All posts filed under: Saving Money

Bioethanol Fire

Our Bioethanol Fire – A clean burn and clean conscience

As an interior designer, there are several areas of home renovations that send shivers down my spine. And not the good shivers. They are, in no particular order: Curtains (I’ve spoken at length about how much I hate them) Bathrooms (hands down the hardest spaces to design and plan for) Fires and fireplaces When we moved into our home back in 2012, our living room was fitted with a log burner. It was by all accounts a really good one. But during our 6 years of owning it, I think it’s fair to say, we didn’t get on. It took oodles of time and effort to get it going and when it was going, it was fricking boiling. It was smokey. It gave me headaches. The last time we used it, it filled our living room with black smoke. It was then we found out we needed a new liner down the chimney. Cue about £1200 worth of work which we couldn’t afford, so this rather expensive stove became a pricey but rather useless ornament. Sometimes …

Ted Baker Stepped Tile

Ted Baker & British Ceramic Tile – New Designs Definitely Worth a Look

It’s not the first time British Ceramic Tile have featured on these pages. I worked with them back in winter 2016 on our loft conversion. I was lucky enough to use their Marble and Black Hex tiles in our loft bathroom. Chooch on the loo in our Loft Bathroom… The beautiful Marble Hex tiles were used again the Trumpet Family Bathroom (because the homeowners fell in love with them from seeing them in my own bathroom). Well, British Ceramic Tile, are releasing some rather exciting new designs by long time collaborator, Ted Baker. There are three designs that I think you lovely lot, need to see, because they’re ace. And normal people can afford them – hoorah! Indigo Blocks – £39 m2 These ceramic tiles give some of the mega expensive handmade, cement tiles a serious run for their money. The indigo blue with soft off-white provides a classic colour scheme to any wall or floor. Each pack of nine tiles contains an assortment of four different designs, so the end result is completely up to …

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 …

H&M Home

H&M Home – doing more Home

Hello!! Yes, I know i’ve been away for a week and left you without so much as a word to read, but we’ve had friends stay with us this week. So i’ve taken some time out, away from the screen to bloody well enjoy myself. And as punishment for said fun, i’ve been struck down with a virus and been like this since Thursday… … just in time for the school holidays. Oh life, you’re a cruel beast! Anyway, less moaning and more writing. Today’s post is about H&M Home. I know most of you will already know about their homeware dept, i’ve written about them before and used their stuff in sooo many projects… .. but there are actually still some peeps that haven’t twigged yet. And for those that don’t pop on there weekly (like I do), then today’s post is just for you. We already know H&M sell cushions, accessories, ceramics and textiles… everything in this pic above (apart from the sofa, books and twig) is from H&M. Standard. But did you know H&M’s …

Painting UPVC

Let’s talk about white UPVC (and how to paint it)

I know a lot of you guys hate your own white UPVC, because you were all messaging me this week on Instagram when I was sharing my recent DIY project on Insta Stories. I’m not the only hater out there it seems. Once the talk of the town, white UPVC doors and windows revolutionised the whole glazing and door industry back in the 80’s. Maintenance free, double glazed units were fitted in nearly every house and home in the country. However, it seems there’s not a lot people out there that still want their white plastic frames and doors. Not in their current state anyway. Including me. There I am standing in front of my door, fake laughing for a MADE.COM shoot. Praying they won’t use this one as i’m so embarrassed by the front of our house. I’m super proud of what we’ve managed to do inside our little 3 bed semi, but the outside was always last on the list. And this year is the year for that. If you remember, we’d already …

MADE Copper Dressing Table

The Copper Bedroom – Final Reveal

Just like buses, you wait for ages, in the rain, getting puddle mud on the back of your skinny jeans, standing with damp denim stuck to your leg… then three of the double-decker blighters come all at once. My third final reveal post in as many weeks. That’s got to be some kind of record. The Monochrome Family Bathroom, then the Aquamarine Guest Bedroom and now the Copper Bedroom. That’s how it goes sometimes. Co-ordinating several projects at the same time can be a bit of a nightmare. But then you get a triple whammy of interior eye candy to gorge on. Before Today’s it’s the Copper Bedroom. The bedroom on the 2nd floor of the Edwardian property i’ve been working in for nearly the last two years now. Blimey! You can catch up with all the befores for this latest project, here and here. Drawing Room   |   Upper Brook St These are the two rooms that sit directly beneath the Copper Bedroom. On the ground floor it’s the Drawing Room and the floor above …

The Aquamarine Guest Bedroom Final Reveal

The Aquamarine Guest Bedroom – Final Reveal

Oh how i’m going to enjoy writing this post, firstly because I love a final reveal post. And secondly, this one will mostly be a cathartic rant about my self-titled “WORST CLIENT EVER”, with some tiny pieces of info about interiors in and amongst. This was the second bedroom of a generously proportioned 1930’s house. It was being used as a guest bedroom and home office, but as i’m sure you will agree, it needed some work. I’m going to skip the whole process which you can catch up on here and here and just get on with the before and after photos, interspersed with more cathartic ranting. The brief for this room was… let’s say, “fluid”. Needs to be a guest bedroom with double bed Bed needs to have drawers underneath for storage Bed needs to have a comfortable, upholstered headboard Needs a wardrobe for guest hanging space Needs a chest of drawers for storage and a TV on top Needs an office space with lots of storage and all cables hidden away Definitely plants …

SØSTRENE GRENE

Heard of Søstrene Grene?

I’m guessing most people won’t have. Design bloggers, journalists, design nuts and the like will most certainly be in the know, but Søstrene Grene is more than likely a new discovery for a lot of you reading. Which is kinda bonkers as they have stores all across Europe and over in Japan too. But the thing is, they only have two stores in the UK. Nottingham and Chester. Online? Nope. Which kinda sucks. So today’s post is a bit of a “look at what you could have won” situation. (If you have no idea what the image above means – you did not grow up in the 80’s. This is the kind of brilliance you missed out on). Founded by Inger Grene, Ruth Grene and Knud Cresten Vaupell Olsen in 1973, the first Søstrene Grene store opened in Denmark, and now, 45 years on they have nearly 200 stores across the the world. “Søstrene Grene offers you exciting products from near and far, attractively put out in a labyrinth of colors, shapes and smells. Our shops always have …

The Aquamarine Room - The Pre-reveal

The Aquamarine Room – Pre-reveal

We’re not quite ready for the final reveal for this project yet, but this room is looking a hell of a lot prettier than it did last October. Before – Oct 2017 If you listed closely, you will hear it… can you hear the walls?? “Help me…. heeeeellpp mmeeee!!” Not one to leave a room in distress I was more than happy to turn this room into something not only camera worthy but also ridiculously functional for my very particular client. Nearly after I can’t always discuss my clients so candidly on the tinterweb… it’s not professional, but this client is an exception. Firstly, because she’s now a friend (for my sins) after working with her on and off since 2015. Sherwood Forest – Jan 2016 And secondly she has been, now how can I put this nicely… she’s been a real pain in the arse during this project. I’ve said this to her face, so i’m not going behind her back here. She also reads my blog. So she’s now read it as well as …

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 …