All posts tagged: DIY

The Million Dollar Floor Lamp

Published by Karen Knox

A couple of posts ago, I introduced you to my latest project, Sherwood Forest. Today is just a quickie to show you how something from that project has gone from “meh” to “sshwing!” In less than an hour might I add. See that lamp? Well, it needed some love. And what better way to love it than to take off that old shade and make it all warm, shiny and coppery. Luckily my clients love copper nearly as much as I do. Whoop! So with some sandpaper and can of Valspar’s Metallic Copper spray paint I got to work. Pic from B&Q After one coat. After two coats. And so with our new rather glamorous lamp base which in total had three coats for good measure, it needed a new shade. Initally I opted for the Grande shade from Habitat. A simple tapered drum in matt black with a copper interior to reflect the light beautifully. But the shape and dimensions were all wrong. The client also felt it needed a little pattern, so off I went searching …

My trip to Dowsing & Reynolds #designupnorth

Published by Karen Knox

I took a little trip yesterday to pick up some fabric lighting cable for a project i’m doing. It involves this: An emergency exit light box. I picked it up for £2.50 from a charity shop last month. Had no idea if it worked, or if I could even “remodel” it, but I love a challenge. Aka. Giving my OH something else to re-wire. Light boxes are springing up everywhere at the moment, typography is HUGE right now and interchangeable letters in said light boxes are even HUGER. (Is that a word?). Especially when they nail that nostalgic vibe of old light up cinema signs. Lightbox UK Not like this one obviously. I don’t even drink beer. It makes me pull a really awful face. More like this one from Goodwin & Goodwin. This pulls a lot of my loves together in one big light up box: Lighting Typography Vintage Industrial Iconic phrases, sayings, mantras I want some of this. I’m gona make my own. First things first, I need a flex to wire into the …

Interactive Art #loveyourwalls

Published by Karen Knox

I picked these enormous gold frames from a charity shop for £7 each. Bargain. One was used one to reframe and update the look of my Ashley Percival poster. See… Et voila. I had one frame left but nothing else I really wanted to re-frame, so I decided to go maverick and make my own god damn art. Hell yeah. If you’re anything like me, then you might be a fan of a slogan or two, motto, life affirming quotes and general feel good fonts. I’ll give you an example of some of my faves: These are all either hanging on my own walls or have been used in one of my interiors projects. One of my favourites (that I don’t own yet) is by an artist called Ian Stevenson. I love the simplicity, the concept, the fact that someone would actually say that about that space. It’s interiors-y, but takes the piss. Right up my street. Go take a look at some of his work, makes me smile. And smiling is definitely a good …

The Live Table

Published by Karen Knox

As you’ve probably learnt by now, I love a bargain. If there’s one to be found, i’ll find it. But I put the hours in. You’ve got to spend the time looking to get real good at it. So on ANOTHER trip to Ikea (Jesus, I know), and during a quick trip to Bargain Corner (which should be called, “Hi Karen nice to see you again), I came across these. Ikea ENHOLMEN, sectional garden chairs. Priced online at £45 each, these were brand new in their boxes at £10 each. £10!! I had no idea where I was going to put them, but I was damn well sure going to find somewhere. I ummed and aahed about how many to get and decided that as there was only three in our little family, i’d get one each. We have a smallish patio area which originally had our little bench on which was saved from a trip to the tip. A few screws and a paint job and it was as good as gold again. It …

The 50/50 Room.

Published by Karen Knox

Want to see the quickest and easiest way to update and redecorate a space? It’s bloody perfect for a bank holiday weekend spruce. Come on, have a look! My son’s bedroom needed a bit of touching up. I stupidly painted this room all white when we moved in 3 years ago. Matt, non wipeable white. Nice move. I really couldn’t be bothered to paint the whole room again. To be honest, most of it was still clean and tidy as furniture had kept his grubby hands and toys away from most of the walls. But the entry wall on the right and sections around his bed were a little worse for wear. So here’s what I did. Tester of Crown Easyclean – City Blues, in a scrubbable matt finish. Masked up with Frog Tape the section I was going to paint. Use a spirit level, but also go by eye as some bits of wall that were bang straight looked off against the floor and ceiling. Just make sure the entire line looks straight in …

