All posts filed under: Final Reveal

The 70’s Kitchen Final Reveal – And an Ikea Kitchen review

Published by Karen Knox

We’re back at the 70’s apartment this week for another final reveal – it’s the kitchen. An Ikea kitchen to be precise. Read on for before and after pics, a detailed breakdown of the what’s where’s and why’s… and the cherry on top, an Ikea Kitchen Review. As you can see from the floor-plan the kitchen in this two bedroom apartment is bijou small. It leads straight off the large living space, so it was important the new design connected to the space around it. Here’s how it looked back in March 2019: Before The budget for ripping out and replacing with a new kitchen cabinets, worktop, appliances, flooring and tiling was £6k. This needed to cover labour too. It was tight, which limited where we could “shop”. After looking around at several kitchen options, we took a punt on Ikea as they offered the fitting and wrap around service of supply, build and fit. The kitchen concept was based around the Ikea VEDDINGE range. Simple, light grey slab doors and drawer fronts. The small space meant …

The Snug – Final Reveal – in collaboration with Rebel Walls

Published by Karen Knox

Hello again you lovely lot, I’m back again with another final reveal post of a project I began work on last July. Do you remember the snug? You can read the introduction to this project here. For those that can’t be arsed clicking back, let me remind you… The TV/Playroom is split on two levels, two thirds being down two small steps where the sofa and TV was. The top third being a walkway from the kitchen to the back door and another door into the integral garage. Originally this space was used as a playroom but as the kiddos had since outgrown the need for dedicated play space, it was time to turn the room into the family friendly but grown-up snug. And when I say grown up, I mean it has direct access to alcoholic beverages. It wasn’t a complete redesign by any means as I had to work around the items that were staying; a white, leather corner sofa, old trunk/coffee table, white UPVC French doors and the rich coloured, oak floor. Sometimes this …

The 70’s Apartment – The Green Guest Room – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Well it’s been a while since I’ve written about this project. The two bedroom, 70’s apartment was introduced over ‘ere back in July ’19. You can read the intro to it here where there are all the before photos and the floor plan. Since July last year, there has been A LOT of work going on behind the scenes; A new kitchen, new bathroom, two bedrooms, a large open-plan living space and long hallway all redesigned, refurbed, decorated and furnished. Today we’re focusing on the final reveal of the Green Guest Room. Let me begin… When I first met the homeowner, let’s call him Mr J, he had very fixed ideas about what he wanted to do with each room. Initially I was only booked for a colour consultation and all I knew was that he wanted this room to be green. He’d already bought the paint (turned out to be the wrong green) and was set on having a feature wall in this room. As the decorators were actually already on site on my very first …

The Garden and Boot Room – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Again, again, again… Another final reveal. Yay! It’s been a busy time for photos, styling and all that shenanigans over the past several weeks. Today we’re back to see the final reveal of the Garden and Boot Room which leads off the kitchen you saw last week: Victorian Cottage Kitchen – Final Reveal Before The brick wall you can see here is the original exterior wall of this Victorian cottage with a timber framed, single skin conservatory built onto the side. This space was originally going to get knocked down, rebuilt and extended as part of a big remodel which involved opening up this wall into the kitchen to provide a large open plan kitchen, diner, living space. But alas due to budget and planning constraints (and the fact we actually managed to give the homeowner the kitchen of her dreams without the need for oodles of structural work or an expensive extension) this room remained. It was a space that was sitting unused and a little neglected, so it was time to give it …

The Victorian Cottage (deVOL inspired) Kitchen – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Hello again! It’s another final reveal post and today it’s the Victorian Cottage (deVOL inspired) Kitchen. The last time I wrote about this project was back in February, which is how long it’s been since I last visited! It’s fair to say this one has been a slow burner. I have taken so many photos of this project i’ve struggled to keep them down to a minimum. But there are definitely less than 30 50. Let me remind you of the space on my first visit… Before This cottage has an awkward shape and size kitchen. There are seven doors off this space, it is literally the heart of the house, leading to the: utility room sitting room garden room first floor cellar storage cupboard study Not only are there seven doors, there’s an almost floor to ceiling window and huge chimney breast with faux brick surround. Wall space is officially limited. Layout before The U-shaped kitchen, with the peninsular chopped the room in half. The kitchen half of the room was originally overloaded with base …

