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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 …

Can you put a price on creativity?

In short, no. No you can’t. But as creative people, we have to, in order to make a living. An artist charges £500 for a painting perhaps, which sounds a lot doesn’t it? But then when you find out it took them a week to create it and cost them £70 in materials (canvas, brushes, paints….) £430 for 40 hours work doesn’t quite sound as good does it? That’s £10.75 p/hr by the way. For someone that’s maybe got a BA in fine art. And 40 hours is always 60 hours, because any creative person starts work as soon as they get out of bed and doesn’t switch off until the lights are out. Even then, the brain continues to whirr and race with ideas. I have been known to solve design dilemmas in my dreams. So even when i’m asleep, i’m working. That’s kind of annoying. But what happens when you work in a service industry and the service you provide isn’t tangible? When the service you provide is a long and lengthy process …

The “Brilliant” Office Redesign

**New project klaxon** I’m not bigging myself up with the blog post title here, it’s the name of the company i’m currently working with; Brilliant Social Media. This time last year I was working on my very first commercial sized project with Visibilis, remember the one with the geometric wall? Nearly a year later, i’m onto my second. Brilliant are based at Mabgate business centre, a very understated but pretty cool industrial building built in 1890 as a textile mill. Mabgate Business Centre The building has recently undergone four years of restoration and refurbishment, now providing affordable work spaces with “a modern work environment for young companies”. Based just on the periphery of Leeds city centre, it’s an excellent location. Mabgate Business Centre It’s all pretty nice in here. Exposed brick walls, high ceilings, large windows and lots of light. All of the office spaces have been decorated and carpeted ready for their new tenants. Here’s an example below: Mabgate Business Centre They’re great rooms, but quite formal. Brilliant who are clearly a very creative team …

Identity Papers

Today’s post is all about independent wallpaper designer, Linda Hasking, also known as Identity Papers. Linda Hasking – Identity Papers Here she is, well, half of her. Linda’s story behind Identity Papers began with two hundred and twenty two photos. “Shots I took of every single object in my living room became my first wallpaper, Mi Casa Su Casa.” Mi Casa Su Casa That very first wallpaper design became the foundation for her brand. Linda views her wallpapers as a portrait, this design itself being a self-portrait. This idea of the self-portrait developed further, and now her photo-collage wallpapers can be custom made using your very own images. Mi Casa Su Casa – Monochrome Great idea no? A wallpaper you’ll see something new in every day and something that means something to you and only you. Miniature pieces of art for you to discover every day. Linda’s newest design, Woodsman 1 and 2 wallpapers are another prime example of her designing with us in mind. We all like to have something a little bit different don’t we? …

New project. New wallpaper

I’m back! After a well deserved week off from all things blog, i’ve caught up with things like cleaning the house, finishing off oodles of painting at home, having conversations with my husband about things that weren’t loft related and washing my hair. Feels so good to have our home back. And a teency bit of normal life, whatever that means. So now felt about the right time to introduce a new project i’ve been working on since December. Yes, another one. If you guys remember the Drawing Room project, then you’ll know why i’m excited to introduce it… … as it’s the bedroom above this very room. So you already know these guys are going to be up for something pretty special in their “soon to be” new guest bedroom. Here’s is the room before these guys moved in. In fact, these are the estate agent piccies… “Just shove it under the bed, John. No, all of it under the bed. No, you can’t see it. No it’s fine. Honestly.” It’s a very masculine room …

Laurel Marble Hex Tiles

The Loft Bathroom – Final Reveal

It’s here. It’s flipping HERE! Week 20 or something are we now? I dunno, I stopped counting after 17… My ideas for the bathroom are finally up and at ’em and I can’t wait for a sit down and a biscuit. I don’t think i’ve had a day off since September. God, I need a day off. Anywaaaay, here was the vibe I had in mind for the bathroom. Strictly monochrome, in keeping with the loft bedroom. If you haven’t seen that yet, I reckon you should have a quick pop over here so you can see how the two spaces connect. Our new bathroom was going to be 2m x 2m. So, small, but a good size for a second bathroom i’d say. These tiny spaces are certainly not easy to plan at all. And i’ve lost a fair amount of beauty sleep over this space, i’ll tell you that for free. Here’s where we were at the beginning of December. Before And here’s where we are now. After We have a bathroom! I …

The Open Plan Work Space – Final Reveal

Here it was pre Loft Extension.  In our box room, which was less than 2 x 3m. It was the perfect spot for me to set up Making Spaces HQ. It really wasn’t big enough to be a bedroom. In fact it wasn’t really big enough to warrant its own door, so we took that off over a year ago anyway. Top Tip. If you’ve got a door you never ever close, get rid. Give yourself another square meter of space instead. And a better view. And more natural light. Go on. Our 1960’s, 3 bed-semi had a very traditional layout, pre-build. Our plan was to incorporate the small, box room into the landing area, so it looked something like this: If you’ve been following the build, you may remember we were sacrificing our box room in order to accommodate the staircase of our dreams. You can read more about that over here. The plan was to keep our landing open plan, light, spacious and my office would simply sit exactly where it was before. I do …

Plywood floorboards, ply flooring

The Loft Bedroom – Final Reveal

We did it! We have our new loft bedroom, all done and ready to rock. Four months after we started our build, i’m finally able to share the final reveal photos with you. I’m going to warn you right now, this post is PIC HEAVY. Initially I took about 70 photos. I know. That’s ridiculous. I’ve managed to whittle it down to about 30. Still far too many, but ya know what, just scroll along if any aren’t floating your boat. Here’s where we were back in September 2016: And here was my plan for the bedroom: Ok. So here we go. Do come in… The view from the landing into the bedroom. Gets me every time. Chooch the cat, can not get enough of this room. Mainly because she’s got a load of new rugs and blankets to paw at and ruin. We had to be clever with space here as we were limited with how much width we had with the two chimney stacks bookending each side of the bed. The Factorylux Maria Banjo wall …

The Pre-reveal – The Loft Extension Wk 16

Week 16? Is it? I’ve lost count now to be honest. It feels like we’ve been living in another universe where time as we know it doesn’t exist. We were hoping to be done for Christmas. And we should have been really. Easily. But we weren’t. And it was fine (it wasn’t, but you know what I mean). So the project continues into 2017 and every time I think we might have just one more week left to wait, something crops up. I’m fed up of waiting for the final reveal post now, so i’m going to have to write this Preveal post, just to satisfy myself really. Oh and to keep you guys up to date too I guess. And if i’m being totally honest, to thank all the brands that are working with me for being so patient throughout this whole project. I’ll be giving them a little shout out so you know who they are… First off, some slightly better photos of the staircase. Instead of a landing balustrade, I really wanted boxed in …

Where to start…? (a guide of what to spend your money on at home)

Happy January 2017 everyone. We made it! I enjoyed my week away from work, writing, interiors and all things loft extension, but it’s now time to crack on with life again. And i’m ready for it. It’s at this time of year, after taking the Christmas decs down and giving the house a good clean we start thinking about making home improvements and giving our homes a bit of love. My inbox has been rammed since December with people wanting some help, advice and design work done in January. Which is brilliant of course. Home Office in a Day My first day back at work in 2017 was a full house consultation in Manchester. The homeowner had been working really hard to save some money in order to give her family home, a lovely 3 bed, pre-war semi an update. When you’ve got several rooms to tackle, each room with its own issues and problems, it’s hard to know where to start. The last thing you want to do is go about it the wrong way, and …