The Blue Room – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

This time last month, I had a consult for a loft bedroom. It lacked storage, colour and personality. There was some serious problem solving and creativity needed. You’ve probably caught a couple of my posts since then about how it’s been going and what I’ve been purchasing so I won’t chat too much. I shall fill your eyes with lovely visuals instead. I finally get to share with you all the finished room. And i’m so excited I could burst! **POP!** A reminder of where we started four weeks ago. Four weeks later, here is The Blue Room. The room has seen a total transformation in four weeks. Everything was taken out, the room re-designed and updated. The only things that remain are the carpets and window blinds. You can see some of the pieces from the Ikea shopping list here. Other pieces were sourced from charity shops, second hand furniture shops and Gumtree for next to nothing. The dressing table being the most expensive at £70. Plus, a couple of treat pieces to add …

The Process

Published by Karen Knox

Am going to start this ere blog post with a bit of serious info about my thoughts on work, my ethos and how I run things at Making Spaces. I will put my glasses on so I sound the part…. There. Interior Design is not just about providing a product or one off service. Re-designing a room and creating a new space which solves problems and enhances the feel of a room is a process which evolves along the way. Inevitably, some of your initial ideas and concepts shift slightly to make sure the brief is being hit bang in the face. As a room develops I often think of alternative, better and more creative solutions. At the end you want the room to make your client ridiculously happy, whilst keeping it all within budget. I also want to be able to show off my work too. After all, this design lark is a labour of sheer love. Well it is for me. It’s been a mixed week for The Blue Room. The vintage wardrobe didn’t …

The Blue Room

Published by Karen Knox

Sorry peeps, i’ve been awol this week. But for good reason I promise! I’ve been working on a complete redesign of a client’s loft bedroom. And it’s going to be amazing once it’s done. I’m well excited. Eeeee! Here are some before photos so you can get a feel for the space. And see some of the issues. Estate agent photos. It’s easy to see there is a serious lack of colour or much personality to the room. It’s a lovely big space, but over time storage became an issue and boxes of shoes and “stuff” accumulated. Doesn’t that always happen? The bed was rather overpowering for the space and didn’t reflect the client’s style any more. The Ikea Malm furniture purchased in later years to house some of the extra “stuff” wasn’t really floating her boat either. So what did we decide to do? The tallboy was re-homed in the living room where there was nowhere to shove paperwork, mail, magazines or DVD’s. That’s all been put away now and has really cleared that …

Goodbye Ugly Wall

Published by Karen Knox

So recently I wrote a post about our recent garden sprucing, which included new furniture, splashes of colour and a home made planter. But I failed to draw attention to this ere eyesore above. The mingin’ concrete wall boundary wall. Luckily our neighbours agree it’s bloody horrible so they were happy for me to attempt to make it look a little better from our side of the garden. The driveway and patio are also completely knackered, but we are planning an extension down the entire side of the house in the next few years, so no point in paying to get the wall, patio and driveway re-done. So that’s why it looks so rubbish. All in all. This bit of the garden sucks. I was stuck with how best to improve this area as I wasn’t allowed to eat up any driveway space. It’s already tight to get the car down the drive, so there was literally no floor space to use. So I played around with some ideas: Ivy – Nowhere to plant it and takes …

Free Photography Printables #loveyourwalls

Published by Karen Knox

I’m so excited for today’s post. Not only did I get nominated for an IBA… my blog finally gets its own proper address AND a sexy new look to boot. You like? I’ve had to have a nice sit down and a scone to get over the excitement! But that’s not all. I’ve got something for you that I think you are going to love nearly as much as me. Some amazing FREE PRINTABLES. Get ready to want a gallery wall immediately. Mine is already under construction. My good friend and amazing “SHOULD BE!” photographer, Martyn Day took these on his recent trip to NY. I cheekily asked him if I could a) have all the files and b) post them for you to print, frame and hang. For FREE! I gave him my best smiley emoticon and BOOM. Done deal. If you love brutalist style architecture, concrete, warehouse spaces, industrial buildings, raw materials and monochrome… these bad boys are for you. Part I. I gasped at this one. Did you hear me? Stunning. Ok, a little “information …