All posts tagged: real homes

What is interior design?

Published by Karen Knox

Well don’t ask me. I’m just making this all up as I go along. But it is something i’ve been asking myself a lot since I started “treading the boards”. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karen Knox – Making Spaces (@makingspacesnet) I have no formal training in interiors or design whatsoever. As you may (or not) already know, my background and training is in dance and it went on to be my career as a teacher and project manager until I became a mum nearly four years ago. But. I have learnt A LOT about what it is to be an interior designer since setting up Making Spaces and it might not be what you’d expect. Partly why I started this blog I guess, to share some of the realness behind all the lovely glossy photos you see in magazines. Those photos are about 2% of what an interior designer does from day to day. Most people i’ve worked with on a design project have been reluctant to tell others they’re …

The UK Bathroom

Published by Karen Knox

Did you know, the average size of a bathroom in the UK is around 2.4m x 1.8, or 4.4m2. How mad is that? Not much bigger than a king sized bed. Now, consider the average bath size is 1.7m x 700mm it is clear why space can be tight. And clear why they’re a bugger to plan for. The bathroom layout (small room top right of the floor plan) has been tweaked and fiddled with several times over the past 4/5 weeks. It’s mental how much difference 5cm can make. Which is why i’ve rinsed the internet for pieces perfect for our UK average sized space. Here it is (will be) with our newly fitted aluminium windows. At approximately 1.9m x 2.1m, every cm counts and i’ve found some key pieces for bijou spaces at soak.com. Let me show you what’s arrived this morning, bright and early at 8am. Sabrosa II Toilet The first item being a small footprint loo. Ideally, I would have liked a hidden cistern, but that meant boxing in, and boxing in meant lost floor …

What i’ve learnt so far. The Loft Extension – Wk 4/5

Published by Karen Knox

We’re at that bit in the project where it feels like we’re moving in treacle. We’ve got a big hole in the ceiling. It’s cold. And we’re waiting. Waiting for windows to be fitted (one more week) and the staircase to arrive (two more weeks). In the meantime we’re at a bit of a standstill and it’s starting to wear us down. So i’m going to take a moment. A moment to reflect on what i’ve learnt so far. Lesson One Any work at home, large or small puts an extra layer of tension in a household. Every day when Charlie gets home from nursery, he asks “is our new house ready yet?” which at the beginning of the project was really cute and hilarious. Five weeks later, not so much. “No Charlie, no. Our house is not finished yet. There is a scaffold up outside. A skip in the driveway, a hole in the ceiling and the heating it set to “tropical”.  Then there’s the nightly de-brief of the day’s events between me and the …

Making Spaces in Print – Pt 3

Published by Karen Knox

It’s June! When the hell did that happen? Last time I checked we were all dancing around a maypole. Blimey. So, yeah, May has flown by, and as they say, “time flies when you’re having fun”. And I was. The Houzz UK feature, which was wonderfully confidence boosting, prompted an avalanche of emails. A new project on board already and another consult booked for next week. Making Spaces was interviewed for Yorkshire Living, a complimentary magazine, still available to pick up in and around the God’s own country. Keep an eye out, you can’t miss it. Making Spaces only bloody made the FRONT COVER! Look! Sherwood Forest in all its glossy glory. Then my very first design project from October 2014, before Making Spaces even officially existed was in Homestyle Magazine. Take a look and have a read. It’s pretty cool to think the whole living room was made-over for £1000.   And if that wasn’t enough, i’m currently in this month’s (July) edition of Real Homes magazine. I’m sitting on a chair this time as …