All posts filed under: Online Shopping

An Introduction to Project: Bedroom 4

I’m back with a new project to share with you guys this week, at a property you will have probably seen before a fair few times. The Drawing Room – December 2016 Directly above this room is this room: Upper Brook Street Project – May 2017 And directly above this room is this room: Yes, we’re now onto the top floor of this Edwardian home. The homeowners are tackling bedroom four and five, plus what will become the main family bathroom, with a bit of help from me again. Be rude not to eh? Bedroom five, as shown on the floorplan below is kind of done, except for lighting, window dressing and the final faff. So i’ve been asked to help with the finishing touches for that space. More on that room coming in another blog post soon. For today i’m focusing on bedroom four as that space has proved to be slightly more tricky to sort. It’s pretty large but there are plenty of angles in this space with the ceiling being pitched on …

ABC in the Bathroom (Anything But Chrome)

If you’re currently planning a bathroom refit and looking to break with convention and not go down the easy route of chrome brassware… you’ll soon experience what I refer to as The ABC Nightmare. Anything But Chrome. Black and Brass are currently the choix du jour and has been for a while but the market is taking some time to catch up. As you already know our loft bathroom was graced with a black tap, bottle trap and waste from Olif. The Minimo Matt Black Tap is still available on their website, which they’ve recently revamped, so definitely worth a look. They also do gold, copper, bronze and anthracite taps… basically, Anything. But. Chrome. So sourcing a black tap for our loft shower room wasn’t too bad… but could I for the life of me find a shower or a shower screen with black fittings (that wasn’t a million ££’s)? No. No I couldn’t. But guess what? They’re finally trickling down onto the market, so I thought i’d save you a month’s painful search and pop ’em all here for …

The Red Room Project Interior Design

The Red Room – Pre-reveal – Pt 2

Because sometimes things take a little longer than planned… here’s Pt 2 of the pre-reveal. I wasn’t planning a Pt 2, but I also wasn’t planning for one of the light fittings to be broken, for the curtains to be such a pain (why are curtains always such a pain?) or for the electrician to be quite as elusive (why are electricians always elusive?) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karen Knox – Making Spaces (@makingspacesnet) But we’re about a week away from being done. After a four hour picture framing, gallery wall hanging, plant moving, nik nak fiddling session yesterday, I couldn’t possibly wait to share some pics I snapped before I left. Mantel piece styling with pieces from Ikea, Wayfair, H&M Home and….. … this super cool, not freaky at all black and gold hand from the very talented Muck N Brass. The cinema style wall light from Rockett St George looking tip top above the home bar (still to be stocked). Still a bit more work to do here (small shelf… vinyl… more …

Little Greene Lamp Black

The Red Room – The Pre-Reveal

Just got back from a visit to The Red Room project. Big smiles here 😀 I dreamt about it last night as i’ve been itching to get there all week. I spoke to the homeowner after all the major work had been completed last week; new stove, mantel piece, door blocked up and plastered, walls wallpapered and then painted. So we’re onto the final straight peeps. The fun stuff! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karen Knox – Making Spaces (@makingspacesnet) This is what it looked like on my last visit, which you can read all about here. So many of you loved that distressed plastered wall, but alas there was a door to board up and skim over, so it wasn’t meant to be. This time. (Let me quickly add that 3 minutes into taking photos, my camera died so most of these have been taken on my rubbish camera phone which goes little way towards doing this room justice. But! I will be back v soon for the final reveal …

We have carpet!

Can you believe it was this time last year that we started our loft conversion? How quickly have the last 12 months gone? We finished the staircase earlier this year and finally got the build signed off in June. Phew! But the one thing we still hadn’t managed to sort (afford) was the carpet. You can see in the image above where the old box room wall and door were as our old, battered carpets were a kind reminder of the house’s former layout. Luckily for me, Flooring Megastore were happy to work with me to re-carpet our stairs and open plan landing. Whoop! They stock an enormous range of flooring (carpets, vinyl, laminate, engineered and solid wood) including just what I was looking for. Associated Weavers Lochay –  Fossil I opted for Associated Weavers’ Natural Wool Collection in a warm stone shade. I wanted something with grey undertones for more of a Scandi vibe. Especially as the space it was being fitted was all white and birch, birch and white. It’s 50/50 wool and polyester, so, super hardwearing …

[vinegar & brown paper]

