All posts filed under: Interior Design

Tewit Well Road – Harrogate

Hello everyone! I’m back with some updates and final reveal pics from one of my slow burner projects. It’s been hard, but something I’ve had to accept is that when things really picked up for Making Spaces a few years ago, it meant I didn’t have time to sit down and write about my job, because I’ve been so busy doing it. The projects I love and am trying to focus on are full house renovations, extensions and builds and how to create real impact with those at planning stages. These projects require layers and layers of work for numerous rooms at once. I’ve got several similar sized projects to share over the coming months, all that have been underway since 2021. So with that in mind, let me introduce you to the Tewit Well Road project over in Harrogate. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Renovating Harrogate (@renovating_harrogate) You may remember The Edwardian Project in Harrogate a few years ago? I’ve been working with these guys since 2016 and over this …

The Purple Brown Master Bedroom - Final Reveal

The Purple Brown Master Bedroom – Final Reveal

Good day! How are you all doing out there? It has been exactly six months since I last wrote. Hopefully it gave you enough time to read my previous post though, as that was quite a long one. Today’s instalment is the final reveal for the Master Bedroom at The Ilkley Project. Yay. Let me show you the Purple Brown room! If you’re not aware of the Ilkley project, then here is a little refresher of some of the rooms we’ve done so far: The Striped Guest Bedroom The Kitchen/Dining Room with the yellow ceiling Which you might have spotted on page 168 in last month’s Homes and Gardens magazine…. There are also two home offices i’ve not photographed, mainly because they’re in use most days. But if you’d like a more thorough look of the room’s i’ve photographed at the Ilkley project so far you can click over to the project’s portfolio page. For those of you still here, let’s see the master bedroom as it was when Mr & Mrs C moved in in …

Domestic Anthropology

Domestic Anthropology and Interior Design

Well this sounds very serious doesn’t it? What is Domestic Anthropology? It’s the study of human behaviours and how our cultures, traditions and societal changes have affected how we use our homes. I’m fascinated by people, particularly how individuals and families interact, move around one another and within their four walls. Everything I’ve learned about people’s habits, pathways and needs in the home environment has been banked and informs all of my design. As the world evolves those needs change too and the world has moved on a great deal just over the past 24 months, so much so that it seems like everyone is extending, redecorating or remodelling to accommodate this societal shift. I’ve always viewed the home as a living entity, another family member; they age and change just like as we do. This anthropological interest in our domestic spaces helps me to focus on providing alternative and creative design solutions. I’m not interested in putting things where they’ve always been, because… “well that’s where the laundry rooms goes isn’t it?” Actually, if it …

The Georgian Apartment – Bathroom – Final Reveal

Hello May, how are you all doing? Your umbrella been getting a good outing this month? Today i’m back at the Georgian Apartment for for the final reveal of the bathroom. Hoorah! This is what we started with… Before A very small and narrow space indeed which surprisingly (or not) the previous owners had squeezed in a loo, basin, bath and a separate shower, but absolutely no storage whatsoever and not a lot of room for “people”. When planning a bathroom, always allow space for you, the user(s) to move around, especially family bathrooms as they often have the whole clan in there at bath-times. Original Layout Initially I gave Mr B a few layout options, which looked at providing a walk in shower next to a plunge bath (a smaller footprint bath with much higher sides so you sit up and soak rather than lie down), but as Mr B also needed to use his bathroom to shower off his little Yorkshire Terrier after long muddy walks, we stuck with a shower over bath …

The Georgian Apartment Final Reveal

The Georgian Apartment – Open Plan Living Space Final Reveal

Well it’s been a while since I posted about this one hasn’t it? A project I introduced back in June 2019; ya know, the one with those ceilings. It’s time for the final reveal of The Georgian Apartment. Whoop! Before – May 2019 All the major works for this room were completed in time for Autumn 2019 with a list of smaller, fiddly jobs left to sort before it was #instaready. Then 2020 arrived… say no more. Before Back in June 2019, it all kicked off with the wall coming down between the tiny kitchen and the main living/dining space. This really opened up the space, creating a greater sense of width whilst allowing light and views from the wrap around gardens to enter from two aspects. During As the works were already underway during my initial consultation, I had a week to come up with the design, specification and plan for first fix electrics and plumbing for the living space and kitchen. The new homeowner, let’s call him Mr B, was set to move in …

Mood Board Pink Interiors

In The Pink – Is there a better way to end 2020 than some pink interiors?

