All posts tagged: dark interiors

Abigail Ahern x Wayfair

Published by Karen Knox

Pretty exciting news today peeps, i’m super chuffed to play a small part in the launch of Abigail Ahern’s very own curation for Wayfair. **does little dance** Ms Ahern has personally selected a small selection of gems from Wayfair so you can create her iconic look at home. Image – Abigail Ahern x Wayfair Designer Abigail Ahern has been hailed as one of the most trend-setting names in interiors – a style disruptor with a fearless approach to home design. In her collaboration with Wayfair, Abigail’s signature moody palette is given an earthy twist, with slick urban furniture meeting raw and rustic elements, eclectic accents and statement lighting, for a look that’s packed full of character yet surprisingly affordable. I’ve worked with Wayfair a couple of times already, which included curating my own selection in January 2016. They offer a mammoth selection of affordable homeware, all with free shipping, so perfect for an impulse purchase. Just some of the items that made it into the Abigail Ahern x Wayfair Collaboration As part of the launch, …

The Red Room – The Pre-Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

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 …

Living Room Update – Pt 2 #styleitdark

Published by Karen Knox

Ok, if you didn’t read Part I, then this post might not make that much sense. So you might want to pop back a couple of posts and catch up so you know what the heck i’m going on about today. Or just keep reading… you’re in charge. I think it’s fair to say I wasted spent a week painting various sections of this room. This bit that colour, that bit this colour. There are some sections of wall that have been painted four times over the space of a fortnight, I swear the room is smaller. https://www.instagram.com/p/BTRQx3RA0GD/?taken-by=makingspacesnet As much as I loved the tone of Dulux’s Rich Praline 3, it just did not work with our oak furniture or pine door. It was also a perfect match for the carpet (which I don’t like) making the room feel a bit “blah”. Not exactly the look I was going for when I started this room update. So after, repeatedly telling my hubster how the room would’t work unless I painted the door in with the …

A living room update – Pt 1 #styleitdark

Published by Karen Knox

Ok. First off. Massive thanks for the ace feedback from my last post. It seems like I have unleashed some design demons, which makes me smile very much indeed. So pleased to hear some of you guys have been trying out my online tutorial on how to create your own mood boards, had a few PM’s and DM’s since last week letting me know how helpful it’s been, including this message: “Just thought i’d let you know, i spent the afternoon at work doing your step by step mood board! For work purposes obvs, but found it really useful!! Im defo guna become a bit addicted. Just need to get myself a Mac book for home now. Cheers!! X” And that’s what I like to hear. People sacking off work to design room sets on a work computer. My work here is done ladies and gentlemen. (**disclaimer – Making Spaces does not condone idle mood board-ery at a place of work or during work hours. Proceed with caution**) Ok, onto today’s topic. Our living room. I’m not going …

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

Published by Karen Knox

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 …

The 5th Wall – Conclusion

Published by Karen Knox

I finished it. What? Painting our ceiling in with the walls. Oh right, yeah I remember now, you wrote about starting that a couple of weeks ago didn’t you? Yeah. You can catch up here. We’ve now lived with it for a couple of weeks and i’m ready to give my honest (as ever) opinion on it. It’s changed the feel of the room, a lot. Conclusion 1. It’s a marmite design decision. Nobody is going to walk in and go, ooh i’m not sure. It’s either, “what on earth have you done?” or “wow, I love it.” Conclusion 2. It doesn’t actually make the ceiling feel lower, it did when it was half done, but once it was all done it was back to normal again. So if you’re thinking of trying it at home, DO NOT make any decisions until you’ve finished what you started. Commit! Conclusion 3. It’s definitely made the room darker. Not just feel darker, but actually darker. So it does make things, like doing the ole face paint a little …

The 5th wall – In real life

Published by Karen Knox

I’ve mentioned before, I tend to experiment with our home, trying out design ideas, colours, layouts and living with them for a while to see if I like em, decide if they work for us and how they change the feel of the house as a whole. This way i’m in a much better position when it comes to me making suggestions for your home. Example: when I went to have a consult about getting my eyes done with that fancy pants lazer surgery a few years ago, ALL of the opticians and technicians were wearing glasses. Erm… what’s that about? I’m still rocking the specs to this day. I wrote a post well over a year ago all about the 5th wall and how painting the ceiling can completely transform a room. With this in mind, it was always the plan to paint our bedroom ceiling dark when I started it about a year ago (you can have a peep here to read about it). But I ended up leaving it white, deciding to wait and see if it annoyed …