All posts tagged: review

The 70’s Kitchen Final Reveal – And an Ikea Kitchen review

Published by Karen Knox

We’re back at the 70’s apartment this week for another final reveal – it’s the kitchen. An Ikea kitchen to be precise. Read on for before and after pics, a detailed breakdown of the what’s where’s and why’s… and the cherry on top, an Ikea Kitchen Review. As you can see from the floor-plan the kitchen in this two bedroom apartment is bijou small. It leads straight off the large living space, so it was important the new design connected to the space around it. Here’s how it looked back in March 2019: Before The budget for ripping out and replacing with a new kitchen cabinets, worktop, appliances, flooring and tiling was £6k. This needed to cover labour too. It was tight, which limited where we could “shop”. After looking around at several kitchen options, we took a punt on Ikea as they offered the fitting and wrap around service of supply, build and fit. The kitchen concept was based around the Ikea VEDDINGE range. Simple, light grey slab doors and drawer fronts. The small space meant …

Not feeling SAD with Lumie

Published by Karen Knox

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all settling into Monday slowly but surely. If you find it hard to motivate yourself during this time of year (it’s January if you’ve just randomly found this article) then this blog post is one you need to read. Most of you guys may know already that I live with anxiety and depression, cropping up a few times on the blog before. It’s something I (and millions of others) live with and manage as best as I can. No big surprise that my mood can suffer in the depths of winter. I’m not 100% sure if I suffer with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but there’s a marked difference in my overall wellbeing when we have lighter, brighter days. As someone who is a pale skinnned, indoor kinda gal (and permanently vitamin D deficient) the little light I do get is massively missed during those long, dark drawn out winter days. So I contacted UK based company, Lumie to ask if I could try out and review some of their products and …

The Best of 2018 – Your favourite posts on Making Spaces this year

Published by Karen Knox

Hello everyone, i’m back for my final post for 2018, my 60th post. It’s been a jam packed year, with as many projects taking place at Making Spaces HQ as there have been client projects. I’m going to run down your 10 favourite posts this year, the ones that got you reading and sharing. Then i’ll end with my favourite post, because, as you well know, this blog is all about me and my opinion. Kidding obv. So counting down from 10 to 1, here are the posts from 2018 as clicked on by you lot: Third Time Lucky? August 2018 This one was a bit of a gut wrencher to write, but you guys were absolute legends, with your most wonderfully kind comments and the number of votes too. You got me shortlisted and on a train to London for the Amara Interior Blog Awards, and whilst I didn’t win, i’ll be forever grateful for your support and well wishes. Kitchen Facelift -Goodbye White Gloss, May 18 It seems I wasn’t alone in falling …

GROHE Sense – The Water Detective

Published by Karen Knox

What would you say the biggest risks to your home are? Fire? Burglary? You’d be right. They come in at one and two. Any idea of what’s third on the list? Water? That’s right. Good ole H2O. My other half is very handy around the house, he can turn his hand to most things, joinery, bit of building, DIY, electricals, but the one thing he always leaves to the professionals is plumbing. Because the damage water can cause to a property is not easy to a) diagnose or b) rectify. GROHE have spent the past two years researching and identifying a major gap in the consumer market which has resulted in the development of a new, exciting product. First of its kind and one that fullfills all of their core values: “Quality, Technology, Sustainability & Design” The GROHE Sense detects flooding, frost and humidity. It’s your diligent water sensor working 24/7, responding to the presence of water where there shouldn’t be any. Your very own in-house water detective. The H2O Hunter. All of us will have clocked the …

Time for bed – Leesa mattress review

Published by Karen Knox

When it comes to bedrooms and bedtime, for me, everything has to be right. King sized bed, firm mattress, black out blinds/curtains, lightweight down duvet, cotton bedding, ear plugs, a sleeping partner that doesn’t move or breathe too loud…. i’m not even joking. I have been known to request a new hotel room in the wee hours because I couldn’t sleep. Room too loud, room too bright, room too hot, mattress too bouncy. I’m what you could refer to as a “fussy sleeper”. Or maybe just fussy in general. Whatever. Our Bedroom I spent more time choosing our current bedroom mattress than I did shopping for my wedding dress. And I should bloody think so too. I got eight hours out of that dress. That’s it. Where as i’ll spend about eight hours a day or a third of my life attached to a mattress. It makes sense to invest in a good one. Even Mr Maslow* recognised the need for good sleep in order for us lot to function. *If you don’t know who Maslow is… …