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Making Spaces HQ Mini Home Updates

Home Updates

I’ve not shared any home updates for ages over on the blog and there have been a goings on at chez Making Spaces. So when the sun decided to join us for the first time in January the other day (for 47 minutes), I had to get my camera out and snap away like a lunatic.

As most of you guys know, our house is small, normal, average. A 3 bed semi with no high ceilings, no gorgeous period features or lovely large windows. There are still lots of things i’d love to change and update (some of which will be happening later this year) but for now this is where we are with everything….

Let’s start in the entrance hall.

Chalkboard Wall

At the end of the hallway now resides a chalkboard wall which is used for messing about, drawing floorplans and Charlie’s notes for his current thesis on the world economy.

Dowsing & Reynolds Light Switch

FINALLY we’ve updated the switches and sockets on the ground floor with more goodies from Dowsing & Reynolds. Our ground floor now matches our loft floor, just the middle floor to go now. Better get saving. Again.

Monochrome hallway

The carpets from Flooring Megastore, fitted last autumn made a huge difference to the house as a whole. And a simple black and white runner from Habitat helps contain dirt in the hallway, giving the rest of the house a bit of respite.

Open Plan Home Office

At the top of the stairs this is a view i’m sure you will have seen before, a look into the open plan home office with our birch plywood staircase running up to newly-ish converted loft space.

Birch plywood staircase

You can see here how the new carpet runs all the way up the stairs and along the entire landing….

MADE Felt Wash Baskets

… where my new felt wash baskets from MADE. I wouldn’t normally share my dirty laundry in public (yeah right) but they’re pretty nice no!? Right for darks and left for whites and the little handles make it a breeze to carry it downstairs to the washer.

Girl With the Yellow Skirt Nyssa Sharp

My Nyssa Sharp print, ‘The Girl With the Yellow Skirt’ finally found its new home. I really like this piece here, off centre at the top of the stairs. A gentle splash of colour in an all white space.

Open Plan Home Office

My home office has been graced with a new rug to give our new carpet a chance of surviving the daily maneuverings of my office chair. The circular, jute number from La Redoute fits perfectly in this little space. The Hempy rug comes in black and natural, of course I went for black…. because you know… it’s black!

Small home office with magnetic wall

This brings me onto one of my current searches… an ergonomic office chair that a) doesn’t cost a month’s wage or b) doesn’t look like shit. WHY oh why are they all so f’ugly?  But my poor back can’t take this chair anymore, it’s ok for a couple of hours, but an eight hour day, NOPE. Blog post coming on office chairs that aren’t (too) gross soon!

OSB Standing Desk & Plumen Light

In the meantime, my dear hubster has built me a standing desk as a way of saving my poor back, neck, shoulders. Herniated C6 disc, impinged nerve and two months of pins and needles down your arm into your thumb anyone?

Anyone?

No. I don’t recommend it

Magnetic plastered wall

Anyway, less about me and my agonising pain, here’s the other side of the office with the magnetic plastered wall still going strong and looking mighty fine. Yep, everything on that wall is held up with magnets. Love it.

And one final interior update for today, this time in Charlie’s room:

Birch plywood storage wall

The new carpet and plywood storage wall you will have seen at the end of last year no doubt but we’ve been waiting patiently for the Egzigi beds from La Redoute to come back in stock. And they’re finally here! A simple platform bed that can be stacked on top of one another to make a standard height single bed and popped side by side for sleepovers. Brilliant.

Stacking beds

I know there are plenty of options for trundle beds and the like but we were set on getting a bed where the two sleeping heights were the same, so if/when we ever need to have two double guest beds for grown up sleepovers then this wouldn’t be a bad compromise for a night’s stay.

La Redoute Igzigu

And that’s about it for today. If anyone has any top tips on where to source a decent office chair that isn’t grim, you know where to send them.

Happy Monday peeps, hope you have a good ‘un. I’m off to Ikea for another project haul. Again.

14 Comments

  1. My house is also a 3 bed semi with no high ceilings, no gorgeous period features or lovely large windows! I’m struggling so much with the lower than average ceiling heights because I love dangly lights 🙁 Can I ask where your lights in the first picture came from? I’m after something similar for my dining room which has a horrible beam running through the middle (not one of those pretty chunky wooden beams!) and I wanted a light that goes from one side to the other.

    Really love your blog by the way, i’m starting from scratch (first home!) and the whole house is being renovated…You’ve given me so much inspiration! Amy x

  2. Hi Karen. Been reading your blog for a good while now and loving it so thought would comment for once. We’re an interiors partnership up North, just outside Manchester and seem to work on similar varied residential projects. Your ABC post really struck a chord as we’ve been specifying black on projects this past year or so but the prices have been crazy! Finally, other options than shiny, shiny chrome. Anyhow, I digress…..the ugly office chair dilemma. I work from home and also have a pesky back (and was also working from an Eames style dining chair for two years as I see you are!) until I decided enough. I spend more time in this chair than in my bed so figured ‘cost per sit’ and all that. Much research later and decided on the Eames EA217 style https://www.amodernworld.co.uk/eames-ea217
    Admittedly the chrome is way shiny but there is usually a compromise. Super comfy and I did not pay near this price, lost days of my life waiting for a tan one to come up in a sale somewhere.
    Small tip from one back sufferer to another – http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilevel.html
    Happy chair sourcing!

    • Karen Knox says

      Thanks so much for this Lucy, very grateful indeed! I shall be sure to check both sites out properly later this evening 🙂
      Thanks again!

  3. Hi Karen, have a look at 2ndusedfurniture.co.uk for second hand office chairs.. the more stylish ones (like herman miller) are super pricey, but you can sometimes get a bargain here..

  4. I’m going to be stalking your blog until your office chair post. I’ve so many tickboxes for one, but I don’t want it to be ugly as it’s going in my bedroom! Good luck!!

  5. I just spied these on Anthropologie today. Okay, yes, the price is a bit insane but my god they are beautiful. For me, that glorious coral pink and for you – I imagine the stunning blue green, perhaps? 😉 https://www.anthropologie.com/en-gb/shop/elowen-swivel-chair?category=furniture-chairs&color=068&quantity=1&size=One%20Size&type=REGULAR

    Oh and you are probably already aware that Cult Furniture does some nice looking ones with gold rather than chrome fittings but no idea whether they are actually decent or not? Maybe Liv from Lust Living can tell you as I think she has one!

    https://www.cultfurniture.com/furniture-c10/chairs-c3/office-c33/gold-t18

    xxx

    • Shenley says

      I’ve got the soft pad chair in Kimberly’s link in my study (Eames style like the Cult furniture one) in Apple Green with the aluminium metalwork .it is very comfy and I love it every time I see it.
      Warning a double carpet layer will cripple you if you get a chair with castors. I had to buy one of those office style thick plastic (see through) carpet “protectors” to enable the castors to run.

  6. Helen dupree says

    Hi karen. Love your house design. Just finished a massive refurb myself including a laundry chute that goes from my family bathroom straight to the intility 😃. Very please with my design although I am the only one in the house that uses it as my children are young and don’t know what dirty laindry means ! I looking for your curved lamps in chrome the same as the one in M&S and wondered if they are going to release them. They are your designed aren’t they ? Wondered if you could help -keep up the amazing work.

    • Karen Knox says

      Hi Helen,
      A laundry chute sounds brilliant! Very jealous 🙂
      I’m not a lighting designer though, so not 100% sure what you mean about the curved lamps?

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