All posts tagged: home

Don't Move – Improve!

Published by Karen Knox

So you might have heard me mention recently, we’re converting our loft. It’s kind of a big deal for us. We’ve played around with several extension ideas since we moved here, discounting a loft extension at one point because we needed it so much for storage. (rubbish phone pics) We definitely, didn’t want to move. We already knew when we bought this place four years ago, it was a little on the small side. We were seriously lacking on the guest bedroom front and resorted to lugging a mattress downstairs for friends and family to sleep on our living room floor. And you know what. It sucked. Well no more. With the help of our amazing parents and the savings we’ve been squirrelling away, we finally decided a hip to gable loft extension is the best solution to all of our space problems. And it seems we’re not the only ones. More and more people are extending their homes and improving their living spaces to avoid the alternative of moving. In fact, since we got …

At Home With… Making Spaces

Published by Karen Knox

It’s been another big week here at Making Spaces HQ. And my last one before I have a week off work. A week off! It’ll be the first one i’ve had in nearly 18 months. I so need it. In fact our little family of three does. We’re off to Centerparcs for some much needed downtime from all things digital, breath in some fresh air and take some time to make memories with the fam. I couldn’t not share this with you guys though… i’m currently featured on Houzz UK as part of their “At Home With…” series. And i’m actually pretty proud of myself right now. There’s a great interview over there with yours truly (which actually makes me sound like a nice person, who’d a thought!?) You can have a proper nosey around my home, all with a chance to win a lovely silk cushion from one of my fave places to shop. Silk cushion from The Other Duckling I’ve actually had tears in my eyes from reading some of the comments on the …

Sherwood Forest – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

In October 2015, I had a consultation. A couple had just moved in together into a 1930’s three bedroom semi-detached house in a leafy part of north Leeds. A lovely sized home which held many wonderful treasures. But with all this stuff from two houses being merged together, both with competing design styles… the main living space wasn’t really working. Oh and throw in a new born, just for fun. The living room already had a cool selection of retro, Africana and vintage pieces. A Parker Knoll armchair, taxidermy, old maps, collectors drawers, new maps, pops of orange, brass and copper accents and various pieces of unique, gnarly furniture. It was all there. But it was just a mish-mash. Add in that 70’s tiled fireplace and the room was all over the shop. The colour of the room, I decided upon about an hour into the first consultation. I just knew it would work for them both. A dark, vintage green, using copper and orange as the accent colour was going to make everything in this room …

Making the most of your space

Published by Karen Knox

Last month I wrote an article for Wayfair all about how to make the most of your space. It’s something I get asked about a lot during design consultations. “Can you help us find a place for **insert random but completely necessary item here**.” It seems we’d all like more space. I know I would. So I thought it might be pretty useful to share some of my solutions here with you. Go up Use the height of the room wherever possible. Lots of smaller units and bookcases lined up side by side take up so much floor space. And more and more stuff gets plonked on top until you’re living with the “Leaning Tower of Niknaks.” Keep your floor-plan as open and free as possible. Have cupboards or open shelves built into your alcoves, not just in your living room but in your kitchen/diner too. Shelves fitted above doorways can house endless boxes of books or CD’s without taking up any living space at all. Above the bulk-head in the “box room” …

#liveLAGOM in da house

Published by Karen Knox

So at the end of last year, I introduced to you a project i’m doing with Ikea, along with about 300 other people across the UK. We’re looking at how we can live more sustainably, efficiently and have a healthier and better lifestyle. It’s called the #liveLAGOM project. The project will run over the next six months during which time everyone will document their experiences online. Ikea are giving us some big help with this obviously by agreeing to give us £500 worth of items to help us improve our sustainability. Some people are focusing on reducing food waste, some on “growing your own”, for others it’s saving money on bills or sorting out a proper recycling area. There are so many ways we can all #liveLAGOM and this is just a start of a very long process for everyone involved. I’d already written my #liveLAGOM Wishlist, which you can have a read of here. There have been some small changes made since then due to stock availability, dimensions etc.. But now i’ve finally got our £500 haul of …

