All posts filed under: Renovation

Homebuilding & Renovating – Do you need an interior designer?

Published by Karen Knox

So, do you? It’s a good question isn’t it? And one i’ve discussed a kabillion times on here before. But I wanted to show you a recent article from Homebuilding & Renovating magazine’s June edition where myself and the “work-wife”, Fiona Duke (from Fiona Duke Interiors) are asked this very question. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Homebuilding & Renovating (@myhomebuilding) Now, because like everything me and Ms Duke does, with regards to our job, career, dare I even say, calling, we always give 100%, and answering the questions in this article was no different. So much so I wanted to share this piece with you all as I thought, well what the heck, i’ve already spent bloody hours writing this up for a magazine, and it’s actually really good, some of you lovely lot might find it useful, so why not post it here? Page 1 – Fiona is asked; ‘WHAT DOES AN INTERIOR DESIGNER DO?’ Read on… (top tip: if you click on each image it will come up full …

The Harrogate Project – Ground Floor Progress

Published by Karen Knox

I took a trip over to see my Harrogate project last week. I was so excited to see the progress that I posted a pic on Instagram before it even made it onto the blog. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karen Knox – Making Spaces (@makingspacesnet) The space has officially been transformed thanks to this rather spectacular glazing. Remember it’s on two floors? Running up from this kitchen/diner up to the master bedroom suite: A bit of the master suite on the floor above It’s actually an industrial glazing system that you’d usually find in offices. My clients had originally looked into residential glazing options, but due to the height & scale of the glass, they ended up going with an industrial curtain walling system in black aluminium. Looks fab doesn’t it!? Ok, back downstairs for today… Ignore that light – it’s not staying This is where there’ll be a sofa and TV and a bit of fancy paint work. I know those walls looks lovely as they are, but the …

Meanwhile… back in Harrogate – The Kitchen Diner Project

Published by Karen Knox

I’m sure you’ve all seen the Edwardian house in Harrogate i’ve been working on for about two years already. We have been slowly working our way around all the different floors, creating some knockout spaces for this family of three. The Drawing Room Upper Brook St Bedroom Family Bathroom and Hallway The Trumpet Bedroom The Copper Bedroom Well for the past year or so, we’ve been planning the biggest job of all. Knocking through the back of the house on the ground and first floor. Today it’s all about the ground floor and here are some before photos from the sales listing so you can acquaint yourself with the spaces we’re currently working on. The Dining Room A long (blue) narrow space with lots of odd boxing in. A bit of a let down compared to the rest of the house’s loft proportions, don’t cha think? Just, no to these blinds And here was the equally depressing kitchen: Another long, skinny room that felt dark and cramped, sitting two at the very end right next …

A Guide for New Homeowners – Where to start, the dos and don’ts

Published by Karen Knox

There’s an epidemic afoot everyone. It’s called “first time home owner syndrome”. As we already know, people are getting onto the property ladder later in life. Renting well into your 20’s and 30’s, even 40’s is becoming the norm. House prices are mental and mortgages are a nightmare. I was one of the lucky ones, I got my grubby mitts on my first house, a 3 bed, ex-council semi, back in 2003. It felt like a HUGE amount of money at the time. £38k. I have no doubt anyone would bite your hand off to be able to buy a property for that now. The current property climate has led to a high number of long term renters, many of which have never been hands on with a property. Maybe getting as far as hanging pictures, a shelf perhaps. But when it comes down to learning about the nuts and bolts of a house and how to look after a property, renters tend to leave that job to the landlord/lady. That’s what you’re paying for …

Project in progress… The Mulberry Red Room

Published by Karen Knox

Hello there, wasn’t sure if i’d make it onto the blog this week, but i’ve managed to squeeze a little one in. I’m catching you up on another project. It’s the master bedroom of a house i’ve been working in for about 10 months now. The homeowner moved from a flat into a four bedroom Georgian property. The plot this beautiful stone built house sits in had been bought by developers, the property then chopped to make three individual houses. From the outside it’s beautiful and full of character, but internally, it was somewhat lacking so we’ve been working hard to bring it back to life. Living Room in Little Greene Grey Stone We’ve just about completed the living room (still got to take proper photos of that) and made progress on the stairs, landing and guest bedrooms but now we’re onto the top floor. This is (was) the master suite, on the second floor set in the eaves of the house. Can you see what would have originally been the real height of the ceiling …

