your hard work. Great to see that little splash of copper in there too.
Thanks very much indeed!
Stunning- it goes so well with the leaded windows too- I really love it!
Yay! Thank you x
It’s absolutely gorgeous and I love the colour! I had to laugh at the “human size loft hatch”, a problem we have, well, me actually as I fear if I try to get up into our loft I’ll get wedged into the hatch with my big a*** 😉 Really beautiful job. xo
Ha. Bloody Victorian loft hatches. Making us feel bad about our selves. How dare they!! And thank you xx
What an amazing transformation. I would never have considered painting the ceiling in such a dark colour but it really really works. I especially love the shelving you designed.
Thanks Stacey. Painting the ceiling in with the walls in such a small room makes such a difference. Having it white would have killed this space. Really glad you like it!!x
Oh I love this. I’ve been dying to see what Inchyra looks like in real homes and here’s the answer: fabulous.
Whoop! Thank you very much indeed!!
Just found you from Swoonworthy and I love your blog! So happy to find another great Brit-based design blog…this is exciting! x
Whoop! Lovely to have you here Lizzie 🙂 That Kimberley is a good egg isn’t she!x
I was having a look to the F&B newsletter and came across with Inchyra Blue, MY Blue!!! and then, searching beautiful images with this “Scottish colour”, here I am… This room now is so warm, beautiful, cosy and relaxing!! Wonderful job Karen!!
Painting the architrave the same colour as the walls- I have seen a lot of that recently as I research online when our customers ask questions about paint finished etc. Is this a new trend or something that has been happening for years?
It’s been done for a few years now. It’s not new exactly, but it’s taken a long time to trickle down to the average 3 bed semi. I have no idea why people think the woodwork and ceiling need to be white. Habit I guess. It’s certainly not for everyone, but painting the whole room in one colour can really lift a room. Even one as small as this!
That is really useful information- thanks Karen. And fair play for replying so quickly!
If you’ve not heard of Abigail Ahern, google her. She’s the person who made this design trick really popular!
Hi Karen – I love that ‘blue man’ painting. Which charity shops do you use for art? I’m in the Leeds area also and currently looking for something interesting myself and not having any joy online so far :/ Love the blog by the way.
Hi Jamie, I tend to pop into any i’m passing really. The blue man pic was from my local charity shop in LS17.
Try Society 6 for Art. Or just keep on the hunt. It’s always 50/50 whether you’ll find something but it makes it all the better when you do! Good luck!