The Shelfie

Published by Karen Knox

A few days ago I introduced you to my home office update, well my new DIY desk to be precise. I absolutely loved working in here last week but there were some bits that still needed sorting. Some of which involved a drill. So I smiled sweetly at my OH and thankfully, he took the hint. As you can see above, a new radiator has been fitted which i’m a little too excited about. Radiators are always so damn ugly, but I adore the look of column radiators. So every time we get around to updating a radiator, I get lil butterflies. (Weirdo). I keep sticking my head under my desk for a peek and temp test. Aaanywaaaay…. We’ve also finally fitted the shelf that has been waiting in its packet all week. I wanted something slimline, minimal, unobtrusive and just big enough to keep all of the gubbins I need close by without it crowding up my desktop. After all, my desktop is far too sexy to be covered with all my shizzle. The Duraline photo shelf …

I have a confession to make…

Published by Karen Knox

…. about wallpaper. If you read my post from last week where I was tearing my hair out over which wallpaper to choose…. then I apologise. The thing is, when you’re in “a relationship”, and live with someone, apparently it’s good etiquette to ask their opinion when buying things or making decisions for your home. Pffft. So, I did. I asked my beloved weeks ago about his thoughts on a particular wallpaper. One that I really really liked and wanted him to like too. But he wasn’t a fan. I showed him another picture of the same wallpaper a few days later. He still didn’t like it. And one more time the following week. Nah, blah, meh…. baaaaah. After my “third time lucky” technique, I concluded that he did NOT like this wallpaper and did NOT want this wallpaper. So the full on wallpaper search proceeded and I ended up with the heavenly seven you guys saw last week. And your help was amazing. Thank you. Anyway, here they are. (Were). Samples started arriving and I was …

Jumbo & Friends

Published by Karen Knox

Today i’d like to introduce to you a brand new design company based right here in the U to the K. Jumbo & Friends have landed, excitedly bringing their fresh perspective on children’s furniture with them. And I love it (and kind of want it all). It all began in 2013, when the creative founder, Esther fell pregnant and began the search for a cot for her son’s bedroom. Let’s just say she wasn’t really feeling what the current market had to offer. “that’s why I decided to create something different that would make children’s furniture more exciting, beautiful and engaging so that it becomes part of their world and ours, and makes it better!” Esther and her son A lady after my own heart. If it doesn’t exist, make it so! Launching the website just last week, these guys are already firing on all cylinders. After an energetic phone interview with Esther and this ten second video teaser of what was to come, I knew Jumbo & Friends had to make it onto the blog. Beautifully …

Making Spaces in Print – Pt 2

Published by Karen Knox

In October last year I wrote a bit of a heart to heart giving you guys some insight into Making Spaces, who I am and how this all began. Near the end of this rather cathartic post, I let it slip I’d had some of my work photographed for a magazine feature. It was all very exciting. It was lovely to have my own home featured in print, but having your work and someone else’s home photographed, all because of you and your mad design ideas… well it felt pretty damn good. The Blue Room, which you may be familiar with, had its very own photoshoot, AND a four page feature in the Dec/Jan edition of HomeStyle Magazine. And it looks great. Big thanks to Olly Gordon and Abbi Henderson for a great day of fab styling, photography with a smile, champion crumpet eating and Yorkshire tea drinking. I cheekily asked HomeStyle for the PDF’s so I could show you guys. So thanks to them for sending them over and letting me share on Making Spaces. Let’s have a peep. …

A Living Room Update

Published by Karen Knox

I’ve been making some updates to our living room. It will be having a little cosmetic surgery this year. Aka. paint & and wallpaper. It’s taken me over a year to convince the OH to let me get on with it. Which has been pretty annoying (did you hear that, my beloved??) So to keep my creative juices from drying up, i’ve been changing all the things that he can’t really get a bee in his little bonnet about. Come see… Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette by Van Gogh. Some new art anyone? I don’t know how i’ve never seen this before. Painted in 1886, Van Gogh did “hipster” before the word hipster even existed. A purchase from Art.co.uk, my new favourite place to spend an hour ogling new art. And old art apparently. That’s enough skulls for this room now. I do have Montel, the copper skull too, remember!? Over-kill? Over-skull? No, that doesn’t work, Karen. Art that was originally hanging on the wall opposite is now sitting here. I quite like how it …