The Mulberry Red Room (and other rooms) – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Not one, but three spaces to reveal to you today, the first one being the Mulberry Red Room. Let’s go! If you remember the last time I shared the Mulberry Red Room, back in Feb, it was very nearly done. We were awaiting the arrival of the bed and some smaller, finer details to be completed. The whole concept for the room was based around the large framed Modigliani poster which the homeowner had bought especially to hang in this room. The burgundy red backdrop for this rather provocative piece was the starting point for the room with the rest of the details following suit quickly after. Let me show you the completed room: Walls, woodwork and ceiling in Abigail Ahern’s Mulberry Red Lampex Opal 3 Drum Pendant – Wayfair One thing I should tell you about this client, is that he doesn’t like faff. I wasn’t allowed to do nic nacks, no superfluous items, no unnecessary decoration or styling. I was allowed to bring a plant or two. And that was that. He likes …

Our outdoor space – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

When we bought our little house nearly seven years ago. It wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but in terms of its location and the surrounding area, it gave us everything we actually needed. Or should I say, it had the potential to. Our house, 2012. Estate agent’s pic Earlier this year I wrote a post showing you all of the rooms inside. What they were like when we moved in and how they look now. You can have a nosey inside here if you like. The one space we’d never tackled fully was the outdoor space. A front and rear garden with a long driveway connecting the two. Pretty standard for a 3 bed semi. Rear garden, 2012 – Estate agent pic We had done plenty to the rear garden over the past six years but never dealt with any of the building work and nitty gritty. Our driveway was a crumbling mess, drainage being a real problem, the front garden was on a slope and retained water like a sponge and the steps to our …

How to build your own garden building – aka ‘The Manporium’

Published by Karen Knox

Hello everyone, apologies for the radio silence this week, it has been a ridiculously busy week AND i’ve been waiting for my husband to pull his finger out and finish writing something. Yes, this week everyone, you will get to read the design ramblings of him indoors (or should I say, “him outdoors”). He’s finally sent in his homework…. i’ve had a good read, and actually it’s really good (she says begrudgingly). It’s about how he made his own garden workshop which is perfect if you’re someone looking for inspiration on how to build your own garden building/workshop/man cave/she-shed/home office/garden pod…. so many names for these additional rooms. So without further ado… Iiiiiiiit’s Mr Making Spaces! **crowd goes wild** ” What’s that…you didn’t sign up for this? You didn’t. Sorry to invade this sacrosanct space of beautiful interiors, design and styling. I’m here to talk about anti-style. Yes…it’s the world of sheds. During my 39 years on this planet, I’ve learned a few things about life. Here are some: Men like a bit of solitude now …

Munich Project After Farrow & Ball Downpipe

When remote design works… And why…

Published by Karen Knox

I wrote a post last year about the pros and cons of E-Design; what remote interior design actually was, how it works, who it’s right for, because it’s certainly not for everyone. Today I wanted to show you some images from three remote projects i’ve worked on over the past year… and talk about why they turned out as well as they did. The London Flat The is the newly acquired apartment of a young, recently married couple. A couple who couldn’t quite decide on how to put their stamp on their new home. Having differing tastes and a limited budget to completely re-do a living space, dining area and kitchen, this blank canvas left them feeling a little stuck. So we started with a two hour remote consultation, which is how all of my projects, either remote or physical begin. A two hour remote consultation works like this: First hour – I go through photos, floorplans, and Pinterest boards you’ve collated, and of course your brief. You have to gather and supply all of this …

The Loo. Toilet. Whatever you call it, our WC gets a makeover

Published by Karen Knox

It’s often the most overlooked room of the house. Not even big enough to warrant its own basin, mirror or any extraneous faffing. The separate bathroom and loo combo leaves a lot of people with a space that’s not big enough to swing a small hamster, never mind a cat. This is our first floor layout… since we had the loft converted and sacked off the second smallest room in the house for our dream staircase. You can see on the floorplan, our bathroom and WC are two separate spaces. And despite most people’s preference to knock these spaces into one to make a larger family bathroom, we didn’t want to do that with the house only having one loo when we moved in. And actually, I still prefer the layout like this. I like not having the loo in the bathroom. Especially with a five year old in the house whose aim isn’t always 100% accurate. Sure, our bathroom isn’t large, but for a family of three it’s more than adequate. More so now …