The Victorian Cottage Kitchen – Pre-reveal

Published by Karen Knox

It’s been a long time coming but the Victorian Cottage Kitchen project has been ticking along nicely (and sometimes not so nicely) in the background. If you remember we were “faking it until we could make it” by reusing all of the existing cabinets and updating lighting, wall coverings, worktops and appliances. You can read all about the plans and where all of the new elements are from here in this post. A quick reminder of the kitchen as it was on my very first visit: All of the next set of photos have been kindly sent by my client (last night at 9pm in fact) she sent me a tiny pic at about 8pm and I was like SEND ME MORE, I NEED TO SEEEEE! I honestly get so excited when one of my rooms comes to life in someone’s actual house. Especially when the client keeps telling me how much they love it. Makes all those sleepless nights worth it. Just. During So here we are, very nearly at the end of the project. …

Thinking of converting your integral garage?

Published by Karen Knox

Happy New Year everyone! Did you have a lovely festive break? I hope so. Have you taken your decorations down yet? Are you looking around the place desperately wishing you had more room? I know I am. But as buying and selling is becoming more and more costly, not to mention slightly impossible given the current climate (**coughs – Brexit**) more of us than ever are extending, expanding and increasing the square footage of our existing homes. A lot of us already have the space we need, we just don’t use it too wisely. Cue the introduction of a recent remote project i’ve been working on: A familiar sight if ever I saw one. The integral garage. The garage with the car parked outside on the drive. Who actually parks their car in garages anymore? Nobody. Apart from my father in law who swears his car will rust and explode if it’s left outside in the mizzle. Anyway – i’m sure the next picture is what a lot of you are more used to seeing in …

The Garden Room

Published by Karen Knox

I’m sure you’ve caught a glimpse of the Victorian property i’m working on already, either on here or Instagram. But there’s another space i’ve been working on that leads off from this cottage kitchen. Before Through that stable door, there’s The Garden Room. You can just about see it through the window. As i’ve already mentioned, this single skin, timber built conservatory will be knocked down to make way for the big extension in the next few years. But until then…. we are making good, using every trick in the interior design book to transform this unused space into a room that can serve many purposes, whilst the homeowners save up for the dream kitchen, diner, family room. Let me show you the floor-plan, so you can see how this large, previously unused Garden Room will be given a new lease of life, function and purpose and some of the tricks we’re using to disguise the quirks imperfections. The Garden Room is built off what was originally the external wall of the house, which means all …

The Victorian Cottage Kitchen – Part 2

Published by Karen Knox

I tootled over to east of York this week to check in on the Victorian Cottage Kitchen project. Work has been coming along nicely since I last shared this project with you guys (read the intro over here). This is where we were before any works began; a pretty traditional set up for a cottage kitchen. And here’s where we are now… The green, glazed tiles from Mandarin Stone with brass trim have transformed this side of the kitchen. Tiles are primarily specified for areas that get wet; bathrooms, kitchen splashbacks, floors, but they can be the perfect solution to create feature walls in alternative spaces. Tiling across the width of this wall gives the illusion of space and the rippled, gloss surface of the tiles helps to reflect the light in what’s a pretty dark part of the house. The homeowner’s love of green had been set aside for many years, fearing that green would clash with the family’s beloved blue Esse range cooker. “Do you think I can have green in here? Won’t …

Time for the BIG garden overhaul – The landscaping has finally begun!

Published by Karen Knox

It’s time. Finally! After 6 years of being in our normal, average sized, 1960’s semi-detached, family home, we’ve done all of the big building jobs inside. Which can only mean one thing; it’s time to tackle the outside! And it couldn’t have come at a better time as our driveway was falling apart. Let me walk you through some of the garden projects we’ve done to tart up the space whilst eagerly awaiting the big overhaul. Back in 2015 You can see what a bad state the driveway was in then, another three years on and it was becoming, well, embarrassing. Summer 2015, The Chalkboard Wall The outdoor blackboard worked a treat to disguise that ugly concrete brick wall for a few years, but after the loft extension in December 2016… … our outdoor space took a hammering and was completely neglected during the epic 17 week build. I gave it a little budget revamp as part of the #UKHomeBlogHop in Summer 2017. It got us through Summer 2017, but 2018 was the year we …