I don’t normally write seasonal/calendar driven blog posts. Mainly because I don’t buy into “Insert random commercialised event where you’re obliged to spend money on stuff you don’t really need” days. The next one coming up is Father’s Day. I know this, as Sainsbos have been selling Father’s Day cards and stocking up on socks and Maltesers for about a month already. You may have also noticed Father’s day “gift guides” popping up left, right and centre and today’s post is kind of one of those…. but it’s also not. It’s also an introduction to [vinegar & brown paper]. [vinegar & brown paper] is the creation of fellow Yorkshire resident, Andy Poplar. In his former life, Andy was an award winning advertising creative but he decided to quit his job because in his own words, “it began to make me unwell”. In his search to do something different with his life he came up with the idea of etching glass. And what a good idea it was too. Because his work is bloody brilliant. So now you’re in the …

Large Bay Window

Upper Brook Street Project – Final Reveal of the Guest Bedroom

Typing typing as fast as I can…. It’s final reveal time everyone! Oh how I love a final reveal. Especially when it’s as awesomesauce as this one. Eeeee!! (If you’d like to catch up on this project, pop back a few posts to this one.) First, it’s time for before pics. A large master bedroom which was to become a guest bedroom. But not just any old guest bedroom, oh no siree. The weird recessed/built in wardrobes were going and an ensuite was coming. This is how the room looked when I started working with the homeowners: The entire house had been chopped up over time, converted into flats at some point, and then back again into a house. The walls and doors were in the strangest of places and it was time to breathe life back into this beautiful Edwardian home, and put those walls back where they were originally built over 100 years ago. This was back in January. Want to see what it looks like now? After Before It’s completely unrecognisable isn’t it? In …

Florian Planter La Redoute

My Top 10 Mid Century Planters

Plants plants plants!! They are everywhere. And I love it. I can’t actually get enough of them. Combine my love of plants, styling and all things mid-century, this inevitably makes mid-century planters right up there with one of my fave things to add to interiors right now. Turned, tapered wooden legs? Elevated greenery? Yes please! Let me show you my top 10 picks . Tall Concrete Planter with Wooden Legs, £55 – Next Yes, you read right, Next! Wide Concrete Planter with Wooden Legs, £55 – Next Concrete and wood, super versatile materials to fit right into industrial, Scandi, vintage, mid-century and contemporary interiors. Modern Wood Leg Planter, £89 – West Elm “With their simple ceramic bowls and solid wood legs, our Modern Wood Leg Planters create an industrial look for your greenery. Even better? Their oak-finished legs have been treated to be used either inside or out.” A good choice for those of you looking to take the concrete look into the great outdoors. Turned Leg Tabletop Planters, from £24 – Westelm “Inspired by the clean silhouettes …

Ted Baker – Did you know they did rugs?

Firstly, thank you to everyone that read and commented on my last blog post. I’m so glad it’s been useful to so many of you out there. Your experiences and feedback will no doubt be a massive help to everyone else too. So thank you again! If you missed it, you can catch up here. A must read if you’re planning on decorating soon. Today’s post is a bit of fun for a Friday night. I just wanted to share with you guys one of my finds this week after searching online for a rug for a client. Not just any old rug, but a marble rug. MARBOLI How beautiful is that? It’s by Ted Baker. Did you know Ted Baker did rugs? Well, you probably did, but I hadn’t seen any of these until this week. Come see some more. They’re bloody gorgeous. FLORANI Ranging from £400 to £1000, they’re not cheap, mind (surprise). Investment pieces for sure and something you’d want to have on your floors for years to come. “Woven from a blend …

My trip to Bert & May – From Salvage Yard to Show House #designupnorth

About 18 months ago, I introduced the hashtag #designupnorth to head up a series of posts focusing on good design being accessible north of the Watford gap. As a blogger/designer I get invited to stuff all the time (which is lovely) but every frickin design event/launch/networking opp is always down south. In fact, brands barely even put the addresses on for these events anymore, it’s just assumed we all know they’re down in Landan and we’ll just pop down there for a canpé and a Prosecco or four. Needless to say, I have yet to frequent one of these said events, a) because I work full time, in Leeds b) they’re always at rubbish times like 8am or 6pm and c) because a return trip to Kings Cross aint cheap. https://www.instagram.com/p/98ney5soCP/?taken-by=makingspacesnet But… a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to an event…. wait for it…. in North Yorkshire! 30 mins drive away from Making Spaces HQ. Yes, yes! We have a Bert & May, UP NORTH. Not in London. Well, yes in London too, but we …