Well it seems I have done all my Christmas wrapping and have a bit of time to share some pink interiors to end this year, what a rosey treat! Let’s start with this room: Before – sales listing This will soon be the guest bedroom on the top floor of a lovely big Victorian house in Ilkley. You can probably fathom it was a teenage bedroom, and whilst it looks in half decent nick, the room was tired and needed stripping back and starting again. Carpets up, fitted wardrobe removed, walls stripped, and re-skimmed and floorboards sanded and re-stained. And of course I had to choose a ‘new outfit’ for it to wear too. During the big rip out, carpets up, floorboards revealed and room ready to be stripped before being re-skimmed Working around the client’s existing metal bed and two pine bedsides, I went for a slightly bonkers, yet Scandi take on a traditional Victorian striped wallpaper. The stripes giving a gentle nod to the Victorian style bed frame but the scale and colour …

Living Room Design Concept

End of year updates – What have we been up to?

Well hello there, it’s been a while hasn’t it? How are you all doing? I don’t think there’s any need for me to explain why i’ve been absent from the blog is there? I mean, i’ll just say “2020” and leave it there for you to work it all out. It seems I have some time today for some rambling, so let’s see how well I remember to write a blog shall we? I’m doing a little round up of the projects that have been underway over the backend of the year, you might recognise some of theses from my previous post in September, if not feel free to click back and catch yourself up. The New Build Lounge Concept Concept With a lot of new builds, there weren’t any distinct features in this living room. No alcoves or fireplaces, in fact the thing you faced when sat where the sofa naturally sat, was a pair of glazed doors into the hallway. I have a bit of a thing about facing doors, in the fact …

Projects in progress

Making (lots of) Spaces with five projects in progress

Hello hello! Yes I know it’s been a while since I last wrote, but I have an excellent reason, I promise. In short, i’ve been mega busy keeping lots of plates spinning since lockdown has eased and now i’ve got five projects in progress. So I just wanted to check in and let you know what’s keeping me busy til the end of this year. Here are some of the rooms in progress, the before photos and design concepts we’re working towards. Looks like there will be lots of final reveal posts coming in January 2021! No. 1 – The Georgian Apartment project Before – The Bathroom As you can see it’s in a bad way, is a really awkward shaped room, with a hideous UPVC false ceiling and no storage whatsoever. Time for a re-jig: Bathroom Concept Before The brief: A sleek bathroom with bath, shower, storage, wood details, underfloor heating and seamless concrete look walls and floors. Completion date: December 2020   No. 2 – The 1980’s Project – The Ground Floor Remodel Before …

The Harrogate Master Suite

The Harrogate Master Bedroom – (very nearly) Final Reveal

Hello everyone, how’s your August going? Today I’m sharing a (very nearly) final reveal of the master bedroom at the Harrogate project. It’s the last room to be completed after a four year long renovation of a large, five bedroom Edwardian property. I’ve learned and gained so much from working with Vanessa and Andy and it feels quite emotional knowing this will be one of the last rooms I share from their house on these pages. Anyway, moving along… First Floor Floor Plan – Before The first floor is the one that had the biggest layout change, with only a few walls remaining where they once were. The first floor layout as it is now. As you can see, the first floor is where the Upper Brook Street Guest bedroom is, probably one of my most shared and liked projects to date, winning the best bedroom tour on Houzz in 2017 – that was really exciting! Today’s master suite is across the landing at the back of the house in what was this space: It …

Next Door @ The Old Forge

The Old Forge York – Two Years in the Making – Final Reveal Part 2

Hello hello, how are you all? Thanks to everyone who read Part 1 of final reveal for The Old Forge. I’ve heard from Karen (the owner) that bookings at the newly renovated holiday cottage have been going swimmingly since its launch with Next Door @ The Old Forge now being fully booked until the end of September, so get your skates on if you’re looking to book a break in North Yorkshire over the October half term or fancy an autumn/winter break. So, where was I on the final reveal tour? I think I was about here… Corten steel cladding with a slither of hallway peeking through By their very nature of generally being long and narrow, hallways are spaces where people don’t tend to push the boat out design wise. However, a hallway is a place (much like a downstairs loo) is a place you can have plenty of fun. It’s somewhere you pass through fleetingly on the way from one place to another, not often somewhere you hang about for shits and giggles. But …