All posts filed under: Furniture

MADE Adeline Stool

Kitchen Stools – Design Crimes Part 1

Hello everyone, how are you all? I hope you’re all coping and staying well. It’s been a really tough April here at Making Spaces HQ (still recovering from what we think was Covid), hence the lack of posting, but I’m trying to stay positive for May. And what better way to uplift everyone’s spirits than to write a trilogy of Design Crimes? Today it’s Part 1 – Kitchen Stools (Probably loads of better ways to be honest, but this has been on my list of blog posts to write for about two years, so that’s what you’re getting). Doing this job gives me a hyper critical eye on all things interiors. There is not one photo in my portfolio that I don’t completely pick apart, “I should have done this instead”, “Why did I do that?”… blah blah blah, yada yada. The learning curve I’ve been on over the last six years has been immense and it continues every day. What I love to do is share what I’ve learnt with you guys. So whilst this …

The Garden and Boot Room

The Garden and Boot Room – Final Reveal

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 …

Abigail Ahern Poppy Seed LImewash Paint

The Harrogate Kitchen Design – Pre- reveal Post

Hello hello everyone! I know, it’s a rare occurrence for me to post twice in one week, but am so excited to share the updates from my recent trip to the Harrogate kitchen design, I just couldn’t wait. If you’re not familiar with this one (it’s been a long term project)  you can catch up on everything in this previous post.  Dining Room – Before (Estate Agent Photo) There are a few tiny things left to sort, some shelving, a TV and coffee table (and a bit of faffing of course) but that’s about it. So you’re getting the very nearly final reveal post today. Nothing has been styled properly yet but I wanted to show you the completely amaaazing transformation of this open plan kitchen/dining family space. It’s not your average kitchen knock through. During Now It’s breathtaking. It really is. That full height, corner glazing the diagonal floorboards, the artwork, it’s finally all come together to create my client’s dream kitchen. Let me show you are few more before and afters, because they’re oh …

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

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 …

Ikea Pax Hack - Nude Bedroom

My Ikea Pax Hack – The Nude Bedroom Update

Hello there, and welcome to the other side of our Nude Bedroom. Today i’m sharing our new wardrobes. Doesn’t sound that exciting does it? But we’re both super excited to have said goodbye to our old ones… … they looked lovely, but there were a bugger to use. The handleless drawers were on wooden runners, so when full of clothes, as most wardrobes are, they were way too heavy to open with ease. Those slim recessed handles were a nightmare for when you’d had your nails done, having to claw your fingers into the recess and heave the drawers open to grab a clean vest. Not cool, Derek. Not cool. Pic – Katie Lee for MADE There was also a lot of wasted space. Something I desperately needed more of. This one wardrobe was certainly not enough for my extensive collection of blue jeans, over sized black tops and boyfriend cardigans. So they were sold on eBay and we used the money from those to build our very own dream storage solution using the Ikea Pax …

Hidden Cat Litter Tray

How to incorporate a cat loo into your home – The Hidden Cat Litter Tray

I’m sure you all know i’ve got a cat, she features quite a lot in my images. She makes an excellent alternative to a sheepskin and is most of the time, a more than willing styling prop. Her colouring also fits right in with our monochrome home. All in all she’s fabulous. One thing that never fitted in our home was the cat litter box. We don’t have a cat-flap, so madam needs access to an indoor loo. When we had the loft converted back back at the end of 2016/17, I designed a space for her litter box to sit, accessible to the furry one, but out of sight from the rest of the house. I was looking forward to not seeing it as I went about my daily meanderings around the house. Alas, as our son is a very light sleeper, just like his mum, Chooch’s midnight races up and down the stairs woke Charlie up. Not actual footage So we had to move Chooch’s overnight quarters to the confines of the kitchen/diner to …

Coffee Table

Coffee Table Hunt

I posted this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and it seems i’m not the only one that has NEVER had a coffee table. Admittedly it might not be the most riveting of news for some of you, but for others, it struck a chord. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karen Knox – Making Spaces (@makingspacesnet) As you may have already guessed, buying a coffee table isn’t as simple as just going to buy a coffee table. It never is is it? It’s got to be right. In many ways. The right material, shape, size, design and proportion (read more about Scale and Proportion here)… it also needs to relate to the space it’s going in. Let me explain. Here’s the floorplan of our living room. There’s me standing in the middle thinking, man, i’d really like a coffee table here. As you can see the area surrounding the rug is already taken with seating and other small bits of furniture which means the remaining space (on the rug) is …

cork wall

Growing up with Meble Vox & Wayfair

Remember Charlie’s room? This time last year, I had this beast built. The wall of storage. Best. Thing. Ever. (read all about that here) Then we upgraded his cot bed to these single stacking beds, perfect for sleepovers (read about those here) Then it was time to find a new wardrobe and chest of drawers… and it’s taken me a year. ONE YEAR to find something that floated my boat. This was the wishlist: White and/or blonde wood Something that didn’t look like kids’ furniture, but would equally be at home in a kids’ room Decent quality, something that would last him until the day he moves out (so, about another 23 years). A wardrobe with full hanging rail. For some reason, a lot of kids’ wardrobes have a half rail and shelves down the side. What’s that about?? Around £600ish for the two I’d done the whole Ikea shlep… endless internet dredging… and what I found was kid’s furniture that was affordable but looked a bit ’90’s naff’, childish or had a half length …

Proportion and Scale Interiors

The Use of Scale & Proportion in Interiors

It’s one i’ve been promising to write for AGES. And I did touch on it in last week’s post, but i’m getting more into the nitty gritty of what Scale and Proportion actually is and how we can use it in our interiors. Proportion and Scale Proportion is the relationship of sizes between different parts of a work. For example, how wide it is compared to how tall it is. Some proportions, such as the golden ratio and the rule of thirds, are thought to be more visually pleasing. Scale is the size of something compared to the world in general – an artwork might be termed miniature, small scale, full scale or life-size, large scale or larger than life, or monumental. Here’s a brilliant example of the use of Scale in design: The Original 1227 Anglepoise desk lamp in both its original size and the more recent edition the GIANT 1227, floor lamp version. The proportions are identical, as in how the components that make up the lamp relate to one another, size wise. …

Ikea Gagnet - Scale in Interiors

A successful trip to Ikea… and a tiny intro to ‘Scale’ in interiors

One of the things I try and do at home is to buy furniture that’s in keeping with the period of the property. Our 3 bed, semi is 1960’s, so late mid-century. I’m in no way trying to recreate a 1960’s home, that’s not me, I prefer to mix up design styles and eras as they tend to create the most interesting spaces…. BUT I do think post war houses (generally with lower ceilings and no period features of note) look best with mid-century or Scandinavian style furniture. It’s clean, un-fussy, uses lots of natural materials and the size and scale of that furniture works with the 2.4m ceilings and smaller room sizes of that era… and those that followed. This kind of touches on a whole post i’m still in the process of writing all about ‘Scale’ in interiors. Because some people get it a bit wrong and then wonder why their room feels “off”. It’s very subtle, but a room with the wrong size and scale furniture in just doesn’t work as it …