All posts tagged: midcenturymodern

MADE.COM Goes Massive – #designupnorth Part II

Published by Karen Knox

So where was I? That’s right, I was at Redbrick, the North’s hot spot for all things interiors and design. I was waxing lyrical about the new mahousive MADE showroom in Part I. In Part II, I’ll be looking at MADE x Unboxed and exploring why that was such a clever move. Plus, i’ve got an exclusive interview with Rebecca Ruddle, MADE’s Head of Showrooms for a real insight into the rise of MADE.COM and its success here in Yorkshire. But first, a few more images to get you back into the swing. I took over 100 photos during my tour, so to prevent giving you RSI from scrolling in Part I, I saved some for Part II. ARCHE floor lamp. The BOURBON chest of drawers for some classic french style mixed with the very British design of the WOLSELEY sofa. In 100% wool tweed and made right here in the UK. The gorgeous DARCEY desk in Walnut and Oak where the clever design seems to defy gravity. The ESME 60’s coffee table in Ash plywood with solid ash …

MADE.COM Goes Massive – #designupnorth Part I

Published by Karen Knox

WARNING. THIS POST CONTAINS SERIOUS DESIGN EYE CANDY. MAY CAUSE FAINTING, SHORTNESS OF BREATH OR SPONTANEOUS ONLINE PURCHASING. One of my favourite, feel good places to shop, find design inspiration and generally waste a bit of time is at Made.com. Their last five year existence has changed the way I find and shop for furniture and home decor. And my expectations too. Their business model, whilst initially having some teething problems in its start up period; long lead times, problems with couriers not delivering and customers perhaps not quite understanding the process, has now found its feet. And they are standing firm and fast on those feet, in very big shoes indeed. MADE’s online presence has grown enormously and rapidly, followed by the move to open two showrooms. One in Soho, London’s West End in 2012 and one up in my beloved West Yorkshire at the end of 2013. Lucky me! MADE are now set to open a third showroom very soon in Liverpool serving the Northwest contingent. This offline presence has no doubt worked wonders …

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 …

Thrifting, sourcing, hunting and finding.

Published by Karen Knox

My love of charity and second hand shops is a fairly new one. With vintage, up-cycling, mid-century and Scandinavian design being so on trend, there are SO many amazing finds. And whilst the Great Ikea Haul gave me some great pieces for The Blue Room, I needed a bit of “old and borrowed” to go with the “blue and new”. Remember the chest of drawers I picked up from Gumtree for £10? Before. After. Don’t they look amazing? I spent no more than two hours bringing them back to life: Fixing the drawer runners, cleaning, sanding and waxing the wood grain and updating the handles. They certainly look better than a set of £10 drawers. And so, I went on a charity shop hunt yesterday to try and find some accessories to dress the room, vintage style-ee! I made it to 10 charity shops across Leeds. Here are some of my best finds. A mid century storage stool. Really cute little piece for £25, but it needed a bit of work to stabilise the legs. So this stayed in the shop. Rule number …

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 …

Ikea Bank Holiday

Published by Karen Knox

Just in time for the bank holiday trip to Ikea… a little roundup of my favourite pieces from Ikea for SS 2015. Sometimes you just miss the best bits because you’re frantically chasing the wrong child around the store, or wanting to just get to the cafe for your meatballs and cranberry sauce. So here are my faves: ARKELSTORP Desk, black – £135 Black and pine. Winning! KNAGGLIG Storage Box, pine – from £5 Stackable storage. Can’t have too much. Get some. NIPPRIG 2015 Room divider, black – £39 I’ve always wanted a room divide… just need to get a larger house with a big enough room to divide first. Am on it. Ikea are being sneaky sneaky and not showing the table and bench seating on their UK site just yet. Or the matching coffee and side table you can see in the background shot. But they MUST be arriving soon. I like a nice splayed leg I do! UPDATE – It’s the LISABO and it’s £120. Wowzers. Nice price for an ash veneer dining table eh? DALSHULT …

Take a seat

Published by Karen Knox

House Doctor The numbers of times i’ve wanted to stay in a particular hotel or holiday apartment, or eat in a certain restaurant, JUST because of the chair i’ve seen there, i’ve lost count. Pictures of chairs, taken at the right angle… Float. My. Boat. I’m not going to do much chatting today. It’s just beautiful images of chairs that make me want to slide my hand down the arm, have a little perch and take a few selfies. I hope you enjoy…. Muuto Nerd Chair – Nest Kai Christiansen wool chair Mid Century Modern German Lounge Chair – eBay Portuguese Roots Chair by Alexandre Caldas Monk Lounge Chair by Grupa Shell Chair by Hans Wegner Chairs by Miyazaki-isu DC09 Chair by Inoda + Sveje Design Studio Ikea Ekenesat Chair from my own bedroom. I shall be back again soon with more interiors goodness, with my voice back i’m sure. Have a great week everyone.

My MCM Geometric Desk

Published by Karen Knox

Behold. My new delicious work space. I have managed to design and produce this space with a few left over items from my capacious loft space, coupled in with a new lamp and Eames Eiffel chair as a treat from me to me. Thank you me! See that crazy mid-century modern inspired geometric desk top? “Yes, Karen we see it. It’s hard not to” Well that was about to get kicked to the kerb **finger snap**. A bit of old furniture board from a super ugly old flat pack desk. It’s actually the perfect size for my tiny office space. I don’t have clients visit at home and i’m only little. So for me, this space is pretty much bob on. Here is how it looked before: The offending piece of furniture board. There were bits of the “birch effect” foil surface missing. Some idiot had done their Christmas selotaping and used the edge of the desk as a tape holder. Face-palm! It all started when I wanted a rug. A black and white geometric …